More buyers are ready to put a smart ring on it

Smart rings are finally going mainstream.

- BY SAMANTHA KELLY

SMART RINGS offer many of the same wellness insights as smartwatches do.

(TRAVIS P. Ball Sipa USA)

It took only a decade.The category, popularized by the Finnish brand Oura Health Oy, is on track for a 49% jump in shipments, according to IDC data, far outpacing an estimated 6% gain by smartwatches. And the segment is about to get more crowded this year.

Once considered niche, smart rings have lately been catching on with consumers, offering many of the same sleep and wellness insights as smartwatches but with a more discreet design.

Most modern smart rings can monitor sleep, activity and heart rate using hardware that's lighter and, for most users, less intrusive than watches. They also tend to last longer on a charge and offer more accurate readings. That's due to the fact that fingers have thinner skin than wrists, and that smart ring sensors are positioned close to key arteries. Some consumers choose to wear both: a watch for workouts and notifications, and a ring for continuous tracking throughout the day and overnight. (IDC estimates that 163.5 million smartwatches were shipped in 2025, compared with about 4.3 million smart rings.)

Oura, which launched its first smart ring in 2015, was valued at roughly $11 billion in the fall and was on track for $1 billion in revenue for 2025, Chief Executive Tom Hale said in September. Besides hardware sales, that revenue includes must-have membership fees, priced at $5.99 per month or $69.99 a year. (Its main competitors do not require subscriptions.)

A mix of startups and established tech giants are expected to debut new models this year, with several scheduled to show off their latest offerings at the CES consumer technology conference in Las Vegas this week.

One newcomer, the Aivela Ring Pro, will tout unique features that include air gestures and touch commands.