The Circular Ring 2 has emerged as the standout wearable at CES 2025, prompting both Apple and Samsung to place significant orders for it.

What is it like to have industry titans like Samsung and Apple place bulk orders for your company's products? How does it feel when Apple executives discreetly tuck away their CES badges as they make their way to your booth to inquire about your offerings? What emotions arise from being in the spotlight of such significant interest?

For Amaury Kosman, the French-American co-founder and CEO of Circular, based in Paris, the sentiment can be summed up in one word: "frustrating."

Kosman, who leads the six-year-old smart ring startup Circular, tells Laptop Mag from his booth at CES this week that all the attention paid to the company’s new ring, the Circular Ring 2, is frustrating because he knows Circular should be a bigger presence in the market. (Also, those lanyard-hiding execs aren't fooling anyone.)

The Circular Ring 1 was introduced in the US during CES three years prior, and according to Kosman, it achieved sales in the “tens of thousands.” However, the Circular Ring 2 boasts a significant federal approval that sets it apart from other smart ring manufacturers, including Oura and Samsung.

Top Wearable of CES 2025: Circular Ring 2

The Circular 2 smart ring is capable of ECG (electrocardiogram) readings. To get to the heart of the matter, this means that the ring on your finger can detect atrial fibrillation, a type of irregular heartbeat — which can result in more than 400 beats per minute, according to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

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Kosman, who speaks with a slight French accent and whose mother hails from Madison, Wisconsin, tells Laptop Mag it took 10 months to gain approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Afib detection for the Circular Ring — a stamp of approval that neither Samsung nor Oura have for their rings.

His team of eight, located in Paris, is striving to have their rings manufactured in China, even though they have attempted to create a fully French-made ring. Given China's capability to produce electronics on a large scale, Kosman, who is currently frustrated that Circular isn't a more significant contender in the smart ring industry, might not remain exasperated for much longer.

The Circular 2 ring starts at $349 and goes up to $549, depending on your finish (gold, silver, black, or rose gold). This is up from the $259 starting price of Ring 1, which one Redditor described as having a “plastic” feel.

In addition, the Circular ring stands out due to its innovative digital sizing capability. Users can simply snap a photo of their hand using their smartphone, and the system can determine their ring size with "95% accuracy," according to Kosman. The Circular 2 is compatible with both Android and iOS devices and boasts a battery life of up to eight days. Charging is conveniently handled through a wireless charging dock.

Circular co-founder Amaury Kosman tells Laptop Mag that the Ring 2 will launch via Kickstarter in March and be for sale for $349.