Ultrahuman is rolling out a new Respiratory Health PowerPlug for its smart ring, adding snoring and coughing detection to its growing ecosystem of software-led health features.
The update is powered by Sleep Cycle’s AI sound analysis and, crucially, links nighttime audio events to physiological data captured by the ring itself.
This matters because snoring has long lived in an awkward grey area: common, easy to joke about, and often ignored.
Yet habitual snoring is linked to elevated cardiovascular risk, with studies suggesting a significantly higher likelihood of stroke and undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnoea among regular snorers.
Not just another snore tracker
Unlike standalone snore-recording apps, the Respiratory Health PowerPlug relies on a two-device setup.
The smartphone sits by the bed to capture audio, while the Ultrahuman Ring AIR provides context through heart rate variability, resting heart rate, movement patterns and sleep fragmentation.
Snoring, coughing, and breathing disturbances are then mapped directly onto those biomarkers, showing how respiratory events align with drops in recovery or repeated awakenings.
In practical terms, this means users don’t just see that they snored, but when it happened and what it did to their sleep physiology.
For comparison, the Oura Ring 4 doesn’t directly record or classify snoring or cough audio.
However, it can measure respiratory rate, blood oxygen (SpO₂) and breathing regularity overnight via its optical sensors, and those trends can hint at disturbed breathing or potential sleep issues.
Privacy-first, phone-dependent by design
All audio processing happens on-device, with no sound files uploaded to Ultrahuman or Sleep Cycle servers.
Users can delete recordings at any time, and the feature won’t work without a phone placed nearby overnight.
That requirement is worth flagging, as it places the PowerPlug closer to a hybrid solution than a fully ring-led one.
Still, for a form factor as constrained as a smart ring, offloading audio capture to the phone is a pragmatic compromise rather than a limitation.
Ultrahuman positions the feature as an early-warning system rather than a diagnostic tool.
By highlighting trends such as increased snoring after alcohol, congestion-related coughing, or improvements from side sleeping and nasal aids, the PowerPlug aims to prompt small, timely interventions before poor sleep shows up as fatigue or stalled recovery.
It also gives users something concrete to take to a GP or sleep specialist, which may be its most valuable long-term role.
The Respiratory Health PowerPlug is rolling out now via a waitlist in the Ultrahuman app.
Pricing is $3.99 / £2.99 / €3.99 per month, or $39.99 / £29.99 / €39.99 per year.
For more info, head over to Ultrahuman now.
