ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The RingConn Gen 2 is a subscription-free smart ring that retails for $300.
• It monitors your sleep, activity, stress, and vitals, and it’s got a marathon battery life.
• The only downside is the user interface feels underdeveloped.

more buying choices

Most smart rings these days claim to offer marathon battery lives, but often fall short of their promise. Many smart rings claim to last a week’s worth of battery, but only make it to five or six days before dying on me. Part of the appeal of smart rings, compared to smartwatches, is their longer battery life, so what gives? 

Also: I biohacked my sleep with these 5 gadgets (and it worked)

I’ve got one for you if you want a smart ring with a truly competitive battery life. I’ve been testing the RingConn Gen 2 smart ring that boasts a marathon battery life of 10 to 12 days. The smart ring comes with other perks — and a few drawbacks — that I’ll get to below. 

Right off the bat, the RingConn 2 has some green flags. Unlike competing smart ring brands with products that start at $350 and go all the way up to $400 or $450, this smart ring costs $300 — and does not require a subscription to gain full access to your health data. Sizing starts at size six and goes through size 14, and you can get the ring in three colors: silver, black, and gold. 

The build of the ring is more square than circular, but I found myself unbothered by this unique shape. It fits comfortably around my finger with no problems. Despite healthy and frequent wear, the ring doesn’t tarnish easily either. 

Also: Two popular smart ring makers just got caught copying Oura – here’s what happens next

The RingConn Gen 2 comes with a case that extends its already impressively long battery life, powering the smart ring’s empty battery for over 150+ days. As someone who is constantly charging several wearable devices at a time, this long-lasting charging case that I could use without hooking the smart ring up to an outlet made me partial to RingConn. 

Most smart rings offer up daily scores for two to three important health metrics: sleep, activity, and readiness. Readiness is calculated based on yesterday’s activity, how you slept, and other biometric data, like how late your heart rate dropped as you slept. 

Also: The best sleep trackers of 2025: Expert tested and reviewed

The RingConn Gen 2 measures your vitals, sleep, activity, and stress, but doesn’t measure readiness. Instead of readiness, it provides a Wellness Balance feature. It takes all of the aforementioned data and displays it in a flower-like graph, with longer petals for the biometrics that are meeting or exceeding the recommended benchmarks and shorter petals for those that aren’t. 

When all your petals are the same length, it indicates that your wellness is at equilibrium. I liked that I could see all the important data displayed in such a digestible and visual manner right as I opened the app. 

Hardcore trainers use the readiness or energy feature on their smart ring apps to gauge how intense their exercise regimen should be for the day. If that’s you, you might be displeased with the Wellness Balance functionality, and I’d recommend the Oura Ring, Ultrahuman Ring, or Galaxy Ring instead. 

The app delivers your scores alongside context that helps inform the reasoning behind your sleep or vitals score. I was ill one day while testing the ring and spent the entire day sleeping. Because of the large amount of time I spent in bed, it told me that too much sleep can slow down my metabolism or lead to weight gain. 

Also: The best smart rings of 2025: I tested and found an obvious winner

RingConn says that the battery on its second-generation ring lasts up to 10 to 12 days, but in my testing, I found that it only lasted seven. Still, that’s far longer than the battery lives of other smart rings I’ve tried, which last four to five days on a single charge. I can say without a doubt that this smart ring has the most impressive battery life out of every brand I’ve tried. 

According to its website, the RingConn Gen 2 also boasts a sleep apnea detection feature with 90.7% accuracy. If you’re a chronic snorer looking to learn more about how your breathing impacts you throughout the night, the sleep apnea feature could help monitor your conditions and answer some of your questions. 

It tells you when there are significant or minor outliers in your sleep throughout the night, providing not only a graph detailing this but also a timeline showing when your SpO2 fluctuated during the night. 

I wore the Oura Ring 4 in tandem with the RingConn Gen 2 and found that the latter seems to underestimate both the time spent asleep and the steps I’ve taken throughout the day. 

Also: Oura Ring users are customizing their wearables with this clever design hack

The RingConn and Oura both ranked my sleep efficiency in the 87th and 88th percentiles. Oura said I got 11 hours and eight minutes of sleep, while RingConn said I spent 10 hours and 50 minutes asleep. RingConn reported 11,091 steps, while Oura reported 15,259 steps. I’ve seen in various Reddit threads that the Oura Ring tends to overestimate step count, which could account for the great disparity in steps between rings. 

On a healthy night of sleep, Oura recorded eight hours and two minutes, a sleep efficiency of 94%, and a sleep score of 90. RingConn recorded an 84 sleep score, seven hours and 45 minutes asleep, and a sleep efficiency of 91%. In both cases, RingConn is subtracting around 15 minutes from my night’s sleep. 

ZDNET’s buying advice

I enjoyed most aspects of wearing this subscription-free smart ring, and at $300 ($50 less than competitors), it’s a smart ring I’d recommend to those looking for an alternative to Oura’s subscription-based services. especially if you want a smart ring with a battery life that will actually last you a week before recharging. 

The one area where I noticed RingConn’s smart ring lacking was in its user interface. The app feels underdeveloped, and some of the messages lacked personal context that proved they were being generated from my own data. On one good sleep score day, all that it said when I clicked on the sleep tab was: “Good sleep makes you happy.” That’s my only true gripe, and I hope the recommendations can become more tailored and informative in future software updates. 

Otherwise, the RingConn Gen 2 is an impressive smart ring with comprehensive health metric monitoring that’s on the cheaper end of the smart ring spectrum. It accurately tracks sleep with features like sleep apnea monitoring that could help you uncover your snoring patterns, it’s got a marathon battery life (plus a charging case with 150 days’ worth of juice in it), and a build you can wear comfortably. 

Looking for the next best product? Get expert reviews and editor favorites with ZDNET Recommends.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 has dropped to its lowest price ever at Amazon, and it’s the perfect Android watch for any fitness enthusiasts out there. It features comprehensive activity tracking, advanced health monitoring, and a slew of cool AI integrations. This is the 44mm model of the Galaxy Watch 7, which is the largest option. It regularly costs $330, but while this deal lasts you can pick it up for a sale price of $230. This is definitely one you’ll want to pounce on quickly, as Amazon has it listed as a limited-time deal, and you can be certain it won’t last long.

Why You Should Buy The Samsung Galaxy Watch 7

If you already have a fitness routine — or if you’d like a little help getting one established — the Galaxy Watch 7 is one of the most popular options available. It’s capable of tracking a huge range of activities that include running, cycling, yoga, strength training, and even swimming. The built-in GPS delivers exceptional accuracy for outdoor activities, mapping your routes and providing real-time pace, distance, and elevation data. These tools will come in handy for trail runners, hikers, and even those who like to get out and enjoy an evening walk.

AI is the hot addition to the latest generation of smartwatches, and Samsung integrates Galaxy AI into the Watch 7 a number of different ways. It chips in big time when it comes to health features. Heart rate tracking is improved, with AI able to filter out body movements and external interference, ensuring you’re getting more accurate data. Sleep tracking sees major benefits as well, with AI able to provide you with actionable steps to develop better rest habits and get a better night’s sleep.

And while the more active sports fans among might get a kick out of all of the health and fitness features, the Galaxy Watch 7 is, of course, a smartwatch. That means it’s got something for everyone interested in a piece of wearable tech. It’s able to connect to smartphones, allowing you to tap into text conversations and your favorite streaming music right on the Watch 7. AI can even help you find the right response for various text exchanges. I personally find the Galaxy Watch 7 to be one of the best looking smartwatches on the market, as it does a great job of walking the line between everyday style and athletic gear.

With the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 marked down to just $230, this isn’t a deal you want to sit on. That price is good for $100 of the Watch 7’s regular price of $330, and it’s the best price the popular smartwatch has seen since its release.

Gainbridge is ensuring its place in the women’s sports ecosystem.

The Indiana-based financial services and insurance company was among the brands to sponsor Caitlin Clark when she was still in college, and it holds the naming rights to the Indiana Fever’s home arena, Gainbridge Fieldhouse (where the NBA Finals–bound Pacers also play). But it’s also expanding its presence outside of basketball.

Gainbridge’s history with women’s sports dates back to 2017, when it struck up a partnership with the LPGA. It’s since stretched into tennis as the title sponsor of the Billie Jean King Cup, and in April, the brand secured a deal for the naming rights to the USL Super League, a pro women’s soccer league in the US.

Overall, about 40% of the company’s sponsorship spend is allocated to women’s sports, according to Mike Nichols, chief of sponsorship strategy and activation for Gainbridge parent company Group 1001.

“What we’re trying to do in the women’s sports space, as well as all of our sponsorships, is just raise the profile of the brand,” Nichols told Marketing Brew. “When you are asking somebody to invest their money with you, you want to give them the comfort of having seen the brand in major spaces.”

The company’s latest efforts in women’s sports go beyond brand KPIs, including its Gainbridge Assists grant program that aims to fund various girls’ and women’s sports organizations. The goal with all of the efforts is “to be authentic,” Nichols said, “at the risk of [using] the most overused word right now in marketing.”

Supercharge

One reason why Gainbridge teamed up with the Super League is because the organization provides an additional Division 1 league for women athletes to compete in, creating more professional sports opportunities overall, Nichols said.

As part of the partnership, Gainbridge is working with 1999 World Cup champion, two-time Olympic gold medalist, and Hall of Famer Briana Scurry to help support clinics for women and youth soccer players across the US. Scurry joins Billie Jean King, Clark, and 72-time LPGA Tour winner Annika Sörenstam on Gainbridge’s ambassador roster.

Though the Gainbridge name is front and center on properties like the Gainbridge Super League, the company often cedes space to its partners when it comes to its naming rights sponsorships. Its LPGA tournament is called “The Annika driven by Gainbridge at Pelican,” and its tennis property is “The Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge.”

Like with its soccer partnerships, Nichols said the decision is a goodwill move as much as it is a marketing one.

“If you were to take a marketing textbook and look at it, you’d probably say that’s crazy,” he said. “But again, that’s what we’re trying to do, is lead by example and be authentic in what we do. It’s not always necessarily [about] getting every last drop of marketing value from the sponsorships.”

The assist

Beyond the sharing-is-caring approach to some title sponsorships, Gainbridge is also giving out grants to women’s sports organizations through an initiative with its sister company Parity, a partnership platform for pro women athletes also owned by Group 1001.

The initiative started three years ago when three of Gainbridge’s major women’s sports properties—the Billie Jean King Cup, the Annika, and a Women in Motorsports North America summit—all occurred during the same week in November. The companies named the event “Parity Week” and celebrated the accomplishments of King, Sörenstam, and former IndyCar driver Lyn St. James, Parity CEO Leela Srinivasan said.

In 2024, Gainbridge and Parity brought the initiative back, but focused it on the future of women’s sports as opposed to honoring established figures. The companies teamed up with King’s Women’s Sports Foundation to award a total of $172,000 in grants to 22 orgs and athletes running programs for girls and women in sports, including a $22,000 donation to Clark’s foundation, a nod to her jersey number.

“It was so fun seeing the range of opportunities,” Srinivasan said. “It was fencing to flag football.”

This year, the companies are upping the total grant money available to $222,000, and are seeking grant requests through July 11. The program is no longer called Parity Week, though; Srinivasan said Parity proposed changing its name to “Gainbridge Assists Powered by Parity” to tie into Gainbridge’s broader messaging around providing financial assistance for customers (a point that other insurance companies have also weaved into sports marketing given the obvious metaphors).

Nichols said he sees Gainbridge Assists as a “legacy program” and hopes more brands get involved down the line. If that happens, Nichols said he would be open to rebranding the program again to have the Gainbridge brand take more of “a secondary role.”

For this year, at least, it’s all about the assist.

The 2024/25 UEFA Champions League season reached its spectacular conclusion today at Munich Football Arena. As the Official Smartphone Product Partner of the prestigious competition for the third consecutive year, OPPO celebrated the event with a series of football-related CSR programs and cultural activations around the final as well as reaffirming its commitment to supporting football through innovation in technology and social initiatives. By integrating cutting-edge technology into football and strengthening connections between fans and the game worldwide, OPPO continues to empower footballers and supporters to truly “Make Your Moment”, creating unforgettable experiences both on and off the pitch.

Watch the Game Like Never Before with OPPO Technology

Inside the Champions Village at Munich Football Arena, OPPO brought together football culture, highlights from the UEFA Champions League history, and the sporting spirit of Munich alongside the company’s latest AI technologies and camera innovations. Football fans from around the world were given the chance to take AI-powered selfies with a virtual avatar of Spanish football prodigy and OPPO Global Brand Ambassador, Lamine Yamal, at the interactive booth, making their own hero moment powered by OPPO AI. Inter Milan legend, Marco Materazzi, also made a surprise appearance at the OPPO Hospitality Lounge, where he met with fans and demonstrated the latest OPPO technology.

Alongside the OPPO and UEFA Champions League highlights on display at the Champions Village, the event also featured a showcase of OPPO’s latest AI and photography technology. Pushing the boundaries of smartphone photography, OPPO’s new camera zoom technology eliminates typical user challenges when shooting photo and video from a distance, enabling even spectators in the highest stands to capture stunning close-ups as if standing on the sidelines. Enhanced by other OPPO AI features like AI Unblur and AI Eraser, OPPO’s camera technology empowers fans to effortlessly capture goals, saves, and more epic moments, transforming the on-pitch excitement into timeless, unforgettable memories.

Creating a Global Platform for Football Culture Through Technology

On the eve of the UEFA Champions League Final, OPPO invited Global Brand Ambassador Kaká, and Brazilian football legend Cafu, to lead a series of charity football training clinics for youth athletes from Brazil in Munich, providing a rare opportunity for the young footballers to learn directly from their football idols. Following the training, former England international, Micah Richards also joined for an exclusive 5v5 match with the up-and-coming players, with the legends using OPPO’s AI-powered technology to capture picture-perfect moments from the pitch.

On the day of the final, OPPO also brought together Kaká, UEFA Champions League legend Esteban Matías Cambiasso Deleau, and Chinese youth women footballers for a game of the ancient Chinese football-like sport, Cuju, connecting diverse football cultures past and present while showcasing football’s unifying power. 

Through this extensive program of activities around the competition, OPPO is creating a global platform that connects fans and players around the world through the common language of football. By helping to promote football, improve players’ technical skills, and provide inspiration from football heroes, these programs create valuable opportunities for youth development, elevating both the game and football culture globally. 

Empowering the Next Generation of Footballers Worldwide Through Community Programs

Alongside its activations at this year’s final, OPPO has been implementing a range of diverse sports development and talent cultivation programs worldwide throughout the season in its third year as the Official Smartphone Product Partner of the UEFA Champions League.

In Brazil, OPPO has launched a comprehensive sports initiative across four communities in São Paulo to support youth football development. The program includes renovating local football pitches, donating sports equipment and supplies, providing professional training sessions, and facilitating pathways for young players to enter professional clubs. 

In Egypt, OPPO teamed up with The Maker Football School for #The MakerXOPPO DreamLeague a nationwide youth football tournament aimed at discovering and developing Egypt’s top young football talents. In addition to hosting the competitive tournament, OPPO has provided comprehensive coaching and world-class player development programs to help aspiring young footballers turn their dreams into reality.

In Mexico, OPPO also announced a strategic partnership with UNESCO, the municipal institutes of Sports of Puebla and Chihuahua to empower aspiring young football players across the country. Through the collaboration, OPPO will provide essential training equipment and cutting-edge technology to nurture the next generation of football talent and inspire professional football aspirations among local youth. 

Since beginning its partnership with the UEFA Champions League, OPPO has continued to empower football fans worldwide, with its advanced technologies and products making it easier than ever for fans to capture, share, and relive the game’s most thrilling moments. Inside the stadium, OPPO’s cutting-edge devices enable fans to preserve iconic match highlights and amplify their passion for football. Beyond the stadium, OPPO is also collaborating with global communities to provide development platforms, resources, and technologies that drive the sustainable growth of football.

Moving forward, OPPO remains committed to connecting football fans worldwide through technology and unlocking the sport’s untapped potential while empowering more football players and fans to “Make Your Moment”

WASHINGTON (AP) — Meta has cut a 20-year deal to secure nuclear power to help meet surging demand for artificial intelligence and other computing needs at Facebook’s parent company.

The investment with Meta will also expand the output of a Constellation Energy Illinois nuclear plant.

The agreement announced Tuesday is just the latest in a string of tech-nuclear partnerships as the use of AI expands. Financial details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Constellation’s Clinton Clean Energy Center was actually slated to close in 2017 after years of financial losses but was saved by legislation in Illinois establishing a zero-emission credit program to support the plant into 2027. The agreement deal takes effect in June of 2027, when the state’s taxpayer funded zero-emission credit program expires.

With the arrival of Meta, Clinton’s clean energy output will expand by 30 megawatts, preserve 1,100 local jobs and bring in $13.5 million in annual tax revenue, according to the companies.

“Securing clean, reliable energy is necessary to continue advancing our AI ambitions,” said Urvi Parekh, Meta’s head of global energy.

Surging investments in small nuclear reactors comes at a time when large tech companies are facing two major demands: a need to increase their energy supply for AI and data centers, among other needs, while also trying to meet their long-term goals to significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions. Those emissions are generated, in large part, from the burning of fossil fuels like gasoline, oil and coal. Nuclear energy, while producing waste, does not emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases.

Constellation, the owner of the shuttered Three Mile Island nuclear power plant, said in September that it planned to restart the reactor so tech giant Microsoft could secure power to supply its data centers. Three Mile Island, located on the Susquehanna River just outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was the site of the nation’s worst commercial nuclear power accident in 1979.

Also last fall, Amazon said it was investing in small nuclear reactors, two days after a similar announcement by Google. Additionally, Google announced last month that it was investing in three advanced nuclear energy projects with Elementl Power.

U.S. states have been positioning themselves to meet the tech industry’s power needs as policymakers consider expanding subsidies and gutting regulatory obstacles.

Last year, 25 states passed legislation to support advanced nuclear energy, and lawmakers this year have introduced over 200 bills supportive of nuclear energy, according to the trade association Nuclear Energy Institute.

Advanced reactor designs from competing firms are filling up the federal government’s regulatory pipeline as the industry touts them as a reliable, climate-friendly way to meet electricity demands from tech giants desperate to power their fast-growing artificial intelligence platforms.

Amazon, Google and Microsoft also have been investing in solar and wind technologies, which make electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions.

Shares of Constellation Energy Corp., based in Baltimore, were flat Tuesday.

(Copyright (c) 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

Presenting a joint white paper with pSemi nominated for Best Industry Paper Award highlighting next-generation RF switch technology

MIGDAL HAEMEK, Israel, June 3, 2025 – Tower Semiconductor (NASDAQ/TASE: TSEM), a leading foundry of high-value analog semiconductor solutions, today announced its participation in the upcoming International Microwave Symposium (IMS) 2025, taking place June 16-21 in San Francisco, California, highlighting its advanced RF & HPA technology platform and latest advancements in RF switch technology. As part of the event’s technical program, Tower will present a jointly developed white paper with pSemi, titled “A Low-Loss, Wideband, 0-110 GHz SPDT Using PCM RF Switches with Integrated CMOS Drivers” nominated for the Best Industry Paper Award at IMS2025.

This paper highlights a record-breaking wideband single-pole, double-throw (SPDT) switch utilizing Tower Semiconductor’s monolithically integrated PCM RF switches in an RFSOI CMOS process. The key features include ultra-wideband performance (true DC to 110 GHz with less than 2 dB of insertion loss), digital control using integrated CMOS drivers with MIPI RFFE interface (available in the PDK), 30 dBm measured power handling, and 15-20 dB better linearity performance than RFSOI CMOS SPDTs currently available. This combination of ultra low-loss wideband performance, power handling, and full CMOS/digital integration simplifies implementation for end users and enables advanced circuits for 5G, future 6G, SatCom, beamforming, and millimeter-wave applications.

Presentation schedule:

A Low-Loss, Wideband, 0-110 GHz SPDT Using PCM RF Switches with Integrated CMOS Drivers

By Dr. Nabil El-Hinnawy, Principal R&D Engineer, Tower Semiconductor

As part of the Th1B session: Innovative RF Switches, Varactor and Modulator Technologies (full program details available here).

Date & Time: June 19, 2025 at 8:20AM

Location: 205

To meet with Tower’s engineering team during the conference, visit the Company’s booth #655.

For additional details on IMS 2025, please visit the event webpage here.

For additional information about the Company’s RF platform offering, visit here.

About Tower Semiconductor         

Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ/TASE: TSEM), the leading foundry of high-value analog semiconductor solutions, provides technology, development, and process platforms for its customers in growing markets such as consumer, industrial, automotive, mobile, infrastructure, medical and aerospace and defense. Tower Semiconductor focuses on creating a positive and sustainable impact on the world through long-term partnerships and its advanced and innovative analog technology offering, comprised of a broad range of customizable process platforms such as SiGe, BiCMOS, mixed-signal/CMOS, RF CMOS, CMOS image sensor, non-imaging sensors, displays, integrated power management (BCD and 700V), photonics, and MEMS. Tower Semiconductor also provides world-class design enablement for a quick and accurate design cycle as well as process transfer services including development, transfer, and optimization, to IDMs and fabless companies. To provide multi-fab sourcing and extended capacity for its customers, Tower Semiconductor owns one operating facility in Israel (200mm), two in the U.S. (200mm), two in Japan (200mm and 300mm) which it owns through its 51% holdings in TPSCo, shares a 300mm facility in Agrate, Italy with STMicroelectronics as well as has access to a 300mm capacity corridor in Intel’s New Mexico factory. For more information, please visit: www.towersemi.com.

Safe Harbor Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary from those projected or implied by such forward-looking statements. A complete discussion of risks and uncertainties that may affect the accuracy of forward-looking statements included in this press release or which may otherwise affect Tower’s business is included under the heading “Risk Factors” in Tower’s most recent filings on Forms 20-F, F-3, F-4 and 6-K, as were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the Israel Securities Authority. Tower does not intend to update, and expressly disclaim any obligation to update, the information contained in this release. 

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Tower Semiconductor Company Contact: Orit Shahar | +972-74-7377440 | [email protected]

Investor Relations Contact: Liat Avraham | +972-4-6506154 | [email protected]

Attachment

• Tower IMS 2025 Final