Building on the success of traditional wearables, smart rings have been enthusiastically embraced by early adopters who are keen on cutting-edge, fashionable wireless products for health and fitness.

Bluetooth is the preferred wireless connectivity technology

Smart rings are typically equipped with advanced sensors and integrated wireless connectivity technology, which allows users to track various health indicators such as heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), movement, sleep patterns, calorie consumption and skin temperature, and receive alerts or notifications, and sometimes even conduct contactless transactions through near-field communication (NFC) technology.

Bluetooth wireless connectivity is the preferred connectivity technology for smart ring solutions due to its interoperability with smartphones. This connection enables fast pairing and configuration, enabling seamless data collection for mobile-based applications.

Battery life and capacity to support small ML wearable devices

Size and weight are important design parameters for any wearable device to be comfortable for users, but this is especially true for smart rings, which are designed to be worn on a finger or thumb 24 hours a day for several days in a row. However, the ultra-small form factor limits the size of the battery, and therefore the battery capacity. Therefore, low power consumption is essential to maintain a good operating time between charges, and this is where Nordic's next-generation wireless connectivity solutions excel.

However, to fully unlock the information potential of smart rings, it is necessary to utilize advanced AI and machine learning (ML) algorithms running on powerful processor cores. To balance computing resources with battery capacity, AI and ML will be executed on the wearable device itself, rather than continuously sending raw data to the cloud for further analysis.

Powerful processing power and edge AI capabilities

To monitor multiple sensors locally and process large amounts of data, ultra-low power SoCs with powerful processing power and "edge AI" capabilities are required. Nordic's latest wireless SoCs (the fourth-generation nRF54L series and the revolutionary nRF54H series) are ideally suited for complex but energy-constrained wearable devices such as smart bracelets. For example, the nRF54L15 is available in a 2.4 x 2.2 mm wafer-level chip scale package (WLCSP), which is perfectly suited to the tiny form factor of smart rings.

Compact chips with outstanding efficiency, like the new nRF54H20 SoC, combine advanced processor performance, seamless wireless connectivity with ultra-low power consumption, maximizing battery life, allowing smart rings to operate for longer periods of time while also providing continuous analysis based on multiple sensor inputs.

Nordic-enabled next-generation smart bracelets

The J-Style JCRing is one of several next-generation smart rings making a splash in this emerging market, an out-of-the-box solution with multiple monitoring options, including maximum V02, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), blood glucose estimation, body temperature, heart rate and heart rate variability, as well as sleep and activity data.

The design of this smart ring is based on the Nordic nRF52840 SoC, which provides a strong and stable Bluetooth LE wireless connection, allowing users to view and analyze their health data through an app on their smartphone.

The J-Style JCRing is compact, 8mm wide and 2.9mm thick, and is available in a variety of standard US ring sizes. Despite its small size, the device offers advanced operation and superior data security thanks to the rich functionality of the Nordic SoC.

Evolving global wearables market

As ultra-low power wireless solutions for powering wearables continue to improve, and innovative startups and major players in the consumer electronics space continue to introduce stylish and feature-rich designs, smart rings are expected to have a significant impact on the global wearable technology market, which is expected to be worth more than $150 billion by 2029.

Valued at $210 million in 2023, the smart ring market is set to see a decade of significant revenue growth, with sales expected to reach $1 billion by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 24.1% over the eight-year forecast period.

The wearables market continues to evolve in tandem with the evolution of Nordic’s wireless connectivity solutions. This evolution has now extended to the smart ring sector, with these tiny wearable devices offering a huge business opportunity for developers.