RingConn 2 review | Healthcare IT today

In case you missed it, earlier this year I wrote a comprehensive review of the RingConn Smart Ring. I was impressed with the ring and the massive amount of data it collected about me. It’s a powerful ring at a great price, and I feel like they’re just getting started when it comes to what you can do with the data it collects.

So I was excited when they asked me to try out the RingConn 2. They currently have a Kickstarter campaign running for the RingConn 2 if you’re interested in getting one. When they asked me if I wanted to try it out, I asked if they could send me one for my wife to use. I thought it would be interesting to let her try it out since I tried the first one. I wanted to see how her experience compared to mine. RingConn was generous and sent me two RingConn 2s so we could both try them out.

I tried the original RingConn on my index fingers. While that worked well and I generally got used to it, this time I wanted to try it on the ring finger to see how it compared. I was really happy with the choice as it was much less annoying on my ring finger. So much so, in fact, that I often forgot I was wearing it and it would often spin on my ring finger. I don’t think that happened as much on my index finger because I was playing with it all the time. I must say that you really have to be careful to choose the right size. I’m not an expert on ring sizes, but the size this time only fit one of my ring fingers and not the other, unlike the size on my index finger which fit both.

The most noticeable thing about the RingConn 2 was that it is much smaller. I was told it is 12% less wide and 23% less thick. This was definitely a big difference, which was welcome, as I found the first generation ring kind of big and bulky. I always felt a bit stuffy when wearing it. This was a good improvement on the ring.

The biggest change from a monitoring perspective was the addition of sleep apnea monitoring. RingConn says it has demonstrated 90.7% accuracy in detecting OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) in their internal lab. They are actively pursuing FDA approval for it. I tried it out and it seemed to give me a lot of detail about my sleep. Thankfully, I was not found to have any major issues related to sleep apnea. It’s worth mentioning that this was a test I had to start and it seemed to use up some battery, unlike all the other monitoring that happens without your intervention. Not a big deal, but it was interesting to see.

Another great feature of the RingConn 2 was the extended battery life. One charge now lasts for 10-12 days. You might think those extra days don’t make a difference, but I basically didn’t have to think about it not being charged. I put it in the charger occasionally and it was fine. With the portable charging case, RingConn says you can use it for over 150 days. Definitely the best battery life I’ve ever heard on a smart ring, and long enough to not be a nuisance.

This time I decided to try out the waterproof features as I read that it meets the IP68 dust and water resistance standard. I’ve done everything from showering to washing dishes to washing hands with my RingConn 2 and have never had any issues. I must say that due to its design I generally found myself easily pulling the ring off to dry my hands, but that wasn’t really a problem. It says it’s 100 ATM waterproof so it can work up to 100 meters underwater. I’ll leave those tests to someone else.

As I mentioned, my wife had one this time too. We woke up and compared our sleep stats and stress levels, which was fun. She has an iPhone and I have an Android and both worked fine and seemed to have a nearly identical interface.

One feature of the app that she had was a period tracking app. I don’t think that used any of the ring sensors, but I’m sure it could be useful in the future to have the data from the sensor along with the manually recorded period information. Plus, it’s a nice way for my wife to track her periods. I’ll admit, when I saw it, I was hoping there was a sharing feature that would let me see it on my app so I’d remember to get her chocolate.

Overall, I was impressed with the 2nd generation RingConnn Smart Ring. Most of the stats in the app were pretty similar, but the small changes in size and battery life really make a difference. If you want to try one out for yourself, you can find more information and order one on the RingConn 2 Kickstarter page.