Motiv is an activity and sleep tracker you wear on your finger. Find out everything you need to know about the Motiv ring today in our review.
What is Motiv?
Motiv is an activity and sleep tracker that recently won CES 2017’s Best of Innovation for Wearable Technologies award. The tracker fits around your finger like an ordinary ring, tracking your activity while withstanding the elements (you can shower with it thanks to 5ATM waterproofing). It’s also stylish and discreet enough to wear in public.
Yes, a company finally packed a full-featured fitness tracker into a ring. Motiv is available to pre-order starting at $200. The ring is scheduled to be released in Spring 2017.
In a world crowded with wearable fitness trackers, can Motiv’s finger-based tracking system compete? Let’s take a closer look at how Motiv works.
Motiv Features
- Tracks all of the things you expect in a fitness tracker, including your active/resting heart rate, steps, sleep, active minutes, activity types, and calories burned
- Available in gray or rose gold colors with an ultralight titanium shell
- Rechargeable lithium ion battery with included magnetic charging dock that plugs into any standard USB port (you actually get two charging docks with your purchase, so you can leave one dock on your keychain and carry it around wherever you go)
- Battery charges in 90 minutes and lasts 3-5 days (depending on use)
- 3-axis accelerometer
- Optical heart rate sensor (underneath the band of the ring, facing your skin)
- Only compatible with iOS 9.0 or later (no Android capability at this point)
- Syncs with smartphone app, which is what you’ll need to use to track the data (all data is stored in the app)
- The app features an overview of your day and week, including a similar card-based interface to what we’ve seen with other health apps in recent years
Motiv isn’t a perfectly circular ring. The ring is a bit thicker at the bottom, which is where the heart rate monitor sits.
The ring also features a small band with a tri-color light. The lights activate when the device is syncing to your phone or charging.
The main goal of Motiv is to encourage users to get 150 minutes of activity per week, or 30 minutes of activity 5 days per week. They cite recommendations from numerous government agencies showing that this is an optimal amount of exercise.
The Motiv App
The Motiv app controls all of your incoming data from the ring.
The ring itself can actually hold up to 7 days’ worth of activity – which means you don’t have to sync the ring to the app every day.
The goal of the app is to collect action cards all day. After an average day, for example, you might see four cards showing that:
- Between 12:11pm and 12:33pm, you ran for 12 minutes
- Between 10:01am and 10:11am, you walked for 10 minutes
- Between 12:00am and 6:24am, you slept for 6 hours, 24 minutes
- Your resting HR was 68bpm
Cards can also give you more details about each specific activity. Tapping on a card will reveal your average heart rate during that activity, for example, including the steps you took and the number of miles you ran.
Or, after you sleep through the night, you can view a breakdown of your sleep habits, compared to your sleep trends for the overall week. You can track which days had the most sleep, for example, and which days had the least.
Or, track your resting and active heart rates over the week to view your progress towards health goals.
Motiv Pricing
Motiv is available to pre-order for $199.
To get your sizing right, Motiv is sending buyers a kit with fake rings, so you can try the rings on to see what fits best.
Motiv is currently only available in the United States. Shipping is free to American addresses.
About Motiv
Motiv is a San Francisco-based startup company. The company’s About page claims the idea for the ring “started with a hand-sketched drawing in the backseat of a car on a road trip.”
The company’s CTO, Curt, had an idea for a small, lightweight fitness tracker that could improve your life without interrupting it. Curt gathered old friends and colleagues – now cofounders Mike, Eric, and Peter – to meet up at a Palo Alto coffee shop. Motiv was born, and now, the ring is preparing to launch in Spring 2017 after 4 years in research and development.
Motiv’s co-founders include Mike Strasser (CEO0, Curt von Badinski (CTO), Eric Strasser (COO), and Peter Twiss (VP of E.E.).
You can get in touch with Motiv using the contact form at this page.
Motiv Review Summary
Motiv is accepting pre-orders today for $199. Rings are scheduled to start shipping in Spring 2017.
Obviously, we’ve seen other wearable rings hit the market over the past few years, including Oura, Ringly, and Ares. However, most tech blogs seem to agree that Motiv has the best chance of succeeding. It’s also important to note that Motiv won an Innovation Award at CES 2017.
Cautious buyers will want to wait until after Motiv is released before they buy. However, those who don’t mind taking a risk can pre-order Motiv today online through MyMotiv.com.
