The Motiv Ring fitness tracker

These days you can wear fitness trackers almost anywhere, on your wrist, in your ears, clipped to your belt and with the Motiv Ring, on your finger.

Motiv’s fitness tracking concept is more laid back than stat-heavy. The app counts active minutes, taking more than 100 steps every minute, for 10 minutes or more as the metric. It won’t do nonstop syncing, but you can trigger a sync by twisting the ring clockwise on your finger.

The $199 Motiv Ring measures steps, sleep, resting and active heart rate. The waterproof ring has its own battery and lasts about three days on a charge. The Motiv has no indicators, just an LED that changes color when it’s charging. The ring magnetically snaps onto its USB charge dongle, but no AC adapter comes in the box.

Unlike most wrist-based trackers, choosing a ring size is not as simple as measuring your wrist. When you place your order online, you’ll first receive a sizing kit from Motiv in the mail. Inside are seven sizes to choose from, and Motiv recommends wearing a tester for at least a full day to make sure you get the right fit; you may not realize it, but your fingers often shrink and swell depending on the weather or what you’re doing. When you’ve made a decision, send the kit back and you’ll receive a properly sized ring in the mail.

On the inside of the ring, you can see the tiny optical heart rate sensor on a flat edge. This part is meant to be worn on the bottom side of your finger, flush against your skin, so it can get readings from your capillaries.

If you hate the idea of a smartwatch or fitness watch and still want to track your activity, this might be an intriguing option. Much like the old Jawbone Up or the Fitbit Flex 2, this is a low-key way to keep some level of tracking in your life.

Motiv’s easy-to-wear fitness ring does the basic stuff surprisingly well, but its higher price and lack of extras mean it won’t replace a good fitness band.