Changes in my Smart devices

Some time ago I decided to stop wearing an Apple Watch. In fact, I decided to give up smart watches in general. I knew I would miss being able to dictate a reply to a message directly into the watch, I knew I would miss being able to leave the house without my phone and still stay in touch (I had the cellular version), but I was sad to see my poor Timex lying in a drawer instead of being worn on my hand.

What I really didn’t want to give up were the fitness functions. I started researching the market and came to the conclusion that a smart ring could be the solution for me. Unfortunately, the prices of such solutions were terribly high.
But what about Aliexpress? A bit of searching and I found the Smart Ring R02 at a low price with fast and free delivery, so I decided to take a risk and buy it 🙂

Below you may see how it looks when it came to me

So what is it? It’s a very cheap smart ring that, according to the manufacturer, can track steps, distance, calories, heart rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure and sleep. It looked like the perfect solution to me. But… could such an inexpensive device provide meaningful data?
To find out, I decided to compare the results from this ring and the Apple Watch.
Here are the results of that comparison

Interestingly, the results are similar. With my level of fitness, where I’m not interested in a single calorie, but in the range and direction I’m going. So I started wearing a Smart Ring instead of an Apple Watch, and I’m happy – I can see the data I want, I don’t need the device to be medically accurate, and I can follow trends (whether I’m moving more or less, whether my heart rate is going up or down, etc.).

Finally, some technical details – the battery lasts up to six days, according to the manufacturer. I think this is possible because, by default, the heart rate monitor is switched off for the whole day (after activating the robo-measurement every 30 minutes, you can change this time). The same goes for the saturation measurement – it is off by default, but if you turn it on, it measures every hour.

Interestingly, when a workout is activated in the QRing app, measurements are taken continuously, which of course drains the battery. With 24-hour use and all tracking enabled, the battery lasts a good four days, and when I recharge it there are always a few per cent left. With training on, it lasts two days. But if I was running marathons, I would probably have to charge it every day.

Anyone who wants to be a bit more professional than just walking the dog will still buy a Garmin, even if they only have to use it during training 🙂