The Oura Ring 4 has been unveiled – and it goes big on accuracy improvements, although there are fewer changes to the size and design.
The Oura Ring 4 is official – and brings a huge design and app upgrade as the smart ring market heats up.
With the Samsung Galaxy Ring, RingConn 2, and Ultrahuman Ring Air pushing Oura in terms of new features – Oura has responded with a big upgrade.
The new Oura Ring 4 is slimmer and lighter. The design is closer to the Oura Ring Gen 3 Horizon and features a fully smooth design that’s sleeker and slimmer than the existing Heritage. It starts at $349 with the same requirement for a $5.99 monthly subscription.
And you can read our early thoughts on the new Oura Ring Gen 4 design in our hands on preview.
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The Ring 4 is the same width as the Gen 3 Horizon (7.9mm) but very slightly thicker – so it doesn’t change the profile on the finger.
Oura Ring 4 specs and details:
| Specs | Oura Ring 4 |
|---|---|
| Dimensions | Width: 7.90 mm Thickness: 2.88 mm |
| Weight | 3.3g – 5.2 g (for sizes 4-15) |
| Sizes | 4 to 15 |
| Design & Material | Ōura’s first fully titanium ring |
| Colors | Silver Black Brushed Silver Stealth Gold Rose Gold |
| Battery | Up to 8 days of battery life (depending on usage) Charges fully in 20-80 minutes |
| Water Resistance | Water-resistant up to 100m / 328ft Suitable for sauna and water sports, but not for diving |
| Sensors | Powered by Smart Sensing technology with 18 photo sensors Infrared photoplethysmography (PPG), red/green LEDs, NTC temperature sensors, accelerometer |
Accuracy improvements
But the Gen 4 packs in 18 signal pathways, up from just 8 on the Gen 3. Oura makes some big claims about the accuracy and says that its new Smart Sensing platform means a 10–20% boost in signal quality for the SpO2 sensor, making it 30% more accurate.
Oura Gen 3 users might notice gaps in their data due to the ring turning throughout the night. Oura claims the new platform delivers 30% fewer gaps during sleep tracking and 7% fewer in daytime tracking.
The new Oura Smart Sensing platform also takes advantage of new technology exclusively revealed by Wareable earlier this year, which analyzes the signal quality of its sensors and adapts them to account for finger anatomy, BMI, and skin tone. That should mean better accuracy for people of color, which is a huge step forward.
Battery life has also improved and is up to 8 days from the 7 days of the Gen 3. That is, in part, thanks to the Smart Sensing platform, which will dynamically choose the sensors that get the best signal.
Changes to the app
The Oura app is also given a huge overhaul, and there are now dedicated screens for both daily and long-term data.
The new Today tab puts short-term data, such as activity, stress, and readiness, into an easy-to-read format – and will prioritize data that users prefer to see.
The Vitals window will show an overview of health metrics and how they compare to known baselines – and provide a snapshot into current health.
And the new My Health tab takes a longer view and shows trends in health and habits – revealing where users may be improving or declining. We’re big advocates for this kind of data view at Wareable, and it’s good to see Oura taking a step forward in presenting longitudinal health data to people, without requiring them to filter the data manually.
New features
Automatic Activity Detection is rolling out to 40 different workout types – and users can get workout data, as well as cardio fitness analysis.
It’s also making stress tracking better and adding context about why stress levels may be shown as high – including exercise and movement, in turn helping to show where stress within your day might be coming from.
And finally, Oura is launching its own Fertile Window feature into its women’s health tracking, which uses the sensors on the ring to reveal when is the best time to try and conceive.
The app changes will be rolling out to existing Oura users of Gen 3 – as well as Gen 4.
The Oura Ring 4 is available for pre-order starting October 3, 2024, and shipping on October 15, 2024.
