Ultrahuman, a startup based in India, has launched a new Ultrahuman smart ring that might just live up to its name with the kind of health tracking it offers. It might even make it on our list of the best fitness trackers. The Ultrahuman ring can monitor a user’s metabolism in real-time by tracking their sleep and movement. It even goes a step further to offer in-depth metabolic tracking and blood glucose levels with the company’s M1 glucose monitoring patch (opens in new tab). This wearable has a heart rate sensor, temperature sensor and motion sensor, and it can monitor sleep stages, heart rate, heart rate variation (HRV) and body temperature. That’s a whole lot of tracking for a small device that looks like the already popular Oura Ring. The Ultrahuman Ring doesn’t have a screen, so it won’t badger you with notifications or haptics on your fingers, and all the stats and information will be on the Ultrahuman app. Ultrahuman says this is intentional to keep distractions at bay. Like Oura, the Ultrahuman Ring offers 4 to 6 days of battery life, which is in tune with fitness trackers as well. But Ultrahuman seems to go all out on the durability of the ring. It is made of “fighter jet” titanium and features a tungsten carbide coating to make it really tough. Ultrahuman says they went this route to help with weight lifting, rowing and other exercises that would otherwise damage the ring.
How does the Ultrahuman Ring measure metabolism?
The real superpower of the Ultrahuman Ring its ability to measure the real-time metabolic rate of users. It does this in tandem with the Ultrahuman M1 patch, which is a glucose monitor. The M1 patch has a hollow needle to continuously monitor blood sugar levels in real-time. It then gives a “metabolic score” based on food and exercise. This shows how certain foods might affect a workout, recovery or even sleep. Users can check whether their glucose metabolism is affected by the lack of sleep versus the food itself, which seems like a more accurate way of collating metabolic data compared to competitors like Oura. This is not the first device to measure our metabolism. The metrics that the Ultrahuman Ring tracks are similar to Oura but Oura Ring doesn’t give a “metabolic score." Lumen’s metabolism tracker also tells users how their food impacts their fitness performance but it is in the form of a “carb breathalyzer” that requires users to breathe into the device to check what kind of fuel the user is burning. Ultrahuman uses two of their products together to bring this data to users, which is pretty unique. The Ultrahuman Ring will retail for $299 but is currently on promotion ranging from $199 to $249 for the first 3,000 orders. The Lumen device, for comparison, starts from $249 and the Oura Ring starts at $299 — so they are priced similarly. The Ultrahuman Ring comes in multiple sizes and four colors — black, gray, silver, and gold. It is available for pre-order from today (July 7) and is expected to ship in August. Stay tuned for our hands-on impressions and full review. Next: I used the Lumen breathalyzer to track my metabolism for a month — and this is what happened.
