The Oura Ring 5 sets the standard for sleep tracking — I’ve been wearing it for 6 weeks and its accuracy has blown me away. However, the Oura Ring 5, from $399 at Amazon, is a luxury spend and while it collects a lot of data, I mostly use it for sleep tracking. So it got me thinking: is there a way to get accurate sleep tracking data for free?

The Oura Ring is the best sleep tracker on the market, so I appreciate that a free app is unlikely to match its accuracy. But with so many iPhone apps promising precise sleep tracking through sound and movement sensors, I wanted to see if you really have to pay 100s of dollars for sleep tracking.

I picked three free sleep tracking apps with the best reviews in the App Store — Sleep Cycle, SleepScore and Sleepwave — and used them overnight. With my trusty Oura Ring 5 on my finger, to compare data. Here's how they measured, plus the one that impressed me so much I’m almost considering giving up my Oura Ring.

Key takeaways: Free sleep trackers at a glance

• While I'm using a $499 Oura Ring 5 as a sleep tracker, there are plenty of free iPhone apps that promise accurate sleep tracking.
• The Oura Ring uses integrated sensors to measure heart rate, blood oxygen levels, respiration rate, movement and temperature.
• Most free sleep trackers rely on movement and sound to determine sleep stages
• To accurately compare data, I wore the Oura Ring while using each of three popular sleep tracking apps: Sleep Cycle, SleepScore, and Sleepwave.
• While SleepScore and Sleep Cycle provide intuitive apps and accessible data, both had glaring accuracy flaws when tracking sleep stages.
• Sleepwave, however, provided accurate results. Sleepwave's sleep stage data was in the 5-minute accuracy threshold of the Oura Ring, making the Sleepwave app the winner.

The gold standard sleep tracker I’m using

I could talk all day about the fitness tracking data provided by the Oura Ring 5,. But let's just stick to its digestible, precise sleep data for now.

The screenless Oura Ring 5 relies on light-based, thermal, and kinesthetics technology to track sleep duration, sleep stages, sleep debt, nighttime breathing, and heart rate variation (to name a few metrics). It then presents the sleep data in easy-to-read tables, charts, and infographics on the accompanying app.

How I selected (and tested) each free sleep tracker

There are plenty of free sleep tracking apps for iPhones, but they aren't made equal. For example, a lot of apps track sleep by detecting snoring, which I knew wouldn't work for me as I'm not a snorer.

In the end, I selected Sleep Cycle, SleepScore, and Sleepwave, because all use motion-sensing technology to track sleep. Sleepwave and SleepScore are both free to download and deliver free sleep tracking (although advanced features are paywalled), while Sleep Cycle is free all summer (with the deal ending August 31st).

I then used one app every night (without paying a penny for any premium features) alongside my Oura Ring 5.

Putting each free sleep tracker to the test — see my results and how I scored them

Sleep Cycle | Test score: 3.5 out of 5

The Sleep Cycle app, free to donwload at the App Store was the first smart alarm clock app in the world. It currently boasts 4.7 stars out of 5 from over 7,000 ratings (but ratings aren't always the best review of quality). It tracks sleep through microphone sound detection (to capture noises such as tossing and turning and coughing) and an accelerometer (to detect movements).

As with most sleep tracking apps, I first had to make sure that my phone was placed in the correct position. I followed SleepCycle's recommended procedure, placing my phone near the edge of my nightstand with the built-in microphone facing towards me. Alternatively, you can put your phone on your mattress, under your sheets.

I also made sure that my phone was a connected to a charger, so it didn't run out of juice mid-tracking. I also positioned it a few inches above the mattress surface. (Sleep Cycle didn't specify to do this, but its instructional picture depicted that.)

Before you press the Start button, you can choose between two smart alarms (or you can select No Alarm — which I did). The first offers a 30-minute wake-up window that should go off during the lightest sleep stage, while the second is one alarm that'll go off at your chosen time.

When I checked the app in the morning, I was greeted with data for sleep duration (how long I slept for), REM sleep, light (or core) sleep, deep sleep, and latency (how long it takes me to fall asleep).

Here's a summary of the Sleep Cycle data vs the Oura Ring 5 data for the same night:

I consider within five minutes of the Oura Ring's data to be accurate. For sleep duration and REM sleep, the Sleep Cycle was pretty much the same as my Oura Ring 5 (3 minutes over and 2 minutes under respectively). But there's a huge 21-minute gap between the Latency results, a 19-minute gap between the Deep sleep data, and 16-minutes between Core sleep results.

Overall, while I was impressed with the accuracy of the duration and REM data, the Sleep Cycle really did miss the mark on Light and Deep sleep, not to mention the confusion surrounding how long it took me to fall asleep.

However, it was easy to set up sleep tracking, the data was synthesized into clear diagrams, and I definitely recommend giving the app a go now that it's free to try.

SleepScore | Test score: 3 out of 5

Next up is SleepScore, free to download on the App store. This app uses sonar technology (or speaker waves) to measure your sleep stages and breathing. It also awards (as you've probably guessed from the name) a sleep score at the end of every night.

While the SleepScore app itself is pretty intuitive, I found it tricky to get my phone in the right position for sleep tracking. SleepScore requires your phone to be on your nightstand (within arm's reach), tilted towards your body, and 6" above your mattress's surface.

The latter was difficult as my nightstand is around 6" below my mattress's surface. I had to employ some book stacking to make up the height. Like the Sleep Cycle app, SleepScore requires your phone is charging to work.

Once the night was over, I checked both my SleepScore app and Oura app to compare results. Here's the synthesized data:

Light sleep and Deep sleep data checks out, with only a 2-5 minute margin of error. But there's slight discrepancy for latency (8-minute margin of error), and a huge difference for sleep duration (36 minutes) and REM sleep (46 minutes).

As for the Sleep Score, both the Oura and SleepScore apps agreed, with the former awarding a 71 and the latter awarding a 70.

The layout of the app is interactive an simple to follow, too. I particularly like the fact that you can "scrub" the sleep stages timeline with your finger to see how long your night-time awakenings were and how long you stayed in a sleep stage per cycle.

I wanted to like this app, I really did. It has 4.3 stars out of 5 from 600 ratings at the App store, but the accuracy is off (I can overlook 8 minutes, but 46?). Plenty of users also state that they find the set up as tricky as I do. It's a free (and lovely-looking) app, so I won't discourage you from using it, but just be aware that your data won't always hit the right note.

Sleepwave | Test score: 5 out of 5

Last but not least, we have the Sleepwave app, which you can get for free at the App store. It uses patented motion-sensing technology to track movement and breathing as (according to Sleepwave) "whenever we move in bed we are naturally more awake".

To be perfectly honest, this app was recommended to me almost three years ago, and I was too skeptical to give it a go.

However, it has an excellent score of 4.6 out of 5 from 3,600 user ratings on the App store. Plus, that patented-technology convinced me to give them a go.

The phone set up for the Sleepwave app is relatively easy, as you have multiple options. The easiest for me was on top of the mattress, just to the left of (and in line with) my pillow. When I woke up, I was greeted to these results from Sleepwave and Oura:

I consider a result 5 minutes under or over the Oura Ring metrics as an accurate match. An impressive 4 out of 5 of Sleepwave's results fell within my threshold. Latency (over by 3 minutes), Deep sleep (under 5 minutes), Core sleep (under by just a minute), and Sleep duration (over by 3 minutes).

These are impeccable results for a free sleep tracking app, with only the REM result not falling within the 5-minute threshold — and even that result was only off by 8 minutes.

(It also features a motion-sensing smart alarm to wake you up during a lighter stage of sleep, which I didn't test.)

My final thoughts on the Sleepwave? It lives up to its claim as "the best free sleep tracker app". The motion sensors accurately tracked my sleep stages, and it's easy to use and set up. My one compaint? There's no sleep score (but that might not be a big deal considering trackers are moving away from sleep scores).

Other free sleep tracking apps to try — top choices for Android users, snorers, and Apple Watch wearers

While the above sleep-tracking apps were the top free choices for me, everyone is different. So to help you find an app that's right for your phone and sleep needs I found a few more free sleep tracker apps to choose from...

Top-rated sleep trackers for more accurate data

There’s nothing more frustrating than feeling a little bit “off.” You can’t put your finger on it, but something in your body is crying out for help. You head to the doctor’s office; they run tests, but everything looks perfectly normal, so you just go home and get some rest.

Perfect.

After having major surgery, I spent months feeling just like this. Those months quickly turned into a year, and before I knew it, I was canceling plans with friends and avoiding my usual workout routine.

Little did I know the thing that would drag me out of this hole was one of the best smart rings that I’ve been wearing on my hand for three years — my Oura Ring.

I’ve been tracking everything

I’ve been wearing an Oura Ring 3 since 2023, and have recently upgraded to the new Oura Ring 5. Every morning I open the app to check my sleep score, note to myself what made it a great (or not great) night's sleep, and get on with my day.

By checking my readiness scores daily, I get a good idea of what my body can handle. If I didn’t get a restful sleep, I take on a lighter load, but if I’ve been out cold for a full nine hours, you can bet I’m going to be climbing a mountain.

I’m a pretty active person. Between running, Pilates, hiking, and running a million and one errands every day, I always hit my step goals. But at the end of 2024, suddenly my readiness scores were, well, poor.

It didn’t matter how much I slept or how easy I took it the day before; something in my body wasn’t adding up. My HRV (heart rate variability) crashed and my resting heart rate while asleep was higher than ever. So what was happening?

I dragged myself to the doctor’s office only to be told there wasn’t anything wrong and that I should just take it easy for a while. With a new list of vitamin recommendations, I went home and continued tracking every metric I could, knowing deep down that there was a reason for my sudden fatigue.

And then I noticed the pattern. My heart rate was jumping all over the place even when I was sitting down doing nothing. That, combined with some noticeable palpitations, made me take one more trip to the doctor’s office — and I’m glad I did.

What the experts think

I set out to find out why wearables can have such a positive impact when uncovering health concerns. And it turns out that my meticulous tracking was actually the right thing to do, and medical professionals advise doing just this.

Dr. Manu Segal, medical director at The Moorings at Lewes, told me, “While smart rings like the Oura Ring are not diagnostic devices, they can be remarkably useful for identifying trends that deserve medical attention.”

He says, “The key is to look for persistent patterns, not isolated readings. A single poor night's sleep or one low HRV value is rarely meaningful. Several weeks of consistent change, however, can provide valuable insight and prompt an earlier conversation with a healthcare professional.”

Oura is known for its sleep-tracking capabilities, and Dr. Segal notes the sleep score as one of the most telling metrics for long-term health, influencing cardiovascular and immune function, as well as mood and cognitive performance. Paying attention to the metrics that make up the sleep score can make a huge difference.

Further to that point, Dr. Naheed Ali, certified in clinical research by the National Institutes of Health, states that smart rings, such as the Oura Ring, are not diagnostic tools in themselves.

He says, “Their greatest value lies in identifying persistent deviations from your normal pattern… They're most effective when combined with healthy lifestyle habits, regular medical care, and attention to the whole person — not just individual numbers.”

Noticing the pattern

Following that advice, it’s become abundantly clear that understanding my own baseline and what the deviations in those metrics mean makes a huge difference. But we shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions from this data. “Normal” looks different for everyone, and a medical professional should be your first port of call.

Considering metrics alongside how I’m feeling has made the biggest difference in my understanding of my body. It’s not just about why I’m feeling tired and run down, but taking in the bigger picture and being aware of daily changes I can make.

After looking at my ring’s metrics over time, I found that my HRV balance was declining, my resting heart rate was elevated, and my body temperature was unstable. That would often give me alerts on the Symptom Radar section of the Oura app, which lets you know when your biometrics are showing signs of strain.

After taking these metrics to the doctor and getting the relevant testing done, I found out that I have a fast heartbeat, also known as tachycardia. Since then, I’ve been able to work closely with health professionals to delve into the cause and make changes, including medication and more focused exercise plans to improve my metrics and get me back to feeling my best.

As you can see from my updated 2025 metrics, taking time to slow down and recognize stressors in my life has vastly improved my health. Since using my ring for this purpose, I’ve been able to get back to hiking, restful nights of sleep, and generally quieting the anxieties I was experiencing daily.

I wholeheartedly recommend paying attention to your version of normal with a fitness tracker. Paying attention to my metrics has made a huge difference to my quality of life.

However, it’s paramount that you don’t jump to conclusions and make assumptions based on a few numbers; you should always seek advice about any health concerns you have from a medical professional.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — here’s why it's the best smart tech I have invested in
• I wore the Oura Ring for 6 months to track my sleep — and now I'm regularly getting 8 hours and feel so much better
• Oura Ring 5 review: I’ve worn the world’s smallest smart ring for a week, and it changes fitness tracking forever

Screen-free wearables like the Fitbit Air, Garmin Cirqa, Oura Ring 5 and Whoop 4 are having a moment, but is screen-free really the best way to be, especially when full-featured, hyper-connected devices like the Garmin Venu 4, Apple Watch 11 and Pixel Watch 4 exist?

That depends entirely on what you hope to get out of your wearable. I've already covered the five biggest things to consider before buying a screen-free wearable. Now, we're here to help you further understand the core differences between the best smartwatches and fitness trackers and the top no-screen trackers, including the best smart rings of 2026.

Howdy, I'm Dan Bracaglia, one of TG's resident experts on smartwatches, fitness trackers, and smart rings. I'm here to help you make sense of today's wearables market and even choose between two devices.

Got a burning question about the difference between the Fitbit Air and Fitbit Inspire 3? Are you deciding between the new Apple Watch SE 3 and the new Garmin Cirqa, two devices surprisingly close in price? Not sure if the latest Oura Ring 5 is right for you?

Responding to your questions are myself, Dan Bracaglia, a senior writer at TG and expert in wearables with nearly two decades of experience covering consumer technology, and TG's U.K editor-in-chief, Jeff Parsons, who's not only an avid runner, but also an expert in consumer tech of all kinds.

Please make sure that all queries are related to wearable tech, specifically, screen vs screen-free trackers. We can't wait to answer your questions! You might also like to let us know your feelings about screen-free wearables in the poll below.

As a reminder, please keep all questions appropriate and on-topic. This is an open space where we hope to foster a positive, helpful environment for all readers, whether you're new to the world of fitness trackers or you're a hardcore athlete shopping for your fifth Garmin.

If you've never left a comment on our site before, then you may need to sign up to post your first question. It's free to sign up and will unlock a host of other Tom's Club member benefits, such as exclusive rewards and savings, the ability to earn badges and enter giveaways, join in with popular conversations and all Live Q&As, and reveal hints for our quizzes and puzzles.

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More from Tom's Guide

• Can the $99 Fitbit Air beat the $799 Apple Watch Ultra 3 at fitness tracking? I manually counted 4,500 steps to find out
• The Samsung Galaxy Ring is about to be the world’s first FDA-cleared smart ring for sleep apnea
• I walked 7,000 steps with the Garmin Cirqa vs Fitbit Air — and there's a clear winner

I’ve been wearing an Oura Ring for five years now. It’s the only fitness tracker I trust when it comes to tracking my cycle, and the Oura Ring 4 even knew I was pregnant before I did. Yet until I recently sat down with Oura, I hadn’t discovered these simple tweaks to make the Oura Ring data you collect significantly more accurate. Oura Ring wearers, listen up.

I’m currently wearing the Oura Ring 5. You can check out my Oura Ring 5 review here, as well as my six-week check-in on three things I love and two things I’d change.

How to make your Oura Ring more accurate

1. Optimize the fit

The Oura Ring collects data using infrared photoplethysmography (PPG) sensors to read the blood flow through the arteries in your finger. To do this, it needs to fit well. Before you even invest in a ring, it’s worth wearing the sizing kit for at least 24 hours, as your fingers will swell throughout the day. I found that during and after pregnancy, my ring size changed, too.

When it comes to choosing the right size, you shouldn’t be able to easily rotate the ring on your finger. It shouldn’t be so tight that it cuts off your circulation, but you’ll probably have some resistance removing it, or need to run your finger under water to get it off.

Oura also recommends wearing the ring on your index finger for the most accurate readings. The middle finger is the second-best option. This is down to blood flow. You’ll also want to ensure the sensors are on the underside of your finger. There’s a little mark on the ring that indicates where the three small sensors fit — if this rotates to the top of your finger after a shower, the Oura Ring is not accurately reading your pulse.

Like all sensors, you can experience some interference if you have tattoos on your finger. If you have a tattoo on the underside of your index finger, it might be worth wearing your ring on a different finger.

2. Clean your ring

I don’t think I’ve ever cleaned my Oura Ring, but this one makes sense, right? Sweat, hand lotion, and even dead skin cells can build up over time and block the infrared light from the sensors. To clean your ring, wash it with soap and warm water and let it dry completely before putting it back on.

3. Establish a baseline, and keep everything updated

If you’re new to Oura, the algorithm can take around two to three weeks of consistent wear to establish your baselines. Avoid taking it off for days at a time during the first month, as this can corrupt the data.

It’s also worth using this time to check in every morning and work out what is normal for you. You’ll immediately notice scores or readings that seem inaccurate if you have, say, drunk alcohol too close to bedtime. The ring will be recording correctly, but alcohol will spike your resting heart rate and lower your HRV.

It’s also worth keeping the Oura app updated, as Oura frequently rolls out algorithmic updates to improve sleep-staging accuracy and blood oxygen sensing.

Follow Tom's Guide fitness on Instagram for more workouts, routines, tips, and tricks.

More from Tom's Guide

• I walked 3,000 steps with the Fitbit Air vs Garmin Forerunner 70 — and I’m seriously amazed by the results
• The Fitbit Air is basically just a screen-less Fitbit Inspire 3 — and that’s a very good thing
• I spent one week with a wallet-friendly Garmin Forerunner 970 dupe — 5 things that stand out about the $300 cheaper Amazfit Cheetah 2 Pro

If you've been eyeing up an Oura Ring, there's never been a better time to buy one. Not because the thinnest-ever, smartest-ever Ring 5 has just launched, but because the Oura Ring 4 is up to 48% off at Amazon this Prime Day.

That means our top-rated sleep tracker is down to its lowest-ever price of $226. Until now, $249 was the best price we'd ever seen it sell for — that extra $23 saving can cover your subscription fee for the next four months.

I've tested over a dozen sleep trackers the past year and the Oura Ring 4 is the only one I still go to bed with every single night. I'm yet to get my hands on the Oura Ring 5 (it's on its way), yet I can confidently recommend shopping the Oura Ring 4 for an outstanding price in current Amazon Prime Day sleep sales.

• Shop all Prime Day deals at Amazon

What makes the Oura Ring 4 such a great sleep tracker?

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me about my Oura Ring, I'd be able to fund my monthly Oura subscription no problem. But what are the features I boast about most?

Admittedly, it isn't my favorite tracker for my runs, cycles, or swims (for workout tracking, I rely on my trusty Garmin smartwatch), but by night, it's simply the best wearable I've tested.

It's comfy, accurate, and keeps me accountable. Under review following our robust sleep tracker testing methodology, the Oura Ring 4 came out on top, with nightly sleep reports matching up with my perceived sleep quality.

Said reports offer the most detailed metrics without becoming too overwhelming for average users (for reference, the Whoop MG is an equally good tracker but better suited to athletes who want VO2 max readings and more fitness-focussed data).

I especially love the Oura chronotype feature which has helped me create a consistent sleep routine that's in tune with my natural energy peaks and troughs throughout the 24-hour day. As a morning lark, my Oura Ring suggests relatively early sleep and wake windows, and I've noticed an improvement in my sleep quality after prioritising regular sleep timings over the past year.

What's more, the Oura app is loaded with sleep content including a personalised sleep advisor that literally tells me when my body could do with an extra hour of down time in the evenings, and a library of sleep sounds I can use to block out my partner's snoring or send my nephews to sleep when I'm babysitting.

The best thing? There's hardly any difference between the Oura Ring 4 and Oura Ring 5 in terms of sleep tracking functionality. The key difference between the two is design based (the Ring 5 is thinner and lighter). So, while it may be marginally more discreet to wear overnight, it's not a deal breaker worth $173 in my opinion.

Honestly, I've been waiting for the Ring 5 to release so I could tell all my friends to RUN to buy the Ring 4 at its lowest-ever price, and I'm not disappointed by Amazon's Prime Day deal this year.

We've put all of the leading sleep trackers to the test but there's one that continues to set the standard for lab grade tracking — the Oura Ring 4, now down to $226 at Amazon from $399. That's an incredible 43% off deal, which translates to a huge saving of $173.

That's the lowest price we've ever tracked on the Oura Ring 4, making it the Amazon Prime Day sleep tech deal to beat. The Oura Ring 4 offers gold-standard sleep tracking, fending off fierce competition from the likes of Whoop, Garmin and Apple to stay at the top of our best sleep tracker guide.

Savings of this level from Oura are ultra rare and will likely sell out fast. But is it the right sleep tracker for you? Let's take a closer look...

Why the Oura Ring 4 is still our top sleep tracker

Our lead tester Eve Davies has been wearing the Oura Ring 4 to bed over a year and, despite also putting other lead trackers from Apple, Whoop and Garmin through their paces, still rates it as the best sleep tracker you can buy.

That's because, when you compare the accuracy of sleep analytics, functionality and value for money, the Oura Ring continues to come out on top for its intricate tracking.

Despite its 'set and forget' screen-free design, the Oura Ring accurately measures everything from time spent in bed through to heart rate variability, sleep stages, overall sleep score and readiness for the day ahead.

You'll need to pay a monthly $5.99 subscription fee to access the full breadth of what the Oura App can offer, but for that you get your sleep data in a digestible, user-friendly format that's geared towards helping you to get more better quality sleep through sleep coaching and relaxation audio. And isn't that what we all want from our sleep tracker?

Smaller budget? Try this instead...

The Oura Ring 5 just changed the smart ring game. Oura’s flagship ring has undergone a physical transformation, with the brand completely reengineering its smart ring to make it 40% smaller and even lighter than before. Forget the chunky rings of the past; the Oura Ring 5 looks like jewelry for discreet, comfortable fitness tracking.

Proving that good things really do come in small packages, the new ring has about a day longer battery life than its predecessor and four times more powerful LEDs, repositioned for better accuracy.

But should you be tempted to upgrade your ring if you already own an Oura Ring 4? And how does it compare to some of the best smart rings on the market? Read my full Oura Ring 5 review to find out more.

Oura Ring 5: Cheat sheet

• What is the Oura Ring 5? The Oura Ring 5 is a smart ring that has health tracking sensors within. As well as doing the basics, like counting your steps and reading your heart rate, the Oura Ring 5 can track your sleep, tell you when you ovulate, look at your overall stress levels throughout the day, and give you actionable insights based on your body’s resilience.
• When is the Oura Ring 5 release date? The Oura Ring 5 was released on May 28, 2026 and is available to buy now.
• Who is the Oura Ring 5 for? The Oura Ring 5 is for anyone who wants to be more informed about their health and wellness, without wearing a smartwatch or activity band on their wrist.
• What is the difference between the Oura Ring 4 and the Oura Ring 5? The main differences between the two smart rings are in the design. The Oura Ring 5 is 40% smaller than the Oura Ring 4, as well as being lighter. The Ring 5 has more powerful sensors for more accurate measurements and longer battery life. The Oura Ring 5 is also fully waterproof up to 100m, whereas the Oura Ring 4 is water resistant.
• How much does the Oura Ring 5 cost? The Oura Ring 5 starts at $399/£399 for the ‘base finishes’, which are Silver and Black. The premium finishes are — Gold, Stealth, Brushed Silver, and Deep Rose, and cost $499/£499.
• Is there a subscription fee for the Oura app? Yes, the Oura membership costs $5.99 / £5.99 per month or $72 / £72 per year.
• Is there a size difference between the Oura Ring 4 and the Oura Ring 5? Yes, slightly. Oura recommends using the Oura Ring 5 sizing kit to re-test your size with the smaller ring.
• Does Oura offer any trade-in deals? At the time of writing, no. You can send your old Oura ring back to Oura to recycle, but you do not get any money or credit for trading your old ring in.

Oura Ring 5: Specs

Oura Ring 5 review: Design

The Oura Ring 5 is noticeably smaller and lighter than its predecessor, the Oura Ring 4. Oura says they completely redesigned the ring to achieve the dramatic shrinkage, re-engineering the internal architecture to ensure it was smaller but just as powerful.

The width of the ring has dropped to 6.09mm from 7.9mm, and the thickness is now 2.28mm, with the ring weighing 2 grams. The exact weight and size of the Oura Ring 5 will depend on the size you’re wearing. The Oura Ring 5 comes in sizes 6-13.

Speaking of which, Oura recommends you use a new sizing kit for the Oura Ring 5, even if you’ve got an Oura Ring 4 on your finger. I found my size hadn’t changed — I’m wearing an Oura Ring size 7 in both rings, and the fit is similar, if not a tiny bit smaller on the newer ring. My colleague Sam, on the other hand, had to go up a size in the Oura Ring 5, so it’s worth checking.

The Oura Ring 5 comes in six different colors, and they’ve changed slightly from the Oura Ring 4. The cheapest options, Silver and Black, cost $399/£399. The more premium options include Gold, Stealth, Brushed Silver, and Deep Rose, and cost $499/£499. Compared to the Oura Ring 4, the Gold color is a brighter gold to better match jewelry. Deep Gold replaces the Rose Gold colorway on the Oura Ring 4. In person, it’s a more coppery gold.

All of the Oura Ring 5 colors are made from a thicker, more scratch-resistant coating, aiming to minimize the damage from daily wear and holding weights in the gym. I've been wearing my gold Oura Ring 5 for a month, and so far, not a scratch in sight.

The Oura Ring 4 will still be available in Gold, Stealth, and Silver, and ceramic in Cloud and Midnight in sizes 4-15 for $349. At the time of writing, Oura doesn’t have a trade-in program, so if you have recently bought an Oura Ring 4, you won’t get any money back for upgrading to an Oura Ring 5.

Oura Ring 5 review: Oura app

A screenless tracker is only as good as its app, and Oura’s app makes understanding your health data a dream. When you open the app, there are three tabs: Today, Vitals, and My Health. Today shows you a breakdown of changing information based on what might be relevant to you at a given point in the day. At the top of the page, there are shortcut tiles that allow you to see key information at a glance.

The Vitals tab has expanding and collapsing cards covering all your daily metrics, including your readiness score, sleep score, activity progress, menstrual cycle status, and daytime stress chart.

My Health is a zoomed-out picture of your overall wellness, looking at long-term insights like stress resilience, heart health, sleep chronotype, and cardiovascular age. My app tells me my sleep health has declined over the past 90 days, which is feedback I’ll pass on to my two-year-old, who has decided it’s his nightly mission to escape from his crib.

There are a few new features in the Oura Ring app added via a software update. Firstly, you’ll now be able to use your ring for live activity tracking. When starting a live activity from your Oura app, you’ll be able to see your live data from a lock screen widget on your phone. This can track your pace and distance live during workouts like runs, cycles, and strength training sessions. I've been testing the Live Activity Tracking alongside Garmin and have been impressed.

Oura has also added two new Women’s Health features: Menopause Insights and Hormonal Birth Control. Menopause Insights asks you structured questions about how well you’re sleeping, your mood, cognition, and daily functioning, helping Oura ring wearers to really understand how strongly they feel perimenopause is affecting their daily lives.

The Hormonal Birth Control Feature is an update to the ring’s current Cycle Insights tool, and will support pills, patches, IUDs, implants, and other hormonal methods. It will be able to help women see at a glance how their biometrics shift across hormone and hormone-free days.

There’s also a new Locate feature on the app. This allows you to connect multiple devices to the app, as well as an Oura Charging Case, allowing you to keep track of your devices in one place. Locate is available for Oura Ring Gen3 and all future generations.

Oura Ring 5 review: Battery life

Oura says they’ve been working on the new device for over two years, and they didn’t want the smaller size to affect battery life. They’ve done the opposite, improving the battery life on the newer ring to 6-9 days per charge, compared to 5-8 with the Oura Ring 4. During my month of testing, I’ve found this to be accurate — I’ve had to charge my ring around once a week.

From what I've experienced, the batteries in these rings do seem to deteriorate over time, so I’ll be paying close attention. But for now, I’m very content not to have to worry about charging the Oura Ring 5 for several days at a time.

You still charge the ring on the same charging dock, but if you have an Oura Ring 4, the charger won’t work with the Oura Ring 5.

Launching alongside the Oura Ring 5 is the new Oura Ring 5 charging case, which costs $99/£99. It holds up to five ring charges and supports wireless charging. There’s an action button that makes it easier to see the charging status, and you can now add the charging case to Oura’s new Locate feature.

Oura ring 5 review: Sleep

We crowned the Oura Ring 4 as the best sleep tracker of the year, so I was eager to get my hands on its successor. After using the Oura Ring 5 every night (and day) for four weeks, here are my thoughts on its sleep-tracking performance.

First, the Oura Ring is the most comfortable sleep-tracking wearable I've ever worn to bed. Its custom-made, pinch-free fit is perfect if you find it difficult to fall asleep while wearing chunky armbands or watches to bed.

I was worried that the ring might slip off during the night (it's happened to me before while wearing the sleep-tracking Fitnexa Somnipods 3 earbuds) but I always wake up to find it still nestled comfortably on my index finger.

However, the fit isn't important if its sleep tracking is subpar — but I'm happy to report that the Oura Ring 5's performance is anything but. Like most sleep trackers, the Oura Ring 5 supplies you with sleep scores, breakdown of your sleep stages and duration, bedtime reminders, and resting heart rate and blood oxygen measurements.

However, no two sleep tracker is alike, so here's a look at how well the Our Ring 5 tackles each core sleep metric compared to other leading sleep trackers.

Sleep score

Let's start with the most digestible, at-a-glance sleep metric that the Oura Ring 5 offers: your sleep score. Condensing all your sleep data into a rating between one and 100, your sleep score is the first thing you see when you tap the Sleep tab on the Oura app's homepage.

The score is split into four categories: Optimal (85–100), Good (70–84), Fair (60–69), and Pay Attention (0–59).

I've been using an Apple Watch Ultra as my go-to sleep tracker for the past couple of months, and I consistently earn a High (81-95) sleep score on less than 7 hours of sleep. With that in mind, I thought that earning Oura's Optimal sleep score would be a piece of cake.

However, from the first week of using the Oura Ring 5, I realized that this feat would be a lot tougher to achieve than I thought. The Oura Ring is quite a strict scorer compared to the Apple Watch. For example, on June 25th, I wore both the Apple Watch and Oura Ring to bed (while ensuring that the Oura and Health apps weren't synced up) to make it easier to compare their data.

The Apple Watch awarded me a High score of 87 on 6 hours and 22 minutes of sleep. The Oura Ring 5, on the other hand, awarded me a Good score of 70 on 6 hours and 13 minutes of sleep. This difference is due to the Oura Ring using more key sleep metrics than Apple to aggregate a sleep score.

While the Apple Watch generated a sleep score from three points (interruption, duration, and bedtime), the Oura Ring's sleep score is a combination of seven "Contributors."

This is made up of total amount of sleep, efficiency (how much time you spent asleep compared to the time spent in bed awake), restfulness (how many times you moved around or woke up during the night), REM sleep, deep sleep, sleep onset latency (how much time it takes you to fall asleep), and timing of your sleep.

This makes the Oura Ring a much stricter critic, which is pretty much what I need as it's clear that I don't get enough sleep.

You can see your average sleep scores by going to Trends in the main menu and selecting Sleep Score. For instance, I currently have an average score of 73 over the week and 71 over the last month.

Sleep duration and stages

The Oura Ring 5's sleep duration and sleep stages breakdown is presented as both a horizontal bar chart in the Contributors section and as a hypnogram in the Details section.

In the Contributors section, the hours and minutes I spent asleep is displayed under a Total Sleep subheading. REM Sleep and Deep Sleep time is also included under the Contributors section, and the graph displays what percentage of your total sleep time is spent in each sleep stage.

This also includes time you spent asleep during the day, which I found out when it recorded an accidental nap I took the day after a red-eye flight. You can also see how many minutes it took you to fall asleep under Latency.

The great thing about the Contributors section is that each contributor has an information box that tells you why each contributor is important for your sleep hygiene and what duration or percentage is optimal.

For instance, I recently spent 1 hour and 16 minutes in REM sleep — the info box tells me, however, that the optimal amount for healthy adults starts at 1 hours and 30 minutes.

The Details section is a more visual breakdown of your sleep stages and duration, using different colors to represent each sleep stage in a detailed graph. It also includes the amount of Light sleep I'm clocking up, the time I fell asleep and the time I woke up, and what times throughout the night I moved around or had a nighttime awakening.

One thing I also want to briefly touch on is the Sleep Debt section; sleep debt is a deficit between the amount of sleep you need and how much you actually get. My debt is currently labelled High (I owe more than 6 hours, apparently) and the section explains how you can repay it.

Overall, the Oura app presents a much more detailed breakdown of my sleep than other sleep trackers, displaying a clear, panoramic view of my sleep architecture in an intuitive app.

Bedtime reminders

Next up is bedtime reminders, which are basically notifications reminding you that bedtime is approaching so it's time to commence your nighttime routine.

When I used the Apple Watch as my primary sleep tracker, I could manually set when I'd like to receive my bedtime reminder. I set it at around 10.30 p.m. and 11 p.m., giving me around 1 hour to 30 minutes to get ready for bed.

However, with the Oura Ring, I didn't get an option to set a reminder time. Instead, I got frequent reminders at around 9 p.m. during my first week of use, which horrified me as the last time I went to bed as early as 9 .p.m I was a child.

However, I started to notice that these reminders were gradually alerting me later and later. That's because the Oura Ring's Bedtime Guidance (what Oura refers to bedtime reminders as) are automatically determined using my sleep data for a more personalized recommendation.

Basically, the more you wear your Oura Ring, the more it knows about what bedtimes work for you.

Heart rate and breathing

Tracking your heart rate during sleep is important as it can tell you how much your body is working overnight to recover. Your resting heart rate (RHR) is measured in beats per minute (bpm); the lower your resting heart rate, the stronger the recovery.

As for heart rate variability (HRV), the measurement in milliseconds (ms) should be higher. Curiously, the Oura app doesn't tell you how many bpm or ms is the optimal or even typical amount, which is likely because they vary significantly from individual to individual.

However, for the blood oxygen saturation level (SpO2), the Oura Ring does tell me what the typical range is and what category (Steady, Mostly steady, Varied, or Highly varied) my nighttime breathing falls into.

Luckily, my average SpO2 over the last week is 96% (Oura says that the typical range is 95%-100%). However, temporary things such as allergies or a stuffy nose can lower your levels, so Oura recommends that it's best to "focus on your long-term trends rather than a single night". As for my nighttime breathing, Oura describes it as "Steady".

Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4: Should you upgrade?

If you’re already one of the millions of people with an Oura Ring on your finger, does it make sense to upgrade to the Oura Ring 5?

Firstly, it’s worth noting that from a software perspective, everything mentioned above is available to you, as Oura has rolled the updates out to previous rings.

After a month of testing, however, I do really love how small the ring looks on my finger. It completely disappears, and compared to the chunky ring I’ve worn for years, I don’t think anyone would even notice the smart ring on my finger. If I’d just bought an Oura Ring 4, I’m not sure it would be enough to make me splurge for the new ring, but if I were wearing an Oura Ring 3 or earlier, I’d definitely consider the upgrade.

Oura says the Oura Ring 5 is more accurate than the Oura Ring 4, thanks to more powerful LEDs, but I haven’t noticed any differences in the tracking, and it would be impossible to say which is more accurate for some metrics without lab tests. I do find the ring more comfortable to wear, and while I’m never diving down to 100m, as a swimmer, I do appreciate the fact that the Oura Ring 5 is fully waterproof, rather than just water-resistant.

Oura Ring 5 review: Should you buy?

After wearing the ring for a month, I’m confident that this is the best Oura Ring to date. The Oura Ring 5 has set new standards for the world of smart rings, and I think it’ll be a race between Samsung, Ultrahuman, and Luna to create smaller, thinner rings to compete.

Sure, there are cheaper and subscription-free smart rings on the market, but with Oura you are buying into a platform that just keeps on getting better. The Live Activity tracking is excellent, and the Oura experience is second to none. If you’re looking for a fitness tracker that allows you to gain deeper insights into your overall health without looking like you’re wearing a tracker, the Oura Ring 5 is the way to go.

After a month of continuous testing, I’m genuinely struggling to find a flaw or a missing feature in the Oura Ring 5. By chopping 40% of the bulk while actually extending the battery life, Oura hasn't followed the tech trend of making slight tweaks to launch a new product — it has completely rewritten the blueprint for what invisible tech can do. That said, Oura, if you're reading, we need a trade-in service ASAP, please.

The time has come: the Oura Ring 4 has officially been upstaged by the hotly anticipated Oura Ring 5, and there are plenty of changes to the ring you should know about if you're deciding whether or not to invest.

I have been wearing my Oura Ring since its 2021 release, graduating from the Oura Ring Gen 3 to the latest 5 model, and I'm convinced it's still the best smart ring on the market, despite stiff competition emerging.

Launched on May 28 2026, the Ring 5 is now the "world's smallest smart ring," but what else can you expect? Oura announced new features that will roll out to the Oura Ring Gen3, Oura Ring 4, and Oura Ring 4 Ceramic. These include live workout tracking, more women’s health features and a brand new way to find your ring or charging case if you lose it.

Read on to find out more about the Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4, whether we think it's worth upgrading and a sneak peek at the new design.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Specs compared

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Price and availability

The Oura Ring 5 launched on May 28 and is now available for pre-order directly with Oura and other retailers including Amazon and Best Buy.

Shipping is due to begin June 4, while the Oura Ring 4 and ceramic will continue to be available.

As for pricing, the Oura Ring 4 starts at $349, while the Ring 5 begins at $399, with premium finishes (Gold, Stealth, Brushed Silver and Deep Rose) coming in at $499. Each purchase comes with a charger, but you can buy Oura's Ring 5 charging case, which is now available for pre-order at $99.

You'll get a one-year protection plan, plus a free month's trial of the Oura membership, which costs $5.99 a month thereafter.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Design

There have been some pretty significant changes to the newer version's design, and the most notable is that the Ring 5 is 40% smaller than its predecessor, making it more wearable for your everyday life; it's now the world's smallest smart ring.

Like the Oura Ring 4, the Ring 5's sensors are recessed. However, the 5's sensor domes provide better skin contact, more powerful LEDS (for clearer readings) and 12 stronger signal pathways for better accuracy across finger types and skin tones.

Oura also redesigned the mechanical, electrical, optical, battery and sensing architectures to ensure the quality of the ring isn't compromised by the smaller size. The rings are made from non-allergenic titanium, but the 5 features an extra-strong physical vapor deposition coating that enhances scratch resistance. It's also dust and waterproof to 100 meters (IP68), rather than waster resistant.

While the Oura Ring 4 comes in sizes 4 through 15, the Ring 5 comes in sizes 6 to 13. Oura strongly recommends confirming your best fit with a sizing kit; the new design means your ring size might change.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Fitness tracking features

The Oura Ring 4 introduced smart sensing, which meant your ring could create up to 18 sensing paths to read through your finger. As mentioned, Oura redesigned the ring from the ground up, creating smaller but more powerful LEDS repositioned for accuracy, and 12 refined but stronger signal pathways.

Gen 3, 4 and Ring 5 users can benefit from Oura's large bounty of health metrics and integrations, like sleep tracking, activity tracking, automatic workout detection, heart rate readings, readiness scores, stress tracking, menstrual cycle predictions, resilience estimates and long-term health trend insights, to name a few.

The Oura app is still split into three tabs, Today, Vitals and My Health, in an effort to keep all your information organized.

Oura has now introduced live activity tracking that lets members start a workout and follow their key metrics in real time from their phone. You can start a workout in the Oura App and track pace and distance during activities like running, cycling and strength training.

Members can also connect third-party heart rate monitors and supported devices, which gives access to heart rate in real time, including lock screen widgets for metrics. This feature becomes globally live on June 4. Automatic Activity Detection will also be more accurate, especially for low-motion activities like Pilates or yoga.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Battery life and charging

The Ring 4 can last up to 8 days, though we've found it typically lasts around 5-6 days, which declines gradually over time. The Ring 5 is expected to add a day of battery life, lasting up to 9 days. How this fares is down to testing, so we will include our results in our Oura Ring 5 review.

With one-touch multiring support, members can pair and switch among multiple Oura Ring 4 and Oura Ring 5 devices on a single account at no further cost.

A sandblasted anodized aluminum case stores one month of battery and, unlike the 4, the Oura Ring 5 charging case supports wireless charging. There's also a dedicated action button to check charging status and quickly pair the device. This will cost $99 and is available for pre-order.

Oura also introduced Locate, which helps you find your case and ring more easily, available for Oura Ring 4 and 5. You can support multiple devices and use the search mode in the app.

Oura Ring 4 vs Oura 5: Women's Health & Privacy settings

Menopause Insights

Menopause Insights asks you structured questions about sleep, mood, cognition and daily functioning, helping your Oura ring understand how strongly perimenopause may affect your daily life. After the symptom assessment, Oura members will access a personalized dashboard that translates these symptoms into an overall impact level.

Thankfully, it’ll be easy to follow at a glance, and you can learn how lifestyle changes, stress and interventions can change this data using your My Health view. Members can also save and share results with clinicians.

This update will be available to anyone with the app.

Hormonal Birth Control

Also rolling out is Oura’s new Hormonal Birth Control feature, which adapts Cycle Insights for members using pills, patches, IUDs, implants and other hormonal methods. You can gain insight into how contraception influences your wellbeing, and how your hormone fluctuations impact your body.

This is an update to the ring’s current Cycle Insights tool.

Lab Uploads

Oura users will now be able to import lab and blood work results directly into the Oura App, placing blood biomarkers alongside the data Oura collects. This will be available globally from June 30, 2026.

Privacy and Data Control

Finally, Oura will now make it possible for all members to erase data stored in the Oura App by choosing a specific time window. This will still preserve the account and longitudinal history but allows members to decide what data is stored without impacting the value of long-term trends.

Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: Should you upgrade?

Although the in-app features will be available across both devices, there are some pretty big changes to the design of the 5 that could make it worth the upgrade, given the price isn't enormously different.

However, if you're not ready to invest in the 5, we suspect the Oura Ring 4 will be on sale, so you could pick up a bargain.

If you're an avid Oura Ring user and want to be on the cutting edge of the company's latest hardware, I think you can purchase a new one knowing it won't be replaced for a while.

And if the size of the current ring feels off-putting, I can confirm that I've worn the Oura Ring 5 and it is super tiny, much easier to wear, and comes in beautiful colorways that blend into my everyday. Think sleek and chic.

We'll be testing the Oura Ring 5 here at Tom's Guide, so look out for our full, in-depth review coming soon.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• I ditched my Apple Watch for an Oura Ring for a month
• Samsung Galaxy Ring vs. Oura Ring 4 — which smart ring wins?

There are many reasons you should choose one of the best smart rings over a conventional fitness tracker. And when it comes to smart rings, Oura is the undisputed leader of the pack for me. I've been wearing an Oura Ring 3 for the last couple of years, and it sounds like my natural next upgrade could be right around the corner.

According to a leaked internal document, posted on Reddit, the upcoming Oura Ring 5 could break cover as soon as this week. While Oura itself hasn't commented on the leak, it shows a "launch timeline" that claims the Oura Ring 5 will be announced tomorrow, May 28, 2026.

The leak also says that pre-orders will begin the same day, and the new smart ring will get an official launch and start shipping on June 5, 2026.

What can we expect from the Oura Ring 5? Well, the leaked documentation states that the Oura Ring 5 will be, "Oura's newest, smaller, and more comfortable ring, designed to keep the same health-tracking capabilities and membership features members know from the Oura Ring 4."

Oura gen 5 from r/ouraring

The Oura Ring 4 was a real step-up over the Oura Ring 3, offering an all-titanium design, recessed sensors, more size options, and an extra full day of battery life. If you've never used an Oura Ring before, it tracks all the necessary metrics: steps, calories, sleep, and can also provide you with advanced features like stress measurement and cardiovascular age. The Oura Ring 4 is up to 120% more accurate in certain respects than the Oura Ring 3 as well.

We'll seemingly need to wait until later this week to find out if there are more improvements to come with the Oura Ring 5. But it seems like the company is focusing on getting its wearable to be smaller and less obtrusive — trying to lighten the (size-dependent) 3.3 to 5.2 grams of the Oura Ring 4.

Battery is my big concern

After using an Oura Ring myself for roughly two years, and while I love the wearable, there's one major concern I have with it. It's not the $5.99 / £5.99 per month (or $72 / £72 per year membership), it's the battery life.

Screenless fitness trackers like the Oura Ring (and the recently-launched Fitbit Air) can offer up several days' worth of battery life compared to something like the Apple Watch Series 11. Apple's smartwatch is infinitely more capable, but it's likely to be dead within 70 hours. In my first year with the Oura Ring, it would easily go for five or six days without needing a charge. Sadly, that's no longer the case.

After two years, the tiny battery in my Oura Ring 3 now can't manage a full 24 hours without needing to be charged. And, honestly, after the third or fourth time of waking up to find the ring had died on me overnight, I stopped wearing it.

I appreciate that it's very hard to battle battery degradation on a device this small, but for a $299 starting price plus the monthly membership, I had hoped for a wearable that would last me longer than two years.

With the Oura Ring 5 supposedly smaller and thinner, I'm concerned about the impact on long-term battery life. My sincere hope is that Oura has made efficiency savings inside the Ring 5 that mean anyone buying one in 2026 can still expect reasonable performance and longevity from it in 2028 and 2029.

Here's what my colleague Kate Kozuch thought after wearing an Oura Ring 4 for an entire year.

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The Oura Ring 4 has sat on my left index finger for over a year now, tracking my health during the day and monitoring my sleep during the night. It’s safe to say, I’m obsessed with the data.

Because the Oura Ring doesn’t just track my sleep; it’s helped me understand and improve it. The detailed data collection and easy-to-understand displays are turning me into a better sleeper, so I can start each day full of energy.

Accurate tracking is just one of the reasons I rate the Oura Ring as the best sleep tracker of 2026. With excellent battery and a comfortable fit, it's impressive all-round.

And having seen me through marathons and helped me hit near perfect sleep scores, I sing the praises of the Oura Ring Sleep Tracker to anyone who’ll listen... now it's your turn!

Key take-aways: At a glance

• The Oura Ring 4 is our top-rated sleep tracker of 2026, thanks to its comfortable fit and accurate health tracking.
• Understanding your Oura Ring data can help you become a better sleeper.
• The Oura Ring sleep score emphasizes the importance of good sleep architecture — that means high quality sleep, not just high quantity.
• Consistent wear also has benefits, including sleep chronotype data and tips to suit your sleep style.
• All-round health tracking encourages responsible habits for better sleep.
• Our testing showed the Oura Ring has great battery life and a more comfortable fit than many other wearables.

3 things the Oura Ring taught me about sleep

After 12 months of wearing it, here's everything the Oura Ring has taught me about my sleep...

1. The importance of deep and REM sleep

Even if I get eight hours of sleep, my Oura sleep score is never 'excellent' unless I spend ample time in each crucial sleep stage, namely deep and REM sleep.

Essential for physical repair and mental sanitation, deep and REM sleep are the stages of sleep that really matter; the ones that make sure you wake up feeling restored and energised. They are the protein and carbs in your sleep diet, if you will.

Your Oura Ring knows this. Therefore, to unlock a high sleep score you must spend around two hours in both deep and REM stages rather than coasting through the night in light sleep. These are the scientifically-backed guidelines around what sleep good quality.

Whereas before I assumed sleeping eight hours was the answer to good health, I now understand that sleep architecture is more important than sleep duration if you want to waking up feeling physically and mentally restored.

2. You can work with your chronotype for increased energy

Being an early bird, someone who's wired to fall asleep early and rise early, is just the way I'm wired. Now I'm an Oura Ring guru, I understand how I can work with my biological chronotype — aka your body’s natural timing preference — to sleep well and feel energised when I need to.

Oura is one of the few sleep trackers to cover your chronotype, and its chronotype data is certainly the most comprehensive compared to other wearables.

After wearing the Oura Ring 3 or Ring 4 for three months consistently, it calculates your chronotype and then tracks your sleep against your natural preferences. Combined with Oura’s Body Clock feature, this pinpoints your ideal sleep window according to your biology.

That means you can identify the time you’re biologically primed to fall asleep. This way you'll know the exact sleep and wake times you should aim for to optimise your energy levels and function in line with your body's natural cycles.

What's more, this makes it easier to maintain a consistent sleep schedule, which new studies prove is essential to boosting positive health outcomes and longevity. Oura really is looking out for your health and wellness.

3. Your daily habits impact your sleep more than you may think

A daily walk, good nutrition, and plenty of sunlight are all on the sleep green list, whereas late night meals, alcohol, and avoiding movement get the red card from the sleep doctor. And I've seen how these habits actually impact sleep quality through my Oura Ring sleep reports.

Pre-Oura-Ring I knew alcohol and too much caffeine weren't great news for sleep. When booze was involved, I'd typically loose hours of sleep, run a little hotter at night, and wake up feeling groggy. Now, I understand exactly how alcohol impacts my sleep health.

From high overnight heart rate to poor HRV readings, disjointed sleep cycles and shallow sleep, my Oura sleep report is always impacted by drinking alcohol or caffeine too late in the day.

Having this ring keep me accountable, I've found I'm making healthier choices to protect my sleep and heart health. Sure, as a twenty-something, I still enjoy a drink at social occasions, but I now chose to prioritise my sleep at least five to six nights a week. It's all about balance, right?

3 other reasons to love the Oura Ring

From comfort to value for money and sleep knowledge, there's plenty of reasons to love the Oura Ring.

1. It's comfortable to wear to bed

From a sleep comfort perspective, the Oura Ring sits comfortably, almost unnoticeably, on your finger through the night.

I'm a nighttime wriggler and only one night during the whole year have I found my ring displaced while I've been asleep. Don't ask me how, but one night it happened to slip off my finger (at 4am according to when my sleep tracking stopped) and I found it wrapped up in my sheets in the morning.

2. Sleep tracking is top notch

Along with my own testing under our robust sleep tracker testing methodology, scientific studies reveal it to be the most reliable consumer sleep tracker on the market. Plus there's plenty of value considering it goes beyond simply tracking your sleep to providing personalised sleep advice.

The AI-powered Oura Advisor offers sleep tips based on your individual sleep metrics and patterns. And you'll get a nightly notification delivered to your phone reminding you to leave enough time to wind down for quality sleep.

3. It helps you prioritize your wellbeing

Certified health and wellness coach Erin Clifford, LPC, NBC-HWC, agrees that the Oura Ring is a great tool for monitoring and improving your sleep health.

"I always encourage my clients to track their sleep," the licensed professional counselor says. "I track my sleep with an Oura Ring. And what I like about it is that it can not only help you with seeing when you go to bed, how your different sleep is, how you're recovering.

"But also if you're someone who struggles with their sleep, it can be encouraging at times too, because even if you woke up during the night, or maybe you didn't get your full seven to nine hours, you can still see that you're getting some good sleep."

Clifford's favorite feature? It's the recovery score because that focuses on the main purpose of sleep — priming our recovery for optimal functioning and performance the following day.

Clifford says paying attention to this feature is just as important as the sleep score. "When you have a recovery that's low, you should listen to that," she advises. That may mean swapping a planned heavy workout for a gentler walk or yoga class.

Finally, Clifford cautions it's important not to get too caught up in the data. "Allow yourself to have some breaks here or there," she says, "if you feel yourself getting a little too dependent on your sleep tracker."

It's good news for Oura lovers and those invested in wearing the best smart rings on the market, as we could be set to see the release of the Oura Ring 5 in 2027, according to an exclusive from Android Headlines.

The Oura Ring 4 remains best in show for in-depth, comprehensive fitness, sleep, and health tracking, despite stiff competition from the likes of the Ultrahuman Ring Pro and Samsung Galaxy Ring; Oura looks set to protect that status with the release of its next-generation ring, although it's unlikely we'll see it until 2027.

Here's everything we know so far.

Oura Ring 5: Price

It's too soon to tell whether the new ring will come with a price increase, although it's likely. The Oura Ring 3 was released in November 2021, with a starting price of $299. The Oura Ring 4 launched in October 2024, starting at $349.

Oura Ring 5: Design

According to Android Headlines' exclusive, the Oura Ring 5 could still be over a year away from being announced. Tom's Guide has reached out to Oura for comment.

It's rumoured Oura will be ditching its Rose Gold color in favor of a Deep Rose colorway (pictured), which has a more bronze look and may appeal to those who prefer a pared-back approach to design.

There may also be colorways in Matte Black, Silver, and Gold, which are already available with the Oura Ring 4. That said, Matte Black may be labeled Stealth, while Silver models may be available in brushed and glossy options.

The new ring also appears to have a slightly more curved design than existing models.

Oura Ring 5: Charging

According to Android Headlines, the charging style will remain the same. At the moment, the ring can be charged with the compatible dock, as well as with the Oura charging case.

It isn't clear whether the Oura Ring 5 will have any improvements from a battery life perspective, but reportedly, there could be some changes to sensors and health tracking.

Some major upgrades we saw between the Oura Ring 3 vs Oura Ring 4 included recessed and improved sensors that also bolstered accuracy, better battery life, and more sizing options, along with improvements to the app, which applied to users of either ring model.

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Today, Oura announced it has acquired Doublepoint — a company specializing in AI-driven, biometrics-based gesture-recognition technology. This suggests that voice and hand gestures will come to Oura rings in the near future.

It’s thought that in future rings, voice and hand gestures could play a central role in the user experience. What this might look like remains to be seen, but based on what competitors are doing, we’d guess that ring wearers will be able to use double-pinch gestures, similar to those on the Samsung Galaxy Ring and Apple Watch.

Doublepoint Technologies is a Helsinki-based startup that uses artificial intelligence and biometric data to enable users to control wearable devices with small hand movements.

In an interview with Bloomberg at MCW Barcelona, Oura’s Chief Executive Officer confirmed that gestures would become more important in future products, but cautioned, “it’s not like something’s happening tomorrow or in the near term,” so we might have a while to wait. He also stressed that he wanted the gestures to be “meaningful” to Oura’s customer base. At MWC, he referred to a Doublepoint demo in which users could skip songs with gestures or create a trackpad with their fingers.

The Oura ring is one of the best smart rings on the market. The news follows a massive period of growth at Oura, which released the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic last year. The company was recently valued at approximately $11 billion.

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• Just got a new Oura Ring? Here's how to set it up like a pro
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Samsung’s annual winter launch event, Galaxy Unpacked 2026, is rumored to take place on February 24, where we will likely get our first look at the next-gen Samsung Galaxy S26 smartphone lineup. Far less likely to appear is the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2.

Despite launching all the way back in 2024, the Samsung Galaxy Ring remains one of the best smart rings you can buy today. Still, rumors of a replacement have been swirling around ever since the model began shipping in July 2024.

Unfortunately, we likely have to wait until late 2026 or even 2027 for the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2. Here are the three biggest reasons why.

1. Samsung insiders say so

According to a December insider report from the Korean JooAng Daily, the Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 will not launch at the 2026 Galaxy Unpacked event (likely) in February alongside the new S26 smartphone models. The main reason? A fresh patent dispute with smart ring powerhouse, Oura.

2. Samsung is locked in a legal battle with Oura

Legal kerfuffles between major brands are nothing new; who could forget the wild ride that was the Apple vs Masimo patent debacle?

Now, it’s Samsung's turn. Oura filed a patent dispute in November 2025 with the International Trade Commission, alleging that Samsung and other smart ring manufacturers are infringing on an array of the brand’s tech. Oura is seeking both damages and an injunction halting the sales of these products.

However, on December 1, 2025, Samsung countersued, claiming that Oura is the one actively infringing on Samsung’s patents, including those for generating workout goals, charging tech, and more.

Ultimately, until this patent disagreement is properly sorted, it seems highly unlikely that Samsung will release a new Galaxy Ring model, given that a loss in court could mean yanking the brand-new ring from store shelves.

3. No recent spec or feature leaks

Aside from reports of Samsung Galaxy Ring 2 delays, there has been little to no new information regarding the design, features, or specs of the wearable in the last six months. Generally speaking, when a new smartwatch or ring is just about to debut, the rumor and leak mills are abuzz.

Right now, that isn’t the case.

On the flip side, Samsung is known for surprises

Of course, there’s always a chance Samsung will surprise us with an early preview of the Galaxy Ring 2, despite the universe suggesting otherwise. After all, the original Samsung Galaxy Ring was a ‘one more thing’ style surprise announcement at the winter 2024 Unpacked event, though it didn’t end up shipping for another six months.

Could history repeat itself? We should know for sure in less than 30 days.

More from Tom's Guide

• Gesture controls, haptic feedback and lawsuits — 7 things that will happen with smart rings this year
• These are the 7 coolest wearable tech gadgets I tried at CES 2026
• How to shop for your first smart ring in 2025 — and start your health-tracking journey

For years, falling asleep fast and staying asleep all night has been one of my strong points. I don't have children waking me up at night. I don't have trouble falling asleep once I'm in bed and I tend to sleep soundly through the night.

However, my Oura Ring has brought one sleep metric to my attention that I'm lately falling short on: keeping a consistent sleep schedule.

As an outgoing twenty-something, social jetlag impacted me for pretty much the entire month of December. I'd like to say my sleep got back on track once we welcomed in the New Year.

In reality, I commute over an hour to work some days, work from home others, and I've found myself lying in longer at the weekends lately (dark, cold winter mornings just aren't it).

On the Tom's Guide sleep team, we often write about how sleep regularity is a golden sleep hygiene rule, and actually more important than sleep duration.

But I'll eat my words and admit my sleep schedule hasn't exactly been consistent for the past couple of months — thankfully, my Oura Ring isn't letting me get away with it.

Research suggests I'm not alone. In fact, data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2017-2020) reveals most Americans don't have a regular sleep schedule. Yet going to bed and waking up at different times from night to night could be quietly harming your health.

Key takeaways

• If you follow one sleep rule it should be going to bed and waking up at the same.
• A new study shows that sleep regularity can add up to four years to life expectancy.
• Obtaining seven hours of sleep per night, and maintaining a consistent bedtime within a one-hour window, can reduce mortality risk by 24%.
• Haphazard bedtimes can undo a lot of benefits of the right amount of sleep.

The science behind consistent bedtimes

Sleep regularity, which means going to bed and waking up at approximately the same time every night and morning, is associated with several sleep and health benefits. That includes better sleep quality, improved energy levels, a healthier body and boosted longevity.

Most recently, a study by Vitality and London School of Economics and Political Science indicated that obtaining seven hours of sleep per night and maintaining a consistent bedtime within a one-hour window can reduce mortality risk by 24% and potentially add up to four years to life expectancy.

Interestingly, this research, which tracked more than 47 million nights of sleep, suggests bedtime consistency was the strongest factor influencing sleep-related health risks (even greater than sleep duration).

Before that, a 2024 study investigating the relationship between sleep regularity and incident dementia in over 88,000 UK participants concluded irregular sleep can pose a dementia risk.

In a 2020 study of nearly 2,000 participants, researchers from Harvard Medical School found people with the most irregular sleep patterns were nearly twice as likely to suffer develop a cardiovascular disease, such as a heart attack or stroke, compared to those with the most regular sleep schedules.

Again, these findings were independent of sleep duration, meaning it didn't matter if the person averaged the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep. If the timing varied wildly from night to night, the risk increased.

All in all, the scientific picture around inconsistent sleep is pretty bleak, and I've got my Oura Ring to thank for bringing my shoddy sleep timings to my attention.

How going to bed at the same time improves sleep

Sleeping and waking at the same time every day helps align the body's natural clock, a.k.a. your circadian rhythm, resulting in shorter sleep latency and more restful nights.

When you go to bed at regular times, your body gets used to producing and repressing sleep-inducing hormones like melatonin on a consistent cycle. This should make it easier to nod off, enter deep sleep stages and stay soundly asleep through the night.

On the flip side, when you wake up at the same time every morning, your body gets better at releasing alertness hormones like cortisol when you need it. This means you're more likely to wake up with enough energy to power through the day, and can wave goodbye to morning grogginess.

• Read more: What is your sleep data trying to tell you? Expert shares 3 key sleep metrics you should pay attention to

How to keep a consistent sleep schedule

Admittedly, my sleep schedule has been a little haphazard of late. But these are the expert-approved habits I'm employing to improve my sleep consistency going forward...

1. Get morning sunlight

Rise and shine, literally. Time and time again, I write about the benefits of morning sunlight, be it simulated sunlight from a sunrise alarm clock, natural daylight through your window or, best of all, sunlight soaked up on your morning walk.

As a key cue in your circadian rhythm, it tells your body it's time to wake up, so you can stick to that regular wake time. Research shows morning sunlight also leads to greater sleep drive the following evening, so you're ready to nod off on time, too.

Plus, giving you an endorphin hit, morning sunlight can boost your mood, energy levels and concentration (hello, productivity). So, pull those curtains back as soon as you get out of bed to enjoy the health and sleep benefits of daylight.

2. Stick to an evening routine

Your internal body clock is governed by external cues including light, temperature and habits. This means you can train your body to wind down in the evening by establishing a nighttime routine.

Said routine should include a series of activities you find calming, be that a dark shower, pre-bed stretch session, meditation or reading. When you practice this routine consistently, your brain and body will naturally get sleepy around that time, helping you maintain a regular bedtime.

3. Eat meals at regular times

What's your breakfast, lunch and dinner got to do with sleep, you ask? It turns out, there are many connections between our eating habits and sleep. While sugary foods are bad news for sleep, summer fruits are thought to boost sleep quality. And the time we eat plays a crucial role in our ability to rest.

This is because our metabolism and circadian rhythm are interconnected. Eating at regular times through the day helps sync your 'food clock' with your 'sleep clock'. This should mean you avoid late night hunger pangs, cutting out the urge to delay bedtime, and wake up ready for a nutritious, energy-stabilising breakfast.

If there's one thing that'll get me out of bed in the morning, it's the thought of breakfast waiting for me downstairs.

The Oura Ring remains the best smart ring on the market right now, and the release of the Oura Ring 4 last year, plus the latest Oura ceramic range and a brand-new charging case, are all welcome additions.

Whether you’ve just set up your new Oura Ring or you’ve been a smart ring wearer for some years, the number of features available can be overwhelming to navigate — some you might not even know exist. There are a few features I can’t live without, but the journey is different for everyone; the sleep and health data that matter to you may not to others.

That said, I just discovered several features that I want to share with you, and I think they’ll boost everyone's Oura Ring experience this year. Here’s what hidden features you need to know about your Oura Ring, and how to use them.

5 hidden Oura Ring features you should know about (if you don't already)

• Use the + menu located on the lower right side of the app home screen
• Tap add an activity
• Select the activity (in this case, it would be housework)
• Edit the start time, duration and intensity of the activity
• Hit done.

• Tap the battery icon located upper right of the app home screen
• Toggle the slider on for airplane mode
• Hit confirm
• Check that there is an airplane icon in the upper-right corner of your home screen
• To turn off: Place your ring on its charger, wait for it to connect, then allow any syncing to finish and remove.

• Tap the three lines at the top left of your app home screen
• Hit settings, then location permissions
• Toggle on Oura location features and choose if you’d like to enable them in low power mode
• The last location of your device will appear from when it was last connected. Note: If the ring is not connected, its location may change without showing up.

• For iPhone users:
  • Touch and hold your phone's home screen
  • Hit edit at the top left of your screen
  • Tap to add widget
  • Scroll to the Oura app
  • Select the data you want to show
  • Confirm add widget
  • Next, touch and hold your phone's lock screen
  • Select customize
  • Tap the lock screen
  • Hit the + button under the time
  • Scroll down to the Oura app
  • Choose which widgets you want to allow
  • Hold and drag each one to the screen
  • Hit done.
• For Android users:
  • Touch and hold a space on your home or lock screen
  • Tap widgets, then scroll to the Oura app
  • Tap or drag the widget you want.

• Manually select a tag by tapping the + sign at the bottom right of the home screen
• Select add a tag and choose from available options, or add a custom tag. When you complete a meditation session or workout, a tag will automatically be created
• You can also tap the + button, select an unguided session to follow, and a tag will be added afterward
• If you sync with other workout apps, your workout will automatically be imported with a tag
• You can add tags via the timeline on the home screen at any time.

What's your favorite Oura tip or trick? Let us know in the comments below!

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — here’s why it's the best smart tech I have invested in
• Oura Ring's AI-powered 'Advisor' is rolling out
• The Oura ring accessory I’ve waited years for is finally here

I checked out more than a dozen new smart rings last week, while covering CES 2026, the world's largest consumer tech show, chatting with another half dozen brands about new models launching this year.

As a result of those conversations and booth visits, several themes emerged surrounding the future of smart rings. From haptic feedback to gesture controls to lots of litigation, these are my seven biggest predictions for smart rings in 2026.

1. Custom gesture controls are coming

Up until this point, the best smart rings have been centered around holistic, fitness, sleep, and women's health tracking, but that's about to change. I spoke with a handful of brands actively building customizable gesture controls into their smart rings.

One example is the Aivela Ring Pro, which was created by a former Apple product designer and offers a total of 14 programmable gesture controls alongside impressive wellness tracking insights.

The Aivela Ring Pro supports both standard gestures, like tapping the side of the ring to start or stop music, sliding your finger to scroll through your TikTok feed, or pressing and holding the side of the ring to begin recording a workout, as well as "air" gesture controls, like drawing a heart with your finger to like a post on social media.

The Even Realities R1 is another noteworthy ring with gesture controls. However, unlike the Aivela Ring Pro, which is designed to control just about any piece of tech in your life, the R1's gesture controls are primarily for navigating the brand's (excellent) G2 smart glasses.

And just like the Aivela Ring Pro, the Even R1 also offers comprehensive wellness tracking tools.

2. Say hello to alerts via haptic feedback

I chatted with two different brands launching smart rings in 2026 with haptic feedback. In the case of the RingConn Gen 3 — expected to launch this summer — the device's smart vibrations can be set up as a gentle means to wake a user or as an alert for health notifications.

RingConn also says the ring will be able to alert you to new insights via subtle vibrations. However, there's no word yet on whether users will have full control over the feature. I could imagine a finger vibration every time you get a new text message could get old fast and potentially be a major battery drain.

3. Unlock blood pressure insights

Look out, Apple, the best Apple Watch models aren't likely to be the only wearables with hypertension tracking in 2026. In addition to haptic alerts, RingConn is also bringing blood pressure insights to the forthcoming RingConn Gen 3 model.

While not exactly the same as Apple's hypertension alerts, blood pressure insights on the Gen 3 will monitor a user's long-term blood pressure trends, helping users track whether their cardiovascular health is improving or not.

This is not a blood pressure monitor, nor is it a diagnostic tool for hypertension. However, it does represent a major expansion of what smart rings are capable of, health-monitoring-wise. Moreover, I fully expect the other major smart ring players to follow suit with similar features.

4. Choose from even more subscription-free options

The Oura Ring 4 remains the best smart ring at the start of 2026. (I'm especially fond of the Ceramic models.) However, in addition to the cost of the ring itself, which starts at $349, you need to spend another $69 a year for an Oura app subscription.

If you loathe subscription pricing, I've got good news. You can expect even more Oura Ring alternatives in 2026 that are completely subscription-free. These include the Aivela Ring Pro, the Pebble Index 01, and the Even Realities R1.

The RingConn Gen 3, meanwhile, will also remain subscription-free, just like its predecessors.

5. Major smart ring players will have a comeback

Toward the end of 2025, the U.S. smart ring market took a massive hit: the latest Ultrahuman Ring Air was yanked from store shelves and barred from being sold by the manufacturer. The reason? A successful lawsuit on the part of Oura, claiming Ultrahuman, along with RingConn, violated the brand's patents with their latest products.

While RingConn settled with Oura for an undisclosed amount, Ultrahuman opted to take its smart ring off the U.S. market and regroup.

This is, of course, not the end of Ultrahuman in the U.S. In addition to continuing to support U.S. customers who bought Ultrahuman smart rings before the band, all signs point to the brand figuring out a way to work around the patent issue with a new or altered model.

This could mean removing certain pieces of tech or turning off certain features, similar to what Apple had to do with its blood oxygen tracking feature on various Apple Watch models after the infamous Masimo legal debacle.

However, there's also a chance that Ultrhuman will build around the issue and find new means of accomplishing the same holistic feats, all without touching on Oura's patents. Whatever route the brand takes, my money is on a new Ultrahuman smart ring for 2026.

6. Additional patent lawsuits will be filed

Of course, the Oura vs. RingConn vs. Ultrahuman legal drama is most likely not the end of the lawsuits between smart ring rivals. In fact, you can count on additional litigation in 2026 from the major players.

Unfortunately, the mass filing of patents as a means of beating the competition is essentially par for the course when it comes to consumer tech brands in 2026. Really, the only question is, which smart ring company will be the first to drop fresh litigation this year, and how soon will it come?

7. Battery life will keep getting better

The Pebble Index 01 is one of the most intriguing new smart rings I demoed at CES 2026. It doesn't have any health or fitness tracking features, but it does offer a single, customizable clicky button that can be set up to do any number of tasks, like record voice memos.

What's even more remarkable about the Index 01 is its ring's battery life. It's designed to last the entire product life of the ring, two to three years.

While we likely won't see any traditional health-focused smart rings with unlimited battery in 2026, longevity is, across the board, improving. The RingConn Gen 3, for instance, is rated at 13 days per charge, a notable increase over its predecessor's 10-day battery, and way better than the Oura Ring 4's eight-day battery.

More from Tom's Guide

• These are the 7 coolest wearable tech gadgets I tried at CES 2026
• How to shop for your first smart ring in 2025 — and start your health-tracking journey
• 5 wearable tech predictions for 2026 — from futuristic Fitbits to the ever-elusive Apple Ring

Rumors of an Apple smart ring have been circulating for as long as I can remember. With numerous patents filed over the past decade, each hinting at a potential finger-based wearable from the Cupertino King, there’s still no hard evidence that such a device will ever see the light of day.

But what if the Apple Ring wasn’t launched by Apple at all, but rather by former Apple product designers? That’s where the Aivela Ring Pro enters the chat. With former Apple industrial designer Hartmut Esslinger leading the charge, the Aivela Ring could be the next best thing to an actual Apple Ring.

Combining health and fitness tracking features with gestures that can be used to control just about any piece of Bluetooth-enabled tech in your life, I just got my hands on an early version of the Aivela Ring Pro, and I’m impressed. Here’s everything you need to know.

Aivela Ring Pro: Price and availability

The Aivela smart ring launched on Kickstarter in September 2025 and quickly reached fully-funded status. However, you can still secure an Aivela Ring Pro for $179 via early-backer pricing if you move quickly.

Compatible with Android and iOS devices, the Aivela Ring Pro is subscription-free.

The ring has already begun shipping to early backers, with units continuously released in batches. Check the Aivela Ring Pro Kickstarter for more details on availability.

Aivela Ring Pro: Design

I tried on the Aivela Ring Pro, and it’s impressively lightweight and fairly sleek-looking. The exterior is titanium, while the interior is resin to maximize on-skin comfort. Users can choose from sizes seven through 14.

Depending on your size selection, the Aivela Ring Pro weighs between 2.4 and 3.6 g, which is definitely on the lighter side compared to the best smart rings I’ve tested. Water resistance is 100 meters, which is par for the course and more than enough protection for bathing and swimming.

Finishes include matte black, rose gold, silver, and gold.

Aivela Ring Pro: Health tracking

When it comes to health and fitness tracking, the Aivela Ring Pro has the basics covered and then some. The ring monitors your heart rate, blood oxygen saturation levels (SpO2), body temperature, movement, sleep quality, and ovulation cycles (for women).

Like the best fitness trackers, including the Oura Ring 4, the Aivela Ring Pro provides a daily sleep score out of 100, along with a "vitality" score similar to Oura’s readiness score.

Users can also view a breakdown of their sleep cycles and nightly movement, while keeping tabs on daily calorie intake, workouts, step count and more.

The companion app even includes an AI coach you can chat with via text for personalized insights, tips, and wellness plans. It also generates custom two-minute "podcasts" aimed at breaking down your health data.

Aivela Ring Pro: Programmable gesture controls

The coolest feature of the Aivela Ring Pro is support for gesture controls. A small "optical finger navigation" sensor on the exterior of the device is what makes the magic happen.

In total, the Aivela Ring Pro supports eight standard gesture controls — like tap, swipe, double-tap, double-tap-and-hold, etc. — along with six "air" based controls, like making a heart pattern with your ring-worn finger.

In theory, these gesture controls can be programmed to do just about anything, from scrolling through your phone’s TikTok feed by swiping the side of the ring to starting a workout tracking session in Strava with a double-tap.

Other examples include controlling music or podcasts, flipping through slide decks, or snapping photo/videos. Better yet, with support for both Android and iOS devices and the ability to control everything from earbuds, smartphones, TVs, and more, the customization possibilities are nearly endless.

Aivela Ring Pro: Battery

The Aivela Ring Pro battery is rated at seven days per charge, which is fairly competitive. By comparison, the latest Oura Ring 4 offers an eight-day battery life rating.

Meanwhile, the battery recharge time for the Aivela Ring Pro is an impressive 30 minutes or so.

Aivela Ring Pro: Outlook

To put it bluntly, the Aivela Ring Pro promises a lot, from competitive holistic tools and battery life to a comfortable and lightweight design to supporting loads of gesture controls for all your favorite tech gadgets.

The question is, can it deliver on the user experience side? When I demoed the Aivela Ring, it was admittedly a little buggy in terms of gesture control support. While I did observe a brand rep showing off the ability to browse TikTok by swiping the OFN sensor, it took several tries. (To be fair, shoddy internet could be to blame, as we were in the dark depths of the Venetian Convention Center in Las Vegas during CES 2026.)

Ultimately, I love the idea of nonchalantly tapping my smart ring with my thumb to skip to the next track on Spotify or turn on my smart TV. Combine that with reliable holistic tracking, and you’ve got a winner in my book. Stay tuned for a full review of the Aivela Ring Pro.

More from Tom's Guide

• These are the 7 coolest wearable tech gadgets I tried at CES 2026
• I just went hands-on with the RingConn Gen 3 — and it beats even the Oura Ring 4 in several crucial ways
• I got barefoot at CES to test the Withings Body Scan 2 — and unlocked tons of longevity insights in just 90 seconds

A year ago, I purchased my Oura Ring 4, and it has been sitting on my left index finger every single day. My hands have perfectly molded to its presence, and I actually feel like something is missing when I take it off to charge it.

I’ve become somewhat obsessed with tracking my metrics with one of the best smart rings, and I think that can only be a good thing. But you’d never know, because the ring is discreet and has no screen to distract me, or the person I’m talking to.

With a smartwatch, our wrists demand our constant attention, but a ring takes that away while still effectively tracking metrics like heartbeats, sleep cycle, readiness and temperature. I can get an in-depth look at these metrics in the Oura app at the end of the day, so, for me, the best way to connect to my health is to disconnect from the screen.

I don’t want a screen

I may be cynical, but when I had an Apple Watch, I would always keep it on silent as I hated notifications coming through. It would constantly vibrate on my wrist, light up, and was frankly distracting.

For many people, this kind of access to the outside world is ideal and keeps them connected to loved ones. But as someone who is easily distracted, this became more of a hindrance for me. I would constantly turn my wrist each time the watch vibrated, and even though it’s just a glance, it would lead me to pick up my phone and ultimately forget about the task I was doing.

Since the Oura Ring is screen-free, I’m able to stay present in my daily tasks and remain connected to my body’s data, just minus the glowing wrist. It‘s also one of my pet peeves when I am sitting talking with someone, and they keep looking at their smartwatch. I’d even go so far as to say I find it pretty rude.

Extended battery life

Since the Oura Ring is screen-free, the battery life is far longer than that of a wearable with a screen. After all, screens drain a lot of power.

I only have to charge my Oura Ring once a week and still get all the data and features even when the power is running low. This means I get fewer data gaps where I have to take the ring off for charging.

In-depth insights

I actually purchased my Oura Ring along with the Oura subscription because I had a major surgery in 2024, and I wanted to get back to exercising while still prioritizing my recovery. This was the best choice I could have made because, since returning to hiking, running and Pilates, the ring has become my advisor.

I can get in-depth insights into my readiness when I work out. This allowed me to build the best routine to start getting strong while also paying attention to how much recovery I needed to give my body.

Oura has even been able to alert me when I’m about to get sick; when I had the flu, I knew a few days before to start taking it easy based on my temperature readings. And the temperature readings are also great for cycle tracking.

So, I won’t be taking this ring off any time soon, because staying screen-free and keeping track of my personal health now couldn’t be simpler.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore the Oura Ring for 6 months to track my sleep — and now I'm regularly getting 8 hours and feel so much better
• US bans foreign-made drones including those by DJI — here’s what it means for you
• Apple fined $116 million for this iPhone feature that's 'harmful' to developers

So, you just got your hands on an Oura Ring 4? Congratulations, you now own the most powerful, reliable, and all-around best smart ring on the market today. But before you start your fitness tracking journey, you'll want to ensure that the device is properly set up and paired with your smartphone.

Fortunately, the Oura Ring 4 setup process is fairly painless. More importantly, you can complete it in roughly 30 minutes if you follow my illustrated steps below. Do this, and you'll be tracking your health with the Oura Ring like a pro in no time.

How to set up your new Oura Ring

1. Download the Oura app and enter your email address
2. Unbox your new Oura Ring and place it on the charger next to your phone
3. Tap "Set up ring" and grant the Oura app access to Bluetooth devices
4. Tap on your ring when it appears on the screen and confirm pairing
5. Verify your email account with Oura
6. Choose how you'll log in to the Oura app
7. Sync your phone's data with Oura's and update the firmware if prompted
8. Select your country of residence and add your personal info
9. Choose health data syncing options and notification settings
10. Answer the brief health survey and check off the activities you enjoy
11. Put on the Oura Ring and verify that the sensors are working
12. Explore the Oura app and wear the ring for the next few months

Read on to see full illustrated instructions for each step.

Congratulations. Your new Oura Ring is fully set up and ready to keep tabs on many aspects of your well-being, from sleep quality to heart health to physical fitness to ovulation tracking. Prepare for a world of holistic insights and tips unmatched by any other smart ring manufacturer.

Of course, to make the most of your new finger-based fitness tracker, be sure to wear it at all times. Battery life should be good for around a week of use per charge. And, when it does need a power-up, a full recharge takes about an hour in my experience.

More from Tom's Guide

• The Oura Ring is still my favorite smart gadget in 2025 — 3 must-try features you might not already know about
• How to shop for your first smart ring — and start your health-tracking journey
• How to use the Oura Ring sizing kit to ensure a perfect smart ring fit

It feels like the best smart rings and wearable gadgets are ever evolving, which can make it hard to know which is the best wearable for you and your sleep, health and fitness tracking.

I’ve personally always stuck by the Oura Ring, and currently wear the Oura Ring 4. What I love most is that it doesn’t really matter which ring you have when it comes to the app content, which offers most of the same features to every member.

The brand doesn’t believe in becoming a sitting duck either, and while the competition continues to heat up as we shift toward 2026, Oura has been busy developing.

The Oura Ring is still miles ahead of the competition, in my opinion, but if you are thinking about buying an Oura Ring for the first time or simply aren’t sure if you're using your ring the best way, here are my three must-try features you should consider using more often and during the holidays.

1. AI-powered heart rate and recovery tracking

Oura users can record their workout heart rates, access live readings and track heart rate data, including Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and resting heart rate. This isn't really news.

What is less commonly known is that your Oura Ring could be key to better recovery if you know which metrics to focus on. Your heart rate reveals insights into stress resilience and your overall cardiovascular health, and Oura can assess how your heart rate data looks over the weeks, months and years, especially your resting heart rate, which I recently tested for myself.

How to use it:

• Open the Oura app
• Tap the three lines in the top left corner
• From the menu, select Trends
• Tap Heart Rate Variability
• Toggle between days, weeks, months and years and view your data as a trend on the graph.

You can also ask Oura’s AI advisor to find and summarize the data for you (which I did). On your Today tab, tap the + sign at the bottom right of the app, then select Advisor. Be specific with your requests to access the most accurate data.

The Oura Ring tracks your heart rate using sensors; on the Ring 4, these are recessed and have been updated for even better accuracy, but whichever model you have, the ring measures blood flow in your finger to look at shifts in your heartbeats.

Oura can capture your lowest resting heart rate, nighttime recovery and cardiovascular balance, all of which play into resilience and recovery trends. It is well worth checking this feature out if you are interested in recovery and heart health over time.

When I tested it, Oura split my heart rate data into weekly averages and could compare weeks against each other, which is handy if you want to look at how your resting heart rate and recovery fluctuate over the holidays, which can be either faster or slower-paced for many.

I also asked the Oura Advisor to look at my sleep and stress data during the same period to see how my body was coping. Thankfully, when comparing a period of heavy workload and social activity, my lowest heart rate data remained steady, which can indicate stable recovery and consistency. On the flipside, any major shifts in your patterns can indicate that your recovery might need a closer look.

If you want to see how your body is coping with significant change or lifestyle choices, this is the feature to try.

If you plan to look at your heart rate data trends, the Oura Ring sits at the top of the accuracy range and corresponds "nearly perfectly" with ECG values, which are the gold standard for measuring heart rate.

2. Symptom Radar

A year ago, on December 5, 2024, members gained access to a game-changing health feature called Symptom Radar. I reported how much I loved the Symptom Radar feature for flagging up health concerns for me before I even knew how my body felt.

Symptom Radar assesses biometric data every morning for early signs of strain, including common cold, stress, or flu symptoms. The feature also helps you monitor which biomarkers have changed, and Oura will give severity levels: no signs, minor signs and major signs.

You can track this in-app and look at which markers look out of balance, then head to Oura’s AI Advisor to delve into the data. While it might not always come to anything (it could just be a few late nights or heavy meals before bedtime, throwing out your metrics), I have found Oura’s predictions nearly always spot on, whether it’s stress-related or a cold creeping up on me.

While it doesn’t fix the issue by viewing the data, it does help you tailor your lifestyle choices accordingly, like going to bed earlier, taking a warm bath, staying away from alcohol, or shifting your workout schedule.

How to use it:

• Tap the Today tab of your app
• Scroll to Symptom Radar
• Tap to view more

3. Stress tracking

One of the big draws of the Oura Ring is its ability to detect stress throughout the day and provide a daily and weekly report on stress levels; this also feeds into your readiness and resilience scores.

Oura’s Daytime Stress feature launched in 2023, and it’s still one of my favorite evolving features. By tracking your stress throughout the day (the data can refresh in-app every 15 minutes and starts two hours after waking), you can see how workload, social interactions, stressful situations and even workouts impact how your body deals with stress.

Oura uses biometrics like nighttime heart rate variability (HRV) and body temperature to detect stress in the body, providing feedback as restored, relaxed, engaged, or stressed. However, it's worth noting that high-intensity workouts can act like a cortisol cocktail on the body and temporarily elevate stress levels, so always contextualize this feedback for your lifestyle.

I’ve continued to use my Oura Ring to manage stress, along with the Stress Resilience tool for mapping and improving it; you can use these features to delve into trends and potential causes.

Here’s everything you need to know about these Oura Ring features. And if you’re looking for some ways to reduce daily stress in your life, you can access breathwork and meditations through Oura, too.

Bottom line

Oura doesn’t prescribe, diagnose, or cure, but these features still help to contextualize physical and mental fluctuations in your body and map your unique health journey.

Taking some time during the holidays to test these features could set you up for a happier, healthier 2026, while helping you to keep a closer eye on your relationship with exercise, sleep and stress.

More from Tom's Guide

• Oura Ring 3 vs Oura Ring 4
• Oura Ring 3 vs Whoop 4.0: Which is the best fitness tracker?
• Oura Ring vs Ultrahuman Ring Air.

They say size doesn't matter, but when it comes to smart rings, too small or too large can lead to discomfort and/or unreliable health data. The best way to ensure perfect sizing for your smart ring is by using a sizing kit.

As such, the Oura Ring 4, the best smart ring available today, only performs at its best when properly sized to your finger, which is why the brand offers a sizing kit with plastic dummy rings for $10.

However, you don't actually need to shell out 10 smackeroos to size up your finger. I'll touch on that, as well as how to properly test the dummy rings, below.

How to use the Oura Ring sizing kit

1. Purchase your sizing kit (and collect your rebate)
2. Choose your finger
3. Try different sizes until you find one that’s snug yet comfy
4. Wear the ring for at least 24 hours
5. Confirm your ring size and select your new Oura Ring

Read on to see full illustrated instructions for each step.

Follow the above steps and proper Oura Ring 4 sizing is all but guaranteed. If that ends up not being the case, Oura offers a 30-day return/exchange policy.

Not sure if the Oura Ring 4 is the right smart ring for you? Here's my handy-dandy guide on how to choose the right smart ring for your needs and budget. Similar to Oura, most other brands, including Samsung (Galaxy Ring) and Ultrahuman, offer their own sizing kits.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• The new Pebble smart ring won’t track your health, doesn’t need to be recharged and costs just $75 — here’s why I can’t wait to try one
• Garmin vs Apple — who makes the better smartwatch in 2025?

Several Oura ring owners have claimed their devices are overheating and shared pictures of the results on Reddit, prompting concerns over safety. The claims follow the report of a Samsung Galaxy Ring owner being hospitalized with burns back in September.

Oura itself has been quick to respond in the /OuraRing subreddit, where the claims were posted, to say it would be investigating the issue. One of the first posts, made on December 5, is titled "Ring started smoking" and shows five images of an Oura Ring 4 with burn marks showing on the metal case as well as a blister on the owner's finger.

The post reads: "I felt a fire on my finger tried to get the ring off fast but wasent fast enough I gotta blister and my hand smells like electronic fire wondering why this would happen iv had my ring about 4 or5 months and ive been loving it until this."

A pinned comment from Reddit user u/AllieAtOura responded: "I'm very sorry you've experienced this with your ring, and appreciate the concern this brings. I just sent you a DM, and we'd love to investigate it and have this resolved for you."

Ring started smoking from r/ouraring

Other posts share similar stories about overheating concerns. One of which involves an Oura Ring 4 getting hot enough to wake the owner up from sleep.

In that instance, another Oura representative responded with the following: "Thank you for sharing what happened, and I’m sorry to hear you experienced this. That definitely shouldn’t be happening, and I'd like to get a support case created for the right team to investigate.

Oura's products, like any of the best smart rings, contain lithium-ion batteries to function. And, while it's possible for these batteries to overheat to the point of burning, it's an extremely rare occurrence.

Oura's response

I've personally been wearing an Oura Ring 3 for over a year at this point and have never felt it get even mildly warm.

When I contacted Oura directly, the company provided the following statement: "We take any safety-related report seriously and are actively reviewing the recent posts on a case-by-case basis. While Reddit discussion threads can create the impression of scale, the two reported cases appear to be isolated incidents rather than a wider pattern, and we’re conducting thorough investigations — including third‑party analysis — to understand exactly what happened and support the members involved." 

Oura's own product safety page, which doesn't mention battery swelling or failure but does note: "If you experience redness or skin irritation on your finger while wearing your Oura Ring, remove it immediately. If symptoms persist longer than 2-3 days, please contact a dermatologist."

More from Tom's Guide

• The new Pebble smart ring has a built-in mic and costs just $75
• Oura Ring 4 review: the new gold standard for smart rings
• The best Oura Ring alternatives in 2025

I review wearables for a living, and I have a confession. I hate wearing a smartwatch to bed. However, I love the sleep-tracking insights the best smartwatches offer. What's a fellow to do?

Fortunately for me and folks like me, smart rings exist. These petite and discreet wellness trackers keep tabs on loads of holistic factors beyond just sleep quality. Most offer comprehensive women's health tracking, workout recovery insights, and basic activity tracking.

Some, like the Ringconn Gen 2, can even alert you to signs of sleep apnea. Better yet, smart rings tend to offer better battery performance than smartwatches. The Oura Ring 4, for example, lasts up to about a week per charge.

Ready to pull the trigger on your first smart ring, or shopping for a smart ring for someone else? Here's everything you need to know to end up with the best smart ring for your needs and budget

How to shop for your first smart ring

1. Set your budget
2. Decide whether you are okay with paying a monthly subscription
3. Narrow your search based on your phone type
4. Identify the features that matter most to you
5. Protruding sensors or flush ones?
6. Ensure proper sizing
7. Choose your finish
8. Begin your health-tracking journey

Read on to see full illustrated instructions for each step.

And with that, you should be all set to kick off your finger-based health-monitoring journey with the perfect smart ring. Remember, the whole point of a smart ring is to wear it at all times for the best results. Most need to be recharged every few days, though the best smart ring models last up to a week.

Worried about charging? Grab an accessory charge case to go with your new smart ring. Most brands offer them for a reasonable amount (less than $50), including Oura, Samsung, and Circular.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• The new Pebble smart ring won’t track your health, doesn’t need to be recharged and costs just $75 — here’s why I can’t wait to try one
• Garmin vs Apple — who makes the better smartwatch in 2025?

I'm Sam, and I'm a smart rings addict. Jokes aside, I really have fallen in love with the best smart rings like the Oura Ring 4, and the endless health, sleep and fitness tracking capabilities never cease to amaze me. And guess what? Black Friday deals slash the cost of these pretty expensive wearables, saving you serious money before the holidays ring in.

For instance, you can save $100 on the Oura Ring 4, which is 29% off at Amazon.

Get this discount (and more) below as I track the best deals across the sales. You could save up to $120 right now!

Quick links

• Oura Ring 4: was $349 now $249 @ Amazon
• Samsung Galaxy Ring: was $399 now $279 @ Amazon
• Ringconn Gen 2: was $299 now $209 @ Amazon
• Amazfit Helio Ring: was $199 now $109 @ Amazon
• Ultrahuman Ring Air: was $349 now $239 @ Best Buy

Black Friday smart ring deals

Top Black Friday deals

• Amazon: 50% off Ring, Ninja, Under Armour and more
• Amazon Basics: fitness/home/kitchen essentials from $3
• REI: half-off Arc'teryx, Patagonia and more
• Walmart: holiday gifts from $15
• Dell: monitors from $69, laptops from $299
• Nectar: 50% off mattresses + 66% off bundles
• Best Buy: laptops from $149
• Lenovo: doorbuster laptop deals from $319
• Wayfair: up to 80% off home decor
• Nike: apparel/sneakers from $7
• Lululemon: top picks from $9
• Newegg: Doorbuster deals from $6
• Birkenstock: deals from $20 @ Nordstrom
• Saatva: luxury mattresses from $1,099

This year I've tested all the best sleep trackers and despite sitting in a highly competitive market alongside the likes of Apple, Whoop and Garmin, the Oura Ring 4 still sets the standard for sleep tracking and coaching. Right now, you can bag it for its lowest ever price with up to $150 off the Oura Ring 4 at Oura.

We rarely see a discount like this at Oura and have never seen the Ring 4 below $250 before, which is why I was so excited to spot this live Black Friday sleep deal. It cuts the cost of an Oura Ring 4 down to $249 from $349, which beats the previous lowest price of $296 that we saw around October Prime Day. I've sent the link to three friends already!

Why I love my Oura Ring

Honestly, my Oura Ring is a conversation starter wherever I go. I have baristas and friends ask me about it regularly and I've even had Instagram DMs asking whether I think it's worth the money. So even when I'm not writing about it for work, rarely a day goes by that I don't sing its praises.

And I have the data to back up my claims. I've tested the Oura Ring 4 thoroughly under our sleep tracker testing methodology and pitted it against other popular wearables such as the Whoop MG, and when you compare the accuracy of sleep analytics, functionality and value for money, the Oura Ring continues to come out on top.

It accurately measures everything from time spent in bed through to heart rate variability, sleep stages, overall sleep score and readiness for the day ahead. Plus, it's comfortable to wear overnight, presents sleep data in a digestible, user-friendly format and has a great battery life, lasting for up to a week on a single charge. Plus, it fully charges within two hours so you needn't miss out on any data.

With my Oura Ring, I'm more accountable when it comes to sticking to a consistent sleep schedule (which is, in fact, my secret to falling asleep fast and waking up refreshed) and know exactly when my body could do with a little extra rest.

Geared towards helping you get the best rest possible, the Oura App provides sleep coaching as well as sleep audio content, giving even more bang for your buck.

On a tighter budget?

• Read more: Is the Oura Ring 4 worth the upgrade? I've tried both, here's what I think

In my opinion, there is nothing more important than getting your wellness fix. It’s a sure-fire way to set your mind, body and soul right as you head into the new year when you want to feel like the best version of yourself. And with Black Friday deals in full swing, you don't have to splurge.

So, I’ve spent some time trawling through the Amazon deals pages so you don’t have to, and I’ve found the best deals on the things that make me feel great. From the best smart rings to the best sunrise alarm clocks, these are my favorite gadgets that I use daily to stay at the top of my game.

Quick links

• Stanley Quencher: was $45 now $27
• Hatch Restore 3: was $169 now $139
• Hyperice Venom 2 Back Wrap: was $269 now $215
• Oura Ring 4: was $349 now $249
• Dyson Airwrap i.d.: was $649 now $519

For more discounts, check out our Black Friday deals live blog.

Shop today's best Black Friday deals

• Amazon: 50% off Ring, Ninja, AirPods and more
• Walmart Plus: 50% off @ Walmart
• REI: half-off Arc'teryx, Patagonia, more
• Dell: monitors from $69, laptops from $299
• Nectar: 50% off mattresses + bundles
• Best Buy: laptops from $149
• Lenovo: doorbuster deals from $319
• Wayfair: up to 80% off home decor
• Lululemon: top picks from $9
• Newegg: Doorbuster deals from $6
• Walmart: holiday gifts from $15
• Birkenstock: deals from $20 @ Nordstrom
• Saatva: luxury mattresses from $1,099

Ring-a-ding-ding: it's 2025 holiday smart ring deals calling. Are you picking up? With nearly every single model from our best smart ring list currently discounted, now is a fabulous time to pick up the sleeker, longer-lasting cousin to the smartwatch.

For instance, you can save 30% off the Samsung Galaxy Ring via Amazon. The latest Oura Ring 4 is also discounted by 29% a la Amazon.

Get all the deets on these discounts and more below. And check back frequently, as I'll be keeping this smart ring holiday deals guide updated through Black Friday and beyond.

Quick links

• Oura Ring 4: was $349 now $249 @ Amazon
• Samsung Galaxy Ring: was $399 now $279 @ Amazon
• Ringconn Gen 2: was $299 now $209 @ Amazon
• Amazfit Helio Ring: was $199 now $109 @ Amazon
• Circular Ring 2: was $349 now $249 @ Circular
• Ultrahuman Ring Air: was $349 now $239 @ Best Buy

Black Friday smart ring deals

Shop today's best early Black Friday deals

• Amazon: 50% off Ring, Ninja, Under Armour and more
• Amazon Basics: fitness/home/kitchen essentials from $3
• REI: half-off Arc'teryx, Patagonia and more
• Walmart: holiday gifts from $15
• Dell: monitors from $69, laptops from $299
• Nectar: 50% off mattresses + 66% off bundles
• Best Buy: laptops from $149
• Lenovo: doorbuster laptop deals from $319
• Wayfair: up to 80% off home decor
• Nike: apparel/sneakers from $7
• Lululemon: top picks from $9
• Newegg: Doorbuster deals from $6
• Birkenstock: deals from $20 @ Nordstrom
• Saatva: luxury mattresses from $1,099

If you're looking for Oura Ring alternatives, one option is now off the table thanks to a patent lawsuit between Oura and Ultrahuman. This week, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that Ultrahuman infringed upon Oura's patents. This has immediate and significant ramifications for Ultrahuman smart rings.

Initially, it means that the brand's flagship Ultrahuman Ring Air is effectively banned in the United States. According to an Oura blog post, "the ITC’s final ruling enforces exclusion and cease-and-desist orders, effectively banning the import and sale of Ultrahuman smart rings in the U.S."

Ultrahuman made its own post and says that existing Ultrahuman Ring Air owners will continue to see support," with the caveat that the device needs to be purchased on or before October 21, 2025. Apparently, retailers can still sell leftover inventory past that date. If you buy a Ring Air after the 21st, Ultrahuman says you will still be supported with diagnostic and tech support.

Once the current stock of Ring Air models is gone, retailers won't be allowed to restock them.

The company also promised that a new ring is in development. “A new ring design is already in development and will launch in the U.S. as soon as possible," its post reads.

Presumably, this one would not infringe on Oura patents, though the post noted that Ultrahuman is waiting on the results of a U.S. Patent and Trademark review of one of Oura's other patents. A decision on that isn't supposed to come until December.

How we got here and RingConn

Oura sued both Ultrahuman and RingConn earlier this year, with an initial judgment in favor of Oura declaring that its competitors had infringed on Oura's patents. The ruling determined that both companies infringed on every element asserted by Oura.

Unlike Ultrahuman, RingConn decided to settle with Oura, meaning that the dispute is considered resolved. With that, Oura granted RingConn a multi-year patent license. So you can continue to buy the RingConn Gen 2 Air and other RingConn models in the US.

Oura has a reputation for suing rivals, something Ultrahuman heavily notes. In June 2024, Samsung made the unusual step to preemptively sue Oura in order to prevent Oura from filing patent claims against the Galaxy Ring. At the time, Samsung lawyers cited a pattern of Oura filing claims against other smart ring makers.

It's also similar to the now-resolved Apple vs. Masimo lawsuit over blood oxygen tech, which resulted in Apple pulling the Series 9 and Ultra 2 from U.S. shelves in January 2024. Thankfully, blood oxygen monitoring is back in the latest Apple Watch Series 11 and Ultra 3 devices.

Oura and Ultrahuman alternatives

Unfortunately, the Ultrahuman Ring Air is one of our picks for the best smart rings and the best Oura alternatives.

However, there are other smart rings that you should consider, including the aforementioned Samsung Galaxy Ring, which is great for sleep analysis and features up to a week of battery life.

You can also check out the Amazfit Helio Ring, which is great for more budget-conscious individuals. It doesn't require a subscription fee and at $199, is less than the competition while offering similar health features.

The RingConn Gen 2 Air is also sub-$200, subscription-free, and will last up to 8 days on a single charge.

Ultrahuman says it plans to make a US comeback, so we'll likely see another smart ring from it in the future. For now, you're not bereft of options.

More from Tom's Guide

• I test smart rings — 5 battery maintenance tips to avoid catastrophe
• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• I just tested a smart ring that can control your AR glasses — and this is what wearables have been missing

The wearable industry is turning its attention to blood pressure, with Apple Watch launching hypertension alerts last month and now Oura, the makers behind 2025's best smart ring, revealing plans to develop its own blood pressure monitoring feature.

High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a condition that affects the arteries and can lead to serious health issues such as a heart attack or stroke. It’s not a feature to be taken lightly, which is why Apple’s alerts received FDA approval, and now Oura’s next step is something called the Blood Pressure Profile Study. This will be a new feature in the Oura app, where eligible users can participate in research that will help the company collect data and build a software feature designed to detect hypertension risks.

Who can take part in the study

To take part in the research, you need to be based in the U.S., aged 22 or over, and using an Oura Ring Gen 3 or newer. The latest model available is the Oura Ring 4. You also need to use the English version of the Oura app. Anyone who is currently pregnant, within 12 weeks postpartum, or has a cardiac implant such as a pacemaker will not be eligible to participate. More details about the study and how to join will appear in the Oura Labs section of the Oura app.

What will the study involve

So far, Oura says that if you opt in to the Blood Pressure Profile Study, you’ll wear your ring as usual, answer a few background questions, and the company will translate signals from your body into insights about your cardiovascular health.

The company explained, “By choosing to participate in the Blood Pressure Profile Study, you can provide direct feedback and contribute valuable data that may help researchers at Oura understand new ways wearable technology could support future heart health research.”

How to stay safe with your health data

More from Tom's Guide

• You need to know this: The hidden Oura Ring feature that could save you $500
• Samsung Galaxy Ring vs. Oura Ring 4 — which smart ring wins?
• Polar 'firmly denies' allegations after being sued by Whoop over Loop band design

I’ve been wearing an Oura Ring for years — it’s my go-to for checking in on my sleep, where I am in my cycle, and my overall health. It’s one of the best fitness trackers on the market, and it even knew I was pregnant before I did. So, you can imagine my dismay when I got to my car following a trip to the store with my toddler, only to find it missing from my index finger. I knew I was wearing it before loading him into the cart, and I hadn’t noticed it fall off.

The first thing to point out — yes, I think I ordered the wrong size. I upgraded to the Oura Ring 4 from my Oura Ring Generation 3 relatively soon after giving birth, not realizing my fingers might still be a little swollen. If I were you, I’d wear your sizing ring for a few days before buying an Oura Ring — I wish I had.

What I hadn’t realized, however, is that Oura has a hidden Find My Ring feature. In fact, I’d been looking under the shelves in the grocery store for at least 30 minutes before I thought to look on the app. But once I used it, I was able to accurately track my ring down, and found it under my car, saving me $500 replacing the ring and an awful lot of stress.

How to use the Oura Find My Ring feature

Find My Ring is only available on Gen 3 and Oura Ring 4 with an active membership. It’s also only available on iOS right now, so if you’re using an Android, you’ll need to download a third party app like Wunderfield.

If you’re on iOS, here’s how to find your Oura Ring, should you leave it in your gym bag, or if it falls off when you’re out and about:

• Make sure that Location Services are enabled on your phone for the Oura app.
• Open the Oura app and head to the Home tab.
• Tap the battery icon in the top right corner, and select Show latest location.
• This will display your ring’s last known location on a map. If you tap on the map, you can zoom in on the exact GPS coordinates.

More from Tom's Guide

• Samsung Galaxy Ring vs. Oura Ring 4 — which smart ring wins?
• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• I ditched my Apple Watch for an Oura Ring for a month — here's what I learned

I’ve been fortunate enough to wear the Oura Ring 3 and Oura Ring 4 since their inception, and there’s no end to the innovative features Oura continues to release on both rings, truly making them the best smart rings on the market, in my opinion.

Some features I take less notice of (meals and glucose tracking) while others I pay a lot of attention to, including heart rate trends. As members, Oura users can record workout heart rates, access live readings, and track heart rate data over time, including Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and resting heart rate, which reveal insights into your stress resilience, health, and recovery.

While I do pay attention to my resting heart rate and nighttime data, I haven’t really paid much attention to my overall trend — how my heart rate data looks over the weeks, months, and years. So, I decided to track mine over a month to see what the data could tell me about my health. Here’s what I found out.

How to track HRV on Oura Ring 4

In the Oura app, tap the three lines in the top left corner. From the menu, select Trends, then tap Heart Rate Variability. From here, you can toggle between days, weeks, months, and years and view your data as a trend on the graph.

I don’t find this format particularly helpful, so I decided to ask Oura’s AI advisor to do the hard work for me instead.

How to use Oura Advisor

On the Today tab, tap the plus sign at the bottom right of the app, then select Advisor from the list. You can then type a request or question and converse with Oura Advisor.

I would aim to ask direct questions to access accurate data, like asking Oura to compare specific weeks or how one month compares to another. This way, you'll find out more about how other factors could be affecting your heart rate, such as a poor week of sleep or late meals. The more data you input, the more detailed the results.

What did Oura tell me?

It's worth noting that Oura determines your baseline based on physiology and lifestyle factors, like sleep quality, stress, activity, medications, temperature, and illness. The ring tracks your heart rate using recessed sensors that measure changes in blood flow through your finger.

The sensors use light, which can detect shifts with each heartbeat while you rest and sleep, and allows the ring to capture your lowest resting heart rate and how it fluctuates over time. This data allows you to look at your nighttime recovery status and cardiovascular balance — both indicators of overall health.

Oura split my heart rate data into weekly averages and then gave me a four-week average of 56 bpm for my resting heart rate. During this time, there was no clear upward or downward trend, which is a good thing.

I then compared a few specific weeks, including one week that had been quite boozy (several events and a friend’s birthday), where my energy levels were low, and one week where I hadn’t drunk alcohol at all and had been sleeping well.

The data showed my lowest nighttime heart rate was slightly higher on the week I had consumed alcohol, then the following week, my average dropped. Oura explained the decrease could reflect a positive shift in recovery and less physiological strain. In other words, the alcohol had negatively impacted my heart rate.

Oura then looked at my sleep and stress data during this period. While my sleep score was actually better during the boozy week, my stress resilience improved in the week that I didn’t consume any alcohol, rising from "limited" to "adequate," showing better recovery despite the lower sleep score.

Next, I asked Oura to show me how my four-week heart rate data impacted my recovery, and the Advisor explained that my weekly average lowest heart rate had stayed steady without any substantial rise or fall; this indicates consistency and stable recovery. If there had been a significant rise, it could relate to rest, stress, or activity patterns, which can all impact your resting heart rate.

Throughout October so far, my lowest nighttime heart rate has held steady between 50 and 52; however, during September, which was a challenging month for me personally (high stress, poor sleep), my resting heart rate average was higher at 54-56 and my overall Readiness score was lower (below 70, which isn't ideal), while my HRV status was increased in October, suggesting that I am now recovering. A high HRV is a good thing, whereas a low HRV signals poor recovery.

Bottom line

More from Tom's Guide

• I ditched my Apple Watch for an Oura Ring for a month — here's what I learned
• Samsung Galaxy Ring vs. Oura Ring — which smart ring wins?
• No smart watch could make me switch from Oura — here's why

I test smart rings for a living, so when I saw the recent news that a Samsung Galaxy Ring user was hospitalized due to a swollen battery, I was horrified. The thought of a smoldering, expanding smart ring stuck on my index finger now haunts me day and night.

Fortunately, there are basic practices you can follow that lower the risk of such a catastrophic event happening to you. While some of these tips may seem obvious, like avoiding extreme temperatures , others, like avoiding charging your ring to 100%, may surprise you.

Based on maintenance advice published by Oura and Samsung as well as my own experience, here are five ways to help you lower the risk of a smart ring battery disaster.

1. Understand your smart ring’s water resistance rating

Smartwatch and smart ring makers have a dirty little secret: water resistance ratings are bunk. Okay, that’s not entirely true, but 50 meters of water resistance doesn’t actually mean that you can scuba dive down to 50 meters and not worry about your Circular Ring 2 springing a leak.

Water resistance ratings are measured by how much atmospheric pressure a device can handle for an extremely short period of time. So while, yes, your smart ring may be okay for a few moments at depths of 50 meters, that’s assuming there’s no current and you're not moving.

In reality, 50 meters (or 5ATM) is enough water resistance to handle short periods of surface-level swimming, showers, scrubbing the dishes, etc. Feel free to wash your car with your smart ring on, but it’s best to remove it before any high-impact water sports, like wakeboarding or diving.

The best smart rings have 100 meters of water resistance, which is enough for the above activities. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a good idea to wear your Oura Ring 4 while snorkeling or scuba diving…

2. Minimize contact with salt water

While some contact with salt water is NBD, it’s best to remove your smart ring before jumping into the ocean. Too much time in the brine could lead to the corrosion of electronic components or even battery failure.

That said, an occasional dip in the sea should be just fine; just remember to give the device a thorough rinse in fresh water afterward.

3. Charge often, but not to 100%

This one may come as a surprise, but it’s pulled directly from the Oura site, which recommends you don’t wait until your smart ring battery gets very low to put it on the charger. Additionally, you should avoid charging it 100% every time — a difficult habit for some of us to break.

Why follow these charging practices? According to Oura, the onboard “lithium polymer batteries actually perform the best when they’re at 25-80%.” This means that it’s more ideal to toss your ring on the charger every time you shower for 15 minutes a day, versus charging it overnight once every five to six days.

That said, charging to 100% every time isn’t the end of the world, just as long as the ring doesn’t sit at 100% for too long…

4. Don’t leave your smart ring on the charger

Letting your smart ring sit on the charger for days or even weeks at a time is a big no-no, as my grandma would say. Please do not do this. Not only will it potentially cause the battery capacity to degrade faster than it should, but it could also pose a fire risk.

Johnny Cash Ring of Fire = good. Samsung Galaxy Ring of Fire = bad.

5. Avoid high heat

Speaking of fire, you probably want to avoid getting too close to any lava flows while wearing your smart ring. Similarly, if you work in an environment where exposure to high temperatures is common, you might want to leave the wearable at home.

Also, never leave your smart ring sitting in your car during the hotter months. The combination of direct sunlight passing through the windows creates a greenhouse effect that can make it gosh-darn toasty in there — not an ideal environment for lithium batteries.

For example, Oura says you should avoid temperatures of 140 degrees Fahrenheit or higher, which is not outside of the range your car’s interior can get during the heat of summer.

More from Tom's Guide

• Oura just launched the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic in four new colorways — and I’m obsessed with the new ‘Tide’ color
• Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2 — which smart ring should you choose for tracking your health?
• Apple put a heart rate monitor in the AirPods Pro 3, so where is the Apple Ring we've been waiting for?

Smart ring design is a bit of a snooze in 2025. Even the best smart rings all look pretty much the same: a standard circular band in your choice of several metal finishes. Not a fan of metal jewelry? Prior to today, you’d be out of luck. Fortunately, Oura’s new ceramic smart ring collection is here to save the day.

The new Oura Ring 4 Ceramic is exactly what it sounds like: the guts of an Oura Ring 4, with a fancy, new ceramic exterior. With four colors to choose from, including an eye-catching aqua/light-blue option, I'm admittedly more than a little hyped on these (and eager to get one on my finger!).

Oura Ring 4 Ceramic

This is Oura’s first non-metal smart ring, and it sure is a beaut! It comes in four colors, including Midnight (dark blue), Pedal (light pink), Tide (light aqua), and Cloud (off-white).

While the standard Oura Ring 4 starts at $349, the Ceramic models are $499.

The zirconia ceramic exterior is particularly hard and scratch-resistant. Oura also notes that the color is inherent to the material and not a finish/coating. This means that your new Oura Ring 4 Ceramic should maintain its stunning color for the life of the device.

Like the Oura Ring 4, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic will be available in sizes 4 through 15. While the onboard tech is the same, the Ceramic models are notably heavier than the metal options.

The standard Oura Ring 4 weighs between 3.3 grams and 5.2 grams, depending on size, but the Ceramic edition is between 5.1 grams and 8.1 grams. The Ceramic is also a little thicker, 3.5mm versus 2.9mm.

Oura Ring Charging Case

Once fully juiced up, the new Oura Ring Case can recharge your Oura Ring 4 or Oura Ring 4 Ceramic up to five full times. Charge time takes roughly 90 minutes. Unfortunately, the new $99 Oura Ring charge case doesn’t seem to support older models like the Oura Ring Gen 3.

The new case is also size-specific, which seems a bit odd/unfortunate. This means that if both my partner and I are Oura Ring 4 owners, we can’t share a case when traveling.

Splash and dust-resistant, the new Oura Ring Case is a clamshell-style, and features an anodized aluminum exterior with a soft silicone interior.

Oura multi-ring support

If you already own an Oura Ring 4 (or prior model) and are tempted by one of the new Ceramic models, Oura has gone about making switching between models a painless affair. With multi-ring support, Oura owners can select their ring of choice from within the app with just a few taps and switch rings or add a new ring with similar ease.

In addition to the above, Oura also announced a new recycling program that’ll make it easier and more sustainable than ever to trade in a busted or outdated Oura Ring.

More from Tom's Guide

• Samsung Galaxy Ring owner reportedly hospitalized after it swells — 'won’t be wearing a smart ring ever again'
• Apple put a heart rate monitor in the AirPods Pro 3, so where is the Apple Ring we've been waiting for?
• Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2 — which smart ring should you choose for tracking your health?

I’m currently testing the Circular Ring 2, a subscription-optional smart ring that boasts eight days of battery, ECG readings, AFib detection, and a revolutionary new digital sizing process. While the jury is still out on its data accuracy, my initial impressions of the Circular Ring 2 are positive.

Of course, when assessing what could be one of the best smart rings in 2025, it’s impossible not to compare it to the Oura Ring 4, our hands-down favorite finger wearable available right now.

While this comparison is subject to updates based on the results of further testing, here’s how the Oura Ring 4 versus Circular Ring 2 plays out across six categories, including price, sizes and finishes, design and durability, health features, fitness features, and battery life.

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Specs compared

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Price

The Oura Ring 4 starts at $349 and requires a $5.99 monthly subscription for the Oura app.

The Circular Ring 2 also starts at $349 and is subscription-free for most features. However, forthcoming tools, including blood pressure and blood glucose monitoring, are likely to be locked behind a paywall. This has understandably frustrated early backers of the Circular Ring 2, which launched earlier this year on Kickstarter and was billed as completely subscription-free.

In Circular’s defense, the to-be-paywalled features were never part of the original pitch, but rather, "stretch goals" for the device. No word yet on what access to blood pressure and glucose monitoring will cost, or when either will debut; the Circular site says late 2025 for the former and early 2026 for the latter.

Still, with the majority of its core features free for all users, the Circular Ring 2 wins this category.

Winner: Circular Ring 2

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Sizes and finishes

The Oura Ring 4 is available in sizes 4 through 15 and the following finishes: Gold, Rose Gold, Silver, Brushed Titanium, Black, and Stealth. The Circular Ring 2 comes in sizes 6 through 14 in your choice of Gold, Rose Gold, Black, or Silver.

Though Circular offers its device in fewer sizes and finishes, the brand’s pre-purchase sizing process is far superior to Oura’s. Even though Circular continues to offer a physical sizing kit — check out a video of me demoing it at CES — the Circular Ring 2 can be sized using just the Circular app. Oura, meanwhile, mails a kit of plastic dummy rings for sizing.

Winner: Draw

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Design and druability

Both smart rings boast an all-titanium exterior. That said, the exterior of the Circular Ring 2 seems more susceptible to scratches, and that's based on just one week of wear.

The Oura Ring 4 is more comfortable than the Circular Ring 2, thanks to recessed sensors. The Circular Ring 2 isn’t uncomfortable, but the protruding interior sensors do leave an indentation on my finger.

The Circular Ring 2 is a little heavier than the Oura Ring 4, but the difference is fairly negligible. Durability-wise, the Circular Ring 2 boasts 50 meters of water resistance, so you can swim, shower, wash dishes, etc., while wearing it. The Oura Ring 4, on the other hand, is rated for 100 meters of water resistance, enough for high-impact water sports and diving.

Winner: Oura Ring 4

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Health features

Both smart rings have onboard heart rate, blood oxygen, and body temperature sensors, along with accelerometers to monitor movement. While the Oura Ring 4 is the gold standard for accurate holistic data from a smart ring, Circular’s data also looks promising.

Both apps offer insights into your vitals, sleep quality, and energy levels. They each also offer women’s health tracking features. However, Oura’s insights go into more detail than Circular’s, while providing a wider range of tracked metrics.

That said, only the Circular Ring 2 offers ECG readings and AFib detection. Still, for having a more comprehensive approach to holistic data, I'm giving the Oura Ring 4 the win in this category.

Winner: Oura Ring 4

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Fitness features

While the Circular Ring 2 offers a daily Energy Score that’s similar to Oura’s Readiness Score, the Oura Ring 4 is better suited for activity tracking. Neither device has an onboard GPS, so you’ll need to carry your phone with you while working out for location, pace, distance, etc. data, but the Oura Ring 4 can automatically detect and track up to 40 different workout types.

The Circular Ring 2, meanwhile, can automatically detect a few basic workouts like walking and running, but not more astute pastimes like badminton or horseback riding. You know what smart ring can? The Oura Ring 4.

Winner: Oura Ring 4

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Battery life

The Oura Ring 4 and Circular Ring 4 both advertised eight days of battery per charge. In our testing, the Oura Ring 4 lasts a little closer to six days per charge. Though I’m still testing the Circular Ring 2, real-world battery life appears to be slightly better, at seven days per charge.

The Circular Ring 2 has another advantage over the Oura Ring 4: It ships with a travel-friendly, battery-sporting charging case, which can recharge the ring to 100% in just 30 minutes.

Winner: Circular Ring 2

Oura Ring 4 vs Circular Ring 2: Overall winner

The Oura Ring 4 and Circular Ring 2 cost the same up front, $350, but the Oura Ring costs more in the long run due to the mandatory $5.99 monthly subscription. Even still, the Oura Ring 4 is the better overall smart ring than the Circular Ring 2, thanks to a more durable/comfy design, more comprehensive wellness insights, better fitness tracking, and greater size availability.

Still, the Circular Ring 2 has the upper hand when it comes to battery life and heart health monitoring, thanks to its ability to perform ECG readings and detect potential AFib. That said, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if these features eventually came to the Oura Ring, either by way of a firmware update or an Oura Ring 5.

Overall winner: Oura Ring 4

More from Tom's Guide

• I compared the Apple Watch's new Sleep Score to Oura Ring for a week — and the results are wild
• Forget the Oura Ring 4 — these are the best Oura Ring alternatives in 2025
• Oura is expanding its partnership with the US military and users are stressed — here’s what that means for your data

As a tech reviewer, I cover a lot of devices — from the best wireless earbuds to the best air fryers. There are a lot of products that I test, and while I like a great deal of them, some of them don’t hit the mark. But now and again, I come across a device that I know will become a favorite.

Until I sat down and really thought about it, I didn’t realize how much tech I used in my morning routine. But each one of these products sets my day up perfectly, and I actually couldn’t start my day without them. From sunrise alarm clocks to sleep trackers, these are the products I use every single morning without fail.

Philips SmartSleep Sleep and Wake-Up Light

If you’re a night owl like me, the Philips SmartSleep Sleep and Wake-Up Light is a serious game changer. If I don’t get to sleep early enough, I end up feeling lethargic all next day, and when I have important tasks to take care of, that is the last thing I want.

With the Philips light, I can wind down for the night with a sunset simulation, but we’re talking about the morning here, right? Well, in the morning, the light simulates a sunrise. This gently wakes you, much like if you were camping under the stars.

Since using the light, my mornings have been a lot smoother, and it’s especially useful as we get closer to the winter months, when it is far more tempting to stay curled up under the covers with the curtains drawn.

Oral-B iO Series 3

As I like to brag about whenever I can, my dentist always tells me I have perfect teeth, and I put that down to this toothbrush. The Oral-B iO Series 3 has been a staple in my routine for years now, and although it’s not as advanced as later models, all of the speed settings are more than enough to get a perfect clean.

The iO brush heads are a little expensive when they need to be replaced, but I can get a deep clean all the way to the back of my mouth with ease. Having that clean feeling first thing in the morning is the best way to start the day, and having one of the best electric toothbrushes makes it simple.

Oura Ring 3

I check my Oura Ring 3 every single morning. It’s the best way for me to check out if my body needs a little extra rest or if I can take on some tougher tasks. It gives me actionable feedback every morning, and I can even check out what has been impacting my sleep recently.

When I wake up, I add tags relating to how I feel, how I slept, and what I did the day before, making sure any activity is logged. By doing this, I have been able to find out what helps me sleep better and keep my sleep and readiness scores consistent.

More from Tom's Guide

• Don’t waste your money on the Oura Ring 4 — the older model tracks sleep just as well and is $150 cheaper
• I wore the Oura Ring for 6 months to track my sleep — and now I'm regularly getting 8 hours and feel so much better
• 'The White Lotus' season 4 sets location — and it might surprise you

Oura, the brand behind the best smart ring in 2025, is in hot water with some users over a blog post about the brand's growing partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). With diehard Oura Ring customers going as far as canceling their subscriptions, here’s everything you need to know.

In a recent post on Oura's website, the brand announced an expansion of its partnership with the U.S. military by way of investing in a brand-new factory — predicted to be up and running sometime in 2026 — in Fort Worth, Texas.

What's the Oura U.S. military controversy about?

So, what's the big deal? A few things. First, Oura's acknowledgment that the U.S. DoD is the brand's "largest enterprise customer" didn't sit right with some users, particularly those who oppose one or more of the U.S.'s current military strategies.

But that's not all. Oura also confirmed that the controversial company, Palantir, known for what some might call aggressive surveillance/data-mining techniques, is managing the privacy and security side of things for the brand's military customers. Palantir is also known for its involvement in the ongoing U.S. immigration crackdown (among other things). So, yeah, it's not exactly a warm and fuzzy company.

Should you be worried about your Oura Ring data?

Fortunately, Tom Hale, the CEO of Oura, made it crystal clear in a TikTok post that individual customer data is handled completely separately from enterprise customer data. Moreover, to ease concerns, the brand additionally issued a statement confirming that Palantir is not a partner of Oura, but rather, "provides the security layer for some of the DoD’s projects with Oura."

Beyond that, Oura's privacy policy confirms that the brand will never share your data with a third party without consent. While these clarifications surely will calm the nerves of some users, others are still uneasy.

For further clarification on how customer data is handled and what privacy safeguards the brand has in place, I've reached out to Oura for comment and I'll update this story if/when I hear back.

Oura's partnership with the U.S. military is nothing new

It's also worth noting that Oura's partnership with the U.S. military isn't exactly new. The brand has been supplying rings to various branches going back to 2019.

According to the same post announcing the expansion, the smart ring maker was initially tapped by the Naval Health Research Center (NHRC) after a deadly fatigue-related accident in 2017.

In an effort to mitigate crew member exhaustion and future tragedies, the NHRC provided service members with Oura Rings to monitor vitals. And since then, Oura has provided "tens of thousands of rings" to the U.S. military.

Oura says that the ongoing partnership is purely about helping service members perform at their best, with a focus on four key areas, including stress management and resilience, fitness and recovery optimization, fatigue risk management, and early illness detection.

Are you sticking with Oura?

Ultimately, the panic over the U.S. military gaining access to Oura Ring customer data is almost certainly overblown. With separate methods for handling standard customer data and enterprise customer data, not to mention consent-based safeguards in place, it's highly unlikely that the CIA is monitoring your resting heart rate as we speak.

That said, customer concerns about Oura's partnership with the military, more generally speaking, are valid. And if you fall into that category, I have good news: Oura isn't the only smart ring show in town. Here are the best Oura Ring alternatives in 2025.

On that note, what do you think of the Oura Ring/U.S. military hoopla? Are you ditching your Oura Ring or sticking with it? Let me know in the comments below.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• Apple Ring — everything we know so far about Apple's rumored smart ring
• Ultrahuman launches Cycle and Ovulation Pro — and they say it’s the most accurate cycle tracking on any smart ring

There's no brand better associated with smart rings than Oura. Although the finger-based wearables market is barely ten years old, to get a sense of where it might be headed in the next decade, I chatted with Jason Russell, vice president of consumer software products at Oura.

As part of a Tom's Guide special report on the future of wearable tech in the year 2035, my conversation with Jason ranged from harvesting body heat for device power to "integrating complementary wearables" beyond the smart ring into the brand's portfolio of helpful, holistic tech.

While the Oura Ring 4 is the best smart ring you can buy in 2025, what I hoped to hear from Jason is what a theoretical Oura Ring 10 might look like. Fortunately, his predictions don't disappoint.

You can find an edited version of my interview below, and for more insights into the wide world of next-generation tech, visit our In the World in 2035 hub to peer into the crystal ball and see the future of transportation, AI, robots, television, and more.

How might smart ring battery life improve over the next ten years? Will batteries become more flexible? What about user-generated energy from, say, body heat?

Jason Russell: We expect to see longer battery lifespans in the next decade. Hardware improvements like advanced sensor technology will have a significant impact, while software enhancements — including more efficient signal paths and the ability to disable unused sensors — will also contribute meaningfully.

Flexible batteries and body-powered energy harvesting are also compelling areas of future exploration. Flexible batteries have the potential to conform better to their device, enabling new form factors and comfort without sacrificing power.

Body-generated energy — through thermoelectric, kinetic, or even bio-voltaic sources— is still early-stage but interesting. The challenge is achieving sufficient power density in a small, wearable footprint.

By 2035, it’s plausible that wearables could integrate hybrid energy systems that passively recharge throughout the day, vastly extending runtime and reducing dependency on charging cycles.

Consider the Oura Ring 10, hypothetically debuting in 2035, what will it potentially look like, what features might it offer, and what type of battery life can we expect?

Russell: The Oura Ring 10 will likely reflect a major evolution in both form and function. Oura continually stretches the boundaries of what’s possible in biometric sensing, comfort, and wearability, and that will continue to be true.

With 20-plus PhDs on staff driving cutting-edge research in cardiovascular health, metabolic health, women’s health, and much more, future rings will continue to demonstrate pioneering innovation beyond what we might imagine to be possible today. Beyond our hardware, we’ll also see breakthroughs in the role we play in people’s health journeys.

As we’ve already demonstrated with our recent launch of our metabolic health partnership with Dexcom, we foresee stretching the boundaries of biometric sensing via the ring while integrating complementary wearables that together enable an even more complete picture of your health.

Our members see Oura as a gateway to a much deeper understanding of their health, and you can see how Oura will expand on that promise as multiple streams of health data converge — biometric signals from the ring, metabolic insights from external sensors, even contextual data from your environment or behaviors.

This unified view will enable richer, more predictive health intelligence, helping people not only understand their health in real time but also anticipate issues before they arise.

Oura already monitors stress. What does the future of mental health tracking look like for Oura users?

Russell: Mental health and stress management will become even more proactive and personalized, and we’ll see AI play a larger role in this management. For example, Oura Advisor currently uses an LLM algorithm to analyze and contextualize thousands of biometric data points to provide members with personalized guidance so that they can make informed decisions about their health.

In a future state, we could see Advisor using long-term trend data to proactively identify potential health issues through fluctuations in things like stress, sleep, HRV, heart rate, and more.

Additionally, we see Oura collaborating with the broader health ecosystem to enhance telehealth and clinical decision-making by leveraging real-time health metrics and trends with healthcare professionals.

We see a world in which Oura can help support self-management, but also prompt proactive care interventions.

What types of new health metrics might the smart rings of the future track? How might the insights from my future Oura Ring differ from those I see today?

Russell: Smart rings of the future, including Oura, will likely track a broader range of health metrics. In the last year alone, we have significantly expanded our product offering from our original pillars of Sleep, Activity, and Readiness to now include other key areas of health, such as stress, cardiovascular health, and metabolic health.

As sensors become more advanced and miniaturized, the depth and granularity of data will also increase significantly. But the biggest shift will be in how insights are delivered: instead of just showing you the data, future insights could anticipate changes in your health, offer personalized, real-time guidance, and adapt to your unique physiology and goals, making the experience more predictive, proactive, and deeply personalized than ever before.

Do you see the smart ring evolving into something beyond a wellness device? If so, what non-health features could future smart rings offer?

More from Tom's Guide

• Google Exclusive: How the Pixel Watch 3 got a life-saving feature the Apple Watch can't match
• Ringconn Gen 2 Air review — this budget smart ring beats the Oura Ring 4 in three big ways
• I biked 13 miles with the Apple Watch Ultra 2 vs Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 — and there's a clear winner

It's the final day of this year's Prime Day deals and there are still some fantastic offers up for grabs, including 15% off my favorite sleep tracker the Oura Ring 4. Tonight you can still save $52 on the Oura Ring 4 at Amazon reducing the price to $296 – that's the cheapest I've seen it sell for at Amazon so far this year. But don't expect this brilliant Prime Day deal to hang around for much longer.

I've tested several sleep trackers already this year, from those integrated in the best smart beds to big name wearables like Whoop, Garmin, and Apple. (In fact, I've been known to go to bed wearing three at once to gauge which is more accurate). But the one I continue coming back to is the Oura Ring 4.

It's not often I see money off this top-rated sleep tracker and I don't expect to see a sale like this again until at least Black Friday. So if you're keen to try the Oura Ring 4 for yourself, I'd suggest browsing this Amazon Prime sleep deal as soon as you can tonight to avoid missing out.

• View all remaining Prime Day deals at Amazon 
• View all cheap sleep tracker Prime deals at Amazon
• See every Oura Ring deal at Amazon

Smaller budget? Try these instead...

It's day three of Amazon's epic sale event and I've spent all morning waxing lyrical about my Oura Ring 4 and how it's one of the best Prime Day sleep deals you can shop right now.

But I've also come across some alternative, pretty outstanding, Amazon smart ring deals slipping under the radar. With prices starting at just $56, these Oura alternatives from Samsung, Amazfit, Ultrahuman and more are arguably better value. Even better? They don't require a subscription either.

So, if you're in the market for a reliable sleep-tracking ring, I've got you covered. In no particular order, ahead you'll find my sleep-tech-expert-approved pick of Prime Day deals that are actually worth it.

• See all Amazon Prime Day deals now 

5 Oura Ring alternatives to shop at Amazon now

I've tested sleep trackers of all shapes and sizes this year, from top-rated smart beds like the Eight Sleep Pod 4 mattress cover, through to Garmin, Apple and Whoop wearables.

While all of these leading sleep tech brands have built great value, reliable sleep trackers, the Oura Ring is the one I always recommend to friends. Right now the Oura Ring 4 is 15% off at Amazon for Prime Day, cutting the price to less than $300.

We rarely see a discount like this at Oura, which is why this Amazon Prime Day deal is worth snapping up fast. In fact, it's one of the best Prime Day sleep deals we've seen so far.

• See all Amazon Prime Day deals now 

• Read more: New sleep-tracking study just compared Oura Ring vs. Apple Watch vs. Fitbit — here’s which one is most accurate

On a tighter budget?

• Read more: Don’t waste your money on the Oura Ring 4 — the older model tracks sleep just as well and is $150 cheaper

While I've spent the best part of the last year reviewing sleep tech, it wasn't long ago that I was heading back to college.

If I could go back with the encyclopedic sleep knowledge I have now, I would have spent less money on overpriced flat whites and more on products that would help me get better quality ZZZs at night.

Firstly, setting up your dorm with a great value, reliably comfortable top-rated mattress for college students will be key to getting solid rest between classes, assignments and, of course, social events.

And while one of the very best mattresses is likely to be beyond a student budget, a couple of the beds we'd buy in the 4th of July sales come in at very low prices.

Mattress aside, I recommend a trusty sleep tracker, gentle alarm clock and comfortable sleep mask. My team and I have rounded up 35+ of the best sleep and dorm mattress deals that will help you fall asleep fast and wake up refreshed at college this year. But if you want a quick list of sleep gadgets, here are my top picks...

The sleep tech I'd recommend for college

I have tracked fitness metrics for years and have used my fair share of the best fitness trackers from Apple Watches, Fitbits and now the Oura Ring.

I went in skeptical when I first got the ring six months ago because I just didn't know what to expect. But I can say with absolute certainty this is the best purchase I have made.

Smartwatches, of course, have their place and are great for some people. For example, the Garmin Vivoactive 6 is suitable for intense training, while the Apple Watch Series 10 is ideal for everyday wear. But what about the distractions and comfort?

I often feel like, although they are smart (duh), smartwatches are trying to do too much. But with the Oura Ring, there is an element of calm. It knows what it is, what it's for, and does it well with impressive accuracy.

Minus the distractions

I'm sure most people will agree with me here when I say that one of my pet peeves is being in a conversation with someone and they can't look away from their phone. They pick it up after every notification, or scroll whilst nodding along with what you're saying.... only to lift their head and ask "sorry, what was that?"

Perhaps I'm being cynical, but it's the one thing that gets under my skin. But now it's not the phone causing the distraction — it's the smartwatch.

Now I can be in a conversation with someone, and their stare is fixed to their wrist as their finger swipes and types across the screen. Somehow it seems less overtly rude than being sat with an electronic brick in your hands, but it's still annoying.

Okay, so rant over. But do we really need a screen strapped to our wrists? My answer is no.

24 hour wearability

This is where my love of the Oura Ring comes in. As far as fitness trackers go, it is pretty discreet. I have the Oura Ring 3 in the Heritage design, and I find it goes well with the rest of the jewelry I wear on a daily basis.

I choose to wear the ring on my index finger, and it never gets in the way of what I am doing. The only time I take the ring off is when I'm cooking.

It is equipped to deal with every situation, and being waterproof, I can wear it in the shower, in the pool (to track swimming sessions), or while washing the dishes. It is so comfortable I don't even realise I'm wearing it anymore.

I love that even though, yes, I wear it 24/7 (with a 40-minute break once a week for it to charge), I am not tethered to a screen.

I write about tech for a living, so of course, I love getting to know all of the new advances, but I cannot stand when tech takes over. I am a firm believer that tech should enhance your experience and not distract. That's exactly what the Oura Ring does.

Temperature sensing and recovery

I used to push myself far too hard. Between working out, working, and other life stuff, I wouldn't give myself enough time to rest and recover. While I knew this was the case, I didn't realise how bad it was until I started using the Oura Ring.

Oura forces you to prioritize recovery. This is how you get your scores to be the best they can be. But how does the ring know when you are run down?

It takes your temperature while you sleep using the sensors. This is how the cycle tracking is able to be so accurate. But It also lets me know when I need to take a step back because I'm about to get sick.

When I got the flu, before any symptoms set in, the ring was a reminder to tell me that there were signs of strain on my body and to take it easy. This meant I was able to shake it off far quicker than usual and avoid any unnecessary strain.

I love simplicity

Okay, so the elephant in the room. Yes, a smart watch can do more. It can store music, be used for payments, receive texts and calls — the list goes on.

But my argument is, why do we need that when we have our phones? I understand that on workouts, it's easier to tap your wrist to start and stop, but daily, I much prefer what Oura can offer.

And that offering is silence and zero distraction.

More from Tom's Guide

• How to sleep better at night naturally, according to experts
• I ditched the Oura Ring for the Circular Ring Slim
• Oura Ring 4 vs. Oura Ring 3 — what's different?

From Oura to Garmin, Eight Sleep and Apple I've tested my fair share of sleep trackers over the past few months, but the one I always recommend to friends looking to optimize and learn more about their ZZZs for a reasonable price? It's the Oura Ring.

While no sleep tracker is 100% accurate every night, in my experience the Eight Sleep Pod 4, aka our best smart bed of the year, and Oura Ring provide the most reliable data.

I began tracking my sleep with the Oura Ring 3 at the start of this year and have recently upgraded to the Oura Ring 4. While there are noticeable improvement (like the Ring 4's more durable finish), if you're using the ring purely as a sleep tracker, I recommend saving your pennies and opting for the previous generation while stocks last. Here's why...

How does the Oura Ring 4 compare to the Oura Ring 3?

While the underlying sleep tracking tech remains the same, the key updates Oura has introduced with the fourth generation ring revolve around improved battery life and sensor accuracy, and a redesign focused on comfort and better durability.

The Ring 4 also introduces "Smart Sensing" technology and a wider size range. Oura Ring's "Smart Sensing" is powered by an advanced algorithm that works alongside the research-grade sensors within Oura Ring 4 to respond to each member’s unique finger physiology, including the structure and distinct features of your finger (i.e. skin tone, BMI, and age).

Battery life has also been improved with the Oura Ring 4. Oura Ring 3 claimed to last up to seven days between charges, though in my experience and that of our other reviewers, four to five days is a more accurate battery life window. However, I have used the Oura Ring 4 for four days and it has 48% charge remaining, suggesting it will power through eight days.

Finally, the Oura Ring 4 has a more robust titanium design. I noticed the Oura Ring 3 start to scratch within the first few days of wearing it, so this is certainly a welcome upgrade.

3 reasons I'd recommend the Oura Ring 3 as a wearable sleep tracker

If you're looking for a comprehensive sleep tracker but don't want to splash more than $300, here's why I recommend you shop the Oura Ring 3 over the Oura Ring 4, after testing both myself...

1. It's cheaper

With $100 off all sizes now, you can get the Oura Ring 3 for between $199 and $349 (was $299 to $449). The Heritage style Oura Ring 3 is $199 in silver and black and $279 in stealth, and the Horizon design is $249 in black, $279 in stealth and brushed titanium and $349 in gold.

Meanwhile the Oura Ring 4 sits at MSRP of $349 in silver and black, $399 in brushed silver and stealth, and $499 in gold and rose gold.

No matter the model or color you're going for, you'll end up paying at least $150 more for the Ring 4. Add on top Oura's subscription fee ($5.99 per month or $69.99 per year) and this sleep tracker becomes a significant financial commitment.

For me, the difference in sleep tracking functionality between Gen 3 and Gen 4 doesn't quite justify the $150 price difference. So, to save cents where you can I recommend shopping the Ring 3 while stocks last.

2. Similar sleep tracking

While it is now a popular all-round health tracker worn by wellness enthusiasts, the Oura Ring has its roots in the sleep tracking market and has proved itself as a comprehensive snooze gadget.

The Oura Ring 3 might not be the newest, most advanced sleep tracker on the market after being around for the best part of four years, but it still gives a reliable picture of how well you sleep each night.

It keeps tabs on how long it takes for you to fall asleep, how long you spend in each sleep stage, how long you sleep overall and how 'efficient' your sleep has been. The Oura Ring 4 is said to be built with more accurate sensors, but there are no new metrics covered in your nightly sleep report.

I've observed similar discrepancies in time spent asleep when comparing data given by the Eight Sleep Pod 4 smart mattress cover with that from both the Oura Ring 3 and Oura Ring 4.

Between the Ring 3 and the Eight Sleep Pod I observed a discrepancy of between 16 and 44 minutes in time spent asleep. With the Ring 4 and Eight Sleep Pod, the discrepancy was between 11 and 36 minutes.

Even with the latest wellness tech, measuring exact sleep time at home is a difficult task as you're literally in an unconscious state. Considering the differences in sleep time mentioned above are only a matter of minutes, I recommend the more affordable Ring 3.

3. It's perfectly comfortable

While one of the key upgrades between the two rings is focused on comfort, I haven’t noticed a major difference between the two rings. Both are comfortable overnight. Sitting on your finger rather than your wrist, I find the Oura Ring more comfortable overnight compared with wrist-worn trackers that can feel claustrophobic in bed.

In fact, the Oura Ring 3 is slimmer than the Ring 4 in the size I wear (size 9). The Ring 3 measures 2.57mm thick on the sides and 2.97mm thick on the "top" compared to 2.88mm all the way around with the Ring 4, so it feels less clumpy on your finger.

In terms of durability, if you’re wearing the ring purely as a sleep tracker, the Oura Ring 3 won’t tarnish in bed. It is only likely to scratch if you’re wearing it as an all-day health tracker.

Is the Oura Ring 4 worth the upgrade? My verdict

Having tested both the Oura Ring 3 and Ring 4, it's clear to see the Ring 4 is an upgraded, more durable product with longer battery life and more accurate biometric sensors. However, if you want an excellent smart ring for sleep tracking, you're in capable hands with the Oura Ring 3, which you can buy right now for $150 less.

I’ve had my Oura Ring Gen 3 for six months now, and in that time, my daily sleep and readiness scores have come to dictate what I get up to from day to day. Do I need to take it easy and rest up or can I go hell for leather and role play as Wonder Woman? Oura lets me know as soon as I wake up.

I get far more out of Oura than any other fitness tracker I've tried, like the Apple Watch Series 10 and the AmazFit Bip 6. I find the feedback you get from Oura to be fully actionable, and I can build on the feedback. And that’s exactly what I’ve done.

Noticing patterns with tags

The key to getting actionable feedback from Oura is adding tags in the app. It gives the app insights into my daily life, and tells me what I am doing that’s impacting my sleep scores. Pretty cool, right?

I don’t add tags for absolutely everything because that would be a lot of work! But if I'm feeling slightly under the weather, go for a long run, drink alcohol or do anything out of the ordinary, I’ll make sure to note it.

The app also lets you know what sort of things have effected other users. So if you have a rough night, it will prompt you to add a tag that may have contributed to the tossing and turning.

For me, this meant I can actively avoid activities I know are going to keep me up at night, but also keep doing things that have given me high sleep scores. So let’s get into what I've found out.

Eating late increases heart rate

This is one I never would have thought about before using the Oura Ring. If I eat a meal or even a small, carby snack less than three hours before I head to sleep, I can be sure to have a disrupted night.

Eating late can disrupt the sleep-wake cycle of the body, and Oura flags this in the app as a main cause for a restless night.

Late exercise disrupts sleep

I have always been one for an evening run rather than an early morning gym class, but that’s all changed since using the Oura Ring.

Exercising late at night can mean your body takes longer to wind down before drifting off to sleep, giving you fewer hours than you need. Oura says that even exercising one to two hours earlier can help you to see positive changes.

So I took this advice on board and started doing my exercise in the morning and doing gentle yoga in the evening, so I was still getting some movement but at a lower intensity.

Alcohol consumption

Alcohol at social gatherings is the norm for many people so it will come as no surprise that Oura says it is the tag most used by its members.

Alcohol increases your resting heart rate, putting stress on the body. So after a few beers you’re probably going to be waking up every few hours, therefore massively disrupting your sleep stages.

As part of the Community discoveries feature on the Oura app, I can see that a tag of ‘No alcohol’ decreases resting heart rate scores by an average of 3%. Adversely, tagging ‘Party’ increases heart rate by an average of 6%. This seemingly small increase is enough to disrupt sleep and offset you for the next day.

Cool sleeping environment

Everyone knows that in the height of summer it is pretty much impossible to get to sleep. Especially between trying to kick off your sheets and finding the perfect balance of cozy and cool.

But I had this confirmed to me by my ring as on nights where I had the air conditioning in my room set to around 67ºF I had restful, deep sleep and woke up with high sleep scores.

On the other end of that, as the weather has become warmer on the way to summer and I don’t have the air conditioning on I wake up in the middle of the night and struggle to get back to sleep.

Hormonal cycle

The Oura Ring measures your temperature while you sleep to give cycle predictions. During different phases of your cycle HRV (heart rate variation) and core body temperature are affected. These can have a direct impact on your sleep and readiness.

Through feedback from what many would call the best smart ring, I have been able to recognize when in my cycle I need to take it easy to ensure my HRV is impacted as little as possible, making for a restful sleep. This is also true for finding where I can put a little more effort into my workouts without it impacting my readiness scores.

How I used Oura to sleep better

By looking at my own metrics, and the metrics from community discoveries, I have been able to get consistent sleep and readiness scores. Of course, there are days when lower scores can’t be helped, but my feedback is far less erratic and the prompts from the ring have helped me to build a successful routine.

By exercising and eating my evening meals earlier, staying cool at night, being mindful of alcohol consumption and of where I am in my cycle, I am getting my eight hours regularly… and I feel so much better for it.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• I ditched my Apple Watch for an Oura Ring for a month — here's what I learned
• Don't fall for the Oura Ring 4 upgrade — the Ring 3 has the same sleep tracking tech and is $150 cheaper

The first step towards improving your sleep quality is understanding how your body acts overnight and what's getting in the way of your rest. Tracking your sleep with a smart ring provides these valuable insights. Right now, you can buy an Oura Generation 3 Ring for $199 at Oura in today's Memorial Day sales (was $299.) That brings the sleep tracker down to its lowest ever price.

I've been wearing the Heritage Oura Ring 3 to bed for four months and its become my favorite sleep tracker within that time. Yes, it's not the newest model from the brand (that's the Oura Ring 4, our best smart ring of the year), but its features fall only marginally behind. With Oura slashing prices on its old inventory, it's a great time to bag a good deal.

Looking for a new mattress too? Today's Memorial Day mattress sales are now live, with big discount across some of our favorite brands. But if it's just a wearable sleep tracker you're after, I've dropped the Oura Ring 3 deal below, plus I've scanned Amazon Memorial Day sales to find you cheaper alternatives...

• Read more: Don't fall for the Oura Ring 4 upgrade — the Ring 3 has the same sleep tracking tech and is $150 cheaper

Oura Ring 3 price history

We've never seen the Oura Ring 3 price drop this low before. Around Black Friday, it's lowest price was $349 at Amazon. But Oura's clearance sale has knocked that deal out of the park, cutting an extra $150 off.

$199 is outstanding value on a sleep tracker of this quality and we don't expect the Oura Ring 3 to drop any lower until it sells out.

According to Oura's LinkedIn page, their manufacturing factory is based in Oulu, Finland. Therefore, changes in US tariffs could impact the price of the Oura Ring going forward.

On a tighter budget? Try these deals instead...

Oura just announced new AI-powered features to “fuel your body for energy, performance and long-term health.” The two latest upgrades center around metabolic health and meal tracking, but right now, they're only available for US users.

Oura says it’s a “major milestone” toward becoming a “fully integrated health solution.” To date, Oura has undoubtedly been an industry-defining market leader and arguably remains the best smart ring you can buy.

However, with stiff competition from the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Ring and Ultrahuman Ring Air, the smart ring market is becoming increasingly competitive. I’m concerned Oura might be doing too much with its latest branch out into metabolic health.

Could Oura become the jack of all trades, master of none? Here’s what we know so far.

What are the two new features?

The two metabolic-focused AI-enabled tools are Meals and Glucose, and will roll out shortly to Oura Ring 3 and Oura Ring 4 users based in the US who use the app in English.

Oura announced the Oura Labs feature in 2024, allowing members to test experimental features and provide feedback. If they're considered a hit with the audience, features can be rolled out into the app. Here's what made the cut.

1. Meals

The latest Labs success is Meals, which, according to Oura, provides key insights into nutrition and meal timing using AI-powered feedback from Oura Advisor.

Simply snap a photo of your meal and Oura can help provide “informed dietary decisions” about your food, including macronutrients — proteins, fats and carbs — and its quality, plus suggestions for long-term improvement.

Yep, you read that correctly. Using images alone, Oura can tell you how nutritious your food is, right down to the fiber content.

2. Glucose tracking

Paired with the Stelo Glucose Biosensor by Dexcom, a brand new in-app glucose monitoring feature means you can measure glucose levels day and night, with the app providing feedback directly while drawing from existing analysis like your sleep, stress and activity levels.

Essentially, it’s another way for Oura to provide a holistic view on the quality of your everyday health, alongside tools such as heart health, women’s health and fitness, to assess long-term trends.

What do we know?

Your metabolic health can be impacted by the foods you eat, how your body processes them, lifestyle factors and genetics. That’s why the rollout looks at data pulled from the existing features you use daily alongside your meals to inform the analysis.

Shyamal Patel, PhD., and SVP of Science at Oura, describes their approach as “unique.” Published through Oura's website, she explained: “Meal-induced glucose spikes can vary significantly due to factors like sleep, stress, exercise and meal timing, which is why it’s important to approach metabolic health holistically rather than focusing exclusively on diet.”

The goal is to look for patterns and use experimentation to discover what works and what doesn’t, hopefully helping to maintain improved balance over time based on your daily habits.

Rather than avoiding specific foods, the aim is to encourage a healthy relationship that lasts, looking at what could be impacting your glucose from various angles, rather than focusing on the one spike you had, say, after eating chocolate on a Friday afternoon.

Verdict

I’ve been lucky enough to own both generations of the Oura Ring and have used the app for years. I’m worried Oura could be diluting their product by introducing too many new ingredients.

For the average person, monitoring your glucose levels daily isn’t really necessary. I wore a CGM monitor as a test for Tom’s Guide, and I actually found it more stressful than informative, getting lost in the minefield that is your blood sugar.

In fact, I could be found staring down every spike in my blood sugar with the scrutiny of VAR checking a dodgy penalty decision.

Your pancreas is designed to take care of blood sugar for you, releasing insulin (a hormone) to regulate blood glucose by moving it out of your bloodstream and into your cells.

While a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) is a useful (and sometimes crucial) tool for people managing chronic health conditions such as diabetes and insulin resistance (a precursor to diabetes), not everyone needs to monitor their own glucose.

I fear Oura is starting to steer away from what they're best at — tracking your sleep and stress hygiene — in a bid to keep on top of the competition with their innovation.

Am I worried it'll encourage people to over-worry about another aspect of their health? Possibly. Do I need yet another app scrutinizing what I eat? No. And although Oura reassures members that the feature aims to keep things balanced, I fear people who don't already have a healthy relationship with their food could struggle.

But to keep evolving in an ever-growing smart ring market, perhaps it's Oura's time to dare to diversify. And given that the features were given the all-clear from Oura Labs, it looks like people want it. For me, the jury is out.

More from Tom's Guide

• I ditched my Apple Watch for an Oura Ring for a month — here's what I learned
• I ditched the Oura Ring for the Circular Ring Slim
• Oura Ring 4 vs. Oura Ring 3 — what's different?

It feels absurd for me to say that I went a whole month without my Apple Watch. If you know me, or even if you’ve just followed my work, you probably know the Apple Watch isn’t some accessory to me — practically part of my identity.

So deciding to lock my Apple Watch Series 10 away and wear only an Oura Ring for a month felt... weird, to say the least. But having enjoyed testing out the Oura Ring 4 for the last couple of months, I was curious whether it can fulfill my wearable needs. Stress tracking, in particular, is a huge priority for me right now, and the Oura Ring is packed with comprehensive, science-backed insights.

To really understand the trade-offs between the best smartwatch and best smart ring, and because I know most people would realistically pick one or the other, I went all in. No Apple Watch, just the Oura Ring: this is how it all went down.

The Oura Ring is a *totally* different vibe

I think the Oura Ring is as gorgeous as a fitness tracker can get. I picked the rose gold version, and it fits in perfectly with my other jewelry (rings, bracelets, earrings, you name it.) Unlike a smartwatch, it’s not in your face as much. It’s discreet, elegant, and completely ambient.

For the first few days, I loved this low-profile vibe. It almost felt like a tech detox, as though I was re-learning how to just exist without being hyper-connected every second. Dare I say it was peaceful.

But this feeling didn’t last forever. By about a week into this little experiment of mine, I started to miss the sheer utility of having a display on my wrist. I missed glancing down mid-walk to see my distance and heart rate. I missed being able to check the weather quickly. I even missed the little animated celebration when I closed my rings for the day. As beautiful and simple as the Oura Ring is in comparison to the Apple Watch, the simplicity comes at a cost.

Fitness tracking: real-time vs. retroactive

The Oura Ring takes a passive approach to fitness tracking. I would just go about my day, and later on, the app filled me in on my activity. It’s refreshing for those craving a less pressure-motivated relationship with movement. You just live your life, and Oura tracks your actions in the background.

But if you’re someone like me, who likes real-time feedback, it can feel limiting. I like to monitor my calories burned and heart rate during workouts, not after. For health reasons, I avoid letting my heart rate spike too high, and without real-time data, it was like I was working out blindfolded. It’s not a great feeling when you’re trying to be mindful about your fitness.

There’s also the step counting situation. We’ve done side-by-side testing that shows the Apple Watch is much more accurate for step counts, and sure enough, I noticed something didn’t feel right when it came to the steps I was banking. This isn’t the biggest deal to me personally, but worth considering when you’re deciding which fitness tracker is right for you.

Little things that made a big difference

Ambient health tracking is one thing. Ambient life tracking? That’s another story entirely. I didn’t realize just how much I relied on my Apple Watch for everyday conveniences (or to basically manage my life) until they were gone.

Things like taking a phone call from my wrist when my phone was buried deep in my tote bag. pinging my phone whenever I can’t remember where I last put it down and setting times for my laundry cycles.

Also, over the last month, I missed so many more calls than usual that I’m completely convinced some of my friendships are now hanging by a thread.

Final verdict: I’m team Apple Watch (but not ditching my Oura Ring)

After a month of living exclusively with the Oura Ring, I’ve come to the conclusion that if I had to choose only one wearable device, I’d pick the Apple Watch.

It’s an easy decision, really. The real-time data, the daily conveniences, and the freedom to access all the health features without paying a monthly subscription (unless you want Apple Fitness+) make the Apple Watch the more complete package for me.

The Oura Ring, meanwhile, requires a membership to unlock most of its best insights, which has led the internet to looking for Oura Ring alternatives without recurring fees.

That said, I’m definitely not giving up my Oura Ring, since it’s my life and there is no higher power forcing me to pick one or the other. I love my Oura Ring for features like stress tracking, sleep chronotypes, cycle tracking, and getting a deeper look at things like my cardiovascular age and resilience to stress.

So in the end, this isn’t exactly a story about the Apple Watch versus Oura Ring. But this experiment highlighted that wearables don’t need to be one-size-fits-all.

More from Tom's Guide

• How to sleep better at night naturally, according to experts
• I ditched the Oura Ring for the Circular Ring Slim
• Oura Ring 4 vs. Oura Ring 3 — what's different?

I’m not a fan of subscriptions — I’ll forget to cancel them, and end up spending money each month on apps and streaming services I never use. That said, as everything gets more expensive, one thing I won’t cancel is my Oura ring subscription.

Read on to find out why.

How much is an Oura subscription, and do you need it?

There’s no way around it — the Oura ring is an expensive investment. You’ll end up paying around $300-$400 for the ring itself and an extra $5.99/£5.99 per month for the subscription, or "membership" as Oura likes to call it.

You can pay for the entire year in advance, which is slightly cheaper at $69.99/£69.99.

If you don’t pay for the subscription, you’ll still be able to use your ring, but with limited functionality. You’ll see three daily Oura scores, your ring’s battery life, and basic profile information, but you won’t get detailed sleep tracking, heart rate monitoring, advanced temperature monitoring, and all the other tracking features.

Here’s why my Oura membership is one subscription I won’t cancel

I’ve been wearing my Oura ring for two years, and here’s why it’s a subscription I wouldn’t cancel:

It gives more accurate health data than my smartwatches

Sure, you can wear the Oura ring as a fitness tracker, but I wouldn’t say this is the ring’s main selling point. Like most of the best smart rings on the market, the Oura ring is more of a health tracking tool — it’ll tell you how well you’ve slept, how ready you are for your next workout, and how much stress your body has been under throughout the day.

Unlike some of the best smartwatches on the market, you’ll probably only need to charge your ring once a week, rather than daily (best Apple Watches, I’m looking at you). This helps the ring build up more accurate data, as it’s not sitting on charge overnight; it’s on your finger.

As a fitness editor, I’ve compared the sleep tracking data of my Oura ring to my Apple Watch and my step count data, and from a health perspective, the ring comes out on top. While I’ve had issues with its step counting accuracy, and I wouldn’t reach for the Oura ring if I were training for a marathon and looking for ways to get faster, it’s the one fitness tracker I’d refuse to part with, as it tells me more about my overall health than any of my other trackers.

I like how the data is presented

I spend my days writing about health and fitness, but I’m not a scientist, and I don’t want to have to decode data first thing in the morning.

I’ve always appreciated how Oura breaks down my stats and positions them to me in a way that’s easy to understand, even on four hours' sleep with a newborn. It’s one way Oura stands out compared to some of the other smart rings on the market — for example, when testing the Ultrahuman ring, I found the app too detailed, and often got lost in the metrics. Read more in my Oura vs Ultrahuman face-off.

As well as daily scores for readiness, sleep, and activity, you’ll be given written details on why you’ve been given this number and tips on how to improve it. I don’t often spend time confirming activities or adding tags, but I do spend five minutes looking at the app every single morning.

It tells me what’s going on in my body, before I realize

My Oura ring knew I was pregnant before I did, and has frequently detected illnesses before they arise.

My ring told me there were major signs of strain on my body during a recent bout of mastitis, which elevated my body temperature and resting heart rate — I was able to show my doctor this data, and get antibiotics to help my symptoms.

The ring is great at alerting you to any health patterns it notices, too. Pre-baby, I’d get a ‘Pay Attention’ message after drinking a few glasses of wine the night before, helping me realize how much alcohol would affect my sleep.

I’d also know if my body temperature was slightly elevated, I might be getting run down, and to ease off my training for a few days, and let my body recover.

I use it to track my menstrual cycle

The Oura ring uses a skin temperature sensor to take a body temperature reading while you sleep, meaning you don’t need to take a basal body temperature reading in the morning — something I was never organized enough to remember to do.

Typically, your body temperature is cooler during the first half of your cycle, when your estrogen levels are high. Your body temperature rises in the second half of your cycle, around the time you ovulate, when your progesterone levels are high. Your temperature will then decrease again at the start of your period when your hormone levels drop.

You can also sync the ring with the period tracking app, Natural Cycles. Read more about how the Oura ring tracks your menstrual cycle here.

More from Tom's Guide

• We've tested the best smart rings for tracking your health without a smartwatch
• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• My Oura ring knew I was pregnant before I did — here's how

Oura’s new AI-powered feature, dubbed ‘Oura Advisor’ is rolling out over the next two weeks to Oura Ring Generation 3 and Oura Ring 4 members. The feature uses artificial intelligence to provide wellness tips, look at your long-term health trends, and create plans to help you reach your goals.

Oura’s app already gives you a great deal of information about your sleep, readiness score, activity levels, and menstrual cycle, but the Oura Advisor feature will allow you to ask questions about your data, should you wish. The brand describes the feature as a “personal wellness coach”, allowing you to make sense of your data by providing tips and advice. Here’s what it means for you, and how you’ll be able to use it.

Firstly, set up how you want the Oura Advisor to interact with you

Once the Oura Advisor feature rolls out, you’ll need to update your Oura app to use the functionality. Before getting started, you’ll be able to customize the Advisor’s tone of voice — conversational (Oura says this is a supportive, encouraging voice), or direct (a more goal-orientated approach). You’ll also be able to customize how often the Advisor checks in with you — if you’re totally put off by AI, you can turn it off completely, or choose between weekly, three times a week, or daily.

Oura Advisor is currently only available to users who have selected English as their app language, with more languages rolling out later this year.

If you want to ask the Advisor a question, you can use the plus function in the bottom right-hand corner, where you would normally log your period, or add an activity or tag. You’ll also see ‘Dive in with Advisor’ in the Today tab.

Use the pre-written prompts to practice using the feature

If you’re not sure how to use this new feature, Oura has written some prompts for you to get started. It might be that you want to see a quick graph of your sleep scores over a week, or see if there are any new trends you should be aware of. The pre-written prompts make it easy to get started.

The advisor can also do things like help you create meal plan suggestions to improve your diet and meet your goals, or take steps to achieve a goal, like running a marathon, or just getting up earlier. The more you use the feature, the more personalized the recommendations will be — more on that below.

Add more information using the Memory tool

The Oura Advisor tool will store memories, remembering old conversations to make the answers more tailored to you. For example, I am currently a year postpartum, and have found my menstrual cycle has not yet fully returned and my sleep score is dramatically affected thanks to my toddler waking me multiple times each night. Oura Advisor would remember this information, and tailor future answers with this information in mind.

You can also share information like the fact you’re recovering from a surgery, or being treated for an injury, and the Advisor will take this into account when giving you advice. You can remove items from the Advisor’s Memory, or opt out of it entirely, at any time.

Like with all AI features, Oura has promised the tool will “grow with knowledge” over time. If you’re an Oura user, you can expect to see the feature appear in your app over the next couple of weeks.

More from Tom's Guide

• Oura Ring 4 review: the new gold standard for smart rings
• What is the difference between Oura Ring 3 and 4?
• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like

The Oura Ring is about to be an even more powerful wellness tracker for women’s health. Already the best smart ring you can buy today, Oura is tweaking the algorithm behind the daily Readiness Score to take into account natural biometric fluctuations that happen during a user’s menstrual cycle.

So, whether you have the latest Oura Ring 4 or an older model, here's everything you need to know about the Oura Readiness Score algorithm update and how the changes to menstrual tracking might impact you.

Oura's new daily Readiness Score

Daily readiness scores, often on a scale from one to 100, are fairly common not just in smart rings but in smartwatches too. The latest Pixel Watch, Samsung Galaxy wearables and best Garmins all offer them. However, this metric is almost always based entirely on a user’s sleep and workout habits along with vitals readings. But natural hormonal shifts resulting from one’s cycle are rarely considered.

"The menstrual cycle has a profound impact on women’s health and overall well-being, which is why we’re dedicated to ensuring our app features accurately reflect the latest scientific understanding of the physiological changes women experience," says Holly Shelton, Chief Product Officer at Oura.

With the new algorithm, Oura’s Readiness Score promises a smarter interpretation of changes in a user’s logged vitals signs. This means that those who have signed up for the device’s Cycle Insights will now be less likely to see lower-than-expected Readiness Scores because of biometric shifts resulting from their cycle.

Previously, a recorded lower-than-average heart or elevated body temperature at night might generate a warning for possible body strain, even when those fluctuations are completely normal.

For example, several days before ovulation during the follicular phase, it’s not unusual for a woman’s body temperature and/or heart rate to drop slightly. On the flip side, an elevated heart rate during the luteal phase is also normal. Now, those changes should be better anticipated and understood by Oura.

Ours says that the update should impact as many as 35% of users currently seeing lower than expected Readiness Scores and those folks should see their daily score increase by 3-4%.

Oura's mental health pregnancy study

Along with the Readiness Score update, Oura also announced a new partnership with the Scripps Research Digital Trials Center to better understand physiological changes that women may experience during pregnancy. The partnership will see Oura collect data from 10,000 users who have worn their Oura Ring through pregnancy sometime in the last three years.

‘[The study] aims to advance public understanding of pregnancy-related conditions and identify potential warning signs of complications such as postpartum depression, miscarriage risk, and pre-term labor,’ according to an Oura blog post.

Users interested in participating in the study can enroll directly through the Oura app.

More from Tom's Guide

• I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year — what I like and don't like
• I just went hands-on with RingConn Gen 2 — a subscription-free alternative to Oura Ring promising 150-plus days of battery
• I just went hands-on with the new Circular Ring 2 — and it's the most impressive smart ring at CES 2025