I found a smart ring that rivals the Oura 4 but costs less (and has no subscriptions)

ZDNET's cardinal takeaways

• The RingConn Gen 2 is simply a subscription-free astute ringing that retails for $300.
• It monitors your sleep, activity, stress, and vitals, and it's got a marathon artillery life.
• The lone downside is the idiosyncratic interface feels underdeveloped.

Most astute rings these days assertion to connection marathon artillery lives, but often autumn abbreviated of their promise. Many astute rings assertion to past a week's worthy of batter,y but lone marque it to 5 oregon six days earlier dying connected me. Part of the entreaty of astute rings, compared to smartwatches, is their longer artillery life, truthful what gives? 

Also: The champion astute rings of 2025: I tested and recovered an evident winner

I've got 1 for you if you privation a astute ringing with a genuinely competitory artillery life. I've been investigating the RingConn Gen 2 astute ringing that boasts a marathon artillery beingness of 10 to 12 days. The astute ringing comes with different perks – and a fewer drawbacks – that I'll get to below. 

Right disconnected the bat, the RingConn 2 has immoderate greenish flags. Unlike competing astute ringing brands with products that commencement astatine $350 and spell each the mode up to $400 oregon $450, this astute ringing costs $300 – and does not necessitate a subscription to summation afloat entree to your wellness data. Sizing starts astatine size six and goes done size 14, and you tin get the ringing successful 3 colors: silver, black, and gold. 

The physique of the ringing is much quadrate than circular, but I recovered myself unbothered by this unsocial shape. It fits comfortably astir my digit with nary problems. Despite steadfast and predominant wear, the ringing doesn't tarnish easy either. 

Also: Two fashionable astute ringing makers conscionable got caught copying Oura - here's what happens next

The RingConn Gen 2 comes with a lawsuit that extends its already impressively agelong artillery life, powering the astute ring's bare artillery for implicit 150+ days. As idiosyncratic who is perpetually charging respective wearable devices astatine a time, this long-lasting charging lawsuit that I could usage without hooking the astute ringing up to an outlet made maine partial to RingConn. 

Most astute rings connection up regular scores for 2 to 3 important wellness metrics: sleep, activity, and readiness. Readiness is calculated based connected yesterday's activity, however you slept, and different biometric data, similar however precocious your bosom complaint dropped arsenic you slept. 

Also: The champion slumber trackers of 2025: Expert tested and reviewed

The RingConn Gen 2 measures your vitals, sleep, activity, and stress, but doesn't measurement readiness. Instead of readiness, it provides a Wellness Balance feature. It takes each of the aforementioned information and displays it successful a flower-like graph, with longer petals for the biometrics that are gathering oregon exceeding the recommended benchmarks and shorter petals for those that aren't. 

When each your petals are the aforesaid length, it indicates that your wellness is astatine equilibrium. I liked that I could spot each the important information displayed successful specified a digestible and ocular mode close arsenic I opened the app. 

RingConn's Wellness Balance compiles your activity, sleep, vitals, and accent scores into a holistic illustration of your health. 

Screenshot by Nina Raemont/ZDNET

Hardcore trainers usage the readiness oregon vigor diagnostic connected their astute ringing apps to gauge however aggravated their workout regimen should beryllium for the day. If that's you, you mightiness beryllium displeased with the Wellness Balance functionality, and I'd urge the Oura Ring, Ultrahuman Ring, oregon Galaxy Ring instead. 

The app delivers your scores alongside discourse that helps pass the reasoning down your slumber oregon vitals score. I was sick 1 time portion investigating the ringing and spent the full time sleeping. Because of the ample magnitude of clip I spent successful bed, it told maine that excessively overmuch slumber tin dilatory down my metabolism oregon pb to value gain. 

Also: I wore a $49 OTC continuous glucose show for 2 weeks - Here's what amazed me

RingConn says that the artillery connected its second-generation ringing lasts up to 10 to 12 days, but successful my testing, I recovered that it lone lasted seven. Still, that's acold longer than the artillery lives of different astute rings I've tried, which past 4 to 5 days connected a azygous charge. I tin accidental without a uncertainty that this astute ringing has the astir awesome artillery beingness retired of each marque I've tried. 

Nina Raemont/ZDNET

According to its website, the RingConn Gen 2 besides boasts a slumber apnea detection diagnostic with 90.7% accuracy. If you're a chronic snorer looking to larn much astir however your breathing impacts you passim the night, the slumber apnea diagnostic could assistance show your conditions and reply immoderate of your questions. 

It tells you erstwhile determination are important oregon insignificant outliers successful your slumber passim the night, providing not lone a graph detailing this but besides a timeline showing erstwhile your SpO2 fluctuated during the night. 

I wore the Oura Ring 4 successful tandem with the RingConn Gen 2 and recovered that the second seems to underestimate some the clip spent dormant and the steps I've taken passim the day. 

Also: Oura Ring users are customizing their wearables with this clever plan hack

The RingConn and Oura some ranked my slumber ratio successful the 87th and 88th percentiles. Oura said I got 11 hours and 8 minutes of sleep, portion RingConn said I spent 10 hours and 50 minutes asleep. RingConn reported 11,091 steps, portion Oura reported 15,259 steps. I've seen successful assorted Reddit threads that the Oura Ring tends to overestimate measurement count, which could relationship for the large disparity successful steps betwixt rings. 

On a steadfast nighttime of sleep, Oura recorded 8 hours and 2 minutes, a slumber ratio of 94%, and a slumber people of 90. RingConn recorded an 84 slumber score, 7 hours and 45 minutes asleep, and a slumber ratio of 91%. In some cases, RingConn is subtracting astir 15 minutes from my night's sleep. 

ZDNET's buying advice

I enjoyed astir aspects of wearing this subscription-free astute ring, and astatine $300 ($50 little than competitors), it's a astute ringing I'd urge to those looking for an alternate to Oura's subscription-based services. particularly if you privation a astute ringing with a artillery beingness that volition really past you a week earlier recharging. 

The 1 country wherever I noticed RingConn's astute ringing lacking was successful its idiosyncratic interface. The app feels underdeveloped, and immoderate of the messages lacked idiosyncratic discourse that proved they were being generated from my ain data. On 1 bully slumber people day, each that it said erstwhile I clicked connected the slumber tab was: "Good slumber makes you happy." That's my lone existent gripe, and I anticipation the recommendations tin go much tailored and informative successful aboriginal bundle updates. 

Otherwise, the RingConn Gen 2 is an awesome astute ringing with broad wellness metric monitoring that's connected the cheaper extremity of the astute ringing spectrum. It accurately tracks slumber with features similar slumber apnea monitoring that could assistance you uncover your snoring patterns, it's got a marathon artillery beingness (plus a charging lawsuit with 150 days' worthy of foodstuff successful it), and a physique you tin deterioration comfortably.