Circular Ring 3 Smart Rings Add Contactless Payments to Health-Tracking Features
Developing story first seen 1 hour ago
Circular has revealed its third-generation smart ring line-up at IFA, adding NFC contactless payments — compatible with Visa and Mastercard — so wearers no longer need to choose between a health-tracking ring and one that can pay for a coffee. The Series 3 also brings back a vibration motor, absent since the first generation, to power silent alarms, medication reminders and app notifications, continuing the firm's strategy of packing more hardware into its rings than rivals typically manage.
The range splits into two models: the Ring 3 Pro, a 6.8mm-wide titanium ring waterproof to 50 metres that keeps familiar features such as sleep and activity tracking, blood pressure and glucose trends, and Circular's signature single-line ECG, alongside nearly double the battery life at 12 days; and the slimmer, lighter Ring 3 Slim at 5.9mm wide, which drops the ECG and haptic motor to save space and weight. Both come in sizes six to fourteen with a 700mAh charging case, though the larger Pro will draw more charges from it. Circular has not yet confirmed pricing or availability, only that details will follow "in the coming months," ahead of the holiday shopping season.
- Circular's Ring 3 adds NFC payments via Visa and Mastercard support
- Vibration motor returns for alerts; battery life nearly doubles to 12 days
- Two models: full-featured Pro and lighter Slim (no ECG or haptics)
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The Circular Ring is a smart ring made by a wearable-tech company called Circular, worn on the finger rather than the wrist like a smartwatch. These devices track things such as sleep, heart activity and blood oxygen using sensors, and have become popular as a smaller, more discreet alternative to fitness trackers from firms like Oura, Samsung and others.
The announcement was made at IFA, a major consumer electronics trade show held in Berlin each year, where manufacturers often unveil new gadgets ahead of the Christmas shopping period. Circular is introducing its third generation of rings, adding the ability to make contactless payments directly from the ring, a feature more commonly associated with smartwatches or payment cards, alongside its existing health-tracking tools.
This matters because it reflects a broader trend of wearable devices trying to do more with less, packing payment technology, health sensors and notifications into a single small ring rather than requiring separate devices. How Circular's approach compares to rivals, and what the rings will eventually cost, are things the company has yet to confirm.
Full account
Circular has unveiled its third-generation smart ring line-up, adding contactless payment capability to a device already known for its unusually dense health-tracking feature set. The Ring 3 range succeeds the Ring 2, which launched at CES 2025 with FDA-cleared atrial fibrillation detection, and now splits into two versions: a fully featured Ring 3 Pro and a pared-back Ring 3 Slim. Both models incorporate an NFC chip that lets wearers tap to pay without needing a phone or wallet to hand, reportedly working with Visa and Mastercard, though it remains unclear how straightforward it would be to switch between linked cards while away from a paired smartphone.
The Ring 3 Pro carries over the health monitoring that has defined the range, including single-line ECG readings and AFib detection, alongside photoplethysmography sensors for heart rate and blood oxygen, plus tracking of sleep, activity, skin temperature and heart rate variability. Some reporting also notes continued tracking of blood pressure and glucose trends, features inherited from the Series 2. Built from titanium inside and out for greater durability, the Pro is said to be slimmer than its predecessor, is rated water-resistant to 50 metres, and will be offered in sizes six through fourteen and in gold, rose gold, silver and black finishes. Despite a smaller battery, Circular says it has nearly doubled battery life to up to 12 days, with a charging case able to replenish it several times over before needing a mains top-up.
The Ring 3 Slim is positioned as a lighter, more discreet alternative, using a biocompatible epoxy rather than titanium on its inner surface and shedding noticeable bulk and weight compared with the Pro. It keeps the core PPG-based heart rate and blood oxygen sensing but drops the ECG sensor and, with it, AFib detection, making it a step down in clinical-style monitoring. Battery life is rated at up to ten days. Reporting differs on whether the Slim retains the vibration motor used for silent alarms, medication reminders and guided breathing prompts, with one account suggesting this haptic feature is exclusive to the Pro.
Circular has not yet confirmed pricing for either ring. Guidance on timing is similarly loose: one report points to availability in early 2027, while another simply says further details will follow in the coming months, potentially positioning the launch ahead of the end-of-year gift-buying season. The announcement was made around the IFA technology trade show, underlining Circular's attempt to differentiate itself from rival smart ring makers by packing in more sensors and now payment hardware into an increasingly compact form factor.
Where outlets differ
One outlet reports that vibrating haptic alerts (for alarms, medication reminders and breathing exercises) feature on both the Pro and Slim rings, while the other states the Slim loses the haptic motor entirely, keeping it only on the Pro.
Availability timing differs: one source cites 'early 2027' specifically, while the other only says pricing and availability details will come 'in the coming months', with no firm date.
The second source gives more precise physical specifications (Pro: 6.8mm wide, 2.78mm thick; Slim: 5.9mm wide, 2.35mm thick), a 50-metre water-resistance rating, sizes six to fourteen, and a 700mAh charging-case battery — details largely absent from the first source, which instead notes the charging case can top up the ring five to six times.
The second source frames the launch around Circular's appearance at the IFA trade show and stresses continuity with Series 2 features such as blood pressure and glucose trend tracking, while the first source focuses more on the design/materials comparison with the outgoing Ring 2 and is more explicit about the Slim's sensor limitations (PPG only, no ECG/AFib).
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