When you hear “smart ring,” what do you think? For most people, it’s a mystery. A smartwatch? Sure. But a smart ring? Today I tested what claims to be the world’s cheapest smart ring, priced at just $5, to see if it’s even remotely useful.
What Can a Smart Ring Do?
Before we get into it, here’s a quick overview of what smart rings generally promise:
- Heart rate monitoring
- Step tracking
- Sleep tracking (duration, quality, sleep phases)
- Distance traveled & calories burned
- Body temperature tracking
- Some advanced models even offer contactless payments, phone call notifications, and even remote control features for smart devices.
But this budget ring focuses only on the basics:
- Heart rate monitoring
- Activity tracking
- Sleep tracking
- Blood oxygen and blood sugar readings
- Menstrual cycle tracking (yes, even at $5)
The Unboxing Experience
Inside the box:
- The smart ring itself
- A magnetic USB charger
- A small manual that explains how to wear it (which is actually crucial for this device)
The ring needs to be worn on your index finger with the heart rate sensor facing inward. Oddly, it fit perfectly out of the box—despite there being no size option when ordering.
The App Integration
The ring syncs with an app called LeaAn Health, which tracks:
- Heart rate and heart health trends
- Sleep patterns (deep and light sleep)
- Blood oxygen levels
- Blood sugar levels
- Step count, calories, and standing goals
Does It Actually Work?
What worked well:
- Sleep tracking: Surprisingly accurate. It gave me detailed sleep data that matched my experience, even noting I had too much light sleep.
- Heart rate monitoring: Consistent readings across the day.
- Blood oxygen and blood sugar monitoring: These readings seemed reliable based on casual comparisons to other devices.
What didn’t work:
- Step tracking: Wildly inaccurate. It underreported my activity by about 70% compared to a smartwatch.
- Exercise tracking: Incorrect durations for running and walking.
- Standing goal: Completely off. It recorded just 3 instances of standing up when I was on my feet frequently that day.
Build Quality & Comfort
The positives:
- It’s lightweight and surprisingly comfortable.
- Charges fast via a magnetic cable.
- Fits well despite no sizing option.
The Verdict
While it handled sleep and heart rate tracking reasonably well, the step and exercise data were too inaccurate to make this a useful fitness tool. Roughly half of the advertised features either didn’t work or weren’t reliable.
For $5, it’s hard to be upset—but the reality is, you could spend just a little more on a smartwatch with far more functionality and accuracy.
This smartwatch in particular I would recommend WAY more than this: Cheapest Good SmartWatch (affiliate)
If you’re serious about tracking your health or fitness, skip this ring and check out the smartwatch I reviewed previously (linked above). It delivers significantly better value.
The TechWanderer 