The New Oura Ring 4 will be thinner and more capable than ever
The Oura Ring 4: A New, HSA/FSA Eligible, Titanium Based Heart Rate Measurement Algorithm
The Oura Ring 4 will start at $349, is HSA and FSA eligible, and will ship starting October 15th. Folks may be unhappy to hear that there’s a $50 bump in the starting price, but Oura Ring Gen 3 units will still be available until inventory runs out. Oura also confirmed that its $6 monthly / $70 annual subscription will not be increasing.
Oura has a redesign and a new metric for daytime stress. Automatic activity detection is being added for 40 different activity types. Oura is adding fertility window predictions for women who are trying to get pregnant. It underscored that the feature is not meant to be used as a contraceptive and pointed to its partnership with Natural Cycles for people who want that. Lastly, Oura says it’s finally bringing its Labs program over to Android.
Oura has also expanded its range. You can now purchase the ring in sizes 4 to 15. Previously, the smart ring was limited to sizes 6 to 13. Part of this is because Oura says its demographic has shifted to majority female, with women in their 20s as the fastest growing segment. Overall, expanding its size range is a good thing.
Citing an external study, Oura says the new algorithm results in a 120 percent increase in signal quality and a 30 percent bump in accuracy for blood oxygen tracking. It also claims the new algorithm reduces gaps in daytime and nighttime heart rate readings by 7 and 31 percent, respectively. On top of better accuracy, the company says the new algorithm also improves battery life to up to eight days, depending on the size of the ring. Bigger rings have better battery life. Of course, these are claims from controlled studies and testing scenarios. We need to see how they translate in real life.
At a glance, the Oura Ring 4 doesn’t look too different from the Gen 3. However, the new ring will be fully made from titanium. The previous ring was made with anephora. The current models have no flat edge so all the rings will be completely round. The sensors do not have dome-shaped covers. Instead, they’re recessed for a flatter, more comfortable profile.
When the Gen3 debuted, Oura took around a year to roll out most of its new features, and it was impossible to counsel people to buy a subscription when you didn’t even know if it would be useful or not. Several years later, Oura has now unrolled a new app design that will be available to all Oura members in the coming weeks, not months.
The First Smart Ring: The Oura View of Fitness and the Gone With Its Daddy’s Watch On Your wrist (and Why Is It So)
The ring is now between 3.3 and 5.2 grams in size. The cover on the charging base will help me to keep it on the charging base, if I accidentally knock it off my desk.
It is now available in an expanded size range, too, up from eight available sizes to 12, and in an expanded range of colors, which includes an updated black that has a more durable coating to address customer complaints. (I have the original Heritage Black that I have worn for several years now without any nicks, but my experience might be unusual.) More of Oura’s female customers are accommodated in a size 4 because of the larger size range.
In the years since Oura launched its first smart ring, the category has exploded. There is a huge appetite for a fitness tracker that is sensitive and accurate, doesn’t have a screen, and also lets you wear your inherited grandfather’s watch on your wrist, instead of something that will bang you in the schnoz while you sleep.
