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Giving up on smart rings

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Re: Giving up on smart rings

#151

Post by pizzathyme »

abbefaria27 wrote: post #144

All these trackers (rings, watches, wrist bands) seem so… useless. Do you really need to know your heartbeat every minute of the day? What does sleep tracking tell you, can’t you just tell if you’re tired? For athletes there are garmin type watches, which I understand during a workout. But the lifestyle trackers I don’t get the point.

I love my whoop band. Has noticeably made my day to day life happier than before I owned it. The insights pushed me to sleep much better, which makes each day brighter and less overwhelming. The insights also pushed me to up my cardio fitness metrics in general, which has made me overall more athletic and capable on strenuous hikes, trips, and activities.

YMMV but for me it might be my favorite product I own

Re: Giving up on smart rings

#152

Post by fn-mote »

rtkwe wrote: post #28
world2vec wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People wear wedding rings but take them off for pull up bars and so on. But a fitness tracking device you need to take off to... Do some fitness exercises... Is not a smart idea in my book.

I'd question the utility of the data from a ring for weightlifting, cardio sure but just lifting weights there's not a huge need to track your heart rate, you're not moving a lot for steps, etc.

The utility is not having to take your ring off. If nothing else, once it’s off, you are one step closer to losing it.

Re: Giving up on smart rings

#153

Post by bastawhiz »

I realized I was scratching my Oura at the gym so I started taking it off. It fell out of my pocket one workout, I couldn't find it, and I didn't feel like I got enough utility from it to replace it and deal with the hassle of taking it off and on. The whole point of the form factor is to not have to worry about it.

Re: Giving up on smart rings

#154

Post by rtkwe »

ratmice wrote: post #94
rtkwe wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course it does but it's barely relevant to the goals of the exercise though so tracking it is minimally useful beyond the vague curiosity of cataloging and measuring every moment.

The data should be useful for automatically counting reps...

I suppose, if counting to low double digits is difficult for you?

Re: Giving up on smart rings

#155

Post by chabska »

Supermancho wrote: post #3

None of these 3 problems have anything to do with it being a smart ring. Same problems that regular rings have, yet people still wear them. 1. Adulting: buying rings that are the right size. eg My tungsten wedding ring cannot be resized either. 2. Most people don't even lift. Those that do, dont mind taking off jewelry. I can see how this would be a problem for someone who wants to wear a smart ring for lifting. Soun…

These are problems with it being a smart ring RELATIVE to a smart watch.

- wrist size changes far less dramatically, and even if it do change, a strap swap for a smartwatch is far cheaper and easier than a whole-device change for a smart ring - wristwatch doesn't interfere with any hand activity - wristwatch far less likely to trap debris from your activities.

Re: Giving up on smart rings

#156

Post by UltraSane »

abbefaria27 wrote: post #144

All these trackers (rings, watches, wrist bands) seem so… useless. Do you really need to know your heartbeat every minute of the day? What does sleep tracking tell you, can’t you just tell if you’re tired? For athletes there are garmin type watches, which I understand during a workout. But the lifestyle trackers I don’t get the point.

I have my Galaxy watch linked to myfitnesspal so that calories from workouts get added to my total calorie budget for the day. It is pretty convenient.

Re: Giving up on smart rings

#157

Post by almyk »

spike021 wrote: post #113
canucker2016 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too bad the Google Health app (which is required for FitBit devices since Google retired the FitBit app) is getting mostly 1 and 2 star (out of 5) reviews on the Google app store. The reviews were ~90% 1 & 2 star within the first month of the FitBit Air release. Three months later, the app has improved to ~80% 1 & 2 star reviews. At this pace, they'll be on v3 of the device when app reviews are decent... They force e…

I'm waiting for the Apple Health app support. Supposedly it's coming sometime in the fall. The Google app is ok but I don't use the AI features. I'm not sure if proper Apple Health would help with this but Google tends to be delayed at automatic recognition of activities (e.g. I take a walk it can be an hour or two until it processes automatically). Apple would recognize a walk as I was on it.

according to the changelog in the app store this has already been shipped in v5.05: "- Sync to Apple Health..." this was about a month ago

Re: Giving up on smart rings

#158

Post by mejutoco »

wongarsu wrote: post #109
in_absentia wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is understandable in some narrow sense because you want the outer surface to be nick-resistant, so you need to make it out of reasonably thick metal. Plastic rings would look terrible after a couple of weeks. But it's really hard to justify the big picture. It's hundreds of bucks + a monthly subscription for... what, exactly? Why does this need to exist? If you really want to gamify your pulse and sleep patterns f…

Thinner skin, so you can in theory get better sensor readings. And you don't have to convince people to give up the watch they already own. Selling somebody who owns a $4000 watch another watch is an uphill battle that requires Apple watch levels of sophistication, selling them a ring is a lot easier I also find the cost of the Oura outrageous. But getting the $450 smart ring instead of the $20 smart ring from aliexp…

You cannot lift weights with that ring, but you can with a whoop. That, plus the battery life (no display) makes it very practical. Just my 2c as a whoop user

Re: Giving up on smart rings

#159

Post by DeluluDon »

scrumper wrote: post #105
Terr_ wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Most people don't even lift. Those that do, dont mind taking off jewelry. I dimly recall some folks promoting silicone wedding bands, although at that point I think it's more about social-signalling "I'm in a relationship" rather than a durable memento or signalling wealth.

I wear silicone ring in the gym, in my workshop, and working on or sailing boats and a platinum band when I'm not doing manual stuff. I could wear no ring at all, but I don't particularly like the optics of an obviously married man with tan lines on ring finger not wearing his ring: I think it makes you look like there's something wrong with you - recently divorced at best, a sleazy creep at worst. Should I care? No,…

Men do divorce their wives, just saying.

Re: Giving up on smart rings

#160

Post by ehe78qhe »

abbefaria27 wrote: post #144

All these trackers (rings, watches, wrist bands) seem so… useless. Do you really need to know your heartbeat every minute of the day? What does sleep tracking tell you, can’t you just tell if you’re tired? For athletes there are garmin type watches, which I understand during a workout. But the lifestyle trackers I don’t get the point.

Many of these are extremely useful/lifesaving for people who are at risk for medical reasons (cardiovascular conditions, fall detection for elders, etc.) and the lifestyle tracking features are basically extras to market the device to a wider audience and bring the price down.
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