The promise of wearable health technology has always been enticing: a device that monitors your body around the clock, providing insights into your health that could help prevent illness and optimize your wellbeing. The Oura Ring 4, priced at $349, claims to deliver on this promise in a sleek, ring-shaped package. But can a piece of jewelry really predict when you're getting sick and accurately track your sleep?
The Oura Ring 4 ($349) is a smart ring that tracks a plethora of health metrics: heart rate, sleep stages, stress levels, body temperature, blood oxygen and more. What sets the fourth generation apart is its new "Smart Sensing" technology, which determines which of the 18 total data collection paths through your finger is the most reliable in real-time, resulting in greater accuracy with fewer gaps.
The most intriguing feature is Oura's new "Symptom Radar," which helps identify early signs of strain in your biometrics, empowering you to take proactive steps toward rest and recovery. This illness detection feature, moved out of beta for Ring Gen 3 and Ring 4 wearers with an active subscription in December 2024, monitors changes in your body temperature, heart rate variability, and other biomarkers that might indicate you're getting sick before symptoms appear.
Where the Oura Ring 4 truly shines is sleep monitoring. It's one of the only wearables I find genuinely comfortable to sleep in. The ring tracks sleep stages, duration, and quality with remarkable detail, providing insights into your circadian rhythms and recovery patterns.
The fourth-generation model improves on its predecessor with improved battery life and can last for up to 8 days compared to Oura Ring Gen 3, which can last up to 7. The design has also been refined – there are no little molded mounds sticking into your finger, and nothing abnormal to get used to. It feels like a normal ring, and well-rounded on the inside.
While the technology is impressive, the effectiveness of illness prediction remains nuanced. When you get sick, your immune system has a lot of strategies it can deploy to help you heal. All of this action requires a lot of energy and usually shows up as signs of strain in your body that you can read through your body temperature, heart activity, respiration, and sleep or activity patterns.
However, detecting these patterns doesn't always translate to predicting illness with perfect accuracy. The ring can identify when your body is under stress or showing signs of strain, but many factors – from intense workouts to stress to environmental changes – can trigger similar biomarker shifts.
As a lifestyle piece, the Oura blows all other wearables out of the water. It's stylish, comfortable, and passes for a non-tech piece of jewelry on the regular. This discreteness is a significant advantage over bulky smartwatches or fitness bands, making it more likely you'll actually wear it consistently – which is crucial for accurate health tracking.
Here's where things get expensive. Beyond the $349 upfront cost, Oura requires a subscription for access to detailed insights and features like Symptom Radar. Oura Ring 4 is already really expensive so adding over $70/£60 a year is a big ask. This ongoing cost is something potential buyers need to factor into their decision.
The Oura Ring 4 delivers on its sleep tracking promises with exceptional comfort and accuracy. The illness detection feature, while innovative, should be viewed as an early warning system rather than a crystal ball. The Oura Ring 4 is hands-down the greatest smart ring for fitness tracking that money can buy. Between the comfortable fit, discreet functionality, nearly a week of battery life and a comprehensive Oura app experience, the Oura Ring 4 is a great alternative to a smartwatch or activity band.
However, after two weeks of testing it, the Oura Ring 4 did provide me useful information about my health – the key word being "useful," not "revolutionary." The ring excels at providing consistent, comfortable health monitoring in a stylish package, but it's not quite the medical miracle device some might hope for.
For those serious about sleep optimization and willing to invest in long-term health tracking, the Oura Ring 4 represents the current gold standard for smart rings. Just don't expect it to replace your doctor – think of it more as a very sophisticated health assistant that never leaves your finger.