Oura's got a new smart ring out. Let's talk about it.
The release of the Oura Ring 4 brings the next generation of Oura's popular wearable to the market. Many tech reviewers, such as Mashable's Kim Gedeon, got some time with it and came away with plenty of thoughts. With competitors like the Samsung Galaxy Ring on sale now, Oura has to work to keep up with more recognizable brands. Instead of wasting any more time, here's what reviewers are saying about the Oura Ring 4.
Oura Ring 4: 3 things reviewers liked
The good news is that just about everyone agrees that the Oura Ring 4 is really good. Here's why:
Best-in-class health tracking
Oura has made its name with high-quality health tracking through a mobile app, and that is apparently no different here.
In fact, Oura redesigned the app, organizing all of its features into three distinct tabs that help streamline things, according to Victoria Song of The Verge. Beyond that, though, Song said the health tracking the watch does is impressively accurate considering the limitations of a tiny smart ring:
"All I can tell you is what I experienced in my own testing. The Oura Ring 4’s sleep and wake times align with my own manual testing logs. I still saw occasional gaps in nighttime heart rate, though it’s hard to say after only two weeks whether there were fewer or greater than before. My heart rate metrics, however, were all on par with my smartwatches — which is a good thing. Step counts and calorie estimates can be inflated compared to smartwatches, but that’s been true of every smart ring I’ve tested. What I can say for Oura, however, is its measurements are consistent and its margin of error is on the smaller side. After years of testing wearables, I trust the Oura Ring’s measurements for sleep and recovery tracking — in fact, I use it as a control for evaluating the sleep tracking features of other devices."
More comfortable fit
One of the more profound design changes with the Oura Ring 4 is also very simple: The inside of the ring no longer has bumps on it.
Those existed in previous models for health tracking purposes, but Oura found a way to slim the ring down and smooth out the inner surface, so the bumps don't dig into your skin anymore. Pretty much every review I read, including those from the Guardian and Wired, noted this change and pointed out that the ring is more comfortable to wear than before.
Improved battery life
It's not exactly surprising to hear that a new version of an older device has a better battery than previous models, but it's still welcome, nonetheless. Reports vary from one reviewer to the next, but generally speaking, everyone agrees that the battery in the Oura Ring 4 lasts longer than the one in the Oura Ring 3. Adrienne So of Wired had one particularly eye-catching testimonial:
"I get around three days of battery life with the Gen3. Right now, I am on the fourth day of wearing the Oura Ring 4 with, as I said, a pretty crazy amount of tracked physical activity through the weekend that included way too many hikes and a late-night outdoor music festival, and I still have what I would guess to be two to three more days of battery left. (I lead a pretty quiet life, but for some reason, whenever I test an Oura ring, I behave like an absolute maniac.)"
Oura Ring 4: 3 things reviewers didn't like
No device is perfect, and so neither is the Oura Ring 4. Here are a couple of complaints reviewers had about it:
Subscription needed
One major annoyance that could lead someone to go with a Samsung or Apple wearable is that the Oura Ring needs to be paired with a $6/mo or $70/yr subscription to unlock every feature. Every review I read mentioned this because, well, it's something that definitely needs to be mentioned. Whether or not that's too much for you will vary from person to person, but just know that there's a hidden cost to the Oura Ring 4.
Pricing problems
There's also an issue regarding the pricing of the Oura Ring 4. Put simply, you might have to pay more if you want a particular finish for your ring, even if the ring you're getting is functionally identical to cheaper ones with different finishes. Lisa Eadiciccio of CNET laid it all out:
"The Oura Ring 4 is available in six finishes: silver, black, brushed silver, stealth, gold and rose gold. But some finishes cost more than others. While silver and black are available at the $349 (£349, AU$569) starting price, brushed silver and stealth cost $399, and gold and rose gold are $499."
Considering the gold version looks amazing (at least according to Mashable's review, which is of course correct), that's probably going to be disappointing for some potential customers. An extra $150 for a different color is a lot to ask of people.
