"The Finger Stand"

4 June 2026

60s

Handstand and deliver.

A smart ring is more or less an attempt to make a less evil version of the One Ring, i.e. Sauron's baleful bit of bling. No corruption of mind, body, and soul, et cetera—just the ability to track your heart rate, blood pressure, cardio capacity, blood sugar levels, and more. Invisibility would have been nice, but we guess Finnish brand Oura had to draw the line somewhere.

To promote the Ring 5—allegedly "the world's smallest smart ring"—the brand takes viewers into the wilderness and shows them what a real handstand looks like… the kind that makes a praying mantis stop in its tracks (the animal kingdom must think humans are such weirdos, eh?) As the protagonist pushes on, however, it's hard not to be impressed by the physicality and natural splendour.

What takes us out of the moment, however, is the so-called 'Readiness' counter. With the ring synced up to the protagonist’s smartphone, it says: "You're in a prime position to take on the day with energy and focus." So many of these readouts and insights come across as silly or synthetic, but folk must like them if we're onto the fifth generation. Imagine if Sauron had been able to iterate on his product.

USA

Wearables