The best Apple Watch alternatives for sleep tracking

Why look for an Apple Watch alternative for sleep tracking?

Apple Watch tracks sleep, and since watchOS 26 it gives a Sleep Score from 0 to 100 each morning, with time in REM, core and deep sleep. For many people in Dubai and Riyadh, the watch they already own is the obvious sleep tracker. So why look elsewhere?

Charging. Apple quotes up to 18 hours of battery for Apple Watch SE 3 and up to 24 hours for Series 12. Apple Watch Ultra 4 reaches up to 50 hours. Apple’s sleep guide asks for at least 30 per cent charge before bed. Many owners charge overnight, and a watch on the charger records no sleep.

Comfort. A watch is larger than a ring. Some people sleep with it; others take it off without thinking.

Focus. Some people want a device that reads sleep and recovery and does nothing else: no screen, no notifications, no light in a dark room.

This is Sisly’s own blog, and Sisly is one of the options below. We have kept each entry to facts you can check on the maker’s own pages.

What does Apple Watch do well for sleep?

Apple Watch sleep tracking comes with no subscription. The Sleep app shows your time awake and in REM, core and deep sleep, and the Sleep Score adds a single number each morning. The watch also gives you a screen, payments, apps and notifications during the day.

If you are happy to charge at another time, such as while you shower or have breakfast, Apple Watch may be all you need. The alternatives below make sense if you want something that stays on every night without planning around a charger.

Which Apple Watch alternatives track sleep?

The table compares the device price, what you pay after you buy, battery, screen and app languages. Prices come from our price list and carry the date they were checked.

Sisly

Sisly is a titanium ring or band from the UAE. It costs AED 999, paid once, with no subscription. It reads sleep, energy, stress, heart rate variability, activity and skin temperature against your own normal. HRV, or heart rate variability, is the small change in time between one heartbeat and the next, and it is one of the signals sleep and recovery trackers use.

• Who it suits: people who want a quiet ring or band to wear every night, paid once, with an app in Arabic and English.
• After you buy: nothing to pay.
• Battery: about 7 days between charges.
• Data: readings are hosted in the UAE.
• Availability: available to pre-book.

Oura Ring

The Oura Ring is the best-known smart ring. Oura lists its app for iPhone on iOS 16 or later and for Android 11 or later. Oura’s full insights need a membership: without an active one, Oura says the app shows three daily scores, for readiness, activity and sleep, plus battery, profile and settings. New members get one included month.

• Who it suits: people who want a detailed sleep app and are happy with a monthly or yearly fee.
• After you buy: a membership for the detailed views.

Ultrahuman Ring AIR

Ultrahuman Ring AIR is a light smart ring with a focus on sleep, recovery and movement. Ultrahuman says there are no recurring subscription fees for your data, and that the ring runs about 4 to 6 days per charge under standard use.

• Who it suits: iPhone users who want a ring and no membership.
• Phone: iPhone on iOS 15 or later, and Android 6 or later.

Garmin’s sleep band

Garmin’s Index Sleep Monitor, launched in June 2025, is a soft band worn on the upper arm, for nights only. Garmin says it tracks sleep stages, HRV status, skin temperature and breathing variations, with up to 7 nights of battery. It does not need a Garmin watch, and it is listed on Amazon.ae.

• Who it suits: people who want a sleep-only device and would rather not wear anything on the hand.
• After you buy: the Garmin Connect app is free. Connect+ is an optional paid plan, and Garmin says every existing feature stays free.

What about Samsung Galaxy Ring?

Samsung Galaxy Ring is a well-known ring with no membership for its current features. Samsung lists it for Android phones only, so it does not suit someone who uses an Apple Watch and an iPhone.

How do you choose an Apple Watch alternative for sleep?

Four questions settle most decisions.

Will you wear it every night?

This is the question that matters most. A sleep tracker is only useful on the nights you wear it. Choose the shape that you will forget you are wearing: a ring, an arm band or a wrist band.

Does it work with your iPhone?

If you use Apple Watch, you use an iPhone. Check the maker’s compatibility page for your iPhone model and iOS version before you buy.

What will it cost over three years?

1. Take the device price from the table.
2. Add any membership for 36 months.
3. Compare the totals.

Apple Watch, Ultrahuman and Garmin have no required fee for sleep tracking. Oura’s detailed views need a membership. With Sisly, the three-year total is AED 999, because there is nothing to pay after you buy.

Where are your readings kept, and in which language?

Sisly readings are hosted in the UAE, and the app is in Arabic and English. For every other brand on this list, see the provider’s privacy policy for where data is kept.

What can a sleep tracker really tell you?

A wrist, finger or arm sensor estimates sleep from movement, heart rate and temperature. It does not read brain activity. A 2021 study in the journal Sleep compared seven consumer sleep trackers with polysomnography, the overnight laboratory test. The devices performed well at telling sleep from wake, but their sleep stage readings were inconsistent.

The CDC recommends 7 or more hours of sleep a night for adults aged 18 to 60. A tracker helps you see how your nights compare with that, and how late dinners, travel or a warm bedroom in a Gulf summer move your own numbers. If trouble sleeping carries on, speak to your doctor. For practical help, read how to fall asleep faster in a hot city and sleeping through a Gulf summer.

Which one suits you?

• Keep Apple Watch if you are happy to charge it at another time of day and like having a screen.
• Choose Oura if you want the best-known smart ring and a detailed app, and a membership suits you.
• Choose Ultrahuman Ring AIR if you want a ring with no recurring fee that works with your iPhone.
• Choose Garmin’s Index Sleep Monitor if you want a sleep-only band on the upper arm.
• Choose Sisly if you want a titanium ring or band, AED 999 paid once, with readings hosted in the UAE and an app in Arabic and English.

For a closer look, read Apple Watch vs Sisly and Apple Watch vs Whoop vs Sisly. Our guide to the best smart rings in the UAE covers the whole category.

Sisly is available to pre-book. Register your interest and we will tell you when it ships.