Three months with five wearables
Shahad Al Nouri
A sleep ring, two watches, a clip-on tracker and smart earbuds: what stayed on my wrist and what ended up in a drawer.
Last spring I wore five devices for three months: a sleep ring, two smartwatches, a clip-on step tracker and a pair of earbuds that count your breathing. I wanted to know which ones change habits and which ones just collect data.
What stayed
The ring won. It tracks sleep without a screen, so I forget it is there, and the morning summary made me go to bed earlier on work nights. The simpler of the two watches stayed too, mainly for one feature: a gentle nudge to stand up after an hour at my desk.
What went in the drawer
The clip-on tracker kept getting lost in the laundry, and the earbuds’ breathing scores felt more like homework than help. More data did not mean better choices.
My advice
Pick one question you want answered, such as “Am I sleeping enough?”, and choose the simplest device that answers it. The best tech disappears into your day.