8.1

Design and portability 9.0/10

ECG recording 9.0/10

Ease of use 8.0/10

Kardia app 7.5/10

Value for money 7.0/10

Pros

• – Compact and extremely lightweight
• – Six-lead ECG provides more detailed recordings
• – Simple setup and operation
• – No charging required
• – Basic ECG features and PDF export are free

Cons

• – Six-lead positioning can be fiddly
• – Advanced analysis requires a subscription

Design and ease of use

I’ve been using the KardiaMobile 6L for the past few weeks, and this isn’t my first experience with AliveCor. I previously reviewed the KardiaMobile Card, the company’s credit card-sized ECG monitor. I’ve also followed its newer products, including the KardiaMobile 6L Max. So I was curious to see how the standard 6L would hold up in everyday use.

The first thing you notice is just how small and simple it is. We’re talking about a little plastic rectangle with two flat metal contacts on top and another one underneath. That’s pretty much the entire design. At just 24 grams, it barely weighs anything, and it’s small enough to slip into your pocket without noticing it’s there. You could probably even squeeze it into some wallets.

Despite its size, the whole thing feels sturdy and nicely put together. There are no buttons, no screen and not even a charging port. Instead, it runs on a small CR2016 battery that should last around a year before you need to replace it.

I actually prefer this arrangement for something like this. It’s not a device you’re going to use all day, so having to charge it would just be another thing to remember. And a replacement battery only costs a few dollars. You just need a small screwdriver to remove the two screws holding the bottom electrode in place. It’s a little fiddly, but you shouldn’t need to do it very often.

Getting started is also pretty painless. Download the Kardia app, create an account and follow the instructions to connect the device over Bluetooth. You don’t even need to turn it on. Just touch the two upper electrodes and it wakes up. The whole pairing process was straightforward in my testing, and the connection has been reliable.

One thing worth mentioning is that you need your phone every time you want to take a reading. So it’s not quite as convenient as using a smartwatch that’s already on your wrist. On the other hand, it’s a tiny device that does one specific job, and there really isn’t much to figure out once you’ve got the hang of positioning it.

ECG recording and performance

For a basic ECG, you just place two fingers from each hand on the metal contacts and sit still for 30 seconds. Or you can simply hold the device with your thumbs resting on the contacts.

One thing to watch out for is holding the device the right way around. I got this wrong a few times and had to start the recording again. The AliveCor logo in the middle should look like an A, not an upside-down V. It’s an easy mistake to make.

Once the 30 seconds are up, the app gives you a result and your heart rate. You don’t need to know how to read an ECG to make sense of it. But if you’re curious, you can always have a closer look at those squiggly lines yourself.

The six-lead reading takes a bit more effort. But not much.

You still keep your fingers or thumbs on the two upper contacts. But this time you also need to rest the bottom of the device against your bare left knee or the inside of your left ankle.

And yes, it has to be the left leg. That’s because the heart’s electrical signal normally travels downwards and towards the left, so that’s the leg ECGs have traditionally used to measure it. The right leg is normally used to help reduce electrical interference. It’s simply how ECG measurements were standardised, and the KardiaMobile 6L follows that same setup.

This time you get data that is a bit more detailed.

Of course, things don’t always go perfectly. You need to stay still and maintain good contact with the electrodes, otherwise the recording can get messy. Even something as simple as dry skin can cause problems. If the app struggles to pick up a decent signal, you might need to adjust your position and try again. And finally, you’ll want to keep it away from other phones, computers and laptops, as these can sometimes interfere with the signal.

Check out this video I recorded how to take both types of measurements.

Now, about those six leads. A normal smartwatch ECG looks at your heart’s electrical activity from one direction. The KardiaMobile 6L looks at it from six. You end up with six separate waveforms, which might not mean much to the average person, but they can tell a cardiologist quite a bit more about what’s happening.

AliveCor KardiaMobile 6L

Portable six-lead ECG monitor with Bluetooth connectivity. Works with compatible iOS and Android devices. No subscription required for basic ECG recordings.

View on AliveCor Check Amazon

And that’s really where the extra leads come into their own. The app doesn’t suddenly become six times better at spotting problems just because it has more information. In fact, AliveCor’s published documentation says its automatic rhythm analysis uses Lead I, even when you take a six-lead recording. So the additional waveforms are mainly useful when someone with medical training looks at them.

There is some good research behind this, too. One study involving 220 patients compared KardiaMobile 6L with ECG-equipped smartwatches. All of them were pretty good at spotting atrial fibrillation automatically. But when cardiologists looked at the recordings themselves, the six-lead device gave them an edge.

Kardia app and subscription features

The Kardia app does the basics well enough, but I think AliveCor could do quite a bit more with it. After each reading, you get your heart rate and a classification such as normal sinus rhythm, possible AFib, bradycardia or tachycardia. Sometimes you’ll get an unclassified result, which doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong. It just means the app can’t figure out what to make of the recording. It could be interference or you moved during the reading.

You can also look back through your ECG history, add notes about symptoms and export recordings as PDFs to send to your doctor. All of that is free, including the six-lead ECG recordings.

There’s even an option for a one-off ECG review without subscribing. In the UK, that costs £9.99 and a cardiac technician checks your recording. In the US, it’s $39, but there you’re getting a review from a board-certified cardiologist. So they’re not quite the same service.

But here’s what I don’t particularly like. You’ve got a device capable of recording six ECG leads, yet the app doesn’t really let you do much with all that information. There’s no proper way to dig into the underlying data. You get the waveforms and a fairly basic interpretation, and that’s about it.

For more features, AliveCor wants you to sign up for KardiaCare. That costs $11.99 per month or $99 per year in the US, and £10.99 per month or £79.99 per year in the UK.

The premium service adds three more rhythm classifications, including PVCs, supraventricular ectopy and wide QRS complexes. There’s also KardiaAlert for spotting changes against your usual ECG, monthly reports, trend insights, medication reminders, cloud storage and up to four cardiologist ECG reviews each year.

I can see why the subscription model rubs people the wrong way. You’ve already paid for the hardware, yet quite a few of the more useful software features require another payment. And the app isn’t particularly shy about reminding you that KardiaCare exists. It feels a little too focused on getting you to upgrade.

Having said that, I wouldn’t bother with the subscription unless I had a specific reason to use those extra features. Being able to take a six-lead ECG and send the recording to a doctor is the main attraction here, and thankfully that doesn’t cost anything extra.

KardiaMobile 6L vs smartwatch ECG

If you already own an Apple Watch or another smartwatch with ECG functionality, you might be wondering whether there’s any point buying the KardiaMobile 6L. After all, both can take a 30-second ECG and check for signs of atrial fibrillation.

The main difference is those six leads. Most smartwatches only record a single lead, while the KardiaMobile 6L captures six different views of your heart’s electrical activity. That gives a cardiologist more information to work with, particularly when looking at rhythm problems that aren’t always easy to identify from a single recording.

AliveCor KardiaMobile 6L

Portable six-lead ECG monitor with Bluetooth connectivity. Works with compatible iOS and Android devices. No subscription required for basic ECG recordings.

View on AliveCor Check Amazon

But smartwatches have a pretty big advantage when it comes to convenience. They’re already on your wrist, you don’t need to get your phone out, and some can check for irregular heart rhythms in the background. With the KardiaMobile 6L, you have to carry a separate device and take each reading manually.

So which makes more sense? For occasional ECG checks, a smartwatch will probably do the job for most people. But if you’re dealing with recurring heart rhythm issues, or your doctor wants more detailed recordings, the KardiaMobile 6L has a much stronger case.

Key specifications

FAQ

Does AliveCor KardiaMobile 6L require a subscription?

No, the standard KardiaMobile 6L works without a subscription. You can record single-lead and six-lead ECGs, receive basic rhythm classifications and share recordings without paying for KardiaCare. A subscription unlocks additional rhythm classifications and analysis features.

How accurate is the KardiaMobile 6L?

The KardiaMobile 6L is an FDA-cleared, clinically validated ECG device. Studies have demonstrated good accuracy in detecting atrial fibrillation, although results depend on recording quality and the type of rhythm abnormality. It cannot identify every heart condition, and its automatic classifications are not a substitute for a medical diagnosis.

What is the difference between a six-lead and a 12-lead ECG?

A six-lead ECG records six electrical views of the heart using electrodes connected to the limbs. A conventional 12-lead ECG adds six chest leads, providing additional information about electrical activity across different regions of the heart. The KardiaMobile 6L offers more information than a single-lead ECG, but it cannot replace a full clinical 12-lead examination.

Can KardiaMobile 6L detect irregular heartbeats?

Yes, the device can identify possible atrial fibrillation, bradycardia and tachycardia. With KardiaCare, additional classifications include sinus rhythm with premature ventricular contractions (PVCs), supraventricular ectopy (SVE) and wide QRS complexes. However, not every irregular heartbeat will receive a specific classification.

Does KardiaMobile 6L work with iPhone and Android?

Yes, the device works with compatible iPhones and Android smartphones through the Kardia app. It connects via Bluetooth and requires a supported phone or tablet to record and display an ECG. AliveCor maintains a compability list, so it is worth checking your particular phone before purchasing.

Can KardiaMobile 6L detect a heart attack?

No, the KardiaMobile 6L is not designed to detect or rule out heart attacks. It primarily records electrical activity to help identify certain heart rhythm abnormalities. A normal reading does not rule out a serious cardiac problem.

Can I share KardiaMobile 6L recordings with my doctor?

Yes, the Kardia app allows users to export ECG recordings as PDF files that can be emailed or shared with a healthcare professional. Six-lead recordings include all six waveforms, giving a clinician more information to examine than a conventional single-lead recording.

How long does the KardiaMobile 6L battery last?

The device uses a replaceable CR2016 coin-cell battery rather than a rechargeable battery. AliveCor estimates approximately one to two years of normal use, depending on how frequently recordings are taken. Replacing the battery requires removing the bottom electrode with a small screwdriver.

The post KardiaMobile 6L review: Six ECG leads in your pocket appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

7.8

Design 8.5/10

Health and recovery 7.5/10

Fitness tracking 7.5/10

Speediance app 7.0/10

Value for money 8.5/10

Pros

• – Very light and comfortable
• – Excellent heart-rate accuracy in testing
• – Useful core temperature and thermal features
• – Strong battery life
• – Good value for money

Cons

• – Syncing can be slow
• – Software still feels early in places
• – Connected GPS accuracy issues

The regular Strap and Strap Pro are pretty much the same thing day to day. They track the identical health, sleep, recovery, workouts and estimated core body temperature.

The Pro just feels like the nicer version. You get titanium instead of steel, it is noticeably lighter at 21g, it adds the EDA sensor and you get the upper-arm band in the box.

Design and comfort

The Speediance Strap Pro is basically a put-it-on-and-forget-about-it kind of wearable. I have been testing it on my upper arm rather than my wrist, so that is what this review is based on. And in that position, it has been very easy to live with.

The whole thing feels really light. The Pro weighs 21g with the band, and on the upper arm I barely notice it is there. It sits flat against the skin, stays firmly in place and does not bounce around during exercise. I have not had any gaps in the data from poor skin contact either, which is always one of the things I watch for with this kind of device.

Sleep has been just as easy. No pressure points or digging in and no need to loosen it before bed. I can wear it all night without thinking about it, which is exactly what you want from something that is supposed to collect recovery and sleep data around the clock.

The general design is quite similar to WHOOP. There is no screen, buttons or LEDs flashing away at you. I have worn WHOOP for years, and more recently Fitbit Air, so this feels very familiar. You put it on and leave it alone.

The titanium body helps give the Pro a more premium feel than you might expect from a screenless band. I’d say, the whole thing feels nicely put together.

The strap itself also feels good. With the Pro you get both a wrist and upper arm band. The only difference between them is the length. But the quality of the strap is good. It handles sweat well, feels secure and is easy to put on and take off.

So what you get essentially is your run-of-the-mill screenless band. A perfectly nice design. The look and feel is slightly different than the other options I have tried. But the idea is the same. Wear it, forget about it, check the app later.

The Speediance app and everyday use

The Speediance Strap has only just launched, so this is very much first-generation software. At first glance, though, the app does not really feel that way. It looks polished and there is a lot going on. Spend more time with it and a few rough edges start to show, but most of these feel like the sort of things Speediance should be able to sort out with updates.

First off, the app itself is nicely designed. You get all the usual stuff, heart rate, resting heart rate, HRV, SpO2, respiratory rate, stress, steps, sleep, recovery and more. There are also a few less common metrics thrown in that I have not really come across elsewhere. But more about these alter.

Speediance Strap

Available in standard and Strap Pro versions.

View on Speediance website

The good news is that the sensor side seems solid. The readings I have been getting look very much in line with my other devices, and nothing has jumped out as obviously wrong with heart rate, HRV or steps. There are small differences, of course, but nothing wildly different from the WHOOP and Fitbit Air I have also been wearing.

The home screen gives you the big-picture scores, while the Wellness Monitor lets you dig into the individual readings. There is plenty of data here, but it is laid out well and does not feel overwhelming. You can open the app and pretty quickly see if something looks out of whack.

There is also a Wellness Age, which estimates whether your fitness age is older or younger than your actual age. It takes things like VO2 max, sleep, resting heart rate and activity data into account, and there is also a pace-of-aging chart. It is nice to be told I am nine years younger than my actual age. But I have seen enough of these metrics over the years to take them with a fairly large pinch of salt.

Recovery is handled in a pretty familiar way. You get a daily score built around sleep, HRV, resting heart rate, stress and recent training load. Cardio Load sits alongside that to show how much strain you have been putting on yourself, and there is also a Load Balance view comparing your 7-day and 28-day cardio load. So Speediance gives you quite a bit more than just a single green or red number each morning.

Sleep is where I have had more problems. On some nights, the Strap has decided I went to sleep an hour or two before I actually did. That would not be a huge problem if you could simply correct it afterwards, but right now there is no option to edit the sleep start or wake time. It also does not always pick up naps, so once the algorithm gets something wrong, you are basically stuck with it.

To be fair, I do run into similar sleep issues with WHOOP from time to time. The difference is that WHOOP lets you edit the data afterwards. A simple edit option in the Speediance app would fix a lot of this.

Syncing can also be pretty slow at times. Sometimes you open the app and just have to wait while everything catches up. It is not a deal-breaker, but it does add to the feeling that some parts of the software are still a little early.

Now don’t get me wrong. The hardware and sensors seem good, and Speediance is collecting a lot of useful data. The app is ambitious too, with recovery, stress, cardio load, sleep scoring, Wellness Age and plenty more packed in. But it still needs a bit more polish.

I would much rather have a wearable that occasionally gets sleep wrong but lets me fix it than one that simply locks the result in place. Speediance already seems to have the harder part sorted, which is a solid sensor package and plenty of useful metrics. Now the software just needs to catch up a little.

Core temperature and thermal features

As mentioned, there are a few more unusual metrics that can be found here. And this is probably my favourite part of the Speediance experience.

The Strap does not just track skin temperature and leave it at that. It also estimates core body temperature by combining skin temperature with heat-flow sensing, ambient conditions and physiological modelling. That extra heat-flow sensor is the key difference, because skin temperature alone is too easily affected by things like room temperature, sweat and blood flow to reliably estimate what is happening deeper inside the body.

The number itself is less interesting than what Speediance does with it. You can see how your core temperature is moving relative to your normal range, and the app also folds that data into things like sleep timing and daily guidance. I like that approach because it feels like the temperature sensor is there for a reason, rather than just adding another graph to scroll through.

Then you get Peak Window, Warm-Up Readiness and Heat Load Monitoring.

Peak Window tries to identify the part of the day when your circadian rhythm and temperature trend may line up better with harder training. For me, it’s usually between 5 and 8pm.

Warm-Up Readiness is also very useful. Just before you start an exercise, it looks at your reading. If it is too low, it tells you that you need to warm up more. I am guilty of almost never warming up properly before running – so something like this is great.

And finally, once you start exercising you get Heat Load Monitoring. This watches how much thermal strain is building up during a session.

I have not personally come across another wearable that packages temperature data in quite this way. Plenty of devices track skin temperature overnight, but Speediance is trying to turn thermal data into something you can actually use around training and recovery. That makes it feel a bit fresher than the usual sleep score, recovery score and HRV combination.

You also see some of this spill over into sleep. The app plots your sleep timing alongside your lowest core temperature point and uses that to help build a suggested bedtime window. Again, I would not treat any of this as gospel, but I like the direction Speediance is taking here.

EDA and stress tracking

Both the Pro and non-Pro models track stress, using heart rate and HRV as part of the picture. The Pro goes a step further with a real-time Stress Score dashboard and minute-by-minute tracking, and it also has the extra EDA sensor. This sensor is still unusual in the screenless band market, and most of Speediance’s direct rivals do not currently offer it.

Speediance does not show you raw EDA data, though. It sits in the background rather than giving you another graph to obsess over. So far, the stress readings have looked sensible enough, but I see this more as a trend to follow than something to take too literally.

Exercise and heart-rate accuracy

Exercise tracking has been a bit of a mixed bag, but the heart-rate side has impressed me. A good example is a 10K outdoor run where I wore the Speediance Strap Pro on my upper arm and used a Garmin paired with a Frontier X2 chest strap as the reference. The numbers were extremely close.

Speediance recorded an average heart rate of 136 bpm and a maximum of 155 bpm. The Frontier X2 came in at 138 bpm average and 156 bpm max. That is about as close as I could reasonably expect from an optical sensor, particularly over a run lasting close to an hour.

The heart-rate graph looks good too. Wearing it on the upper arm probably helps here, as that position tends to give optical sensors an easier time than the wrist.

Some of the running dynamics lined up well too. Both systems recorded an average cadence of 175 spm and a maximum of 186 spm. Speediance estimated average stride length at 91cm, compared with 98cm from Garmin, so there was a bit more difference there.

GPS is where things went off track. Garmin recorded 10.01km in 58:05 at an average pace of 5:48/km. Speediance recorded 9.38km in 58:28, giving me an average pace of 6:13/km. That is roughly a 6% difference in distance, which is too large to ignore.

The explanation is likely the GPS setup. Speediance does not have GPS built into the band, so outdoor tracking relies on connected GPS from your phone. Garmin was using its own GPS hardware. And this result is consistent with other runs I tracked – for the most part the Speediance Strap underestimated the distance.

The workout reports gives you plenty to look through afterwards. Along with heart rate, pace and cadence, Speediance estimates VO2 max and provides cardio load and other training metrics. My latest VO2 max estimate was 38.7 ml/kg/min. However it did swing wildly in the space of one week. Most wearables give you the estimate after a few weeks of testing – Speediance does this much earlier which may be part of the problem.

So there are still some software rough edges around workouts as well. But purely on heart-rate accuracy, my testing was very encouraging.

Battery life

Battery life has been pretty much as advertised. You can easily get more than a week with everything switched on. I have been wearing the Strap Pro 24/7, including overnight and during workouts, and I have not had to think about charging at all.

In practice, I have just been topping it up every few days, usually whenever it is convenient. It has never been close to empty when I have done that, so I have not really had the chance to push it all the way to zero. Based on what I have seen so far, though, the quoted battery life looks realistic.

Charging is simple and pretty quick. The charger needs to be plugged in, then you just rest the Strap Pro on top and leave it there. I have not had any charging glitches, strange battery drops or percentage readings that looked obviously wrong.

The biggest difference compared with WHOOP is the charging setup. WHOOP uses its portable battery pack, so you can charge the device while still wearing it. Speediance is more conventional. You have to take the Strap Pro off and put it on the charger.

That has not really bothered me. The battery lasts long enough that charging feels occasional rather than something you need to plan around. And in my use so far, battery life itself actually feels better than WHOOP.

Subscription and what you get for free

One of the best things about the Speediance Strap is that you can just buy it and use it. There is no mandatory subscription sitting in the background waiting for you.

Speediance Strap

Available in standard and Strap Pro versions.

View on Speediance website

The main stuff stays available without paying extra. That includes sleep tracking, recovery, heart rate, HRV, stress, workouts and the temperature features. So you are not buying the hardware and then finding out a few months later that half the useful data lives behind another paywall.

Speediance does include a year of Wellness Go, which adds more personalised guidance and coaching on top. But that is the extra layer, not the basic wearable experience. If you decide not to continue with it, the Strap still keeps doing the things you bought it for.

That is a pretty big difference compared with WHOOP. WHOOP is built around the membership, while Speediance feels much more like buying a normal wearable and getting on with it.

The only slightly confusing part is the naming around Wellness Go and Wellness+. Speediance has a few different services in the mix, and it could explain the whole thing more clearly. But the important bit is simple enough. You do not need an ongoing subscription to keep using the core Strap features.

The post Speediance Strap Pro review: A fresh take on temperature and recovery appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

7.5

Design 7.5/10

Blood pressure monitoring 8.5/10

Health and fitness tracking 7.0/10

Ease of use 7.0/10

Value for money 7.5/10

Pros

• – Inflatable cuff works well
• – Consistent blood pressure readings in my testing
• – Surprisingly slim and comfortable
• – Tracks all the usuals
• – Easily lasts a week between charges

Cons

• – Blood pressure readings cannot be scheduled automatically
• – No GPS or connected GPS
• – Very basic workout analysis

Design and comfort

The thing that surprised me most about the BP Doctor Fit is just how normal it feels on the wrist. I was expecting something noticeably bulkier because of the inflatable cuff, but that really isn’t the case. At first glance it looks much like a regular smartwatch, and there is even a bit of an Apple Watch feel to the rectangular case and rounded corners.

The clever part is all hidden in the strap. It is a little wider than what you would normally get on a smartwatch, but not by much, and I never found it awkward or cumbersome. Considering there is an actual inflatable cuff built into it, YHE has done an excellent job of keeping the whole thing slim.

It is also very easy to wear. The strap is simple to fasten, getting the right fit takes very little effort, and it feels comfortable.

The 1.9-inch AMOLED display is fine as well. There is nothing particularly special about it, but it is bright, clear and easy to read in all conditions. Touch response is good and the interface is simple enough to get around. When exercising, I would tighten the strap slightly so the sensors stay firmly against the wrist.

As far as build quality, I would say – it sits somewhere in the middle. It doesn’t look or feel especially premium, but it doesn’t come across as cheap either. Everything feels solid and functional, which is probably exactly where a watch like this needs to be. The bigger achievement is that you can wear something with a working inflatable blood pressure cuff and, most of the time, completely forget that it is there.

Blood pressure tracking

Blood pressure is really what the BP Doctor Fit is all about. The watch does plenty of other things, but it feels pretty obvious that most of the work has gone into getting this part right. And that is probably a good thing, because this is the feature that makes the watch interesting in the first place.

The thing to know here is – rather than trying to estimate blood pressure using optical sensors, the Fit has an actual inflatable cuff built into the strap. A bit like a traditional upper arm blood pressure monitor, only this one works from your wrist.

Start a measurement and the strap slowly begins to tighten. It inflates very gradually and is surprisingly quiet, so the whole process feels a lot less dramatic than you might expect.

A reading takes around 30 seconds. You do need to sit still and hold your wrist at roughly heart level while it is doing its thing to ensure accuracy. If you move around the watch will refuse to take a reading. But the whole process is quite easy, and after a reading or two it becomes second nature. I found myself taking readings quite regularly simply because there is no need to dig out a separate blood pressure monitor.

I compared the BP Doctor Fit against my Withings blood pressure monitor and the results were pretty close. The Fit was sometimes a little lower, usually by around three or four points, but I didn’t see anything that looked wildly off. Repeated readings were also consistent, which is probably the most important thing for me. Getting one close measurement is nice, but getting similar numbers when you repeat the test gives you much more confidence in what the watch is showing.

Plus this works out of the box. With watches that estimate blood pressure via a heart rate sensor, you need to do regular calibration with a traditional blood pressure monitor. Here there is none of that non-sense.

The one thing I would really like to see is automatic scheduled measurements. At the moment, every blood pressure reading has to be started manually. It would be much more useful if you could tell the watch to take a reading every hour, or perhaps at a few set times during the day. That would give you a much better picture of how your blood pressure changes without having to remember to keep checking it yourself.

Even without that, blood pressure monitoring is easily the strongest part of the BP Doctor Fit. The measurements have been consistent in my testing, and taking a reading takes very little effort.

Health and fitness tracking

Everything else on the watch feels secondary to the blood pressure feature, so it is easy to see where YHE put the most focus. But you do get other health and fitness data.

For general health tracking, the BP Doctor Fit spits out the usuals. Heart rate monitoring has been good during the day and overnight. You also get the usual basic activity information, including steps, calories and general daily movement.

Sleep tracking is also part of the package and generally does a decent job, although I found that it tends to overestimate how much sleep I get. I am a light sleeper and often sleep with headphones, and the watch seems to count some of those awake periods as light sleep instead.

There is nothing especially advanced here, as far as health and fitness data. But it is useful enough if you mainly want a general picture of your activity, heart rate and sleep rather than detailed analysis.

Exercise tracking is similar. Heart rate during workouts has been quite temperamental in my testing. On some runs it tracked reasonably well, but on others it was clearly off, so I wouldn’t rely on it if you care about accurate training data.

There is also no built-in GPS and no connected GPS through your phone. That means the watch has to estimate running distance from your movement instead of actually tracking where you went. Unsurprisingly, that isn’t particularly accurate. In my case it mostly underestimated the distance I had actually run.

The post-workout analysis is also extremely basic. You get enough information to know that you exercised, but not if you want to analyse a run or track training properly over time.

So I wouldn’t consider the BP Doctor Fit an exercise watch in any meaningful sense. For everyday heart rate, sleep and basic activity tracking, it does a decent job. But if running, cycling or structured training is important to you, you will want something else on your wrist.

The app and smartwatch features

The smartwatch side of the BP Doctor Fit covers the essentials. You get call and message notifications, alarms, weather, a timer, stopwatch, calculator, always-on display and a selection of watch faces. There are also brightness controls, mute settings and the usual raise-to-wake behaviour.

Notifications work as you would expect. Calls, texts and alerts appear on your wrist, but interaction is limited. You are mostly just seeing that something has arrived rather than doing much with it.

The interface itself is straightforward. Swiping around the watch is easy enough, menus are simple, and I never found myself getting lost trying to find a setting or feature. It is functional rather than polished, which pretty much sums up the smartwatch experience here.

The companion app follows the same pattern. It syncs data from the watch, keeps a history of your health and workout information, and lets you manage things such as reminders and notifications. It works, but the design feels fairly plain and there isn’t the same depth or polish you get from the apps made by the larger smartwatch brands.

That is probably the main limitation of the BP Doctor Fit as a smartwatch. It has enough everyday features to be useful, but not much beyond that. If you are used to something like an Apple Watch, Galaxy Watch or a higher-end Garmin, this side of the experience will feel quite stripped back.

Battery life

Battery life is one of the easier parts of the BP Doctor Fit to live with. You don’t need to think about charging it very often, and in my use I could comfortably get around a week between charges.

That includes normal everyday wear and regular blood pressure measurements, so there is no need to baby the battery or avoid using the main feature. For a watch that is meant to stay on your wrist most of the time, that is exactly what you want.

Charging is quick enough when you do eventually need it, but the bigger advantage is simply how rarely that happens. A week of real-world use feels like a good fit for this type of device.

Who this watch is for

The BP Doctor Fit makes the most sense for someone who wants an easy way to check blood pressure throughout the day without carrying around a separate monitor. That is really the reason to buy it. The cuff works well, measurements are quick, and having the whole thing sitting on your wrist makes regular checks much easier.

It also works well enough as a general health watch. Heart rate, sleep and basic activity tracking are decent, battery life is good, and the smartwatch features cover the essentials. So if your priorities are blood pressure first and everyday health tracking second, the overall package makes sense.

The post BP Doctor Fit review: Putting a real blood pressure cuff on your wrist appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

8.1

Design 8.0/10

Ease of use 8.0/10

Use of information 8.5/10

Value for money 8.0/10

Pros

• – Continuous ECG recording during exercise
• – Detailed heart rate, HRV and breathing data
• – Up to 30 days of battery life
• – Useful vibration alerts during training
• – More affordable than earlier Frontier devices

Cons

• – Several useful features require Frontier Premium
• – No ANT+ connectivity
• – No built-in GPS

Frontier X review: Design & hardware

If you have seen the Frontier X or X2, there are no surprises here. The Frontier Zone looks virtually identical. The pod is the same size and shape, the button is in the same place and it attaches to the elastic chest strap in exactly the same way. Even the section on the front where the display used to sit is still there. The difference is that it no longer lights up.

Personally, I think that was the right thing to remove. When I reviewed the original Frontier X, I found the display useful for checking things such as battery life and recording status, but not much else. By the time I tested the Frontier X2, I was questioning why it was there at all. Once the device is strapped across your chest, usually underneath a shirt, you cannot really see it while exercising anyway.

So the Zone keeps the same basic design but simplifies it. That works for me. I would much rather Fourth Frontier put the emphasis on battery life and the app than a tiny screen that I rarely looked at.

Wearing it is much like wearing any other heart rate chest strap. The pod snaps firmly onto the two connectors and the elastic band can be tightened or loosened to get the fit right. It needs to sit snugly around the chest for the electrodes to maintain good contact, but I have found the Zone very comfortable. Once I start running, I quickly forget it is there.

That was also one of the strengths of the earlier devices. The pod is a little bigger than what you get with a basic Polar or Garmin chest strap, but the difference feels much less significant when it is actually being worn. It does not bounce around, it’s lightweight and the strap keeps it firmly in position even when the pace picks up.

One thing to watch is the orientation of the pod. The button needs to face down when you are wearing it. It is easy enough once you know, but because the design is fairly symmetrical I can see someone getting this wrong at first.

Build quality feels good. The casing is plastic and very functional looking, rather than something designed to win beauty contests, but it feels tough. My old Frontier devices have taken plenty of use over the years, and there is nothing about the Zone that makes me think this one will be any different.

Control is still handled by the single physical button on the underside. That keeps things simple. You can switch the device on, start and stop recordings and mark events without reaching for your phone. The button is perhaps not as responsive as I would like it to be, so you have to make sure to press hard. There are also LED indicators and vibration feedback to tell you what is happening.

Water resistance remains at IP67. That is more than enough for sweat, rain and everyday training, and Fourth Frontier also lists swimming among the activities the Zone can track. For swimming, the company recommends wearing it under something tight fitting to keep the pod firmly against the chest.

Overall, Fourth Frontier has mostly stuck with a design that already worked well. The Zone stays firmly in place, it is very comfortable to wear and the controls are simple enough to get used to quickly.

If I could change one thing, I would have liked Fourth Frontier to make the pod a little smaller now that the screen has gone. The current size is not a problem and I barely notice it once I start exercising, but a slightly more compact body would have made the redesign feel a bit more complete.

Setup and everyday use

Getting started with the Frontier Zone is very easy. Pairing it with the Fourth Frontier app takes only a few minutes, and after that I have found daily use simple and seamless.

As before, there are several ways to use it. You can pair the Zone with the iOS or Android app and control your workouts from there, or leave the phone behind and let the device record everything to its onboard memory. Once you are finished, the session syncs back to the app.

My favourite option remains using it as an external heart rate monitor. The Zone can broadcast heart rate over Bluetooth to compatible watches, bike computers and other fitness equipment, while continuing to record its own more detailed data in the background. This means you can see your heart rate on a Garmin or another device during the workout, then open the Fourth Frontier app afterwards for the ECG and other analysis.

You can connect the Zone to a smartphone and up to two other devices at the same time. That is probably more than most people will ever need, but it gives you plenty of flexibility if you use a watch alongside other training equipment.

Frontier Zone

Use code GNW10 for 10% off

View on Fourth Frontier

There is still no ANT+ support, so everything runs through Bluetooth. That is unlikely to cause problems for most newer watches and fitness equipment, although ANT+ would still be useful for cyclists and anyone with older training gear.

Also there’s no built-in GPS. But the device can piggy back on a connected watch’s GPS, or use the smartphone signal.

Battery life

Battery life is one of the areas where the Frontier Zone has taken a proper step forward. Fourth Frontier rates it for up to 30 days with typical use, compared with around 14 days for the Frontier X2. It also says a full charge can last up to seven days if the device is recording continuously.

In the month or so of use, my experience has been excellent. The long runtime means charging is something I rarely have to think about, which is exactly what you want from a chest strap. You can use it for multiple workouts, throw it back in your sports bag and not immediately wonder whether there will be enough battery left for the next session.

Of course, getting anywhere near the quoted 30 days will depend on how often and how long you record. Someone using it for an hour a few times per week will see very different results from someone recording long endurance sessions every day. Even so, the improvement over the previous generation is noticeable.

The move to USB-C also makes charging less of a hassle when you eventually need to do it. For me, the combination of much longer runtime and a more convenient charging connection is one of the most useful hardware upgrades on the Zone.

How it compares with a normal chest strap

If all you want is accurate heart rate during exercise, there is no real reason to buy the Frontier Zone. A good Polar, Garmin or other chest strap will give you very accurate heart rate for considerably less money, and some also give you ANT+ alongside Bluetooth.

The Zone earns its higher price by doing something quite different. As I found with the original Frontier X and later the Frontier X2, the interesting part is not really heart rate at all.

What makes the Zone unusual is that it continuously records your ECG while you exercise. From that signal, Fourth Frontier produces data you simply do not get from a normal chest strap. That includes Cardiac Strain, Cardiac Rhythm, breathing rate, HRV, Body Shock and Training Load.

Cardiac Strain is probably the standout. It looks at changes in the ST segment of your ECG during exercise and can alert you with a vibration when the reading crosses a threshold you have set. In other words, the Zone is looking at how your heart is responding to the workload, rather than simply telling you that it is beating at 160 bpm. That remains one of the most interesting things about Fourth Frontier’s approach.

Frontier Zone

Use code GNW10 for 10% off

View on Fourth Frontier

Cardiac Rhythm adds another layer. After a session, you can go through your ECG and see sections classified as normal sinus rhythm or other rhythm. If something catches your attention, you can zoom into the ECG trace and look at what was happening at that point in the workout.

There is also a completely different way to use the Zone. You can start a long continuous ECG recording outside of exercise and capture up to 24 hours of data. If you feel something unusual during that period, pressing the button places a marker in the recording so you can find that moment later. ECG recordings can also be exported as PDFs, which makes them much easier to share with a doctor if there is something you want checked.

That is quite different from the ECG feature on most smartwatches. An Apple Watch, Garmin or Samsung watch typically asks you to sit still and deliberately take a short ECG reading. The Zone can simply keep recording in the background. If something happens unexpectedly, there is at least a chance it has already been captured rather than you trying to take a reading after the event has passed.

Body Shock is another metric I have always liked on Fourth Frontier devices. It measures the impact from each foot strike and plots how that changes during a run. If the numbers start climbing as you tire, it can be a useful indication that your form is beginning to deteriorate. Again, that is not something you are going to get from an ordinary heart rate strap.

That is really the buying decision. If you just want reliable heart rate on your Garmin, Polar or bike computer, save your money and buy a normal chest strap. If you want to dig much deeper into what is happening with your heart and body during exercise, the Zone offers a level of information that ordinary chest straps simply do not provide.

Other training insights and Zone 2

The clue is in the name. Fourth Frontier is putting much more emphasis on training zones with the Zone, and this is probably the biggest change in how the company is positioning the device. 

This training feature is one of the things I have enjoyed most about using the Frontier Zone. You are not limited to Zone 2 either. The same system can be used to keep you within other training zones, but Zone 2 is where I found it particularly useful.

In my case, my Zone 2 range was roughly 119 to 131 bpm. If my heart rate dropped below 119, the device would give me an occasional vibration, roughly every 30 seconds or so, reminding me to pick up my running pace. If I went above 131 and crossed into Zone 3, I would get two vibrations instead.

It sounds simple, but it works surprisingly well. After a while you stop thinking about pace or constantly checking your watch. One vibration and I would instinctively speed up. Two vibrations and I would ease off. It becomes almost automatic.

That was particularly useful for me because I am not naturally very good at Zone 2 training. I tend to start slowly and then gradually push the pace until I am running harder than I intended. With the Zone, I could concentrate on the run rather than repeatedly looking at my wrist and trying to keep my heart rate inside a narrow range.

Fourth Frontier is also doing more here than simply taking a percentage of your maximum heart rate and calling it Zone 2. Heart rate can gradually drift upwards even when your actual effort has not changed much, particularly during long runs or rides.

With Frontier Premium, the company estimates VT1 and VT2, the first and second ventilatory thresholds, using breathing information collected during exercise. Those thresholds can then be used to create more personalised training zones.

Beyond that, there is another way to use the alerts. Instead of keeping you inside a training zone, you can set them to warn you about unusual cardiac strain or breathing rate.

Cardiac Strain is particularly interesting. Fourth Frontier bases this on changes in the ST segment of the ECG, which can be associated with the heart working under increased strain and, in some circumstances, reduced oxygen supply to the heart muscle. The Zone can vibrate when the reading moves beyond a threshold you have set, giving you a real-time warning to ease off rather than only discovering it afterwards in the app.

There are other training features too, including VO₂ Max, readiness and oxygen-uptake analysis through Frontier Premium. Those are useful additions, but for me the vibration-based zone guidance is much more interesting. Plenty of watches can estimate VO₂ Max. Far fewer can quietly keep you inside a training zone without forcing you to keep looking at a screen.

Heart rate and ECG accuracy

Heart rate accuracy was one of the strongest points of the previous Fourth Frontier devices, and my experience with the Zone has been much the same. I compared the device with Polar OH1 and found very little difference between the two. Maximum heart rate was usually identical or within 1 bpm, while the average on the Frontier tended to come out only 2 to 3 bpm lower over a 5K run.

That is not particularly surprising. Unlike the optical sensor on the back of a watch, the Zone measures the electrical activity of the heart directly from the chest, which tends to hold up much better when intensity changes quickly or there is a lot of movement.

That contact point is worth keeping in mind. As with most electrical chest straps, I find it best to slightly dampen the electrodes before putting the Zone on, particularly if I am starting an easy session where it might take a while to work up a sweat. So that’s something to keep in mind.

The more interesting part, though, is ECG accuracy. The Zone records a single-lead ECG from the chest and Fourth Frontier says the signal resembles the V5 position of a conventional 12-lead ECG. That is a very different setup from the short ECG spot checks you get from most watches, because the Zone can continue recording while you run, cycle, sleep or simply go about your day.

I cannot independently verify the ECG against hospital equipment, and I said the same thing in my earlier reviews. What I can say is that I have compared the traces with other ECG-capable devices I own and the waveforms have always looked convincing and consistent. More importantly, the signal remains usable while exercising, which is where wrist-based ECG devices are of little help because they generally require you to stop moving and touch the watch with your other hand.

There is some useful outside evidence here, although it needs to be put in context. A published study on home-based exercise for people with pulmonary hypertension used the original Frontier X to continuously monitor single-lead ECG, heart rate and respiratory rate during remotely supervised exercise. Another published case report described a young competitive runner whose episodes of rapid heart rhythm were captured using a Frontier X after conventional assessments had failed to catch them.

IIt is also worth noting what has not been established. A 2024 expert consensus statement in Sports Medicine discussed the Frontier X2 as a potentially useful sports ECG recorder but said the authors could not find published studies confirming the reliability of its ECG recordings at the time. So while Fourth Frontier has done validation work elsewhere in its product range, I would not describe the consumer Zone as a replacement for a clinical ECG or Holter monitor. Fourth Frontier itself sells the Zone as a health and fitness device rather than a diagnostic product.

For normal training, though, I have a lot of confidence in the heart rate data. And the real advantage remains the same as it was with the other Fourth Frontier device: accurate heart rate is only the starting point. The ability to record the underlying ECG continuously while exercising is what makes the Zone interesting.

Frontier Premium, the app, web dashboard

The Fourth Frontier app remains a comprehensive part of the experience. There is a large amount of information available after a workout, including detailed charts, alerts, ECG data and workout summaries. You can also compare sessions and get plain-English feedback on how the workout went.

For me, though, the web dashboard is still the better place to dig into the data.There is simply more room to work with, particularly when looking through ECG traces and detailed charts.

Frontier Zone

Use code GNW10 for 10% off

View on Fourth Frontier

The dashboard also gives you tools such as zooming and the caliper, along with the Health Trends section that starts to become more useful once you have accumulated a few weeks of data. The phone app is great for quick checks, but if you enjoy digging into numbers, the web dashboard is where the Frontier platform really comes into its own.

The lower price of the Frontier Zone comes with an important catch. Fourth Frontier has moved some functionality that was included with the earlier devices behind its Frontier Premium subscription. In the US, this currently costs $14.99 per month or $119.99 per year, with a seven-day trial.

The basic Zone still gives you plenty without paying anything extra. Continuous ECG recording, heart rate, breathing rate, HRV, Training Load and Cardiac Strain are all there. So this is not a case where the hardware becomes severely limited if you decide not to subscribe.

Premium is where the newer training features come in. It adds VO₂ Max, Readiness Score, oxygen uptake analysis, VT1 and VT2 zones and sleep-stage analysis.

There is an important difference compared with the Frontier X2, though. Live ECG streaming, downloading and sharing ECG reports, and Garmin Connect integration were standard features on the X2. With the Frontier Zone, you need Premium to access them.

I am a little less enthusiastic about that part of the subscription. When I reviewed the original Frontier X, being able to share an ECG recording or have someone monitor it remotely was one of the more unusual features of the device. Garmin integration is also genuinely useful if, like me, you already do most of your training with a Garmin watch.

On the other hand, the Zone costs considerably less to buy than the earlier Frontier hardware, so there is a trade-off here. You can buy the device and use all the core heart-monitoring features without a subscription, then add Premium if you want the more advanced training and sharing features.

If continuous ECG is more than you need, a conventional chest strap will cost less. I’ve compared the main options in my guide to the best heart rate chest straps.

The post Frontier Zone review: ECG training without the premium price appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

8.7

Design 8.5/10

Ease of use 9.0/10

Use of information 9.0/10

Value for money 8.0/10

Pros

• – Moves around the court
• – Reactive timing creates more natural rallies
• – Much more engaging than a conventional ball machine
• – Extensive control over placement, speed, spin and height
• – Useful shot maps and training statistics
• – Can also work as a stationary ball machine

Cons

• – Slightly awkward to transport over longer distances
• – Pricey

Design and setup

The Acemate S10 does not look like a normal ball machine. It looks more like a small tennis robot, complete with two camera “eyes” at the front and four chunky wheels underneath. The frog comparison is hard to avoid, although the design makes more sense once you see it sliding sideways across the court.

I have used quite a few ball machines over the years, including the Slinger Bag for a couple of years and, more recently, the PongBot Pace S Pro. The S10 is easily the most ambitious of them in terms of what it tries to do on court.

At 17.8 kg, the S10 is actually lighter than many other ball machines. If you are taking it to the court by car or another mode of transport, it will be an easy job. It is compact enough to lift in and out without too much trouble.

Where it gets a little awkward is moving it any real distance on foot. There is no telescopic handle, so I usually extend the poles slightly and pull it along that way. It works, but a proper suitcase-style handle would make life easier. You can also drive it using the app, although that is more useful for moving it around the court than getting it from A to B.

Once it is on court, the four Mecanum wheels come into their own. The S10 can move sideways, diagonally and forwards without first turning its body. Watching it in action for the first time is slightly surreal, particularly when it starts tracking a return and positioning itself behind the incoming ball.

The main unit feels very solid, although a few areas are less convincing. The removable hopper clips onto the sides and is easy enough to fit, but it does not feel quite as robust as the rest of the machine.

Then there is the optional catching net. Putting it together for the first time takes some patience. The telescopic poles also feel noticeably more delicate than the main machine, and this is one part of the S10 I would be careful with. I quickly learned to hold each section near the bottom while extending or collapsing it rather than simply pulling from the top.

The good news is that you do not need to dismantle the entire structure after every session. The poles retract, and the frame folds down into something much easier to transport. Once I had done it a couple of times, setting up the net took less than a minute.

Acemate tennis robot S10

At checkout use code “G&W01” for a $50 discount.

View at Acemate

With the net extended, the S10 becomes a fairly substantial presence on court. It also attracts attention. I have had people on neighbouring courts looking over to see what it is doing, which is hardly surprising when a tennis robot suddenly starts racing sideways across the baseline. I have even seen passers-by stop to take photos. People tend to look slightly mesmerised by it.

That said, you can use the S10 without the net. In that configuration it is much more low-key and looks closer to a conventional ball machine.

As far as the device itself – there are very few built-in controls. There’s a power-on button, LED indicator and below it a little display that shows the battery life. That’s pretty much it. So you need the smartphone app while on court in order to communicate with the device.

The software setup is straightforward. You need to download the Acemate app, connect it to the robot and install any available firmware updates before getting started. That was pretty seamless for me.

Unboxing and attaching everything for the first time takes a bit of effort, especially if you try to work it out without help. The official Acemate setup video on YouTube makes the process much easier. With that playing beside me, I had the S10 assembled, connected and ready to use in around 15 minutes.

Battery life, noise

Official specs rate battery life at around 90 minutes in rally mode and up to two hours when the S10 is used more like a conventional ball machine. Which does not sound like very much.

But in practice I found the S10 used roughly 40% of its battery per hour. That is because you are not hitting continuously. There are pauses to collect stray balls, change drills, adjust settings and take a breather.

Based on my testing, I think you could get around two and a half hours of practice without much trouble. Which is plenty. In the month or so that I have been testing the robot, I never felt constrained by battery life.

Charging can be done by plugging the charging cord into the port in the machine. The other option is to open the hatch and remove the battery and plug it into the charging cord. Once refuelled, simply return the battery to its home.

When you power it on, one of the first things you notice is how quiet the S10 is. The motor makes almost no noise, and I could barely hear it while it was feeding balls. You mainly hear a slight whooshing sound as the balls come out, which is far less intrusive than I expected from something this large and mechanically complex.

The wheels are a little louder once the S10 starts moving around the court. The sound is similar to pulling a suitcase on wheels, especially when it slides sideways or accelerates towards a return. Even then, though, it is not particularly loud. I would have no concerns using it on a court next to other players.

How the Acemate S10 works

So what makes the Acemate S10 different from other machines? Plenty.

The basic idea is quite simple. Instead of standing in one place and firing balls at fixed intervals, the S10 watches where the ball goes, moves across the court and sends the next one back at a more natural moment.

There are two 4K cameras on the front of the robot. These track the ball, recognise the court and work out where your shots are heading. The four Mecanum wheels then allow the S10 to slide sideways or diagonally, and it is surprisingly quick once it is moving.

Before starting a session, you place it around the middle of the opposite baseline and let the app check its position. This only takes a few moments, and I found the cameras are very quick to recognise the court and confirm that everything is lined up correctly.

The clever part is the timing. The robot does not immediately fire another ball as soon as yours crosses the net. It waits until roughly the point where another player would make contact. A slower return gives you more time, while a harder shot brings the next ball back sooner.

That might sound like a small detail, but it changes the whole feel of the session. With a normal ball machine, you quickly fall into a fixed rhythm because you know when the next ball is coming and exactly where it is coming from. It can get repetitive pretty quickly.

With the S10, I found myself recovering, split-stepping and preparing for the next shot in a much more natural way. And because the device itself moves, the next ball is not always coming from exactly the same position on the other side of the court.

Most importantly, with stationary tennis machines it feels like work after a while. Here it feels like fun. And that is perhaps the most important difference.

As an added bonus, when the catching net is attached and the feature is enabled in the app, the robot tries to collect your return and feed it back into the system. Which is interesting in itself.

It still does not feel exactly like playing another person. The shots are generated by software, and there is no disguise or improvisation. Even so, the combination of movement and reactive timing makes it feel far less mechanical than what you get with a traditional ball machine.

Training modes and custom drills

The S10 gives you three main ways to train. There is a drill mode for working on specific shot patterns, a rally mode where the robot tries to keep the point going, and a conventional ball-machine mode where it stays in one place and feeds balls at fixed intervals.

I spent most of my time in drill and rally modes because those are what separate the S10 from a normal ball machine. In drill mode, I could choose where the robot sent the ball and define the area I was supposed to hit in return. The app then scored the session based on how accurately I found that target. This was particularly addictive. I found it pushed me to repeat the same drill in order to try and improve the score.

Rally mode feels less structured. Instead of repeating a fixed pattern, the S10 moves around its selected area and reacts to where I hit the ball. It tries to keep the rally going.

Acemate tennis robot S10

At checkout use code “G&W01” for a $50 discount.

View at Acemate

The standard ball-machine mode is more familiar. The S10 stays in one position, and you can set the direction, pace, spin, height and time between feeds. It is useful for working on one stroke repeatedly, and it also gives the robot a fallback role when I do not need the cameras or movement.

There are around 50 pre-installed drills in the app, covering forehands, backhands, volleys, baseline patterns and changes of depth. They are fine for getting started. The default feeds are also mostly flat, so I quickly moved on to creating my own drills.

The customisation is one of the stronger parts of the S10. You can build a sequence of up to 10 different balls, then adjust the landing position, speed, spin and height for each one. It takes a little trial and error because a setting that looks right in the app does not always produce the exact ball you expect on court.

You might find it easier to create the basic drill at home, then fine-tune it once you are actually playing. A ball might arrive too high, land too short or carry more than expected, so you can stop the session, adjust the individual feed and try again. Once saved, the drill is ready for future sessions.

The on-court experience

What surprised me most was how quickly the S10 stopped feeling like a gadget I was testing. After a few minutes, I was simply playing tennis and trying to keep the rally going.

The timing makes a bigger difference than I expected. Because the next feed reacts to my return rather than following a fixed interval, I had time to recover, split-step and prepare properly. With a conventional ball machine, it is easy to fall into an artificial rhythm. The S10 felt much closer to the timing of hitting with another player.

Once the novelty wore off, I found myself concentrating less on the robot and more on my footwork, recovery and shot placement. That is probably the biggest compliment I can give it. The S10 soon felt like part of the session rather than a device sitting at the other end of the court.

As a mid-intermediate player, I found the pace more than adequate. It could give me comfortable warm-up balls and then make things much harder once I increased the speed, depth and spin. The heaviest settings still do not reproduce the weight of shot from a strong tournament player, and the differences between some spin levels are not always dramatic, but there was more than enough variety for my level.

The sessions were also far more engaging than working through a hopper of identical feeds. I spent more time trying to build longer rallies, recover into position and find specific areas of the court. The target zones and scores added a competitive element, which is hard to get when training with a traditional ball machine.

Another thing I noticed is that I did not experience a single ball jam with the S10. That has happened occasionally with other machines I have used, so it was good to see.

What did happen, perhaps once an hour, was the S10 stopping because it thought there was an obstacle on the court. I play in the middle of a park where leaves regularly fall onto the surface, so my guess is that these occasionally triggered the warning. Fortunately, it did not happen often and was more of a minor interruption than a real problem.

Does the ball-catching system work?

What about the ball catching system? I think you should look at it as a bonus rather than the reason to buy this robot.

It works, but don’t buy this device expecting it will capture 100% of your returns. When the feature is enabled in the app, the S10 moves towards the incoming ball and tries to collect it in the net before feeding it back into the hopper.

The success rate of this depends heavily on the pace, height and direction of returns, as well as the type of drill you are using. For me it was anywhere between 30% and 50%, depending on the training mode and playing conditions.

Alternating between backhand and forehand crosscourt shots resulted in very few balls being caught because the robot had much more ground to cover. It performed better when I was hitting repeatedly towards one area, such as a forehand or backhand target near the centre. Wider shots, deep topspin balls and harder returns often passed beside the S10, bounced into its body or flew over the net.

If you start off with 80 balls in the hopper, you should get the equivalent of more than 100 balls when you factor in the caught balls. Which means you will spend a bit less time walking around the court collecting balls. Which is always a good thing.

Make no mistake, you will still need to pick up plenty of balls – just not quite as often. For me, the big selling point of the robot is that it moves around the court and has the built-in cameras which follow the ball, react to where you are hitting and help create a much more natural rally. The catching net is useful, but it is really just a bonus on top of that.

App and training analysis

As mentioned, there are almost no controls on the robot itself. Which means you need to use the Acemate smartphone app. Which is easy enough, and the connection to the S10 was stable during my sessions. The main screens cover training, saved data, device settings and firmware updates without burying everything in complicated menus.

After each drill, the app saves a surprisingly detailed breakdown of what happened. I could see where my shots landed, how many stayed in bounds, my longest streak, average and maximum ball speed, and how high the ball cleared the net. There is also an overall score out of 100, which gave me something simple to compare between sessions.

The court map was the part I found most useful. It quickly showed whether I was consistently finding the intended area or spraying balls across the court. I would not treat every plotted position as perfectly precise, but it was accurate enough to reveal obvious patterns in my play.

AI analysis is also there. It produces a long assessment of the session, along with recommendations and suggested follow-up drills, but much of it feels fairly generic. Running the analysis again can also produce slightly different conclusions, which makes it slightly difficult to take the player-level assessment too seriously. But it is useful in providing a direction of what needs work in your game.

For me, most of the analysis value lies in the recorded numbers and shot map rather than the AI coaching. The app gives me useful evidence of how a session went, but I still trust my own feel, and the view of an actual coach, more than its automated conclusions.

One feature I would like to see added in a future firmware update is session recording. The S10 already has two cameras watching the court. Being able to download the footage after a session would make it much easier to review technique alongside the shot data. Perhaps an idea for the next version of this robot?

Who is the Acemate S10 for?

I think the S10 makes the most sense for recreational and intermediate players who want solo practice to feel less repetitive. That is where its movement, reactive timing and scoring features add the most value. As an intermediate player, I found it challenging enough without feeling overwhelming.

Beginners should also get plenty from it, especially through the simpler drills and target-based sessions. The app makes practice feel more structured, and the scoring adds a useful sense of progress even when there is no coach on court.

Acemate tennis robot S10

At checkout use code “G&W01” for a $50 discount.

View at Acemate

It could also work well for coaches who want to add something different to individual lessons. The S10 is engaging, easy to customise and gives students immediate feedback after a drill. I would be less convinced about using it for back-to-back sessions all day, mainly because of the setup, transport and battery demands.

Advanced tournament players may find the maximum pace and spin less demanding than they need. Anyone who only wants repeatable feeds from one position can also spend less on a conventional ball machine. The S10 is for players who value realistic rally timing and a more interactive training experience, rather than raw speed alone.

Price and value

The S10 has an MSRP of $2,499 in the US, although Acemate normally sells it for $2,199 rather than at full list price. The current promotion takes another $200 off, bringing it down to $1,999. At checkout, you can then use code “G&W01” for an additional $50 discount, reducing the final price to $1,949.

Slinger Bag typically costs $749, while the Pongbot Pace S Pro comes in at around $2,270. Granted, these are full prices and the Pongbot can often be purchased with discounts. Proton sells for $1,695.

Then you have the Lobster Elite Grand Four which is currently $1,999, while the Grand Five costs $2,249 and the Grand Five LE reaches $2,499. Those machines offer more raw speed, larger ball capacities and longer quoted battery life, but they remain stationary feeders. 

That is why I do not think the S10 should be judged purely against a feature checklist. You are paying for a tennis robot that reacts to your shots, moves around the court, catches some of your balls, keeps rallies going and records what happened afterwards. None of the conventional alternatives offer that same experience.

You can find more detail on how it stacks up against the competition in my Slinger vs Tero vs Pongbot vs Acemate comparison.

FAQ

Does the Acemate S10 return the same ball?

No. Its cameras track your return, while the launcher sends a different ball from the hopper. With the catching net enabled, it attempts to collect your return and recycle it into the machine.

How often does the Acemate S10 catch the ball?

As an intermediate player, I found that it caught somewhere between 30% and 50% of my returns. The success rate depends heavily on the speed, height and placement of the shot. Sometimes it was more than that range, sometimes less.

Can the Acemate S10 work like a normal ball machine?

Yes. Its standard ball-machine mode keeps it in one position and feeds balls at fixed intervals. You can adjust the speed, spin, height and landing position.

How long does the Acemate S10 battery last?

During my testing, it used roughly 40% of its battery during an hour of normal practice. Allowing for stops to change drills and collect balls, around two and a half hours should be realistic.

Is the Acemate S10 suitable for advanced players?

It is best suited to recreational and intermediate players. Very advanced players can still use its custom drills, but some may want greater top-end pace and heavier spin.

The post Acemate tennis robot S10 review: As close as it gets to a real hitting partner appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

7.8

Design 8.5/10

Ease of use 8.0/10

Use of information 7.5/10

Value for money 7.5/10

Pros

• – One of the better-looking watches I have tested
• – Bright and easy-to-read AMOLED display
• – Responsive crown, button and touchscreen
• – Good everyday health and fitness tracking
• – Strong accuracy in running comparisons

Cons

• – GPS can be slow to connect in built-up areas
• – No third-party app store

Design and comfort

The Honor Watch 6 is a big watch, but it does not feel especially bulky on the wrist. The 46.5mm case sounds huge on paper, yet the relatively slim 10.8mm body helps keep it under control.

Honor sells it in two versions. Shadow Black comes with a black fluoroelastomer strap, while Twilight Brown pairs a silver case with a brown leather strap. I have the Twilight Brown model, and it is one of the better-looking watches I have worn recently. The silver case and brown strap work well together.

Using it is straightforward. The rotating crown lets you move quickly through menus, while the flat button underneath takes you straight into workouts. Both respond instantly, and the touchscreen feels just as quick. I never found myself waiting for the interface to catch up.

The 1.46-inch AMOLED screen is another strong point. It is bright, sharp and easy to read outside thanks to a peak 3000 nits of brightness. I normally need glasses, but I could still check my running stats mid-run without them. The large display helps, but Honor also makes good use of the space.

The screen also stays cleaner than most. Some watches pick up fingerprints almost as soon as you touch them, but that has not been much of an issue here. It sounds like a small thing, but it helps the watch keep its good looks.

The leather strap is soft enough for all-day and overnight wear, although I am not convinced it feels quite as high-end as the rest of the watch. I tighten it for runs so the watch stays put, although silicone is the better option for running and swimming. The quick-release pins make changing straps easy.

Worth noting – there is only one case size, but I would not automatically rule it out if you have a smaller wrist. It works fine on mine, and the slim profile keeps it from feeling awkward. Overall, the Watch 6 has been comfortable to wear and is easily one of the nicer-looking models I have tested lately.

Under the hood

Under the hood, Honor has focused on the parts that affect everyday use. But it’s not trying to turn the Watch 6 into a miniature phone.

The dual-band GPS is important for anyone planning to use the watch for running or cycling. It supports both L1 and L5 frequencies, along with GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou, QZSS and NavIC. That gives it the right tools for dealing with tree cover, tall buildings and other places where cheaper GPS setups often start to wander.

Honor does not reveal the processor or memory, but the watch never feels underpowered. Menus open quickly, scrolling is smooth and moving between widgets or workout screens does not bring any obvious hesitation. That matters more here than a processor name most buyers would never recognise.

The sensor lineup covers optical heart rate, blood oxygen, movement, direction, altitude and ambient light. These feed into the usual mix of sleep, stress, activity and workout tracking. There is no ECG or temperature sensor, so the Watch 6 does not try to compete with more expensive health-focused models on every front.

You also get a microphone and speaker for Bluetooth calls, NFC, Bluetooth 5.4 and 4GB of storage. Music can be stored locally, but there is no streaming support or proper third-party app store. Android and iPhone compatibility is broad, although features such as payments and notification replies can still vary by region and handset.

Battery life

Battery life is one of the main reasons to consider the Honor Watch 6. Honor has managed to squeeze a 980mAh battery into a relatively slim case, which gives the watch far more breathing room than most mainstream smartwatches.

The headline figure is up to 35 days, but that comes from Honor’s stripped-back long-endurance mode. The more relevant claim is up to 17 days with standard use, while continuous outdoor GPS tracking is rated at up to 42 hours. As always, features such as the always-on display, continuous health monitoring, calls and regular GPS workouts will pull that figure down.

I have been using the watch with all the bells and whistles switched on, along with regular notifications and workout tracking. It has been 10 days since my initial charge and the watch is still going strong. So the battery claims seem reasonable.

What is clear is that the Watch 6 does not create the usual battery anxiety. You can wear it overnight, track several workouts and leave the charger behind for a trip without watching the percentage every few hours.

Health and fitness features

Honor covers the basics well. Heart rate, blood oxygen, stress, HRV, steps and sleep are all tracked, and there is a quick health scan when you want several readings in one go. You also get a morning report that pulls together the previous day and night without making you dig through the app.

The Honor Health app is easy to get around. The main Health screen gives you a quick look at your latest numbers, and tapping on any of them opens the longer-term view. You can switch between daily, weekly, monthly and yearly data.

Accuracy has been reasonable in my testing. Nothing jumped out as obviously wrong, and the results were consistent enough for keeping an eye on general trends. Other reviewers have had more mixed results, particularly with the step counter, which sometimes ran high.

The watch also turns some of that data into broader fitness estimates. My VO2 max came out at 45 ml/kg/min, while Honor put my fitness age at 47, nine years below my actual age. The app even labelled both results as “Professional”, which is flattering, although probably best taken with a pinch of salt.

Body Energy works along similar lines, combining heart rate, HRV, sleep and stress into a single estimate of how much you have in the tank. It is a handy number to glance at, although Honor does not make it the centre of the experience.

The watch does track HRV, but there is no separate screen where you can view the readings. Instead, Honor folds the data into the Body Energy score, which feels like a missed opportunity if you like keeping an eye on HRV trends.

Sleep tracking covers overall duration, deep sleep, light sleep, REM and time awake. I found it easy to wear the watch overnight, and the results looked reasonable. Nap detection can be a bit hit and miss, though.

There are limits. The Watch 6 does not have ECG or skin temperature tracking, while the blood pressure trend feature available in some regions is not offered in Europe. I would have liked to see that included.

Still, the everyday health package does not feel stripped back. The main features are here, the app is simple to use and the accuracy has been good enough for day-to-day tracking.

Sports tracking

There are 122 sports modes, so finding the activity you want is not a problem. Starting a workout is quick too, especially with the lower button taking you straight to the exercise menu. The large screen also helps while you are moving, as the key numbers are easy to read at a glance.

Not every mode goes particularly deep. Running gets far more attention, while plenty of the others mainly track time, heart rate and calories. Once you finish, the Honor Health app does a good job of laying everything out without making it feel messy. It is more than enough for everyday exercise, although serious training tools are not really what this watch is about.

I did several runs with the Honor Watch 6 on one wrist and a Garmin on the other in Central London. This 29 minute 49 second run is a good example of the results I was seeing.

Honor measured 5.09km, while Garmin came in at 5.01km. That gave me an average pace of 5:51 per kilometre on the Honor and 5:57 on the Garmin. The Honor was around 1.6% longer, which is a small enough difference for general running through a heavily built-up area.

The other basic numbers lined up very well. Both watches recorded an average heart rate of 133 bpm, with maximum readings of 155 bpm on Honor and 154 bpm on Garmin. This was in line with a Frontier X chest strap I wore for the same run.

Average cadence was identical at 176 steps per minute, while the maximum was 186 on Honor and 189 on Garmin. Stride length was also close at 97cm versus 95cm, with the small difference matching Honor’s slightly longer distance.

Calories were reasonably close too. Honor estimated 403 calories, compared with 375 total calories from Garmin. The altitude readings were less convincing. Honor showed a range from 9.5 to 14.4 metres, while Garmin ranged from minus 11 to 14 metres and calculated 33 metres of ascent. This was a fairly flat London run, so I would not put much weight on either watch’s elevation totals here.

Both apps provide plenty of extra information after a run. Honor gave me aerobic training stress, recovery time, heart-rate and pace zones, kilometre splits and running-form estimates such as ground contact time, left-right balance and vertical movement. Garmin goes further with power, stamina, training load and more established running dynamics, but Honor still gives casual runners plenty to look through.

The training estimates did not match particularly closely. Honor rated the session at 2.1 for aerobic stress and suggested 14 hours of recovery, while Garmin gave it a 3.4 aerobic training effect and classified it as a base run. That is not necessarily a problem, as the two companies use different algorithms, but it shows why these scores are better used for trends within one platform rather than compared directly.

The bigger issue is getting started. Garmin usually found GPS first, while the Honor could take noticeably longer. In built-up parts of London, it occasionally needed a few minutes to lock on. Once connected, though, the Honor Watch 6 produced distance, pace, heart-rate and cadence figures that were impressively close to the Garmin.

Smartwatch features

The Watch 6 runs Honor’s MagicOS, but it feels more like a fitness watch with a few smart extras than a full smartwatch platform. There is no app store, so you cannot add Spotify, Google Maps or other third-party services later. What you get out of the box is broadly what you are going to have.

That did not bother me much in everyday use. The interface is quick, the rotating crown makes getting around easy and notifications are clear on the large screen. They are grouped by app and show enough of each message to tell whether it is worth reaching for the phone.

Calls have also worked well. The speaker is surprisingly loud, and voices come through clearly at both ends, even in noisier surroundings. You can also control music and use the usual alarms, timers and weather tools.

I noticed some rough edges, though, when the watch starts talking to the phone. I tested it with an iPhone and the Honor Health app would occasionally lose its connection. The watch was still listed in Bluetooth, but I had to open the iPhone settings and tap it before the app would reconnect. It did not happen constantly, but it happened often enough to become annoying.

Honor Health was also very persistent about getting access to my contacts. I did not want to allow it, but the request kept returning and there was no obvious way to dismiss it permanently. These feel more like annoying software quirks than major problems, and hopefully Honor will clear them up in future updates.

All things considered, for everyday use, the Watch 6 still covers the main smartwatch features well. The interface is quick, notifications are easy to read and calls work directly from the wrist. It does not offer the same app selection as an Apple Watch or Wear OS model, but not everyone needs that level of depth.

View Honor Watch 6 on Honor’s website.

The post Honor Watch 6 review: Plenty to like, especially if battery life comes first appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

8.6

Design 9.0/10

Ease of use 8.0/10

Use of information 9.0/10

Value for money 8.5/10

Pros

• – Comprehensive health metrics
• – Vascular trends
• – Vibration feature has potential
• – 14-day battery life
• – No subscription required

Cons

• – Exercise heart rate still varies
• – Wake-up vibration alarm not available yet

Quick verdict

RingConn Gen 3 feels like a nice step up from Gen 2, even if some of the newer ideas still need time to mature. The design is familiar, the comfort is excellent and the battery life remains one of the easiest things to like. Add in the no-subscription model and it starts to look like one of the stronger value plays in the smart ring space.

Vascular Trend gives Gen 3 its own angle, while vibration alerts make the ring feel more interactive than before. In use, the vibration feature works well when it triggers, and there is clear potential if RingConn adds silent alarms and custom timed reminders later on. The app side also feels like something RingConn can keep refining as these newer tools develop.

For everyday use, RingConn Gen 3 feels easy to live with. It handles sleep, recovery, daily trends and general activity in the background, while workout tracking is there when you need it. I would still like to see better heart rate performance at higher intensities, but that does not take away from what the ring does well. For people who want a smart ring that tracks quietly without adding another ongoing cost, it’s one of the best options around.

Read our other RingConn reviews (Gen 1, Gen 2, Gen 2 Air). See how this model compares with the other options in our guide to the best smart rings.

RingConn Gen 3

$349.00 View at Amazon

Design and comfort

RingConn Gen 3 does not rewrite the company’s smart ring design, but it does move things on in a few ways. The overall shape is familiar, with the same squared-off outer profile and rounded inner surface that has become RingConn’s signature look. It is still very much a health-focused ring rather than a jewellery-first device, but this generation feels a little more polished in the hand.

The biggest design change is the new hand-brushed finish. RingConn Gen 2 had a cleaner glossy look, while Gen 3 adds more texture and a slightly more premium visual feel. It also helps reduce the appearance of fingerprints, which is useful on a ring that is constantly being touched, twisted and taken on or off.

There are five finishes this time around. Future Silver is the one I have. Beyond that, you can also get Royal Gold, Matte Black, Brushed Silver and Brushed Rose Gold.

What’s worth noting is that Gen 3 is slightly thicker than Gen 2, due to the addition of a vibration motor and larger battery. The new model measures 2.3mm thick and weighs between 2.5 and 3.5 grams, depending on size. By comparison, Gen 2 comes in at 2.0mm and weighs between 2 and 3 grams. On the finger, though, I did not find the difference noticeable.

Comfort is still very good. The inner surface is smooth, the edges do not dig into the skin and the ring is light enough to wear overnight without thinking about it. In fact, the edges feel a bit more rounded than on the previous generation, which makes the ring look more narrow.

As with any smart ring, fit is everything. Too loose and the sensors may shift around. Too tight and it becomes annoying during exercise, warmer weather or after a salty meal. Gen 3 uses a slightly different sizing system, so existing RingConn users should not assume their Gen 2 size will carry across. I chose the same size 11 for both Gen 2 and Gen 3. There is perhaps a fraction of a difference between them, with Gen 3 feeling a tad larger. But not so much that I cannot wear it on the same finger as Gen 2.

I prefer the index finger because it usually gives the most stable fit and tends to work well for sensor contact. If the fit feels slightly off during workouts, switching hands or fingers can help. That flexibility is useful, especially if your fingers change size during the day.

The orientation issue is still worth mentioning. RingConn relies on the shape and inner sensor placement to guide how the ring sits, but I would still like a clearer visual marker. In everyday use, I rarely found myself obsessing over it and it seemed to capture metrics perfectly well. But when exercising I did make sure the sensors were positioned correctly.

Water resistance remains strong. Gen 3 carries an IP68/ATM10 rating, so there is no need to remove it for hand washing, showers or swimming. That is important for a ring designed around continuous tracking. The less often you take it off, the fewer gaps you get in the data.

Overall, RingConn Gen 3 is still one of the more comfortable smart rings I have worn. It is not quite as thin as Gen 2, but the added features feel like a fair trade-off.

Hardware and battery life

RingConn Gen 3 adds a few useful hardware upgrades, but the basic idea stays the same. This is still a smart ring you put on and mostly forget about, rather than another gadget that needs constant attention.

The main hardware changes are a larger battery, a new vibration motor, new optical heart rate sensors, an upgraded temperature sensor and an upgraded 3-axis accelerometer. I’ll get into vibration, Vascular Trend and tracking performance later, but from a hardware point of view, RingConn has added more without making the ring feel overbuilt.

RingConn Gen 3

$349.00

View at Amazon ›

Offline data storage has also improved. Gen 3 can store up to 10 days of data, compared with 7 days on Gen 2. It is not the most exciting spec on the sheet, but it is useful if the ring does not sync with the phone every day.

Battery life is still one of the best things about RingConn. Gen 3 is rated for 11 to 14 days with vibration switched off, or 10.5 to 13 days with vibration switched on. That is exactly the kind of range you want from a device that is meant to stay on your finger day and night.

In practice, these figures do feel realistic. I charged the ring only once in these two weeks, so you won’t be constantly thinking about when to refuel it. That is the whole point of a smart ring. It works best when it fades into the background.

The charging case helps too. Gen 3 now uses a universal wireless charging case, so you no longer have the slightly awkward size-specific setup from Gen 2. Charge it, throw it in a bag and you are good for days.

Technical specs: RingConn Gen 3 vs Gen 2

Gen 3 is the most complete RingConn model. It adds vibration alerts, newer sensors, longer battery life and a universal wireless charging case. Gen 2 remains the slimmer titanium option, while Gen 2 Air is the cheaper entry point with stainless steel, shorter battery life and no sleep apnea pattern feature.

The trade-off is simple. Gen 3 gives you the most features, Gen 2 keeps things slimmer and Gen 2 Air keeps the price lower.

Health, alerts and tracking

RingConn is built around passive tracking, so most of the useful stuff happens quietly in the background while you sleep, work and go about your day. That is exactly what you want from a smart ring.

The core tracking mix includes sleep, heart rate, HRV, SpO2, skin temperature, respiratory rate, stress, activity, cycle tracking and sleep apnea pattern insights. That gives you a broad daily picture without needing to start and stop things constantly. It is not trying to be a sports watch, but as an always-on wellness tracker it covers everything you’d want – and more.

The app has had a recent redesign, and it feels cleaner now. There is still a lot tucked away inside, so you do need to poke around a bit. Some people might find the amount of data a little much at first, but the layout has a sensible top-down feel to it. You get the big-picture insights first, then you can dig as deep as you want.

Sleep remains one of the stronger parts of the experience. The app gives you the usual breakdown of sleep duration, stages, resting heart rate, HRV, SpO2 and breathing data, then rolls that into broader recovery-style insights. As before, the real value is not one night of data. It is seeing how your sleep and recovery shift over time.

In the morning, you could literally spend a half an hour just digging through all the different sleep data. Light exposure, circadian rhythm alignment and lots of other really interesting stuff.

Then there are the daily stress and readiness-style metrics. RingConn is best when you treat it as a trend device. If your sleep drops, resting heart rate rises or stress stays elevated, the app gives you a way to spot that pattern. It is simple enough to understand without making everything feel too crowded. I even got a headache alert which coincided with a late night out.

I like that RingConn keeps a lot of this passive. You are not constantly being asked to log how you feel or manually start every little thing. The ring collects data in the background, and the app turns it into something readable.

Of course, there is still room for polish. Some of the app language can feel a little busy, and not every insight feels equally useful.

Vascular Trend

Vascular Trend is a new feature on RingConn Gen 3, and it is the one that gives the ring a different angle from Gen 2. What’s worth noting – it is not trying to replace a cuff or act like a medical device. Think of it more as a long-term wellness feature that looks at patterns over time. The value is in seeing whether the trend changes over days, weeks and months.

RingConn Gen 3

$349.00

View at Amazon ›

Setup takes a little effort at the start. Before it starts working properly, you need to complete a short survey and enter a few cuff-based baseline values during the first 24 hours. It is not difficult, but it is not completely automatic from the first minute either.

Once set up, Gen 3 can collect automatic vascular trend samples when you are in a relaxed state, with sampling happening roughly every 15 to 20 minutes during day and night use. The app keeps historical records so you can look back at overnight and daytime trends.

The overnight side is probably where this gets most interesting. A ring is easier to sleep with than most watches, and RingConn’s long battery life means you are less likely to take it off and miss data. The app also separates daytime and night-time averages, which makes the data easier to understand at a glance.

In my testing, I was always in the stable green section. That is also where I expected to be, and the few comparisons I made with a traditional cuff gave me no reason to question the trend shown in the app. So in my case, Vascular Trend did not reveal anything surprising, but it did behave in a way that matched what I was seeing elsewhere.

You can also start an on-demand insight from the app. When you do that, it asks you to sit still and then takes about 30 seconds to complete. The app is quite sensitive during this process, so you need to stay still and keep the hand relaxed. If your finger is cold, you may need to warm it up first before trying again.

I also like that RingConn has not put this behind a subscription. Like everything else, Vascular Trend is part of the Gen 3 package, which helps the ring stand apart in a category where ongoing fees are becoming harder to avoid.

Vibration alerts

As mentioned, vibration feedback is the other new headline feature. Smart rings do not have screens, so a short buzz on the finger actually makes a lot of sense. It gives the ring a way to get your attention without turning it into a tiny smartwatch.

In the app, vibration can be switched on or off for Battery Reminder, Sedentary Reminder and Wellness Notifications. As long as you don’t close the app – and keep it minimised, it will work. The buzz itself is subtle and short. You feel it, but it does not nag you in the way a watch can.

In my testing, this still feels like a work in progress. I did get vibration alerts, but they were not always consistent across the supported reminder types I had enabled. Still, the alerts that did come through worked really well. The buzz is discreet, clear and useful, giving you a small nudge without sending you back to a screen.

The main missing piece is alarms. Gen 3 does not currently support a vibration alarm for waking up in the morning, or custom vibration reminders at specific times of day. So you cannot yet use it for a silent wake-up alarm, a breathing reminder or a timed nudge to pause during work.

That is where I can see the most potential. If RingConn lets Gen 3 buzz as a wake-up alarm, the vibration motor becomes far more useful. A silent alarm on a ring makes more sense than the same feature on a watch, especially for people who do not want to wake someone else or sleep with a screen on their wrist.

RingConn has indicated that vibration alarm features are planned through OTA updates in Q3 to Q4 2026. The exact timing still depends on the official rollout. For now, vibration is promising rather than fully finished, but it already gives Gen 3 a more interactive feel than previous RingConn models.

Accuracy of activity metrics

Accuracy has always been a strong point of RingConn devices. And Gen 3 is no different. As with the previous model, I found the step count to be consistently within a 3-4% margin of error when compared against manual counting and other reliable devices.

Exercise tracking also looks better than it did on Gen 2, although there are still limits. I compared RingConn Gen 3 against a high-end Garmin Forerunner on two outdoor runs in central London, using Garmin as the reference point.

The distance numbers were very close. RingConn came in 1.6% lower than Garmin on one run and 1.0% higher on the other, which is a good result for a smart ring. This is not a running watch, so I would not expect it to replace a Garmin, but the basic distance tracking held up well in these tests.

Heart rate tracking was more mixed. On the May 28 run, RingConn averaged 136 bpm compared to 135 bpm on Garmin, which is excellent. On the May 25 run, RingConn averaged 141 bpm compared to 134 bpm on Garmin, so it was clearly higher.

Maximum heart rate still seems to run hot. RingConn reported 156 bpm and 167 bpm across the two runs, compared to Garmin’s 147 bpm and 156 bpm. That points to the same broad limitation most smart rings face during exercise, especially when movement, grip, temperature and blood flow can interfere with finger-based optical readings.

Still, this feels like progress compared to Gen 2. RingConn Gen 3 looks dependable for daily activity and it can also give usable workout data for casual runs. But I would still reach for a dedicated sports watch or chest strap if heart rate accuracy during harder sessions is the priority.

Accuracy of recovery stats

To assess recovery accuracy, I compared 14 days of nightly resting heart rate, heart rate variability and sleep duration with data from Whoop and a Garmin Forerunner.

The results are interesting because they do not simply repeat what I found with RingConn Gen 2. In that earlier review, RingConn tracked much closer to Whoop than Garmin for resting heart rate and HRV. With Gen 3, the picture is more mixed.

Here’s the recovery data correlation.

For resting heart rate, RingConn Gen 3 correlated more strongly with Garmin than Whoop. Heart rate variability was much closer between the two comparisons, with RingConn sitting slightly nearer to Whoop by correlation, but not by enough to make a big claim.

RingConn Gen 3

$349.00 View at Amazon

Sleep duration was the most consistent metric. RingConn and Whoop showed the strongest correlation at 94%, while RingConn and Garmin were also close at 91%. In real use, all three landed in broadly the same place for total sleep time.

The averages back this up. RingConn measured resting heart rate at 48 bpm, sitting very close to Garmin’s 47 bpm and lower than Whoop’s 51 bpm. For HRV, RingConn averaged 36 ms, placing it between Whoop at 33 ms and Garmin at 38 ms.

So the takeaway is that RingConn Gen 3 lines up more closely with Garmin for resting heart rate, sits between Garmin and Whoop for HRV and remains very close to both for sleep duration. As always with recovery metrics, the trends are more useful than comparing absolute numbers too literally across different ecosystems.

Q&A

Is RingConn Gen 3 better than RingConn Gen 2?

Yes, but it depends on what you want from it. Gen 3 adds Vascular Trend, vibration alerts, newer sensors, longer battery life and a universal wireless charging case. Gen 2 is still thinner and remains a solid smart ring, but Gen 3 feels like the more complete device.

Does RingConn Gen 3 need a subscription?

No. RingConn Gen 3 does not need a subscription, which remains one of its biggest advantages. You buy the ring and get access to the main features without adding a monthly fee on top.

How long does the RingConn Gen 3 battery last?

RingConn Gen 3 is rated for up to 14 days with vibration switched off, or around 10.5 to 13 days with vibration switched on. That makes it one of the easier smart rings to live with, because charging is not something you need to think about every few days. 

Can RingConn Gen 3 be used as a silent alarm?

Not yet. Gen 3 has a vibration motor, but it does not currently support wake-up alarms or custom timed vibration reminders. RingConn has indicated that vibration alarm features are planned through OTA updates in Q3 to Q4 2026, so this may change later.

What is Vascular Trend on RingConn Gen 3?

Vascular Trend is RingConn’s new long-term wellness feature for Gen 3. It looks at vascular patterns over time rather than acting as a one-off reading or a replacement for a cuff. The idea is to give you another layer of context about how your body is trending across days, weeks and months.

Is RingConn Gen 3 accurate?

For passive tracking, RingConn Gen 3 performed well in my testing. Sleep, resting heart rate and longer-term wellness trends are where the ring makes the most sense. As with all smart rings, I would not treat it as a replacement for a sports watch during workouts or for dedicated medical equipment.

Who is RingConn Gen 3 for?

This smart ring is best suited to people who want long battery life, passive health tracking and full app access without a subscription, rather than those looking for a workout-first wearable.

Should Oura users switch to RingConn Gen 3?

RingConn Gen 3 makes a strong case for Oura users. You get long battery life, vibration alerts, Vascular Trend and full access to the main features without a monthly fee. Oura still has a polished app and a mature ecosystem, but RingConn is now the more tempting option if you want a capable smart ring without ongoing costs.

The post RingConn Gen 3 review: Subtle alerts and bigger health ambitions appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.

Muse S Athena

8.5

Design8.0/10

Features9.5/10

Ease of use8.5/10

Value for money8.0/10

PROS

• Well-built, soft headband
• Adds fNIRS for tracking mental effort
• Cognitive and recovery scoring after sessions
• Accurate EEG-based sleep-stage tracking
• Brainwave and blood-flow visualisation

CONS

• Requires the open app for sleep tracking
• Acoustic feedback can sometimes be distracting
• Some features require a subscription

Jump to

Design & hardware
How to use for daytime meditation
How to use to enhance sleep

Muse S Athena review: Design & hardware

• Breathable stretch fabric offers a secure and comfortable fit, day or night
• Redesigned sensor pod with low-profile button and hidden LED indicators
• Includes, for the first time, fNIRS sensors
• Enhanced internal electronics deliver faster, more accurate feedback

Look & feel

At first glance, Muse S Athena looks almost identical to Muse S. The soft, fabric headband design is still here. That familiar, wraparound style remains unchanged, and if you’ve used Muse S before, Athena will feel instantly familiar.

There are a few subtle changes worth pointing out. The pod that holds the sensors has a slightly different shape, though it still snaps into the middle of the band using strong magnets. The enclosure has also been tweaked a bit.

Another tweak are to do with the multi-coloured LED lights, which are now located on the front of the pod. You’ll notice the indicators stay hidden when inactive and light up to show battery status and other basics when active. A single physical button at the bottom of the pod powers the device on or off. The main lights will turn off during sleep, but there are a two tiny LED lights on the underside that helps you confirm whether the device is running.

The strap system is still there and there was no need to change that as it works well. Clip at the back, elastic section for adjustability, soft fabric all the way around. For me it is pretty easy to get a good fit, and the strap stays in place—something that matters if you plan to use the device to track sleep through the night. With Muse devices, signal quality is import and it largely depends on proper contact with the skin.

For care, you can hand-wash the fabric band using mild, unscented detergent. Wipe the pod with a dry cloth only—avoid any chemicals or moisture. So make sure to remove the pod if you are planning any spring cleaning.

All in all, the design doesn’t stray too far from Muse S. And that’s probably a good thing. That device was already well-designed, and Athena keeps that same comfortable feel.

Under the hood

Athena takes everything Muse S did and builds on it. It keeps the same headband format and core idea of helping you train your mind and sleep better, but pushes the tech inside forward in a few important ways. This makes it feel more grown up.

The biggest new addition is a sensor called fNIRS. It tracks how oxygen flows through the front part of your brain using near-infrared light. That might sound a bit sci-fi, but the idea is simple.

EEG shows what your brain is doing and how efficiently it processes tasks through changes in brainwave activity. fNIRS, on the other hand, shows how hard your brain is working, i.e how much energy it is using. Whether you’re trying to stay focused or mentally winding down, Athena can now measure the effort behind those states, not just the end result.

With fNIRS, the idea is that with regular practice, you can train your brain to work harder and recover more quickly. A bit like lifting weights and cooling down after a workout.

The company says they’ve also improved EEG performance. The signal is now sharper and more detailed thanks to higher resolution readings and upgraded internal referencing. If you’ve used Muse before, you’ll probably notice faster signal lock and fewer hiccups during sessions.

Heart rate tracking got an upgrade too. The PPG sensor now uses three wavelengths: infrared, near-infrared, and red. This helps with more accurate heart and sleep data. On top of that, Athena uses silver-thread sensors that should hold up better over time and deliver a cleaner signal. 

Finally, they’ve also updated the wireless chip. Bluetooth LE 5.3 is faster and more stable than the older version.

As far as battery life – it is unchanged from before. You can expect around 10 hours between charges which, depending on use, is enough to get you through a few days of meditation. This sort of battery life is also good for a single night of tracking sleep. So if you intend to use the device for that purpose – you will need to charge every day.

Muse S Athena vs Muse S: the differences

Here’s a summary of the improvements Muse S Athena brings over its predecessors.

Muse S Athena review: How to use for daytime meditation

• Easy app-based setup with multiple meditation modes
• Strength session trains focus like a mental workout
• Cognitive scores offer insight into sharpness and recovery

Muse S Athena can be used for daytime meditation in much the same way as earlier models. The setup process is straightforward. Download the Muse app for iOS or Android, pair the device, and you’re good to go. Everything is controlled through the app, which is cleanly designed and easy to navigate. The default “Meditate” tab takes you straight into the available sessions.

I found the pairing process to be quick and easy. Also, I had no problems switching between my iPhone and iPad, as at times I preferred to view the results on a larger display

You’ll find the familiar options still there: Mind Meditation, Heart Meditation, Body Meditation, Breath Meditation, and Timer. Each one uses different sensors depending on the focus—whether that’s your brain, heart, breath, or stillness. They let you choose the session length and soundscape, and in some cases, you’ll get guided instructions.

The classic Mind Meditation is still my favourite. You calm your mind and the app reflects that with fewer environmental sounds. The calmer you are, the quieter it gets. Bird sounds let you know when you’re on track. You can earn badges and track progress over time. It still feels strange and a bit magical to control something with your mind alone.

The upside is that the acoustic feedback makes it really easy to catch when my mind starts to wander, and it helps snap me back to the breath pretty fast. The downside is that sometimes the sounds can be distracting on their own, pulling my attention outward when I’m trying to go inward. That said, the biofeedback does its job. It works.

Plus, if you find you would like silence while meditating – there is an option for that as well. Choose external audio sessions – without actually listening to external audio. What I like to do is, in this setting, I opt to hear the birds. They are never distracting and allow me to know when I am in deep focus.

There’s something for everyone when it comes to the types of meditations available. In fact, the variety can feel a bit overwhelming at first. It takes a few days to explore the options and figure out which ones suit you best. It’s definitely a learning experience.

And if that is not enough – you can opt for the Premium Subscription. It unlocks 500+ sessions, allows for sync with external apps and spits out some more advanced data. The good news? You don’t really need it as there’s plenty on offer without it.

What I also like are the simple explanations and tips that are sprinkled throughout the app. There really is a lot to take in and this helps to keep the learning curve manageable.

But what’s really new in Athena is how it pushes all of this further.

A new kind of feedback

As mentioned earlier – Muse S Athena introduces a new kind of feedback experience through its fNIRS sensors. These track oxygenated blood flow in your prefrontal cortex, giving you a read on how much mental effort you’re actually exerting. Alongside the standard EEG feedback, this opens the door to a new type of training: cognitive endurance.

One example is a new session type called Strength. In it, you’re asked to generate as much mental effort as possible by concentrating on the horizon in the image. Your focus propels an owl forward. The harder you push mentally, the quicker it flies.

It’s an interesting shift. Instead of just calming the mind, you’re now training it to perform—similar to how physical workouts build muscle. Your brain, like any other part of your body, needs oxygen to function. The harder you think, the more oxygen your prefrontal cortex demands. Athena measures this in real time and uses that data to assess your cognitive endurance.

It’s definitely an interesting addition. In practice, I found it works well. Having said that, I did have one session where I could not get the owl to move no matter how hard I focused. I am still not sure if that was to do with me or incorrect headband positioning.

Real-time brainwave visualisation is now part of the package

Last year, the company added a new brainwave visualization feature to its app. Which means can now see your brain activity during and after sessions, broken down into gamma, beta, alpha, theta, and delta waves. Each of these relates to a different mental state, so it gives you a clearer picture of what your brain is doing while you are meditating.

You get detailed reports after each session with this type of data, and there’s a mode where you can watch your brainwaves in real time. With Muse S Athena you can even view a livestream of your brain blood oxygenation.

All of this is definitely interesting to look at, but I haven’t found much practical use for the data yet. Maybe with more time, it’ll become more useful.

Cognitive Performance and Brain Recharge score

Worth a special mention are the Cognitive Performance and Brain Recharge scores, available exclusively on Muse S Athena. You’ll find them in the post-session reports, and they’re designed to give you a quick snapshot of how your brain is functioning that day.

Cognitive Performance uses something called alpha peak frequency, which links to focus, processing speed, and overall mental sharpness. A higher score generally means you’re more alert and better prepared for mentally demanding tasks. The system sets a baseline after a few sessions and tracks future scores against it. So this is a score that you can aim to increase over time.

Brain Recharge, on the other hand, is based on alpha power. It gives you a sense of how well-rested or mentally recovered you are—basically, your brain’s version of recovery status after a workout.

These scores are still pretty new, but I’m already finding them useful. They also signal a shift in direction: Muse is starting to move beyond just meditation and into the space of cognitive fitness. Which makes the device more useful.

On the flip side, it seems you will need a premium subscription to access these metrics. I do wish the company reconsiders and includes them as part of the free subscription – as they are very useful.

Muse S Athena review: How to use to enhance sleep

• Tracks brainwaves, heart rate, breath, and movement for accurate sleep stage detection
• Go-to-Sleep Journeys use real-time biofeedback to ease you into sleep
• Digital Sleep Pill restarts audio if you wake up, helping you drift back off

Muse S Athena isn’t just for meditation, it also tracks your sleep. You can wear it overnight or for naps, and the data it captures goes beyond what you’d get from a typical smartwatch. While I wouldn’t personally use it every night, it’s great for checking in on your sleep quality from time to time. That’s actually what InteraXon recommends.

The advantage here is that Athena S tracks brainwaves directly using EEG, along with heart rate, breathing, movement and brain oxygenation. This combination gives it an edge in identifying sleep stages accurately. The app presents everything in a clean, easy-to-read format, along with a Sleep Score after each session. It’s useful if you want more insight than what you’d get from a wrist-based device.

You’ll also find a feature called Go-to-Sleep Journeys. These are responsive audio experiences designed to help ease you into sleep. They use real-time biofeedback—your brain activity, heart rate, breath, and movement—to adjust the soundscapes and voice guidance. Think of it like a smart bedtime story that knows when you’re drifting off. You can set how long it plays, and the app fades out automatically once you’re asleep.

Comfort is better than earlier models, though it still takes a bit of adjusting to get the fit just right for overnight use. If you tend to toss and turn, the pod can shift slightly, which might end a session early. But once it’s in place, it generally stays put. For anyone curious about their sleep patterns—or dealing with sleep issues—it’s a solid tool to have on hand.

Out of curiosity, I compared sleep stats from the Muse S Athena with those from the Garmin Forerunner 955 on my wrist. The results were actually quite close. In the example above, Muse recorded a total time in bed of 8 hours and 22 minutes—just 6 minutes more than Garmin.

What really caught my attention was how closely the REM and deep sleep figures matched up, with only a few minutes difference between them. I did not expect that. The larger difference came in the light sleep and awake time categories. Muse seemed more sensitive here and did a much better job pinpointing when I was actually awake versus just in light sleep. I listen to podcasts at night and tend to have a low heart rate, which can throw off wrist-based trackers. But Muse handled this much better and felt more accurate in detecting true sleep.

Digital Sleep Pill uses smart fade technology

The Digital Sleep Pill is still here. It builds on the Go-to-Sleep Journeys with a more intelligent system that uses smart fade technology. The idea is that it not only fades out sound once you fall asleep, but it can also detect if you’ve woken up during the night. When that happens, it gently fades the audio back in—whether that’s a sleep story, ambient soundscape, or guided meditation, depending on your settings.

You can customise how long the fade lasts, the volume, and other small details. In practice, it’s a strange but interesting experience. If you’re a light sleeper or taking a nap, the audio can feel like it’s blending with your dreams. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether you’re awake or still drifting. It’s the kind of feature that could be genuinely useful for people who struggle with falling—or staying—asleep.

A final word on safety

Safety deserves a quick mention. It’s good to be cautious with any tech that involves sensors on the head.

Muse S Athena uses passive sensors—EEG and fNIRS. That means it’s not sending any electrical current into your brain. EEG just reads the tiny voltages naturally produced by your brain’s activity. fNIRS uses low-intensity infrared light, which is non-ionizing, to measure blood oxygenation in your prefrontal cortex. Neither of these technologies is inherently dangerous. They’re also used in clinical and research settings with tight safety regulations.

So there’s no obvious reason to expect harm. Still, it’s worth being mindful of any physical discomfort, avoiding overuse, and taking breaks if you notice skin irritation or sensitivity.

Those ready to dive in can pick up the Muse S Athena for $474.99 from the choosemuse.com website. To save 15%, use code “gadgetsandwearables” at check-out.

The post Muse S Athena review: Tracking brain states, sleep and now effort appeared first on Gadgets & Wearables.