Exercise is the most important thing you can do to improve your health and overall well-being. Still, for people who want to increase their fitness level and the efficiency of their workouts, tracking specific key biomarkers during exercise can make a huge difference when it comes to maximizing their results. For example, muscle oxygenation (or SmO₂) is an important indicator of metabolic activity that can show how well your muscles are functioning, as it reflects the dynamic balance of oxygen supply and delivery in your muscles and how efficiently your body is using its energy reserves during exercise. Moreover, measuring your SmO₂ levels during exercise also provides a direct measurement of exercise intensity, one that’s more accurate than measuring your heart rate. Another great indicator of how efficiently your muscles are working and performing during exercise is nitric oxide (NO), which research has shown to not only be a key indicator in the overall health and fitness of an individual, but also a much more informative biomarker to monitor than tracking one’s steps, heartrate or VO2 max (the maximum volume of oxygen one’s body can process). In other words, by tracking specific key biomarkers in one’s blood during exercise activities like muscle oxygenation (SmO₂) and also the active nitric oxide (NO) levels in your working muscles, you’ll be able to get real time measures that let you know how effective and efficient your exercise is. This is where the newly released NNOXX One comes in.
The NNOXX One is a smart wearable device equipped with a range of state-of-the-art biosensors which make it capable of accurately measuring muscle oxygenation (SmO₂) and active nitric oxide (NO) levels deep in your muscles while you exercise in real-time, thus giving you better insights on how your workout is working for you. The device integrates photodiodes, a temperature sensor and an accelerometer which are all supervised using Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF5340 SoC (System-on-a-Chip). It also incorporates Nordic’s nRF21540 RF front-end module (FEM), a “plug-and-play” range extender which enables up to +20 dBm TX output power with a power consumption of 2.9 mA in RX and 45 nA in power down mode, ensuring that athletes can reliably send their exercise data to their smartphone, along with a custom Li-ion battery that offers up to 4 hours of battery life. Via the NNOXX App, users can view their data after completing unguided workouts to get feedback on their exercise effectiveness and efficiency, and can also access guided workouts that are personalized in real-time by the app’s “AI Coach”, which guides users through a desired cyclical workout (such as running, biking, etc.) and a selected workout length based on their biomarkers to increase the effectiveness of their workout.
Designed as an advanced tool that gives you a holistic picture inside your working muscles with real-time measurements of exercise effectiveness and efficiency, this smart wearable device makes it easy to know how much exercise you need to do and how intense your workout sessions need to be in order to maximize your training and achieve better results.
Below you can find our hands-on review of the NNOXX One, where go over all the high-end components that comprise this smart wearable device and explain in detail exactly how it works.
DESIGN & SPECS
Starting with the device’s size, this smart wearable device comes at a super sleek and ultra-compact size, measuring just 2.93 inches long by 1.18 inches wide by 0.57 inches thick (74.5 mm x 30 mm x 14.7 mm), and the device is also incredibly lightweight.
On top of its sleek dimensions, the NNOXX One also sports a simple and ultra-discreet design, allowing it to easily blend in with your gym clothes / training clothes.
Moreover, the device also packs a sturdy construction, as its outer shell is built of a highly durable plastic compound.
The device is designed to be worn directly in proximity with one’s skin so that it can efficiently measure the muscle oxygenation (SmO₂) and active nitric oxide (NO) levels in your muscles. For achieving that, you can simply attach it directly to a large muscle area, such as your thighs, triceps, biceps, or shoulders.
Nevertheless, for those who don’t want to have the device in direct contact with your skin, know that the NNOXX One’s kit also comes together with a universal band which has a dedicated pocket inside which you can safely store the device and then wear it in close proximity to those muscle groups.
The kit’s universal band also comes equipped with an adjustable strap which lets you conveniently adjust how tight it is around said muscles for a comfortable fit during your workouts.
HOW DOES THE NNOXX ONE WORK?
For accurately tracking and monitoring the muscle oxygenation (SmO₂) and active nitric oxide (NO) levels deep in your muscles while you exercise in real-time, the NNOXX One utilizes a range of state-of-the-art patent pending biosensors which shine a tissue-penetrating light into your muscles to precisely measure both the amount of oxygen and nitric oxide in your blood.
By collecting this data, you’re given better insights on how your workout is working for you, which you can check at any time via the NNOXX One’s dedicated mobile App (the NNOXX App).
The device’s biosensors essentially consist of an array of photodiodes, along with a temperature sensor and also an accelerometer, all of which are supervised using Nordic Semiconductor’s nRF5340 SoC (System-on-a-Chip), which features dual Arm Cortex-M33 processors, comprising a high-performance application processor and a fully programmable, ultra-low power network processor.
In addition, the NNOXX One also incorporates Nordic’s nRF21540 RF front-end module (FEM), a “plug-and-play” range extender which enables up to +20 dBm TX output power (110 mA power consumption) with a power consumption of 2.9 mA in RX, or 45 nA when working in its power down mode, ultimately ensuring that athletes can reliably send their exercise data to their smartphone.
BATTERY & BATTERY LIFE
For its power, the device utilizes a custom Lithium-Ion battery that offers users up to 4 hours of battery life on a single charge.
It’s also worth noting that its nRF5340 SoC’s radio helps to extend the device’s overall battery life, with a TX current of 3.4 mA (0 dBm TX power, 3 V, DC/DC), an RX current of 2.7 mA (3 V, DC/DC), and a sleep current that is as low as 0.9 µA.
As for recharging the device’s battery whenever it’s running low on power, all you have to do is to connect the included USB-C charging cable from the USB charger that comes with it to the device’s dedicated USB-C charging port (located at the left-end of the device’s body).
THE SMARTPHONE COMPANION APP – The NNOXX App
To examine the device’s collected health data that’s respective to its monitored key biomarkers, users simply have to subscribe to and then install the NNOXX App on their smartphones (available for iOS and Android devices). Note that the app’s subscription service starts at $20 per month.
Via the NNOXX App, you can view their fitness data after completing unguided workouts to get feedback on their exercise effectiveness and efficiency and also to analyze their overall performance.
In addition to that, you can also access guided workouts that are personalized in real-time by the app’s AI-powered Coach, which, based on your biomarkers, guides you through a desired cyclical workout (such as walking, running, biking, rowing, amongst others) plus a selected workout length to help maximize your nitric oxide level, which will ultimately help you increase the effectiveness of your workout.
To help you maximize your nitric oxide level, the app’s AI Coach will provide you with instructions regarding whether you should increase or keep your pace during each workout.
Once you’re done with your workout, the app’s AI Coach will take the device’s collected health data (from monitoring the muscle oxygenation (SmO₂) and active nitric oxide (NO) levels in your muscles) and will display the respective health metrics from that particular workout session in an easy-to-read report.
FINAL THOUGHTS
All in all, this smart wearable device allows you to actively monitor key biomarkers in your blood while you exercise in a non-invasive manner, thus allowing you to know the effectiveness and efficiency of your workouts in real time.
If you’re interested in purchasing it, know that each kit is currently priced at $299, plus a minimum of $20 per month for the app’s subscription service. You can order it online either directly from NNOXX’s official shopping page, or alternatively you can get it from Amazon.
NNOXX One Elite (A more-advanced model of the NNOXX One)
On a side note, we’d also like to mention that the company also has a more premium version of the device available, called the NNOXX One Elite.
Those using the NNOXX One Elite (designed specifically for high performance athletes) can access their data on the NNOXX One High Performance Platform website, which provides more detailed charts and analytics, tracking workout intensity, volume, and recovery over time.
In case you’re interested in purchasing the NNOXX One Elite model, know that each kit is priced at $899 (plus $20 for the app’s monthly subscription). You can order it online via NNOXX’s corresponding shopping page (currently not available on Amazon).
