I just went hands-on with the new Circular Ring 3
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Credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide
Forget the Oura Ring 5 ; I just got my first look at the new Circular Ring 3 Pro and Circular Ring 3 Slim at IFA in Berlin, and they just might be the smartest smart rings... well, ever.
When I reviewed the Circular Ring 2 a year ago, I praised it for great battery life, lots of wellness insights, and heady features like ECG monitoring with AFib detection. However, a buggy app held it back.
Credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide
Since then, Circular has completely overhauled the companion app and, perhaps more impressively, doubled down on supported smart features for the new rings.
With that in mind, here are the three biggest ways the Circular Ring 3 beats the Oura Ring 5 (the best smart ring of 2026 so far).
1. Haptic feedback
Credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide
While the original Circular Ring had haptic feedback, the brand ditched the feature in the Circular Ring 2. Well, apparently folks missed it, because it's back in both the Circular Ring 3 Pro and 3 Slim.
Haptic feedback can be used as an alarm, a medication reminder, or to guide you through built-in breathing exercises. You can also set the Circular 3 to vibrate for vital health alerts, like a low heart rate.
Down the road, the list of haptic functions will likely expand to include other customizable options.
Credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide
How strong are the vibrations? I tested the haptic feedback on the Circular Ring 3 and found it subtle but noticeable; I'm especially curious if it's powerful enough to wake a deep sleeper.
Either way, haptic alerts are a feature that seems to be slowly appearing in more wearables, like the Fitbit Air and RingConn Gen 3 , and one I'd love to see Oura knock off.
2. NFC payments
Credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide
Up until recently, most smart rings didn't offer all that much "smartness" outside of health and fitness insights. Now, Circular is upping the ante with onboard support for NFC payments, another feature I got to demo on the IFA show floor.
Simply hold the ring on an NFC surface and wait for a small vibration to confirm your payment was successful; that's it! Better yet, the Circular Ring 3 Pro and 3 Slim support both Visa and Mastercard.
3. Slimmer, lighter design
Credit: Dan Bracaglia/Tom's Guide
Finally, the Circular Ring 3 Slim — which lacks some of the more advanced health features and heady battery life of the Pro — is both narrower and lighter than the Oura Ring 5, which recently set the standard for smart ring comfort.
That said, the Oura Ring 5 is ever-so-slightly thinner than the Circular Ring 3 Slim, but much thinner than the Circular Ring 3 Pro.
What are your thoughts on the latest Circular Ring 3 Pro and Circular Ring 3 Slim? Do you think they give Oura and the competition a run for the money? Let me know below.
