W
elcome to the TechCrunch Exchange, a weekly startups-and-markets newsletter. It’s inspired by the daily TechCrunch+ column where it gets its name. Want it in your inbox every Saturday? Sign up here.

Today I’m looking at subscriptions in India from two angles: the consumer market and B2B SaaS. — Anna

From subscriptions to sachets

A recent story by my colleague Jagmeet Singh about a wearables launch caught my eye because neither of the two new smart rings launched in the Indian market would employ a subscription-based model.

Subscriptions are a tough sell for wearables (and hardware in general), because you have to keep paying even as the device gets older. That’s still the model that incumbent Oura shifted to, arguing that this allows it to continually add new features. Its user base wasn’t happy about the switch, though.

In contrast, BoAt, one of the two companies launching a smart ring in India, is aiming for a price tag below $80. That’s much lower than Oura’s $299 starting price, and it doesn’t even include the subscription.