Watch and learn, Samsung: This Galaxy Ring competitor now predicts your chances of falling sick

Even though the smart ring market is still niche, the entry of big players like Samsung with its Galaxy Ring has set it into motion. Besides already established brands like Oura and (relatively) new entrants like Samsung, a host of smaller brands are looking to benefit from this momentum. Circular, one of these brands, is making noise with unusual (for a smart ring) features such as blood pressure and non-invasive sugar level monitoring right from your finger. While we await its newer generation, Circular’s existing model is gaining new insights that predict before you fall sick.

The first-generation Circular Ring now takes into account vital health metrics, including HRV or Heart Rate Variability, resting heart rate, irregular breathing patterns during sleep, and variations in skin temperature. This data is consolidated into an Immunity Index, which, Circular says, is designed to indicate a user’s “readiness to fight off diseases.”

Based on continuous reading of these metrics, the Immunity Index gives a rating out of eight to quantify users’ immunity. It will also warn users of their chances of falling sick, similar to what the Apple Watch does through its Vitals app. My colleague Rita El Khoury also discovered a similar feature worked well on her Oura Ring, which notified her before she fell sick. However, both Galaxy Watch and Pixel Watch currently lack features to detect signs of illness.

If you’re wondering why Circular chose a rating out of eight instead of ten, it is because it has five tiers based on definite ratings, rather than a more descriptive scale. Continuous details these ratings as follows:

• 8/8: All Clear, where all your metrics lie in the safe zone
• 6/8: Slightly vulnerable, indicating one of the metrics may be off
• 4/8: Vulnerable, where multiple factors could indicate stress or lack of rest
• 2/8: Advanced risk, for multiple factors off the charts
• 0/8: Major risk, which indicates the requirement of medical attention

The brand is also updating its app to allow tracking of potential symptoms. These features will roll out to all users of the Circular Ring and are promised to be available on the Ring 2, which was announced earlier this year and is up for pre-ordering via Kickstarter.

Notably, Continuous has amassed pre-orders worth almost $4 million, which is 400 times the initial target. The campaign page says the sizing kits have already started to be shipped to backers, and delivery of the rings is expected to begin very soon.