Forget smart rings, your next health tracker might dangle even closer

Smart rings may be one of the trendiest fitness tracking form factors of the moment, but one company is making the case that health tracking belongs on your ear. Lumia today announced Lumia 2, a smart earring that tracks blood flow to your head in real time. According to the company, the device offers insight into energy, focus, and mental clarity. It’s a bold pitch for what Lumia calls the “world’s first smart earrings,” but it’s also one built on clinical roots rather than consumer fashion.

Lumia originally developed its sensing tech alongside researchers at Johns Hopkins, Duke, and Harvard to help patients with chronic blood-flow disorders. Now, the company wants to make that same technology more accessible by packaging it inside a jewelry-like earring back it calls the Lumia Core. The Core houses an optical sensor and other health sensors, plus a processor and battery, and attaches to a visible earring front that is interchangeable. Lumia sells modular hoop and stud options in gold, silver, and clear finishes, but a patent-pending SwitchBack mechanism also lets the Core attach to most push-back earrings you may already own. Lumia also sells a cuff version of the device for people without pierced ears. The whole package weighs less than one gram.

Like most wearables, the Lumia 2 tracks sleep, temperature, menstrual cycle patterns, and readiness metrics. Unlike other options, though, it does so from the ear, a location the company says is closer to both the heart and brain, and claims is therefore better suited for continuous measurement. Whether that proves accurate outside of a research setting remains to be seen, but Lumia cites an encouraging correlation between its blood-flow readings and ultrasound measurements during clinical studies.

The device is also designed to be comfortable for all-day wear, including in the shower, while exercising, and even to sleep. The Lumia 2’s new locking system is meant to prevent accidental loss, and a swappable battery pack should allow users to recharge without missing out on recording data. Each battery pack is rated for five to eight days of use. Notably, the Core only attaches to a single ear, but the company’s earrings are sold in pairs, so users don’t look lopsided.

Besides questions about the form factor itself, the biggest question mark is whether continuous blood-flow data will actually help anyone understand why they feel foggy or drained. Lumia argues that many symptoms like lightheadedness, brain fog, and mid-day crashes don’t show up in standard vitals like heart rate or blood pressure. Because blood flow responds to hydration, posture, food, and even how you sit, the company says early testers have already spotted behavior patterns they wouldn’t have seen otherwise. For now, the Lumia 2 is not FDA-cleared and does not diagnose or treat any medical condition. The company says diagnostic capabilities are under investigation for a future filing.

Lumia 2 will launch first in the US and Canada with support for both iOS and Android. The device starts at $249, but only with the currently available discount, and there’s also a $9.99 monthly membership plan required, similar to Oura’s membership pricing structure. Early access reservations are open now at lumia2.lumiahealth.com. Existing Lumia 1 users will get free upgrades through the company’s Edge Access Membership program, though some features, such as sleep tracking, won’t unlock until the Lumia 2 ships.

Smart earrings catching on the way smart rings have is a big ask. They may prove too niche, too invisible, or too clever for their own good. But if a tiny earring can really explain why I feel like a deflated balloon every afternoon, I’m listening, with at least one ear.