The Circular Ring 2, unveiled at CES 2025, marks a significant improvement over its predecessor, the Circular Ring Slim, which was plagued by accuracy issues, poor design, and syncing problems. The new model, priced at $380, promises to redeem the company's reputation with its FDA-cleared EKG sensor, luxurious titanium design, and enhanced features.

Amaury Kosman, cofounder and CEO of Circular, acknowledged the issues with the previous ring, stating that the company aimed to rebrand around two main points: accuracy and a more premium, quality-built product. The Circular Ring 2's design and specs reflect this goal, with a titanium construction available in four finishes: gold, silver, rose gold, and black.

The upgraded EKG sensor enables atrial fibrillation detection, a first for this category, and is complemented by additional photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors for more precise health tracking. According to Kosman, the new sensor array translates to much more accurate health tracking compared to the Slim, which sometimes was off by 5,000 steps in testing.

Beyond the improved health tracking, the Circular Ring 2 addresses previous issues with connectivity, battery life, and water resistance. Kosman assured that syncing will no longer be a problem, and battery life has doubled, with up to four days in performance mode and eight days in battery-saving mode. The ring also features a charging dock, replacing the easily lost USB charger.

The company's AI chatbot, Kira, has also been revamped, with a reduced calibration time of four days and a smoother overall experience. Recommendations are expected to be more accurate and complex thanks to improvements to the algorithm and sensors.

Digital ring sizing is another notable update, allowing customers to use their smartphone camera to compare the size of their hand to a card-sized object, and receive a calculated ring size for each finger. This feature addresses a significant pain point in the smart ring category, where most companies require customers to order a physical sizing kit before purchasing the product.

While the Circular Ring 2 seems to have addressed the laundry list of issues with the Slim, some sacrifices had to be made. The haptic motor, which worked as a silent alarm and had promised to alert users to notifications, had to be removed to accommodate better health sensors. However, Kosman hasn't given up on the idea of haptics in smart rings entirely, with plans to have two product lines: the health-focused Circular Ring 2 and an upcoming revamp to the existing haptics-capable Circular Ring Slim.

The Circular Ring 2 is expected to launch in February or March of 2025. With increasing competition in the smart ring space, it remains to be seen whether Circular can deliver on all these improvements and redeem itself.