I’ve been wearing my Oura ring for several years, and it’s one of my favourite wearables. In fact, it’s my favourite smart ring — and there are many options now available. What was once a product in a category all of its own, the Oura ring now faces serious competition, and yet, I believe it’s managed to get out ahead of its challengers.
A gateway into the world of biohacking, an older iteration of the fitness tracker provided my first experience of tracking biometric data to improve my health. Since then, I’ve become fascinated by the process of tracking health markers and have deliberated the benefits and criticisms of doing so.
It’s a valid argument, the idea that we perhaps obsess over tracking a little too much these days. And that paying a company to access your own biometric data seems a bizarre thing to do. It’s true that I don’t need to see my heart rate variability or how much time I spent in REM sleep to survive, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t explain the extent to which the Oura ring has enabled me to transform my health for the better.
When testing the latest version of the ring — the generation 4 — I was reminded of all the things I loved about the gen 3 and impressed by the improvements the brand has made. The original reporting on sleep and hormones helped me to track and understand the symptoms of a hormone imbalance and make lifestyle changes that improved my health.
However, the ring was chunky with raised sensors inside the band that often bothered me while I was trying to sleep — a little counterintuitive. The new gen 4 has no such bumps and offers a much more accurate read on my sleep patterns and a clearer picture of how changes to behaviours are supporting my health.
Oura has followed in the footsteps of Whoop, too, adding an AI coach to its app, which has already offered useful solutions and created bespoke protocols for me to follow. The look and feel of the app is sleeker, more intuitive, and the ring itself looks and feels better on the body.
Is it right for everyone? Perhaps not, especially in a market that’s becoming increasingly oversaturated. However, it’s safe to say that I remain a fan. Below, I’ll explain every pro and con, including why I think Oura maintains its title as the best smart ring available.
How I tested
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I tested the Oura ring gen 4 for three months to get a clear picture of how the technology tracked my biomarkers and how it supported me with my daily wellbeing and longer-term health goals. I considered battery life, design and comfort, in-app experience, special features, and data and privacy. You can read a detailed overview of my testing criteria at the end of the article.
Why trust IndyBest reviews
Emilie Lavinia is The Independent’s fitness and wellbeing editor. She’s tested almost every wearable and biohacking gadget there is. From wristbands to rings, biometric mattress toppers to room scanning systems, if it offers biofeedback of any kind, she will have taken it for a spin. Emilie also works closely with IndyBest’s team of tech editors and writers to ensure every product is tested according to rigorous standards. She also speaks with the product development teams at every company offering wearable tech to learn more about industry standards, quality, and how consumer data is handled. But she also speaks with the athletes who use these wearables to discern just how useful and accurate the tracking systems and reports actually are for those who rely on them to optimise performance. Emilie has been reporting on wellness tech for more than a decade and can always tell the difference between marketing jargon and a quality product worth investing in.
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Oura ring gen 4
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Colors: Silver, black, stealth, brushed silver, gold, rose gold
Why we love it
- Lighter, sleeker, and more comfortable to wear
- Improved battery life
- New AI coach
- More in-depth data analysis and reporting
- Links with third-party health apps
Take note
- Customers still need to pay for the app on top of the hardware
Oura ring 4 design
Beginning your journey with the Oura ring gen 4 doesn’t differ much from experiences with previous iterations of the wearable. If you know your ring size, you can order directly and choose from a range of colours and finishes. If you don’t, the brand sends you a free sizing kit. The ring should fit snugly so that the sensors can make contact with your skin, but it shouldn’t be too tight. I wondered whether I should opt for a size up, knowing that the gen 3 had pressed into my skin and often felt a little tight and uncomfortable. This isn’t an issue with the gen 4 — there are no raised sensors inside the band, and it sits comfortably against your skin, so there’s no need to size up.
The unboxing process is simple with no faff. Inside the box, you’ll find a charging stand, cable, and the ring itself. The brand recommends wearing it on your index finger for best results. Once on, it can start tracking variables like temperature and HRV immediately.
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The only drawback of wearing a smart ring is that it gets in the way. The ring is totally waterproof, so I showered and swam with it with no issues, and it was comfortable to wear all day and night. However, I had to take it off to hang from a bar to practice pull-ups and while lifting weights. Partially because I was worried about scratching it, but also because it interfered with my grip. This meant I wasn’t able to see full data for the workouts I wasn’t wearing it for because it was in my pocket instead of on my finger.
It is, however, far slimmer, sleeker, lighter, and more comfortable than the gen 3. The new colours and finishes also look far more luxe and likely to blend in with existing jewelry. I opted for a brushed gold version, and the difference between the shiny, very yellow look of the gen 3 was night and day — a definite improvement. If style is important to you, this will no doubt be your pick of the bunch when it comes to smart rings.
In comparison to the older version, the battery life is better. However, it’s not as good as some other wearables. The Whoop 5 and MG, for example, will last for up to two weeks, while the Oura still only manages a few days before it has to be charged. Charging time is fast, though.
Oura ring 4 data
Oura tracks various biofeedback types using sensors inside the band, and the app displays scores along the top of its homepage for sleep, readiness, activity, stress, heart rate, and your cycle, if applicable. It’s then up to you to work with the data that is being tracked to create a fuller picture of your day. Each day, you’ll need to confirm any activities the app thinks you’re doing, adding tags that identify whether you’ve had coffee, had a hangover, or slept in a dark room, for example.
The tags are varied, and you can add your own too. They range from “full moon” and “Braxton Hicks contractions” to “blood donation” and “GLP-1 medication,” so that the app can work on building a comprehensive picture of your health. Once it’s been able to do this, it can start offering suggestions and advice, if you want it to.
The ring’s smart sensors inside the band provide stress, sleep, and movement scores based on skin temperature, movement, respiration, blood oxygen, and heart rate variability. As with any other technology of this kind, it can’t tell you how you’re feeling, but it can provide a pretty clear indication of what your body’s health status is at any given time.
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It’s worth noting that you can choose to connect with apps like Apple Health and period tracking apps like Natural Cycles. However, Oura says it does not sell or rent your personal data and that data is encrypted and shared with third-party apps like Apple Health under “strict conditions”. You can also opt out of data sharing in settings.
Oura ring 4 AI coach
I was quite taken with the addition of the AI coach. I maintain that we really don’t need AI to help us with most things and that it’s a powerful tool that’s usually misused. In this case, it seemed like a brilliant addition to the app. Fitness trackers, after all, can give us all the information, but so few of us really know what to do with all this data about our bodies — the AI coach fills that gap. After a few weeks, it was able to offer me useful advice about my habits that could boost my readiness score and help with sleep and recovery. It created a nighttime routine for me, told me about my chronotype, and explained when I should prioritise rest.
Of course, I knew I was feeling run down and tired, but it does usually help me to be encouraged to actually rest instead of pushing through fatigue, and to be told when is the best time to push through. We can sometimes be our own worst enemies in feeling as though we have to exercise more or work longer hours for various reasons, and the Oura ring does an excellent job of helping me to stay healthy during the very busy summer months.
Of course, like all fitness trackers, it also elicited feelings of guilt after any alcohol or late nights. These wearables want you to stick to your routine, maintain a streak, and not deviate from the plan. But to err is human, and it’s worth remembering that you’re allowed to have a night off from being the picture of health once in a while — especially during festival and wedding season.
Oura ring 4 price
The price might also deter some. No wearable is cheap, and if it is, it probably lacks the standard of technology that would make it worth buying in the first place. Oura offers a vastly comprehensive view of what your body is doing at any given time, and isn’t just for athletes. It’s geared towards people who genuinely want to improve their health, manage conditions, and age well. That much is clear from the diversity of the tags, the in-depth hormone tracking features, and improved features like an eight-day battery life.
Starting at $349 with the most expensive version priced at $449, plus a subscription to the app, it’s an investment. Personally, I would rather pay this and know I’m doing the best for my health that I can possibly do than spend the same amount of money on clothes or nights out over the space of a year, but my priorities may be different from yours.
Buy now £349.00, Ouraring.com
Is Oura ring gen 4 worth the investment?
Overall, the Oura ring gen 4 is a huge step up from the gen 3 across the board. The design, battery life, features, and in-app experience have all improved. This is the sort of jump up you’d hope to see — it’s always disappointing when a brand issues a new version of a gadget and not much has changed. But the price is higher.
The price of the Oura ring may put some people off, but I’d argue that this is a more lifestyle-led tracker than most. It’s a more valuable investment for regular people who want to take charge of their health, work with the AI coach, and share reports with their doctor. It doesn’t seem as exclusive or athlete-focused as many other wearables.
It also looks great, which makes it stand out. The sleek, slim ring looks very much like an ordinary piece of jewelry, taking the lead in a product space where many rings are still clunky and look as though they’re made of plastic. Of course, this might not be enough to convince you to shell out for the ring and the app subscription, but if support is what you’re looking for, this wearable does offer it in spades, and on that basis, I still think it’s the best out there.
How I tested in full
I’ve been wearing the Oura ring 4 for six months, during which I considered the following criteria in detail:
Read more: The best smart rings to help track sleep, wellness and more
