I just went hands-on with the Ringconn Gen 2 Air — and it beats the Oura Ring in 3 big ways

I just got my hands on the new Ringconn Gen 2 Air smart ring. Priced at $199 and subscription-free, it represents the cheaper, entry-level alternative to the $299 RingConn Gen 2.

Despite the wallet-friendly price, the Ringconn Gen 2 Air offers impressive specs and features, including up to eight days of battery life, in-depth sleep tracking, 24/7 wellness monitoring and an ultralight, tough-built design.

This not only puts the Ringconn Gen 2 Air in contention for the best value smart ring in 2025 but it's also a serious candidate for the best Oura Ring alternatives. Speaking of Oura, the Gen 2 Air actually beats the Oura Ring 4 — the best overall smart ring — in three key areas. Read on to find out what they are.

But first, a quick smart ring specifications comparison table…

RingConn Gen 2 Air: Specs

RingConn Gen 2 Air hands-on: Price and availability

Priced at $199, the Ringconn Gen 2 Air is $100 cheaper than its higher-end sibling, the standard Ringconn Gen 2 — more on what sets them apart below — and $150 cheaper than the most affordable Oura Ring 4 option.

While the Oura Ring costs an additional $5.99 per month to access health insights in the Oura app, Ringconn doesn't charge a subscription. This means that the Ringconn Gen 2 Air is cheaper than the Oura Ring both upfront and in the long run.

RingConn Gen 2 Air hands-on: Design and build quality

The second advantage the Ringconn Gen 2 Air offers over the Oura Ring 4 is a lighter overall design. With sizes ranging from 6 to 14, the Air weighs between 2.5 and 4 g. That's about half a gram heavier than the standard Ringconn Gen 2, which is ironic given the ‘Air' in the cheaper model's name… but I digress.

More notably, the Ringconn Gen 2 Air is roughly a gram lighter than the Oura Ring 4 across the board. The Oura Ring 4, which varies in weight from 3.3 g to 5.2 g, does come in a wider range of sizes than the Gen 2 Air, 4 through 15. It's also available in a greater selection of styles.

Still, the durability between the two smart rings should be a match. Both boast 100 meters of water resistance and all-metal exteriors. The Air uses comparably cheaper stainless steel in its construction compared to the Oura Ring 4's all-titanium build. However, both metals are sufficiently abrasion- and impact-resistant.

The Ringconn Gen 2 Air feels just as well-made in-hand as any smart ring I've enocuntered and I have no doubt it could survive the innevitable several foot drop from my dresser/nightstand to the hardwood floor, something that's become an unofficial smart ring durability test. An oval shape marking on the ring's surface indicates where the sensors are, which eliminates the guesswork from putting it on in the correct orientation

The sensors on the inside of the ring protrude slightly on the Gen 2 Air but I hardly noticed it while wearing the ring for 24 hours. Ultimately, both latest Ringconn and Oura Ring 4 are mighty comfortable devices… the Ringconn just feels lighter on the finger.

RingConn Gen 2 Air hands-on: Battery life

The third advantage the Ringconn Gen 2 Air offers over the Oura Ring 4 is a superior battery life rating of ten days compared to eight for the Oura. Of course, both of these ratings need to be taken with a grain of salt as real-world battery life is almost always less than advertised.

For example, while testing the Oura Ring 4, my colleague Kate found it averaged roughly six days of battery before needing a top-off. I've just started testing the Ringconn Gen 2 Air, so time will tell whether or not it meets the promoted battery life figure but I've got a sneaking suspicion that it will at the very least give the Oura Ring 4 a run for the money.

Presently, Oura is the battery life champion of the smart ring world (as far as the rings we've tested) with the Samsung Galaxy Ring close behind. It lasted just under six days on average in our testing.

It's worth noting that battery life is another one of the key differences between the standard Ringconn Gen 2 and the Air (along with weight). The pricier option not only lasts up to an advertised 12 days but also ships with a nifty rechargeable clamshell storage case that can recharge the ring between 12 and 15 times.

RingConn Gen 2 Air hands-on: Core features

The latest Ringconn devices, including the Gen 2 and Gen 2 Air offer similar wellness, sleep and mentstrual health tracking features to Oura. For example, Ringconn users are presented with a daily sleep score, insights into time spent in various sleep stages and REM, sleep heart variability data and a look at body movement over the course of the night.

Ringconn's sleep data is accompanied by AI-powered wellness tips and insights, similar to Oura. You also get some comprehensive-looking stress tracking and management tools.

Plus, Ringconn users can easily monitor their vitals with 24/7 heart rate, SpO2 and heart rate variability tracking. However, only the Ringconn Gen 2 offers sleep apnea detection, a rarity in smart rings (even Oura doesn't have this), and the final major difference between the Gen 2 and Gen 2 Air.

Ultimately, while Ringconn's holistic tools look and sound promising, thorough testing is needed to see whether or not they prove as accurate as Oura's. Likewise, Oura's health insights and trend reports are some of the best in the biz and I'm curious to see how Ringconn's compare.

RingConn Gen 2 Air: Outlook

As a tech nerd who writes about smart rings for a living, people often ask me “Dan, What's the least I can spend on a smart ring that doesn't suck?”

Up until this point, my answer has been the $199 Amazfit Helio Ring. But with better battery life, a lighter design and potentially more comprehensive wellness data, the Ringconn Gen 2 Air might have it beat. There's only one way to find out and that's to continue wearing the device for the next few weeks.

With that in mind, stay tuned for my full Ringconn Gen 2 Air review, coming soon.

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