I would\u2019ve bought a wearable health tracker a lot sooner if they all weren\u2019t so ugly. <\/p>\n
I don\u2019t want a glowing screen on my wrist, and the woven Whoop<\/a> bracelet looks like something I would\u2019ve made at summer camp. But in the last few months, both RingConn<\/a> and Oura<\/a> have launched slimmer hardware that actually blends in with jewelry, so you don\u2019t have to scream to the world that you\u2019re currently monitoring your blood-oxygen level.<\/p>\n So, against my better judgement \u2014 and the knowledge that I am giving a tech company my health data for no reason \u2014 I bought my first daily wearable health tracker: the RingConn 3<\/a>. Roughly ten days later, I was relieved to find out that I was still within the two-week return period and dropped it off at the post office.<\/p>\n Between the RingConn 3 and the Oura Ring 5<\/a>, I opted for the RingConn simply because it is less expensive, starting at $349 compared with Oura\u2019s $399 starting price. That\u2019s not a huge difference, but Oura also requires users to pay for a $6 monthly subscription to use a device they already paid for, which is the sort of blatant money-grabbing tactic that I think a CFO devises as he twirls his mustache and cackles. I do not want to appease the mustache-twirling man.<\/p>\n At first glance, the rose gold RingConn 3 surpassed my expectations. It\u2019s actually pretty! Matching the Oura Ring 5 with a thickness of 2.3 mm, it\u2019s still a little bulkier than your standard ring, but it\u2019s still comfortable to wear. <\/p>\n It actually passes as a normal piece of jewelry, especially if you pair it with another stackable ring<\/a>. When you order the ring, you\u2019re first sent a sizing kit, which is worth the extra step \u2014 I was tempted to just order my normal ring size, but I found that I actually had to choose a bigger size for a comfortable fit.<\/p>\n The RingConn 3\u2019s build feels solid. While some people online say their rings quickly showed scratches, I found that the brushed metal version felt more resistant. I didn\u2019t have the ring long enough to confirm its claims that its battery can last 14 days on one charge, but I didn\u2019t run into any battery issues. <\/p>\n While the ring is water-resistant \u2014 you can even wear it swimming! \u2014 I decided to just plop it in its charging case whenever I took a shower.<\/p>\n Aesthetics aside, the RingConn 3\u2019s screen-less<\/a> form factor appealed to me because it\u2019s something that I could wear passively, check once a day at most, and reflect on the data later. I\u2019m not alone in having such preferences: American spending on fitness trackers grew 88% year-over-year<\/a>, largely due to screenless wearables like the Oura ring and Whoop wristband, per market research firm Circana.<\/p>\n But in terms of health tracking, the RingConn 3 wasn\u2019t as helpful as I\u2019d hoped.<\/p>\n For the first few days, the data the ring recorded was like a shiny new toy. I enjoyed checking the app to see if my heart rate or stress levels changed as I went about my day. It seemed my stress levels remained stable, but spiked when I did my laundry (accurate, if I\u2019m being honest).<\/p>\n I found the sleep insights interesting, but they mostly confirmed what I already knew without spending $349: I sleep badly when I drink, and better when I maintain a consistent bedtime.<\/p>\n Still, I was disappointed to find that the RingConn 3 requires a good deal of manual intervention. It only detects workouts if you are physically moving through space \u2014 so if you\u2019re at the gym or doing Pilates, the ring won\u2019t automatically realize you\u2019re working out. At the same time, it\u2019ll flag any two-minute walk across your apartment building as a brief workout. (I promise you, my heart rate is not significantly impacted by getting the mail.)<\/p>\n I thought the RingConn would\u2019ve been worth it if only for its headache detection<\/a> feature, which supposedly warns you of oncoming headaches by monitoring your heart rate variability. I suffer from unpredictable migraines, so if I could get notified to proactively take my migraine medicine, the ring would have been revolutionary for me. Surely worth the $349.<\/p>\n But about a week into my RingConn ownership, I suffered the worst migraine attack of my life. It lasted an entire weekend, and the pain was so severe that I sold my tickets to see one of my favorite bands. <\/p>\n All the while, the ring told me I was in \u201ctop form.\u201d If the headache detection feature wasn\u2019t going to work for me, I just couldn\u2019t see myself wanting to wear the RingConn everyday. I decided to return it while I could still get my money back.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/ringconn3.jpg?w=680\")