The Evie Ring is cleverly designed but has some first-gen quirks

Within the run-up to CES 2022, I used to be chatting with Movano CEO John Mastrototaro about his massive, formidable concept for a sensible ring that will in the future monitor persistent sicknesses. The renders showcased a glossy and slim ring with an open hole up prime. It could be designed with ladies in thoughts. Accuracy can be paramount, and finally, the ring would have FDA clearance as a medical system. It was a formidable pitch. It could simply should make it off the present flooring.

A bit of over two years later, I now have Movano’s $269 Evie Ring on my finger. It’s not fairly as slim as that authentic design, that FDA clearance continues to be pending, and it’s not likely about monitoring persistent sicknesses. But it surely is a working good ring you can purchase — the beginning of a comeback in a dwindling subject.

For the longest time, I’ve been ready for one thing that would give the Oura Ring a run for its cash. The Evie Ring isn’t fairly that simply but, however I’m hopeful that in the future it might be.

In comparison with smartwatches, good rings are smaller, lighter, extra discreet, extra snug for sleep monitoring, and extra correct for coronary heart charge measurements. However there’s one main flaw: your fingers swell. I dread my Oura Ring operating out of battery as a result of each time I take it off, I danger dislocating a knuckle. In the summertime, I typically haven’t any selection however to run my hand below chilly water to get the ring free.

That’s by no means occurred with the Evie Ring. To be clear, I’ve been bloated many occasions whereas testing this ring. It doesn’t matter. I can at all times comfortably take it off.

It’s not witchcraft — it’s the design. The ring’s signature hole not solely appears stylish but additionally functionally provides the ring additional flex. You possibly can placed on a number of kilos and never take into consideration whether or not it’s important to purchase one other good ring. That’s clutch, as I’ve but to see any good rings that are available in half sizes or provide methods to regulate sizing in case your physique modifications. (The Evie Ring is offered in sizes 5 to 12.) It’s a small factor, however it dramatically improves consolation — and with wearables, consolation is king. 

It’s additionally hardy sufficient to outlive showers, dishwashing, and a dunk within the pool. I might, nevertheless, contemplate taking it off for weight lifting. After a couple of month, mine has a number of deep scratches on the underside. Nothing tremendous noticeable at a look, however it’s worse than scuffs I’ve on the Oura Ring.

Battery life is without doubt one of the most difficult features of good ring design. A totally spherical ring requires a versatile battery that’s sufficiently small to put on whereas nonetheless powering all of the necessities. The Evie Ring provides one other engineering hurdle with the open hole, so it’s encouraging to see battery life is first rate. I get about 4 or 5 days on a single cost. Whereas that’s not mind-blowing for the class, the charging case is one other glorious contact. It holds as much as 10 expenses, the ring attaches magnetically to a groove inside, and crucially, it’s safely enclosed inside. I can stick it in my purse or on my nightstand with out worrying concerning the ring falling out. 

In Movano’s authentic pitch, the Evie Ring would mix accuracy with a streamlined app that is smart of what all of your well being information really means. Proper now, I’d say the Evie Ring provides you a style of that however not the entire meal.

Take the app’s design. It’s recent, playful, and emphasizes holistic well being. As a substitute of asking you to shut a bunch of rings, the primary tab shows your day by day well being components as a single ring. It jogs my memory of a extra trendy pie chart, and it’s a refreshing visualization of how issues like sleep, energetic minutes, steps, and energy burned all play an element in your general well being. It’s additionally good that the app acknowledges there are solely so many targets it is best to chase without delay. You’re restricted to a few at a given time, which helps you keep targeted and sustainably construct new habits.

Accuracy-wise, all the pieces besides sleep monitoring (extra on that beneath) was in keeping with what I bought on my Apple Watch Extremely 2 and Oura Ring. You possibly can control your coronary heart charge tendencies, menstrual cycle, and general exercise and exercises. Sleep monitoring has its personal tab the place the info is split into sleep phases and metrics like resting coronary heart charge, coronary heart charge variability, SpO2, respiration charge, and pores and skin temperature variation. Within the journal, you’ll be able to monitor your cycle and the varied signs and moods that happen — or you may simply select to trace your feelings sans your interval.

That is pretty typical however lacks a few of that additional context I hoped for. Is it good that the Evie Ring tracks my temperature? I assume. However I can’t view my temperature historical past over time or see the way it pertains to my cycle. There are blurbs as to why sure information factors matter however not as many insights as to what my information’s telling me. In all equity, this can be a downside with most health monitoring platforms. I’m calling it out right here as a result of contextualization was presupposed to be one thing that set Evie aside.

Whereas the Evie Ring is a refreshing tackle good rings and well being trackers, it’s nonetheless a first-gen system. And like several first-gen gadget, it has kinks to iron out. 

My greatest problem was syncing. I’d open the Evie app very first thing within the morning, and it’d take a number of minutes for it to sync with my telephone. In 2024, that’s 4 or 5 entire Okay-pop TikToks I might’ve scrolled via earlier than dragging myself away from bed. Due to some firmware updates, it’s gotten a lot higher during the last week, but when I don’t sync very first thing within the morning, it generally doesn’t register my sleep from the earlier evening. That’s even supposing the ring can retailer as much as seven days of knowledge between syncs. 

Sleep monitoring accuracy has additionally been a blended bag. Whereas the period normally corresponds with my Oura Ring and my myriad sleep trackers, it repeatedly stories a a lot shorter quantity of deep sleep. One weekend, I zonked out for 10 entire hours. It reported perhaps an hour of deep sleep. 

To date, the Evie Ring can be iOS solely. That’s not unusual — I’ve seen loads of different well being tech corporations prioritize iOS first after which come out with an Android model later. It’s only a bummer. 

I dig lots concerning the Evie Ring — notably the design. It’s extra snug due to the hole, charging it’s extra handy, and general, it’s delivering an analogous expertise to the Oura Ring. And it’s doing it for much less cash and no month-to-month subscription. 

However we’ll should see whether or not Movano’s gambles on FDA clearance and its medical prowess assist it stand proud of the group. It’s about to get actual aggressive within the good ring area. RingConn, Round, and Ultrahuman are already out right here chipping away at Oura’s dominance. Amazfit, which makes a ton of fantastic funds smartwatches, is popping out with a fitness-focused good ring later this yr. The large doozy is Samsung’s forthcoming Galaxy Ring. Samsung is a giant identify, and if it succeeds right here, it’s a matter of time earlier than different tech giants observe. I’ve to think about that even Oura is feeling the stress, not to mention a smaller firm like Movano.

Even so, I’m rooting for the Evie Ring to stay it out. The considerate design has been refreshing, and it’s bought a strong basis right here. I simply hope it will get the prospect to construct on it.