When the Oura Ring 4 launched at $349, it immediately drew attention for its sleek design and health-first approach, continuing the company’s evolution in the wearable space. Following the success of the Gen 3 model, the latest version brings a number of hardware and software refinements aimed at enhancing its core strengths, especially sleep, recovery, and women’s health tracking.
Key Takeaways
The Oura Ring 4 is a sleek, state-of-the-art wearable device that focuses on sleep, recovery, and women’s health monitoring.
- The Oura Ring 4 delivers detailed sleep scores and recovery metrics, all supported by robust scientific data.
- Improved menstrual and perimenopausal monitoring utilizes upgraded temperature sensors.
- Refinements in hardware include more precise sensors, a broader range of available sizes, and an extended battery life.
What the Oura Ring does best
Among health-focused wearables, the Oura Ring stands out for its prioritization of sleep and recovery metrics over traditional fitness stats like step counts or distance. While most fitness trackers lean into movement tracking, Oura centers its technology around rest—an approach backed by scientific evidence showing the role of sleep in preventing chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and even certain cancers.
The Oura Ring 4 provides users with a daily sleep score (0–100) calculated using a combination of factors: total sleep time, sleep efficiency, restfulness, REM and deep sleep, sleep latency, and timing. Users are also presented with detailed flags and tips for improving suboptimal areas, offering actionable feedback that promotes healthier routines.
Advanced biosensors allow for tracking heart rate variability (HRV), respiration rate, blood oxygen saturation (SpO2), and overnight skin temperature. These metrics give insight into how stress, lifestyle habits, or potential illness may be impacting sleep and recovery.
One common scenario might involve a drop in sleep quality and HRV following a stressful day, which typically coincides with lower energy levels and poorer physical performance the following day. This type of feedback loop can encourage users to make earlier bedtime decisions or reduce evening stimulation.
Enhanced support for women’s health
The Oura Ring 4 further strengthens its position by advancing menstrual and perimenopausal tracking. Using improved temperature sensors, the device can identify subtle shifts throughout the cycle, helping track ovulation windows and hormonal changes. While not intended as a medical diagnostic tool, the temperature trends offer useful insights for those managing fertility or navigating the perimenopausal transition.
Oura’s menstrual tracking has garnered praise for its accuracy and reliability. The company is actively engaged in research partnerships, including collaborations with UC Berkeley and the health tracking app Clue, to study hormonal shifts during perimenopause—an area long neglected by mainstream health tech.
Data collected from the ring can be exported and shared with healthcare providers, giving users more meaningful conversations around reproductive health. These developments mark a notable effort to bridge the gender data gap in wearable technology.
Subtle but effective hardware improvements
At first glance, the Oura Ring 4 closely resembles the previous Horizon model from Gen 3. However, a closer look reveals several improvements that enhance both comfort and performance.
More inclusive sizing and refined design: The new model expands size offerings from 4–15 (previously 6–13), and introduces a brushed silver finish. It is slightly thinner and lighter than its predecessor and lacks the inner sensor bumps that some users previously found intrusive. This creates a flatter, more natural fit against the skin. However, some users may notice the ring feels tighter or looser depending on temperature changes that affect finger swelling.
Recessed sensors and discreet tracking: The upgraded ring integrates recessed sensors that reduce skin pressure and minimize the appearance of red and green tracking lights. This enhances comfort, especially during sleep.
Improved battery Life: The Gen 4 ring now offers up to eight days of battery life—an incremental but meaningful upgrade from the Gen 3’s seven-day average. This ensures fewer interruptions for charging and allows for more consistent data collection.
Better sensor accuracy: The internal hardware now features improved sensors for heart rate, temperature, HRV, and respiration. These upgrades result in slightly more accurate tracking and more responsive data feedback, particularly useful for users new to wearable tech.
Fitness tracking: Sufficient for most
While not designed to rival fitness-focused wearables like Garmin or Whoop, the Oura Ring 4 delivers essential activity tracking features. It can automatically detect common exercises like walking, biking, and general movement. After an activity, users are prompted to confirm or label the workout, which then triggers heart rate zone analysis.
Activity detection works best with low-impact cardio like walking, but may underreport more complex workouts. For instance, some high-intensity cardio or strength training sessions may be miscategorized or recorded as less intense than they actually are. Additionally, users engaging in heavy lifting may find that wearing the ring during workouts could lead to scratches or minor discomfort.
For most users, Oura provides a balanced level of activity insight, offering useful information without overwhelming. Medical professionals and students especially appreciate the passive monitoring, free from the constant notifications typical of smartwatches.
Quiet, mindful health guidance
One of the Oura Ring’s most distinguishing features is its subtle approach to health coaching. Rather than bombarding users with reminders and competitive metrics, the ring delivers quiet prompts designed to encourage healthy decisions. Notifications are phrased gently—suggesting wind-down time in the evening, or offering recovery advice after a poor night’s sleep.
In a market saturated with aggressive wellness apps and achievement rings, Oura’s approach feels notably different. The emphasis is on long-term wellbeing rather than daily performance targets, aligning with research that shows the importance of rest and mental recovery.
Limitations and considerations
Despite its strengths, the Oura Ring 4 has a few drawbacks. Its fitness analytics are relatively simple, lacking detailed activity tracking like comparative step counts or workout summaries.
The ring’s fit may be challenging for those upgrading from Gen 3 due to its revised shape. Oura offers a free sizing kit to ensure a proper fit before purchase. The Gen 4 retails for $349, $50 more than the Gen 3, and still requires a $5.99/month subscription for full features, which may be a concern for budget-conscious buyers.
Oura Ring 3 vs. Oura Ring 4: Upgrade worthiness
For Gen 3 users, upgrading depends on personal needs. If the device is working well, there’s no immediate need to switch. However, those seeking better health data, more comfort, or advanced features like improved menstrual tracking may find the Gen 4 worthwhile.
First-time buyers will benefit most from the Gen 4’s enhanced hardware and broader health tracking. Its better fit, sleek design, and accurate sensors make it a solid choice for sleep, stress, and overall wellness.
The Oura Ring 4 is a standout in wearable health tech, offering reliable insights into sleep, recovery, and hormonal health. It focuses on thoughtful, science-backed data over flashy features or fitness gamification.
While the price and subscription may be barriers for some, it provides enough value to justify the investment, especially for those focused on rest, recovery, and mindfulness.
