A smart ring with a display seems like it’s more trouble than it’s worth

I still wear Samsung Galaxy Ring Daily and other brands, as they trickled in throughout the year. I can’t remember the moment I wished my ring would tell me the time. I’m used to wearing a smartwatch, raising my arm, and moving my wrist to peek at the hours and minutes. I never expected my smart ring to fulfill this role.

There is a smart ring from a company called rugbeda brand I’ve never heard of but which produces what appear to be affordable alternatives to the current range of smartwatches, claims to offer the world’s first version with a display. the SR08 Ultra It starts at $190 (currently on sale for $90) and features a small OLED touchpad that you can tap to interact with. If you follow the views, it seems that the screen takes up most of the top of the finger.

The screen lets you swipe to change data, including time, number of steps, heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and sleep duration. Like smartwatches, sports tracking modes are available for running, hiking, and cycling. Rogbid says his health kit can help with training because his app charts your movement.

The SR08 Ultra is “deeply” water resistant, and Rogbid advertises water resistance of up to 5ATM. I’d be curious to know what it measures while swimming. The Galaxy Ring can also track sessions but does an average job of providing any analytical data about the session. I can’t imagine a cheaper smart ring would provide more sophisticated readings.

The listed specifications for the smart ring seem pretty standard, though I barely recognize any of the component names. It’s working on SIM card DA 14585not a brand I’ve heard of, and its battery should last 3 to 5 days, less than big-name brands like Samsung and Oura Ring, which can run for up to six days on a charge. This number will likely be ordered for this Rogbid smart ring due to the presence of a light display. It doesn’t seem worth the trade-off for a small screen that shows the time.

A smart ring is intended to be unobtrusive. It’s been a blessing in terms of the amount of data I can collect at any given time. Wearing a smartwatch is boring partly because its screen distracts you from everything else. The smart ring allows me to be more intentional with my check-ins. I only open the Samsung Health app when I’m ready to confront the data.

This screen smart ring isn’t a mainstream product from the usual suspects, so I don’t expect it to catch on in the zeitgeist just yet. If anything, it’s more proof that it’s all that lies ahead Consumer Electronics Show 2025 He must raise an eyebrow.