Oura Ring

The Oura ring is a wellness device that claims to track critical signals that your body sends out so that you can make the right decisions for better health.

This sleek ring is embedded with tracking devices that monitor your heart rate overnight and during restful parts of the day to give you insight into your autonomic nervous system activity.

Each morning, the ring summarizes this data into three numbers that are displayed in the accompanying app, which should help you make decisions during the day for better health.

Features

The Oura ring works to measure your resting heart rate while you sleep and during quiet parts of the day. It does so by detecting changes in your Blood Pulse Volume (PPG) through two infrared LEDs that monitor the arteries on the finger.

It also contains NTC temperature sensors, a gyroscope, and an accelerometer that capture continuous measurements like your heart rate, step count, temperature, and more.

The ring works with mobile devices that run iOS 11.0 or later or Android 6.0 or later (see if your device is compatible here). Pairing it with the accompanying app is essential, as there isn’t any other way to monitor your health data.

It’s best to wear the ring while sleeping, at which point it will register your body temperature reading every minute. It tracks your body temperature changes over time to give you a sense of your personal baseline and when you’re deviating from it.

The Oura ring connects to your phone through Bluetooth, though you only need to have it connect when you want a data update. The ring can store data for up to six weeks without syncing with the app.

It is made from lightweight titanium and is water-resistant to 100 meters. You can expect it to last up to a week per charge.

Though the ring’s material is designed for durability, some users noted that it developed light, hairline scratches after a few weeks of use. The sensors should stay safe, as your finger protects them while you wear it.

Even so, Oura recommends against wearing the ring while weight lifting or during other activities that put it in contact with metal that could scratch it.

We talked to Monisha Bhanote, a triple board-certified physician, who had been wearing the Oura ring for about six weeks. She shared with us that she loved the ring’s design and how unobtrusive it was to wear while working, but what sold her on it was the extensive valuable information she received while wearing it.

Specifically, she appreciated how the app’s readiness rating gave her information about how her body was handling stress. It helped her know whether she was putting herself at risk of cardiovascular disease or anxiety and depression and whether she needed to take time to practice mindfulness techniques like meditation.

“I would recommend OURA for personal tracking as it gives you very insightful information,” she shared. “It is a little bit more on the pricier end of trackers, but it also has a very easy to use app, requires no plugging in, and is very simple to use, with lots of data points.”

Understanding Your Daily Scores

Every day, the Oura ring will give you three scores related to your sleep, readiness, and activity. The readiness score will be displayed when you first open the app, and you can swipe to see the other score right after.

Sleep

The Oura ring gives you insight into your sleep quality by sharing data about your deep, REM, and light sleep percentages, as well as how quickly you fell asleep and what your heart rate did over time. These are factored together to give you a sleep score out of 100.

Along with this number, the app will share your total sleep time, the percentage of time you spent asleep after going to bed, whether you were peaceful or restless while sleeping, and how long it took you to fall asleep initially. It will also suggest optimal times for going to bed to improve your rating going forward.

Readiness

The Oura ring will access your sleep, activity, and recovery information to give you a number calculated out of 100 that indicates how hard you can push yourself that day.

It looks at your resting heart rate throughout the night to see if you’re getting in enough recovery, measures your heart rate variability to monitor your stress levels, and assesses how your activity levels over several days have affected your current energy level.

A high number means that it’s a great day to put in a killer workout, while a lower number is an indication that you might want to take it easy.

Activity

Your daily activity ranking looks at your short and long term trends to give you insight on your movement levels.

By monitoring your step account, recovery time, and training frequency, it can provide you with feedback on whether you’re ready to kick things up a notch or if it’s time to take things slower.

Pricing and Return Policy

Oura currently sells two styles of ring, both of which have the same technological capabilities. You can choose between the Balance style, which is a smooth ring with a slight crest at the top, or the Heritage design, which is a smooth ring with a flat top.

Both come in a variety of color options and price points, ranging from $299 for standard models to $999 for a Balance ring inlaid with diamonds.

To ensure you get the right ring fit, Oura suggests that you request a free ring sizing kit. This kit includes eight ring sizers (size 6-13), and you are meant to wear your preferred size for at least 24 hours to ensure it works. It’s your choice which finger you want to use.

Once you know your size, you can order the appropriate ring. Expect to pay about $15 for shipping.

Oura allows you to return any fully functional Oura product within 30 days of receiving it for any reason, though shipping fees won’t be refunded.

Analysis of Customer Reviews

18 customers have left reviews for the Oura Ring on our site, for the average rating of 2.3 stars. The app fairs better on Google Play, where it averages 4.1 stars after close to 1,500 reviews. Below are the main takeaways.

Common Compliments:

• Detailed daily records
• An excellent way to track energy levels
• Customer service was quick to address issues
• Accurate sleep tracking
• Sizing kit made it easy to order the right ring size
• Accurately predicted when some users were getting sick, told them to make it easy a few days beforehand

Common Complaints:

• Some customers never received their orders
• Cheap quality, only worked when paired with a phone
• Some users got locked out of their accounts with password difficulties
• Rings worked okay for six months before breaking
• Some users found the readiness scores discouraging (if they felt great but got a low score, then they felt less motivated to exercise as planned)

Oura Ring vs. Fitbit

If you’re interested in the Oura ring, odds are you’ve considered Fitbit, the most popular wellness tracker on the market.

Fitbit is worn as a watch rather than a ring. The brand offers a variety of designs, but all include a screen that will display basic information at a minimum about your health stats.

Many people like this because it means they don’t need to check the app for data continuously, but it also means that it’s more obvious to everyone else you’re wearing a fitness tracker. And while it’s normal to wear multiple rings, expect to get some strange looks if you wear two watches.

Second, these devices serve slightly different functions. Fitbit emphasizes activity tracking, as most models include multiple activity modes and include GPSs. Oura, in contrast, is focusing on your sleep quality and the way it relates to your overall wellbeing.

While the Oura ring contains more sensors than Fitbit, it’s not as versatile for activity tracking for the simple reason that you shouldn’t wear it for most gym activities like lifting or contact sports. However, the ring can track your body temperature, which is a valuable indicator of your overall wellness level.

Fitbit watches range from $70 to $200. That’s a savings compared to Oura, which starts at $300.

Overall, your decision between these two may come down to data accessibility vs unobtrusiveness. If you want a device you can wear all day or night without thinking about it, Oura will quietly monitor your stats in the background.

If you prefer a device you can interact with in real-time, then a Fitbit will give you all the data you desire right on your wrist.

The Bottom Line

The Oura ring offers a novel approach to wellness tracking with a discrete design, relatively long battery life, and feature-rich app. It can give you lots of insight into your sleep levels and should help you know when it’s time to slow down for your physical and mental health.

However, it’s not without limitations. The ring is more expensive than competitor Fitbit, and it’s comparatively limited in functionality because you can’t use it for all workouts. There are also some user complaints about cheap material and short lifespan.

It’s also important not to read too much into the data you get from wellness trackers. They’re giving you only their best guess on your health and are clearly missing cues that you or your doctor are likely to notice.

If you feel great and want to go hard at the gym, but the ring tells you to take it easy, we suggest going with your gut over this algorithm,

Overall, the Oura ring makes sense for anyone who wants a relatively fashionable way to collect more data about their habits.