Expert’s Rating
Pros
Cons
Our Verdict
As a wearable , the Ringly is awesome . But as a piece of jewellery ? Not so much .
Ilovethe concept behindRingly : A Bluetooth - enabled notification ring that connects to your smartphone and keeps you in the loop about incoming texts , calls , and e-mail via dyed LEDs and vibrating patterns . And I bed the fact that Ringly is clearly attempt to make “ smart ” jewellery attractive enough to be worn as , well , jewellery .
After taking the Ringly for a spin over the past two weeks , I even roll in the hay the way it works as a tech product . It sets up in seconds , tailor-make the gimmick via its companion app is a breeze , and it comes with a cunning gang boxful - shaped charging casing that charges the ring inductively ( and entertain a charge of its own , for up to 10 years ) .
But I do n’t love the Ringly as jewellery , and that ’s kind of a big problem . I mean , the point of the Ringly is to compound technical school and expressive style — if it ’s not going to do that , I may as well bribe a smart , less stylish tech intersection .
This is not the next ‘It Girl’ ring
The Ringly currently comes in eight different variations , which set out in damage from $ 195 to $ 260 , depending on the character of stone used . The most expensive version , “ Into the Woods , ” sports an opaque , cushion - cut emerald and a matte 18 - kt gold - plated base . All Ringly doughnut have roughly the same rectangular shape , but some stones have different cut . My followup unit was the “ Opening Night ” Ringly — a shock absorber - cut black onyx gem in a shiny , gunmetal - plated brass set .
Here ’s the Ringly , in “ Opening Night . See how crowing its set is ?
At first glance , the Ringly is pretty unimpressive for a piece of jewelry that costs $ 200 . It ’s not particularly stylish , nor does it look or feel like a weighty , expensive piece of costume jewelry . I ’m not a Brobdingnagian fan of onyx to start with , but the cushion - abbreviate stone looks a little plasticky , while the gunmetal plating is cool butveryprone to fingerprints . I drop a heap of my clip with the Ringly pick it off with my shirt . The Ringly is water - tolerant , but not waterproof , which means it should be ok getting smashed when you wash your hired man ( just do n’t immerse it in urine ) .
The Ringly is an interesting , sort of in - between size of it . It ’s not small and finespun ( got ta put the tech and barrage fire somewhere ) , but it ’s also not that self-aggrandizing — certainly not large enough to make a panache statement . This is really going to come down to personal taste , but I like my cocktail rings to be big enough to cover my intact finger — and I have relatively slim fingers ( my orotund finger’s breadth is a size of it 5 ) . The Ringly ’s Harlan Fisk Stone awkwardly almost cover my fingerbreadth , but does n’t quite make it .
Not certain how I feel about the size of it , but here ’s the Ringly compared to other jewelry .
The Ringly is n’t something I can see fashionistas starve after , and it ’s sure not something I ’d look twice at on a shelf . But that does n’t have in mind that I do n’t care what the Ringly does , even if it ’s not going to revolutionize runway .
…But it’s much more functional than expected
It may not look the part , but the Ringly does a good deal of things right . For one thing , it ’s super comfortable . The band is slim , which is a little cheap - looking , but implausibly easy to tire ( if you ’ve never wear a ring with an uncomfortably duncical stripe , consider yourself lucky ) . I ’m easily distracted by uncomfortable jewelry on my hand and radiocarpal joint , and I found myself forgetting about the Ringly as I went about my mean solar day . The Ringly ’s band is sized ( and I ’m adopt you ca n’t take this to a jeweler to get it resized ) , and comes in size 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , and 9 .
If you squint , you might be able-bodied to see the light-emitting diode .
The Ringly has a pinprick - sized light-emitting diode light on one side , which emit five different colouration ( blueish , unripened , yellow , flushed , and pinkish / purple ) for notifications . The Ringly also has an internal vibrating motor , and the Ringly app allow you customize your notifications using the five coloration and four different vibrate patterns .
Here are some of Ringly ’s notification options .
For model , you may set up your Ringly to hover once and flash pinko for a fresh email , but hover twice and flash pink for a new text . Or vibrate three times and dart blue for Facebook , but vibrate three time and flash yellow for Twitter . This sounds a little complicated , but I found it very easy to get the hang of . Ringly work with more than 80 unlike apps , including Line , Gilt , Uber , Instagram , and Tinder , and can also be set up to notify you when you get a textual matter or telephone set call from a specific soul .
All Ringly does is give notice you — if you want to respond to a text or serve a phone call , you ’ll require to pick up your speech sound . It ’s definitely not an Apple Watch , functionality - wise , but it go well if you ’re waiting for someone to call or school text and you ’re in a societal setting ( such as a bar or club ) where you ca n’t perpetually be chequer your phone . For the most part , a fast buzz to your finger is all the information you need if you ’re hold back for a protagonist to show up .
Because of its size , the Ringly does n’t have amazing barrage fire animation — the ring will last 24 to 48 hr on a single charge , bet on how often you use it ( how many presentment you get ) . But the Ringly does come with a cool charge ring box that acts as a dock . The charging boxful is charged via microUSB cable , and will last about one week ( and be capable to charge your Ringly during that time ) before it postulate to be plugged in . The consign box is inductive , so all you have to do is place your Ringly in the one-armed bandit and it will start charging . The loge appears to have magnets in it as well — if you put your ring in backwards , it will pop out . The Ringly takes about four hour to to the full charge .
Drop the Ringly back in its box to charge .
Bottom line
The Ringly has the potential to be awesome . Tech - wise , it ’s majuscule — it offers just enough functionality with its customizable notification that it ’s deserving putting on your digit , but not so much functionality that you ’ll need a manual of arms to figure it out . It also moves smart jewelry off of your wrist and onto your finger , which is amazing for those of us who care to wear out regular jewelry on our radiocarpal joint . The Ringly does n’t pull you to choose between tech and style like smartwatches do . If you wear an Apple Watch , you ca n’t precisely wear another watch — but if you wear a Ringly , you could easily fag out other rings .
If the Ringlylookedas sang-froid as its price tag , I would own six . But it looks more like a $ 10 ring I picked up a Nordstrom Rack than a $ 50 ring — let alone a $ 200 ring . It ’s not bad - looking , it ’s just basic and boring . The only care I got while wearing it was when it flashed a notification light .
