Movano, the Bay Area company, has introduced Evie, a women's health-focused smart ring that will hit the market later this year. The device takes advantage of the recent popularity of this discreet format, led by brands such as Oura and Circular.
However, it is one of the first to focus on a specific segment of the market (to the extent that about 51% of the population can be considered a segment, I guess). Women's health makes sense as a goal. companies like Fitbit y Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC), have had some success with the addition of cycle tracking and other related features.
In this case, of course, it is included as standard. Evie's main functions are:
- Heart rate recording, heart rate variability, SpO2, respiratory rate, skin temperature variability, period and ovulation tracking, menstrual symptom tracking, activity profile including steps, active minutes, and calories burned, sleep stages and duration, and mood tracking.
"Mood" is the main selling point for Happy Ring, which has yet to be released and uses its data in hopes of helping users better manage stress and sleep. Additionally, Movano claims that he "plans to obtain FDA clearance" for the product. Obviously, there are no specific deadlines in this regard. He points out:
“The company plans to order the pulse oximetry metric after successfully completing a hypoxia trial in October 2022, which demonstrated clinical SpO2 and heart rate accuracy in accordance with the FDA consensus standard. While some wearables are only cleared by the FDA for specific programs, such as ECG and Afib, Evie is designed to regulatory standards and built in an ISO13485 and cGMP compliant medical device manufacturing facility. Empowerment will provide women with reliable, personalized information that will help them make connections between cause and effect so they can better understand the "why" of what they are feeling. In addition, Evie will provide data that clinicians may consider reliable for patient care."
That is clearly the ultimate goal of many of these companies: to move from the consumer space to something that is taken a little more seriously by medical professionals, insurance companies and the like.
"As a medical device, Evie will go beyond the status quo of other wearables on the market, and we believe it has the power to transform women's lives and overall health," said John Mastrototaro, CEO, in a statement. “We are bringing together medical-grade biometric data and insights into a comfortable, contemporary wearable that empowers women to take ownership of their unique healthcare journey.”
The product is expected to be around $300, and unlike Oura, it won't charge an additional subscription fee.
