What you need to know
- Circular revealed its new Ring 2 smart ring at CES 2025 on Sunday.
- Its key feature is an FDA-approved ECG for detecting AFib, with promises for future heart health tools.
- It starts at $349, ships in four colors, and is the first Circular ring with rounded edges, women's health tracking, and a digital sizing phone tool.
- The Circular Ring 2 won't have haptic feedback, a signature feature for the brand, though it should come back in future versions.
At CES 2025, Circular has revealed its new Circular Ring 2, a major pivot from its last Circular Ring Slim in design, size, and features. It focuses more on health instead of wellness alone, with an FDA-approved electrocardiogram (ECG) for active AFib detection.
But to squeeze in the ECG, Circular had to make the Ring 2 heavier and cut its signature haptic motor, which would buzz your finger for notifications, alarms, reminders, or relaxation guidance.
We spoke with Circular CEO Amaury Kosman just prior to CES 2025 about the new Circular Ring 2. He said that they "didn't do everything as perfectly as we wanted to" when designing the Circular Slim, its first ring with fully custom tech designed entirely in France. The Ring 2 was designed to fix its predecessor's connectivity and sync issues, and with a newfound focus on aesthetics, accuracy, and longevity.
First, they had to "redo the entire mechanics of the ring" to give it rounded corners because past users "didn't like the feel" of the flat-edged versions. They also switched from aluminum to titanium and to a new hypoallergenic resin on the inside. And they offer four colors now, with Gold and Rose Gold available.
The Circular Ring 2 weighs about 5g, well above the 2g Slim, but the larger size lets them fit a larger battery and the new AFib-detecting ECG. While past models only lasted 2 days in "performance mode" or 4 days in "eco mode," Kosman says the Ring 2 will last 8 or 4 days, depending on how often you want the ring to sample.
Kosman says that its new ECG will be capable of several types of arrythmia detection, starting with AFib, tachycardia, and brachycardia, and with other unannounced features coming via OTA update throughout 2025, all based on the ECG. At launch, the Ring 2 will only offer active AFib detection by holding your finger for 30 seconds on the ring; Kosman says they want to use the PPG to "passively" catch abnormal heart rhythm overnight and prompt users to take an ECG, but that it's not ready yet.
For context, Ultrahuman announced an AFib powerplug update last year, but it uses PPG data, requires a subscription, and isn't available in the U.S. yet. Otherwise, most of the best smart rings have no ECGs or AFib detection, making Circular ahead of the game for heart health data. Kosman also hinted that they may try to add other health metrics like blood pressure, but had nothing definitive to say.
Unfortunately, Circular couldn't fit both an ECG and a haptic motor into the Ring 2, at least not without introducing "waterproofing and battery issues" in initial prototypes. But Kosman says a "new version" of the Ring 2 will bring back haptics; he simply can't say when it'll arrive yet.
Some other new Circular Ring 2 aspects include a new wireless charging dock, a "next-gen makeover" for the Kira AI that interprets your wellness data, and ovulation tracking.
Most interestingly, you'll be able to use your phone camera for digital finger sizing: You'll use something like a credit card for a reference point and have the Circular app tell you your five ring sizes on that hand. This will solve the inconvenience of having to wait for a physical sizing kit before buying one — though we'll have to see how accurate the digital tool is for finding a comfortable fit.
The Circular Ring 2 will have a crowdfunding campaign in January before releasing sometime in February or March 2025, with a starting price of $349.
