Ring 3 made a full circle around Berlin.

9/3/26

“The Slim option is thinner and lighter than the Pro model and features basic health and wellness tracking in a compact design, including sleep, heart rate, HRV, SpO₂, skin temperature, and daily activity. It features up to 10 days of battery life.”

9/3/26

“It’s worth noting the existing Circular Ring 2 also has ECG and blood pressure trend features, which do seem to require a subscription to unlock, although there's no indication about how much this costs.”

9/3/26

“The Ring 3 Slim’s band is even slimmer, thinner, and lighter than the Pro model thanks to a smaller battery good for up to 10 days of use and a nonmetallic “biocompatible epoxy” used on the inside of the ring instead of titanium. It’s a more discreet and potentially more comfortable alternative.”

9/3/26

“It’s worth noting the existing Circular Ring 2 also has ECG and blood pressure trend features, which do seem to require a subscription to unlock, although there's no indication about how much this costs.”

9/3/26

“Both are smaller than the outgoing Circular Ring 2, bring back the company’s distinctive haptic vibration system, and both add NFC for contactless payments.”

9/3/26

“The return of vibration alerts is probably the most interesting bit here. Circular used haptics on its earlier rings, but dropped them with Ring 2, so Ring 3 brings back one of the few smart ring features that genuinely feels different from what most rivals are doing… NFC payments are also standard across the range. Circular says users will be able to tap their ring to pay using supported Visa and Mastercard cards, although we do not yet have a detailed list of banks, countries or card issuers that will work at launch.”

9/3/26

“Circular is also bringing back haptic vibrations, a feature from its original ring, for silent wake-up alarms, medication reminders, and health alerts you can feel without checking your phone. Battery life nearly doubles from its predecessor, jumping to roughly 12 days, and the ring is built from titanium with 50-meter water resistance.”

9/4/26

“Smart rings have been great at measuring your activity and health vitals for a long time, but these additions make the device more useful on a daily basis and make it more feasible to ditch your smartwatch… Circular says the vibration feature can be used for “silent wake-up alarms, medication reminders, vital health alerts, guided breathing exercises, and more”, though it’s the integrated NFC chip which stands out, as even the Oura Ring 5 is missing this tech.”

9/3/26

“Following the Circular Ring 2 generation, the new series comprises two distinct models: the feature-packed Circular Ring 3 Pro and the ultra-compact Circular Ring 3 Slim. Both devices support contactless payments with compatible Visa and Mastercard accounts, allowing wearers to tap to pay without taking out a phone or wallet. The launch also marks the return of Circular’s tactile haptic vibration engine. Built directly into the inner rim of the titanium steel ring, discreet vibrations deliver silent alarm clock wake-ups, medication reminders, biofeedback for breathing exercises, and real-time vital alerts without needing a screen.”

9/4/26

“Unlike a smartwatch, there is no screen to activate before paying. The embedded NFC chip reacts passively when it comes into close proximity with an active payment reader. The system uses a secure tokenization technology to allow this, but Circular is yet to show the integration with actual banking apps.”

9/4/26

“Circular wants to end that particular indignity. The Paris-based company announced its Ring 3 Series at IFA Berlin on September 3, 2026 — two models, the Pro and Slim, built around a single idea: your ring should pull double duty as a health monitor and a contactless payment device. Pricing and availability are expected in early 2027… That haptic feedback is underrated. A ring that taps your finger instead of lighting up your wrist during a meeting is genuinely useful — the kind of feature that sounds minor until you’ve lived with it.”

9/4/26

“In addition to having the health-tracking capabilities we expect of smart rings, Circular has added contactless payments, a feature typically found on smartwatches and smartphones, to its new subscription-free Ring 3 Pro and Ring 3 Slim. When covering the launch, principal writer Vanessa Hand Orellana wrote that the company also gave both rings haptic vibration alerts, a feature previously available on its first Circular Ring, along with advanced sleep metrics, glucose trend estimates and access to its AI health coach”

9/4/26

“Circular used the Berlin stage to officially announce its new Circular Ring 3 series: Circular Ring 3 Pro and Circular Ring 3 Slim. Both are slimmer and sleeker than their predecessor. But the real headliner is Ring 3’s NFC chip for contactless payments, plus an FDA-cleared ECG and blood pressure trend monitoring (on the Pro version).”

9/5/26

“Available in Slim and Pro options, the Circular Ring 3 is noticeably more compact compared to the previous Ring 2 series and supports two features other smart rings like the Oura Ring 5 don’t have: NFC for mobile payments and vibrations for alarms, medication reminders, and other health-based alerts and notifications. Battery life also lasts 12 days, up from 7 days.”

9/5/26

“I'm a big fan of smart rings, but the small form factor brings some limitations. Fortunately, some of the latest smart rings from Circular seem to be addressing some of them, with both rings featuring vibration alerts… Now it's back with the Circular 3 series, which can vibrate for wake-up alarms, health alerts, bringing exercises, and more, all while being nearly as slim as the Oura Ring 5. They also feature NFC payments, which is a feature I would love to see on more smart rings.”

9/8/26

“What’s more interesting is what the rings can do outside of health and fitness. Circular says both rings support “Circular Pay,” its take on an Apple Pay or Google Pay-style contactless payment system. Anyone who buys a Ring 3 model will be able to add a Visa or Mastercard to their ring and use it to complete payments. The company has also brought the haptic motor of the original Circular Ring back to the Ring 3 series. Haptic vibrations in the ring can be used as a silent alarm, to notify of a health alert, or as a non-visual guide through a breathing exercise.”

9/10/26

“Unlike Oura, these smart rings are subscription-free. They also support some unique features, most notably onboard NFC, giving you the power to pay for things with the touch of a finger. They also support haptic feedback for alerts and alarms.”