Circular’s New Smart Ring Brings Mobile Payments to Your Finger

Circular is putting mobile payments at your fingertips with its new Circular Ring 3 series. Announced at IFA, the consumer tech show in Berlin, the Circular Ring 3 Pro and Circular Ring 3 Slim are bringing more smartwatch-like capability to the ring category. Both models add contactless payments to Circular’s existing health tracking and bring back the haptic vibration feature from the original Circular Ring. That means the rings can buzz your finger for app notifications, medication reminders and health alerts without a screen or phone as the middle man. The screen-free wearable category is having its moment in the spotlight with an explosion of new rings and wrist-based trackers from Oura, Ultrahuman, Google and Garmin promising to track long-term health trends round the clock without the battery limitations and distractions that come along with tiny smartwatch screens. But that same lack of a screen has limited how much these devices can do beyond collecting health data. Circular, based in Paris, is carving out its own lane by pushing more functionality onto the finger. Its FDA-cleared ECG feature and AFib detection, and NFC payments and haptic alerts push the Ring 3 series closer to smartwatch territory, without giving up the low-profile design that draws people to rings in the first place. The trade-off is that Circular’s platform still isn’t as established as competitors such as Oura, Whoop and Google, which have had more time to build out their health insights, coaching and ecosystems. The Ring 3 lineup also expands Circular’s health tracking with blood pressure trends, glucose trend estimates and advanced sleep metrics. But without FDA clearance, these remain wellness features designed for spotting trends and more conversation starters with a doctor rather than diagnostic tools. Circular/CNET Circular Ring 3 Slim vs. Circular Ring 3 Pro Both rings share Circular’s core health tracking, NFC payments and the returning haptic vibration motor, but there are some important hardware differences. Dimensions: As the name suggests, the Ring 3 Slim is a lot smaller, in both height and width, than the Pro and the previous generation, putting it closer to the ultra-slim Oura Ring 5, which was the smallest ring I’d tested at the time. The Ring 3 Pro, by contrast, is also slightly shorter than its predecessor, but it’s gained thickness and weighs exactly the same as the Gen 2 ring. Circular Ring 3 SlimCircular Ring 3 ProOura Ring 5 Width 5.9mm6.8mm6.09mmThickness2.35mm2.78mm2.28mmWeight1.9–3g, depending on size3–4g, depending on sizeFrom 2g, depending on size Materials: The Pro uses titanium, while the Slim is made from a biocompatible resin with a titanium coating. Battery: The Pro will outlast the Slim by about two days. Circular claims up to 12 days for the Ring 3 Pro, versus 10 days for the Slim. Health tracking: Only the Pro has the ECG feature and blood pressure tracking. Circular Circular Ring platform and AI coach Circular has built its following on a subscription-free model, giving ring owners full access to core health tracking metrics along with its Kira AI health companion, a feature most competitors charge for even when they offer a free tier. However, the company isn’t fully closing the door on charging for advanced medical features, with some of these showing as “limited time” in the app. Price and availability Circular hasn’t announced pricing or a firm release date for either Ring 3 model yet. The company says those details, along with preorder timing, will arrive in the coming months. We’ll update this article when the company announces more details. Vanessa is a lead writer at CNET, reviewing and writing about the latest smartwatches and fitness trackers. She joined the brand first as an on-camera reporter for CNET's Spanish-language site, then moved on to the English side to host and produce some of CNET's videos and YouTube series. When she's not testing out the latest health tech, you can catch her on a hike or trail run with her family. See full bio