Five Techniques Every Superhuman Ring User Should Know
Ultrahuman rings, including the new Ring Pro model , come with a comprehensive app. Even before activating any PowerPlugs (additional features), you’ll be overwhelmed by a plethora of graphs and numbers. Here are a few tips to help you navigate this deluge of data and make the most of its hidden features.
I’ve used two Ultrahuman rings: the Ring Air, which I reviewed here (and which is no longer sold in the US), and the Ring Pro , which I wrote about a little here . Ultrahuman just released a new version of their app , so if anything here looks different than you’re used to (like the Durability tab), make sure you have the latest version.
Use the Durability tab of the Superhuman ring, but not to increase durability.
The Ultrahuman feature gives you a rough estimate of your biological age, which you might (and rightly so) consider a somewhat gimmicky gimmick—but don’t ignore the Longevity tab entirely. It’s actually a great summary of your long-term trends. If you think of the Ring tab as data on your daily activities and recommendations for what to do today, the Longevity tab will show you how all those days add up.
Here you’ll find an approximate estimate of your VO2 max , which measures your cardio fitness. You’ll also see a card describing your sleep deficit; mine is one hour due to going to bed later last week, but it also indicates I’ll be going to bed on time several times to offset this deficit.
To improve the accuracy of your heart rate measurements while training with the Ultrahuman rings, use a different device.
As I mentioned before , smart rings aren’t ideal for tracking workouts. For many workouts, you have to remove the ring for comfort or safety reasons, and heart rate readings aren’t particularly reliable, even if you choose to keep the ring on.
The Ultrahuman app can certainly track workouts using the ring, but it also has a setting that addresses my specific concerns. If you have another device, such as a Garmin or even a simple chest strap heart rate monitor , you can configure Ultrahuman to use that more reliable device to measure your heart rate during workouts. Simply start a workout from the app (in the menu with the plus sign), and you’ll be able to select a different device. It works with any device capable of transmitting heart rate data and provides instructions for pairing your AirPods Pro 3, Apple Watch, Polar, Whoop, or Garmin heart rate monitor.
“Train” your superhuman ring to improve accuracy.
A new feature in the Emerald update is the ability to “train” your ring’s heart rate algorithm. To do this, you’ll need to wear an additional device alongside your ring, and Ultrahuman will compare the signals received from both devices. This is expected to allow Ultrahuman to more accurately determine your heart rate.
Currently, this feature is only available for a few specific Polar heart rate monitors, none of which I have on hand, so I haven’t been able to test it yet. However, Ultrahuman says support for other devices, such as Garmin, is coming soon. Step-counting workouts will also be available soon.
Keep track of your sunlight exposure with the Vitamin D Monitor plugin (even if you don’t care).
One of Ultrahuman’s advantages is that the app tracks optimal times for certain activities. By default, you get recommendations for when to stop looking at screens before bed, as well as step recommendations for early morning and golden hour (around sunset). A similar timeline also exists for determining the optimal time to consume caffeine during the day.
But there’s another handy timeline you can add: it shows your sun exposure. To see it, go to Powerplugs and activate the Vitamin D plugin. Of course, you can use it for its intended purpose: recording when you’re outdoors and receiving sunlight. The ring automatically detects a certain amount of sunlight, and you can determine when you’ve been outdoors if you’re trying to spend a certain amount of time in the sun.
Now your timeline will show a line showing sunrise time and “partial sunlight” time in the evening, based on your location. Some of this time can be accessed using the circadian rhythm plugin for Windows, but I like to have it displayed in a separate column on the timeline. This is handy for planning outdoor activities at the end of the day—if I’m heading outside during “partial sunlight,” I should probably bring a flashlight if I’m on a trail. To see all your timelines at once, tap the “Active Windows” card on the main screen.
Save battery life on your Ultrahuman ring with Chill Mode.
One of the Ultrahuman’s most useful features is its easy battery life adjustment, which you won’t find unless you specifically look for it. When you first buy the ring, it will run in turbo mode, which, as the app describes, means “all sensors are running at full power for continuous tracking all day long.” And of course, when the ring is new, you might want to use turbo mode and enable real-time heart rate display on the main screen to get the maximum amount of data for analysis.
But for everyday use, “Chill Mode” is much more practical than “Turbo.” It still tracks your sleep and rest periods, and collects a lot of data during workouts, but at other times, detailed tracking is disabled. In “Chill Mode,” the battery lasts longer, and frankly, I don’t feel like I’m missing anything important.