Following the footsteps of popular smart rings such as the Movano Ring and the Oura Ring, the Indian fitness platform Ultrahuman is looking to enter the niche wearable market with what it calls “the world’s first metabolism tracking ring.” According to Ultrahuman, their M1 ring — as yet unavailable to consumers at the time of this publication — can improve the wearer’s exercise and diet through the identification of glucose biomarkers. Let’s look at what the Ultrahuman Ring is and what its makers say it can do.
A peek under the hood: the ring has a temperature sensor, motion sensor, and optical heart rate sensor, with a battery life of 4 to 6 days. As is the case with the Oura Ring, the Ultrahuman Ring doesn’t have a screen; therefore, users have to view metrics on an app which is available for Android and iOS devices and integrates with the Apple Watch. The ring is made of what Ultrahuman calls “fighter jet grade” titanium with a scratch-resistant tungsten carbide coating. It’s available in different sizes and four colors: Aster Black, Bionic Gold, Cyber Grey, and Space Silver.
So what can the Ultrahuman Ring do? Per its creators, the ring primarily serves as a fitness tracker that offers metabolism insights through monitoring movement, sleep, and heart rate. It’s designed to help users optimize their workouts, diets, and sleep, as well as assist with meditation. To help do this, Ultrahuman has assembled “thousands of hours of content” for its app in four categories: Body Workouts, Bedtime Stories, Brain Music, and Meditation. Workouts — for all fitness levels — range from running and weightlifting to HIIT, yoga, and more. Bedtime Stories, as you may have guessed, features tales that are designed to lull listeners into slumber, while guided meditations seek to improve physical and mental health through mindfulness. Then there’s Brain Music — tunes designed to help with productivity, focus, relaxation, and sleep.
According to the company, the ring gets more powerful when used in conjunction with Ultrahuman’s continuous glucose sensor, a patch that’s worn on the arm, tracking blood sugar levels in real-time, and syncing with the Ultrahuman app. This pairing of these two Ultrahuman devices is said to offer enhanced features such as personalized diet suggestions based on the wearer’s glucose metabolism, detailed sleep insights based on glucose levels, and tailor-made workout guides. All viewable via the app’s metabolic score, food score, and fueling score.
At this point, many questions remain about the ring and its capabilities. The fact that it is focused on fitness means that it avoids the scrutiny of regulatory agencies that must approve devices for health or medical applications. All the same, the system appears to have the promise of delivering personalized data that could have significant benefits. It’s certainly worth keeping an eye on the product for future developments.
