Best smart rings in 2026: we’ve tested Oura, Ultrahuman, Samsung and more

Wearable tech is getting smaller. Much smaller. Smart rings are the latest gadget everyone’s talking about. They’re tiny, sleek, and far less obtrusive than a bulky smartwatch, and they’re carving out a new niche in wearable tech.

Everyone is swapping their fitness trackers and smartwatches for smart rings that slip on like a normal piece of jewellery but still track sleep, steps, heart rate and more. It’s tech you barely notice, which can be a big deal if you’ve ever felt weighed down by a smartwatch.

Big brands you know and trust, like Samsung, are jumping into the ring game, and newcomers, like Oura and Ultrahuman, with fresh ideas, are shaking things up too. That’s pushed innovation forward fast, and given you a lot of choice.

We’ve put a whole bunch of smart rings to the test so you don’t have to guess which ones are worth your money. Some excel at fitness tracking, others at sleep tracking, and some are more comfortable than others. In this guide, we’ve rounded up the best smart rings available right now.

Why you can trust Stuff: Our team of experts rigorously test each product and provide honest, unbiased reviews to help you make informed decisions. For more details, read how we test and rate products.

Quick list: what is the best smart ring?

The best smart rings you can buy today:

1. Ultrahuman Ring Air

Smart rings don’t give designers much to play with, so the Ultrahuman Ring Air lives or dies by what it does, not how it looks. After wearing it day and night for several weeks, it’s clear this is a ring built for data-first people. It’s extremely light, easy to forget about on your finger, and comfortable enough to sleep in every night – which matters, because that’s where a lot of its best insights come from.

We tested it alongside a Garmin Enduro and found step counts and resting heart rate lined up well. Sleep tracking was particularly strong, regularly flagging poor nights after late caffeine or stressful days, and its circadian rhythm guidance felt genuinely useful rather than preachy. The app goes deeper than most rivals, with detailed charts on recovery, stress and readiness that reward long-term wear. Some metrics take a couple of weeks to settle, but once they do, the picture feels coherent and personalised.

Battery life comfortably hit five days during testing, even with all sensors running, and the waterproof build meant we never had to take it off. It’s less convincing for gym work, though. Lifting weights is uncomfortable, and exercise heart rate spikes aren’t as precise as a chest strap or sports watch.

The app looks slick and serious, but it does push paid add-ons more than we’d like. Still, core features come included, and for fitness-focused users who want serious insight without wearing a watch, the Ring Air delivers.

2. Oura Ring 4

We’ve been wearing the Oura Ring 4 daily for several weeks, including overnight, on walks, during workdays and alongside a Garmin and chest strap for comparison. As smart ring introductions go, this is a good one. Oura still feels like the category’s reference point, and this fourth-gen model is slimmer, more comfortable and a bit smarter than before, with recessed sensors that no longer demand constant repositioning to get reliable readings.

Sleep tracking is where it really shines. We found its breakdown of sleep stages, recovery, and readiness consistently lined up with how we actually felt the next morning, and it’s far easier to live with overnight than any wrist-based tracker. Day-to-day activity tracking is solid, too. Walks were picked up automatically, heart rate trends made sense over time, and the app does a great job of turning raw data into insights you can actually use.

That said, it’s not a gym-friendly bit of kit. We wore it for a strength session and quickly regretted it. It’s uncomfortable when gripping weights, picking up scratches almost immediately, and heart rate readings during treadmill runs were noticeably lower than those from a chest strap. Battery life also fell short of the claimed eight days, landing closer to five or six in real use.

The app is excellent, but the subscription still stings. Oura Ring 4 is a brilliant wellness companion, just not a replacement for a proper fitness watch if training hard is your thing.

3. Luna Ring 2

We’ve been wearing the Luna Ring Gen 2 daily for several weeks, including overnight, on walks, during workdays and alongside a Garmin Enduro 3 for comparison. On paper, it gets a lot right. It’s light, well-specced, and refreshingly free of subscriptions, which already puts it ahead of some big-name rivals. The included charging case is genuinely useful too, stretching battery life to around a month without needing a plug – a small thing that makes a big difference if you travel a lot.

In use, the ring delivers solid wellness tracking. Step counts closely matched our Garmin, sleep staging felt accurate, and automatic detection of obvious activities like walks and jogs worked reliably. Heart rate data was less precise during higher-intensity sessions, but that’s a familiar smart ring limitation rather than a Luna-specific flaw. As a general health companion, it builds a clear picture over time and offers sensible, easy-to-understand guidance in the app.

Where Luna falls down is comfort and finish. The protruding internal sensors make it feel bulkier than Oura or Ultrahuman, and the flashing green LEDs at night are distracting. We also had to take it off in the gym, where gripping weights was uncomfortable and scratching felt inevitable. The app is comprehensive and nicely laid out, but the AI tools feel basic and often no better than what you’d get elsewhere.

Luna Ring Gen 2 is smart, capable and good value. It just doesn’t feel quite premium enough to truly stand out.

4. Samsung Galaxy Ring

We’ve been wearing the Samsung Galaxy Ring day and night for a few weeks, pairing it with Android phones and comparing its data against a regular smartwatch. This might be Samsung’s first smart ring, but it doesn’t feel like a tentative debut. The design is impressively slim, genuinely jewellery-like, and easy to forget about once it’s on – especially compared to sleeping with a watch strapped to your wrist.

Wellness tracking is the Galaxy Ring’s strong suit. Step counts landed close to our smartwatch totals, sleep tracking felt consistent with how rested we actually felt, and Samsung Health does a great job of turning raw data into something useful. The Energy Score and sleep insights are especially good at nudging better habits without becoming preachy. Notably, there’s no subscription fee, which makes the £399/$399 price much easier to swallow than some rivals.

That said, it’s not a fitness tracker replacement. There’s no GPS, limited workout support, and anything beyond walking or running still needs your phone. Heart rate data is fine for general trends, but not detailed training. Battery life sat at around six days in real use, with the clever charging case making top-ups painless.

The bigger catch is compatibility. It’s Android-only, works best with Samsung phones, and adds little if you already wear a smartwatch all day. As a sleep-first, wellness-focused companion, though, the Galaxy Ring is a confident and polished start.

• Read more: Samsung Galaxy Ring review

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