For years, I’ve been telling myself that I don’t need another screen in my life. Initially, I thought it was just a personal quirk. Though, a quick scroll through Reddit and X reveals many others exploring the “dumb phone” trend or showcasing their minimalist tech setups.
My journey toward reducing screen time has had mixed results. Nowadays, there’s always a device with a screen in my hand or pocket. For work, I’m glued to a 24-inch monitor for about eight hours daily. On my wrist, my smartwatch buzzes with notifications that demand attention.
I decided to deactivate my social media accounts—not out of disdain for them but to escape the endless scrolling that can easily consume an hour or more of my day. So when I stumbled upon an ad for a new smart ring featuring a tiny display on top, curiosity piqued alongside some apprehension. Despite initial doubts, I went ahead and ordered one—and surprisingly enough, it hasn’t been all bad.
Exploring the Pebble Halo
the gadget in question is called the Pebble Halo and is priced at around $100; it's currently available for pre-order in India. A glance at AliExpress shows similar rings being sold in China for as low as $40.
this pricing disparity raises questions about whether brands like Samsung and Oura are overcharging customers by offering smart rings at nearly four times this cost—some even add subscription fees on top of that!
Pebble is not new to this space; they have partnerships with major companies like Amazon and Meta and offer various products including earbuds, smart home devices, speakers, and numerous smartwatches—some of which bear striking similarities to Apple’s offerings.
So does this ring fall flat? Not quite! It boasts stainless steel construction along with claims of water resistance (though I'm hesitant to test that claim). The features include heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen saturation tracking (SpO2), sleep analysis, stress level assessment, and fitness activity tracking such as step counting.
When compared to an Apple Watch's biosensing capabilities for heart rate tracking and SpO2 measurement accuracy falls within 1-2%.In terms of step counting accuracy during two days of testing? Expect variations between 5-8%—not perfect but decent enough.
I wouldn’t recommend relying on this ring for detailed workout metrics as past experiences with budget wearables have left me unimpressed regarding precision. The stress detection feature often indicated distress even while enjoying light-hearted comics or listening to relaxing music during drives!
The Tiny Display: A mixed bag
Upon unboxing the Pebble smart ring initially filled me with skepticism regarding its small display's usefulness.You can customize what appears on its LED screen using the companion app—but options are limited.
you can view basic information like time elapsed since last check-in steps taken today along with your current heart rate or stress levels directly from your finger! However other metrics such as heart rate variability require checking via mobile app dashboard—which somewhat undermines having any display at all!
This isn’t touch-sensitive either; instead there's an activation area where you slide/tap your thumb between different data points displayed onscreen—a bit cumbersome if you want specific health metrics quickly without cycling through irrelevant readings first! Personally speaking limiting visible stats down only showing step count & current heartbeat made sense given what I'm focused on these days anyway!
The comfort factor also plays into why wearing rings beats bulky watches especially when sleeping—no more uncomfortable straps digging into skin overnight! My biggest concern was whether adding yet another screen would be overwhelming—but thankfully there’s no always-on display here so it lights up only when prompted by tapping edge area making accidental activations unlikely too!
A Smart Ring Worth Considering?
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