I’m sure it’s all grounded in research, but it smacks of a pseudoscience useful to people obsessed with maximising body efficiency, whereas I mainly want to keep an eye out to make sure my data for steps, sleep, exercise, weight and the like are trending towards the healthy middle of the scale rather than the risky outer edge.
The good news is that you can just set all the data to export to the platform of your choice, and turn off whatever notifications you don’t want, so the actual longevity science part is optional. And with the information flowing from the ring through to Apple Health, I found it was pretty good at passively collecting all the tracking data to be graphed over time.
Information on my sleep stages was roughly comparable to that picked up by other tracking methods I pitted it against, and steps, movement and heart rate variability came through looking accurate as well. For granular details on specific workouts, like pace and VO2 Max, a smartwatch would likely be better, but if you just need to log your daily data, the ring’s a reliable method.
The ring is rated waterproof up to 100 metres, for up to 12 hours.
Battery life is obviously a concern in a package this tiny. Ultrahuman says four to six days, but four is a realistic expectation. It takes around three hours to fully charge on the handy little puck, so you should just be able to put it on there every day as you’re getting ready, and it will stay charged.
Going back to the Ultrahuman platform, there are some interesting elements even if you’re not into charts of your supposed stress responses. There’s an entire education section that has videos and podcasts on biomarkers, blood sugar, hormones and exercise. Some of it is from the expected gaunt-looking longevity experts and biohackers, but there’s interesting stuff from athletes and scientists, too.
And if you’re looking for content that might help the readings from your ring trend in a positive direction, there are also a lot of free meditation guides, workout videos and sleep aid stories.
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Ultrahuman says no paid subscription is required, which is a point of difference from its competitor Oura, and that is true; everything I’ve described so far is free on the app. But that doesn’t mean the company doesn’t try to sell you stuff.
There’s a marketplace of sorts called PowerPlugs, which includes paid and subscription offerings. PowerPlugs are tracking modules that focus on specific goals; the circadian rhythm and caffeine window tracking I mentioned above are PowerPlugs that are active by default. Free options include ovulation tracking, sun exposure and screen time. Paid options include “cardio adaptability” (nighttime cardio stress insights) at $4.26 monthly. Other PowerPlugs including jet lag, weight loss and a paid atrial fibrillation detection module, are marked as coming soon.
There’s also a store in the app selling Ultrahuman gear including sleep masks and blue light blocking glasses, plus subscriptions to nutritional supplement review platform Examine+. And of course, Ultrahuman does offer its own subscription too. At around $80 for two years, it includes priority support, insurance against accidental damage, and one free switch to a smaller ring if you happen to lose weight.
All up, it’s a convincing alternative to a smartwatch, albeit one that won’t save you any money despite its lack of a screen or any computing features. Its selling point is how discreet and essentially invisible it is, plus its integration with a data-intensive longevity and exercise platform, if that’s your thing.
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