Circul 2 max vs. Ringconn Gen 3 (just got the former last night)
So, my Circul 2 max was stuck in customs for like 21+ workdays. I kept bugging the company, and there wasn't anything they could do (I looked it up; customs is like a black hole til things leave there). They finally wrote me and said it was being sent back to China and said I could have a new one sent or cancel the order. I said yes to new one and then, 2 min later, wrote I wanted to cancel it. In the meantime, I ordered a Ringconn Gen 3. Like 2 days after that, I got an email saying the Circul was arriving. So I decided I'd keep both, perhaps trading one for the other now or giving one to my wife. The Circul arrived last night. First impressions, like all rings (including Oura ones), it's bulky, but I usually get used to them. Feels fine on my finger. Put it in sleep mode last night and, unlike my Apple Watch, which only alerts me to significant episodes of sleep apnea (which I confirmed in a formal sleep study (I have mostly mild apnea, which worsens in REM sleep), the Circul ring showed much, much more detail about my apneic episodes and my oxygen saturation numbers throughout the night (sort of a bummer, if this is accurate, as the O2 sats dropped to 80-85% for about 30 min, which is not great). This AM, I calibrated the blood pressure part of the ring. Not sure how often/many times I need to do that, but I'll do it a bunch over the next week or so to assure it's as calibrated as possible. Gonna try my first exercise with the Circul ring (alongside my Apple Watch) to see how that goes. FYI--ALL rings have crap batteries, so I purchased the extended warranties for each ring (and got an extra 3 months added on for Circul due to the customs issue above). I imagine that the battery makers AND the rings make more money with crap batteries since it forces people to buy new rings eventually (and, thus, new batteries. Sigh. Meanwhile, just got my Ringconn Gen 3 sizing kit and confirmed my size online. If I recall, it's due to ship in June. I'll update this then. FWIW, I had two Oura rings in the past, I think the 2 and the 3. They were fine (and a bit bulkier than the Circul ring), but I stopped using them when I got my Apple Watch.