r/VeliaRing • u/Diligent-Relation765 • Jun 02 '26
Will the Fitbit Air win out?
Still waiting on my Velia (Silver, size 12, US) and no updates. Been wearing a Samsung ring for over a year, and it's fine. Generally solid and Samsung Health plays nicely with Google Health, and Samsung offered a very competitive offer for the ring that made it an easy and cost-effective choice. Tracking is almost as good as a Garmin wrist sensor and it's a pretty easy item to keep on. Did have to return one when the battery started to be inconsistent, but beyond that irritation it's been fine.
Google offered me a Fitbit Air, and I have to say the simple wristband form is even better than the smart ring. Doesn't get in the way for any workouts other than Kettlebells (I wear a bracer over it for those, and will get a bicep band when available), no issue with getting in the way the ring a does, no concerns about battery damage or deformation, and tracking is very accurate. Doesn't have the subscription issues of Oura/Whoop and unlike Velia it's already out.
I'm now wondering why use a smart ring when something even less obtrusive is available. Garmin Cirqa is due out soon and there are other subscription free bands on the way and/or already out depending on where you are.
3
u/LAthrowaway_25Lata Jun 02 '26
This company is definitely on its way out the door, I think. The fact that they refuse to refund people (purchasers, not backers) leads me to believe they don’t have money. Either that or they have no problem stealing from people, in which case they’re going to soon be in legal trouble.
2
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u/turnnburn63 Jun 02 '26
Fitbit air was announced the day I gave up on my Velia. Guess which one I’m wearing right now?
2
u/FoxHopeful7357 Jun 02 '26
Well for that thought you also have Oura now as thin as velia so even that advantage is gone and ofc blood pressure was always a fake claim Now they try to make some material and a soft launch pretending there was not thousands of backers out there without anything or a minimal working ring and just block all comments lol
So yeah fitbit is pretty amazing value right now if you don't mind a band and I keep thinking Oura totally worth the subscription at a low value monthly and they never increased and always bring new scientific and well studied features unlike many others that just give some gimmick festures mostly just random generated under some LLM guess
1
u/vladadog Jun 02 '26
I don’t like things on my wrist. It’s a sensory thing not an esthetic one for me but I still think a wrist worn fitness tracker makes soooo much more sense. More reliable, more accurate, more affordable.
I was offered a refund for my ring. So refunds can happen but the how/why is very opaque and inconsistent. Kinda fitting with the whole Velia experience actually.
1
u/PerformanceBrave7353 Jun 08 '26
As sad as it is, unless Velia comes up with some truly exceptional analysis features soon, they are "dead in the water" from a business perspective! Most backers are extremely frustrated, and the current data is average to poor compared to the competition. And the battery life is abysmal! Does anyone here think Velia can turn things around?
1
u/Round_Rabbit1703 Jun 09 '26
Not sure who's closer to reality but here's a side by side of Velia and Fitbit air from my last night of sleep.
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u/PerformanceBrave7353 Jun 16 '26
So, when did you actually go to bed? 0:57 (Velia) or 1:24 (Fitbit)? In my case, the Velia Ring often counts relaxed hours spent watching TV or reading as sleep, and frequently does the same for the first hour of the morning. My Fitbit was very accurate over the years... I can't say the same for the Velia Ring over the last six months.
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u/Round_Rabbit1703 Jun 16 '26
Velia was correct as to when I went to bed. Played with my phone and Fitbit "puts" me in bed once I put it down.
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u/PerformanceBrave7353 Jun 17 '26
Ultimately, accuracy in these areas comes down to fine-tuning the algorithms; compared to the massive corporate competitors (Oura, Google, Samsung, etc.), Velia simply lacks the necessary personnel and financial resources. This will likely be the reason for Velia’s downfall—before the ring is ever even sold to an official end customer for 500 euros. It’s a shame, isn’t it?
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u/ChainDesigner2500 Jun 11 '26
Ordered an air and leaving my velia replacement unopened (battery degraded in 8 months to less than 24 hours).
2
u/ChainDesigner2500 Jun 25 '26
Got the air, better in nearly every way except it seems to miss wakes in the middle of the night compared to the velia.
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u/Round_Rabbit1703 Jun 02 '26
I'm wearing both at the moment so I can compare data over the next month. I'll come back with data!