Screenless health trackers are having a massive moment right now. Everywhere you look, brands like Oura, Ultrahuman, Google, and Garmin are pitching the same dream: continuous, round-the-clock body tracking without a glowing screen constantly begging for your attention.

The problem? Once you strip away the screen, you also lose most of the day-to-day convenience that makes smartwatches so useful.

Parisian wearable startup Circular is trying to bridge that gap. Announced on the show floor at IFA in Berlin, the new Circular Ring 3 Pro and Circular Ring 3 Slim bring a few major smartwatch features directly to your finger – most notably, contactless payments and localized buzz alerts, reports CNet.

By adding NFC tap-to-pay and bringing back the original model's built-in haptic motor, Circular wants to do more than just passively log your vitals. Your ring can now nudge your finger for phone notifications, medication times, and health warnings – no phone screen required.

What’s New on the Health Front?

Alongside the physical upgrades, Circular is expanding its health metrics to include blood pressure tracking, estimated glucose trends, and deeper sleep breakdowns.

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There's an important caveat here, though: outside of an FDA-cleared ECG feature for AFib detection, most of these new tracking capabilities lack regulatory clearance. That means they're purely designed for spotting personal baseline trends—something to chat about with your doctor—rather than official diagnostic tools.

Circular’s biggest advantage over competitors like Oura or Whoop has always been its business model. Out of the box, you get full access to your metrics and "Kira," Circular's AI health assistant, completely subscription-free. That said, Circular seems to be flirting with paid tiers; a few advanced medical features in the app currently carry a "limited time" tag, suggesting paywalls could be coming down the line.

Pro vs. Slim: How Do They Compare?

While both models include the headlining NFC payments, haptic alerts, and standard health tracking, their designs cater to very different preferences:

• Size and Fit: The Ring 3 Slim lives up to its name. It’s noticeably narrower and thinner than previous generations, putting its profile right up against ultra-compact options like the Oura Ring 4. The Pro, on the other hand, shaves off a little height compared to its predecessor, but keeps a heftier, thicker profile.
• Build Quality: The Pro sports a premium solid-titanium chassis, whereas the Slim uses a biocompatible resin coated in titanium to keep the weight down.
• Battery Life: You get a little extra longevity with the thicker hardware. Circular estimates up to 12 days of battery life for the Pro, compared to a still-respectable 10 days on the Slim.
• Exclusive Sensors: If you want ECG checks or blood pressure monitoring, you'll have to go with the Pro – the Slim leaves those sensors out to maintain its smaller footprint.

The Catch

Circular is pushing the envelope on ring functionality, but it's still playing catch-up on the software side. Tech juggernauts like Google and established players like Oura have spent years refining their algorithms, actionable recovery advice, and software ecosystems.

As for cost and release dates? Circular is keeping those details under wraps for now. Pre-order timing and final retail prices are slated for announcement in the coming months.