Ultrahuman Powerplugs 🔌 - what is it? Are we gonna pay subscription? 😱

Two weeks ago Ultrahuman launched the PowerPlugs platform within the Ultrahuman app. In this article we're going to talk about it:

• What is it?
• Does it mean "For God's sake, don't we have to pay a subscription fee?!"
• And why it's a game changer in the smart ring space.

So let's get to it 💥

📜Powerplugs in context

To explain what Powerplugs are, we should go back in time and talk about UltraSignal.

UltraSignal is a developer platform. By creating this platform, Ultrahuman de facto opens the door to raw ring data.

Introducing something like this is unprecedented in the smart ring space. It means that almost anyone can get a developer kit and access the data from the ring, such as temperature logging, PPG sensor logging and so on.

Now, they can do all sorts of things with that data - like build their own algorithm to calculate sleep stages. And what do you do with that algorithm, you ask? In theory, it can create an app within an app - PowerPlug.

🏪PowerPlugs

PowerPlugs can be activated from the main home page within the PowerPlugs Store. The name already suggests what I have outlined above. That it is a place where you can acquire "apps" for the superstructure, similar to how you acquire apps for your iPhone within the Apple App Store, for example. And just like there, some are free and some are paid.

Before we get to the actual PowerPlugs available, let's zoom out a bit and talk about what the PowerPlug (also known as "PP".) store actually means...

• Do you know what one of the most important moments in iPhone history is? It's the launch of the App Store. It was truly a revolution in app distribution, providing easy access to thousands of apps and contributing to the massive expansion and popularity of the platform. Will the PowerPlugs store have a similar history? We'll see 👀

• Personalised use - we can continue the App Store analogy. You have a smartphone? And you need a calorie counting app MyFitnessPal? Or make music with GarageBand? Some do, some don't. It's the same with PowerPlugs.
  Do you consume caffeine? Then the PP Caffeine Window will come in handy, telling you when you should and shouldn't consume caffeinated beverages. And if you're not on a caffeine kick, simply deactivate this PP.

So I've outlined the first PP - the Caffeine Window, a feature that's been part of the app for a long time. It is now part of the PP Store.

Let's take a look at the other powerplugs available. Ultrahuman currently ranks them in several categories (Longevity, Performance, Productivity, Women's Health).

Some PPs are paid 💲, others are free 🆓.

☀ Vitamin D (Longevity, 🆓)

This PP is a guide to sun exposure for optimal vitamin D production. Activating the PP involves selecting your skin type, normal skin coverage and setting an IU target.

You will then be given a recommendation on when to go outdoors and you can also log when you have been outdoors and under what conditions. Based on this, PP will estimate your IU of vitamin D.

By the way, there are separate apps for "managing" vitamin D production, e.g. Sun Index or Vitamin D. Within this PP you actually have an alternative within UH.

🌓 Circadian rhythms (performance, 🆓)

Similar to caffeine, this is a tool that has long been part of the Ultrahuman app. It advises you which actions (exercise, exposure to light, etc.) will affect your circadian rhythms based on the stage you're in. Basically, it's the morning, midday and evening phases.

🤰Pregnancy Insights & ⭕Cycle Tracking (Women's Health, 🆓)

Cycle Tracking is a PP that allows women to monitor their menstrual cycle and provides personalised recommendations for each phase. The Pregnancy Insights PP provides recommendations for each trimester in terms of measured metrics (HR, HRV, RHR).

UH has had both of these features for some time, but has now brought them under the PowerPlugs platform.

❤️ Cardiovascular Adaptability & 💔 AFib Detection (Longevity, 💲)

These two PPs are in the "Partner" category, which means that an external party was involved in their development. And they are (therefore) paid. How many paid features the Ultrahuman team has to be very careful with, because it associates subscriptions and that's an irritating topic within the smart rings 🚩. One of UH's top brass - Mohit Kumar - explains the whole thing by saying that it is a service. Indeed, the introduction of PP has caused some panic on discussion forums...

There is currently a cardiovascular adaptability that I have tested (first 3 days 🆓, then 2.9 💶/month). The measurements are taken at night. The first night the measurement failed - because I didn't know I had to have my phone near the ring. The next 2 nights went well. It uses tachograms and Lorenz diagrams for analysis:

• Tachogram: a graph showing changes in RR intervals over time, reflecting heart rate variability (HRV).
• Lorenz plot: a graph showing the relationship between successive RR intervals, allowing HRV to be visualised and analysed using the ellipse shape created by these data.

The second PP in this section is AFib Detection - which puts Ultrahuman at the top of the smart ring field. This is a PP developed by FibriCheck, which has created an app to detect Afib, which are irregularities in the heart rhythm that can indicate atrial fibrillation - something you don't want (it increases the risk of blood clots, strokes, etc).

AFib detection is not yet available. The price is said to be 5.9 💶/month. From my point of view, it's a preventive tool to check for possible risks.

🔜Planned PPs

Among the planned PPs we can see other, more specialised topics. These are:

• Jet lag to support travel across time zones.
• Weight loss for personalised weight loss recommendations.
• Ovulation, another staple of women's health.
• Screen time.

💭 In conclusion

In the article "A Year with Ultrahuman", I talked about the fact that for some, the app can be overwhelming with the amount of information.

My year with Ultrahuman AIR + 🎁Anniversary campaign

For one year, I wore the Ultrahuman AIR. What is the experience like? And what extra benefits can you get in the Ultrahuman anniversary promotion?

LordOfTheSmartRingsLORDoftheSMARTRINGS

Well, the PowerPlug Store solution is actually a solution to this drawback. It's a way of disabling some (for some) unnecessary features and selecting only the relevant ones.

I hope that even concerns about subscriptions will be allayed by this article. All existing functionality is still free within the ring. Opening up the Ring data to developers is a very bold move. Mohit claims that thousands more applications could be created.

Over the next few years, you could expect thousands of applications to be built on top of Ultrahuman’s comprehensive health data platform.
Mohit Kumar, Founder and CEO of Ultrahuman

Only time will tell if this was a good move. But it's a move that can benefit everyone - Ultrahuman, developers and users alike. Agree?

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