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When I first reviewed Ultrahuman Ring (the Ring AirLast year), I wrote That my biggest complaint was that I found the app to be overbearing. To illustrate one thing that annoys me about him, he scores me on a metric called “brain waste clearance,” as if he can measure something or that I can affect. But a new version of the app—Ultrahuman calls it the Emerald Update—changes all that.
I am using the beta version of this new app as I am testing the next one Ring ProfAnd so far, I’m impressed: it’s easier to navigate now, and presents the data from my ring in a way that’s really useful and easy to read.
Credit: Beth Skwerki/Ultrahuman
Important information and actions are presented first
When I open the new Ultrahuman app each day, I see a screen that provides a small amount of information—just the important stuff—about how I’m sleeping and how my day is shaping up. For example, today it says my sleep is improving, my resting heart rate is normal, and my temperature is “borderline” (slightly higher than normal). He tells me that I got only six hours of sleep. It’s everything I want to know when I check the app at the start of the day.
On the home screen (which is what I see after deleting that initial greeting), the Ultrahuman app now distills its firehose of data into some “next best actions.” The top one for me right now is to get up and move, because I’m so sedentary today. If I tap to see more, the next suggestion is to set an alarm to start my bedtime since my bedtime is inconsistent. These recommendations are really very useful!
The app is much easier to navigate
The old Ultrahuman app had tabs at the bottom of the screen, but most of them were useless unless you purchased specific Ultrahuman products (blood testing, glucose monitors, or home air quality monitors). Now, there are five tabs: the Ring tab, with all my main data screens; “Longevity,” which gives me “Ultra Age,” refers to how fast I’m aging according to my habits; Jade, who I’ll say more about in a minute; PowerPlug, where you can choose add-ons that give you additional features (some free, some subscription-based); and “zones,” a social feature (a zone is apparently something like a group or club).
I find the Lifespan tab useful for long-term metrics. I don’t put much stock in its exact life expectancy number (what’s the point of being two years older than I am?), but the tab also shows my estimated VO2max with a note explaining the recent algorithm update. As I scroll down, I can see some recommendations for “slowing down” my aging, which is akin to advice for long-term health—mine is that I need to deal with my sleep debt (I also have less “ease of blood flow,” apparently). The mysterious ways of application haven’t completely disappeared; they’re just below the surface.
“Jade” has an AI chatbot that I honestly try to interact with as little as possible. The card telling me about the ease of my blood flow suggested that I ask Jade what this meant and how to improve it. I tapped the button to do so, and Jed told me he didn’t know what smoothness of blood flow was. This part seems to need more work.
What do you think so far?
Circadian Window is easy to read
Older versions of the app constantly told me when and when not to consume caffeine. This is still a big part of the app, although you can disable it by uninstalling the Free Caffeine PowerPlug which is on by default. Now, however, the app shows me my “active windows” at any time. Right now, it’s noon, and the app tells me that caffeine is fine, sunlight and exercise won’t affect my sleep time, and that looking at a screen is okay. Later this evening, the caffeine window closes, and later, my screen time window closes.
However, the app doesn’t do a great job explaining these windows. What exactly happens when the “phase delay window” begins? But I like that there is now a view that shows all three timelines in parallel, labeled with different times. That’s not to say I’m more confident in the underlying decisions—I’ll still definitely stop caffeinating before 6 p.m., but I also know that The evidence doesn’t actually support that Skipping my morning coffee.
What this update means for Ultrahuman Ring wearers
Overall, I found the experience of using Ring much more pleasant with the new app redesign. Ultrahuman says data processing now happens on the device, so you don’t need an internet connection to get your metrics and recommendations. I’m still working my way through the app’s features as I test it Ring ProfBut I’m looking forward to improved heart rate accuracy and the ability to use data from Garmin and other devices for workouts. There is also a feature to “train your ring” by using it with another device. Sometimes, change is good.
