Circular is taking another swing at smart rings with two new models that can track your health, vibrate and pay for coffee
Circular’s third-generation smart rings debut at IFA 2026 with NFC payments, returning haptic alerts
Circular has never been short of ambition when it comes to smart rings, and at IFA 2026 in Berlin, the French wearable brand is having another go with what looks like its most convincing hardware yet.
The new Circular Ring 3 Series comes in two versions, the Circular Ring 3 Pro and Circular Ring 3 Slim, and it's not just about different looks, either.
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.
Circular says the new rings are the first to combine comprehensive health monitoring with secure contactless payments in a single wearable.
Supported Visa and Mastercard cards can be used by tapping the ring against a compatible payment terminal without a smartwatch or phone in sight.
Circular Ring 3 Slim
Circular experimented with vibrations on its original smart ring, but the feature disappeared from later models.
It now returns with support for silent wake-up alarms, medication reminders, health alerts and guided breathing exercises.
Two rings, two very different priorities
The Circular Ring 3 Pro is the flagship and packs in a broader selection of health features.
These include single-lead ECG with AFib detection, blood pressure trends, glucose trend estimates, advanced sleep analysis and the usual assortment of heart rate, HRV, SpO2, temperature and activity data. Circular claims up to 12 days of battery life.
The Ring 3 Slim lacks ECG and blood pressure tracking, but offers sleep, heart rate, HRV, SpO2, skin temperature, and activity monitoring, plus NFC payments and haptics. Battery life is quoted at up to 10 days.
The Slim measures just 5.9mm wide and 2.35mm thick, with weight starting at approximately 1.9g depending on size.
The Ring 3 Pro is 6.8mm wide and weighs roughly 3–4g, while the previous Ring 2 measured 7.8mm across.
Both new rings are available in sizes 6–14, offer 50-metre water resistance and support wireless charging.
Circular is also updating its Kira app, which uses AI to analyse ring data and provide personalised wellness insights and recommendations.
The big unanswered questions are price and when you'll actually be able to buy one.
Circular is showing both Ring 3 models at IFA Berlin, but says it won't announce pricing, availability, or pre-order details until the coming months.
Head over to Circular for more info.
