Oura Ring 4
A great product is even better with version 4.
I've been a loyal Oura Ring fan for several years now, and every time they release a new version, I'm reminded why I love this product so much.
The Oura 4 is here, and it has taken everything I already enjoyed and refined it further—especially in terms of overall design and the depth of the insights it provides.
A Sleek New Look
The first thing you'll notice about the Oura 4 is the "total circle" design. Gone is the slight gap or break in the band that characterized some earlier versions. Now it's a single, seamless circle that looks more like a standard piece of jewelry than a high-tech wearable. Not only does it look better, it also feels natural on my finger. If you’re someone who doesn’t want to give up aesthetics for data, you’re going to love this.
Upgraded Sensors and Tracking
Oura has always excelled at tracking sleep and daily recovery, but the new ring doubles down on accuracy and metrics that matter most. The sensors can now pick up more nuanced changes in heart rate variability (HRV) throughout the day, as well as subtle body temperature shifts. These incremental improvements translate into a more complete understanding of how your body is adapting to stress, activity, and even potential illness.
New Features
Automatic Activity Detection (AAD) now includes average heart rate and heart rate zones for 40+ activities, automatically giving you a more comprehensive view of your movement throughout the day.
Cycle Insights now includes Fertile Window, a new feature that gives women who are trying to conceive even more information about their cycle and their fertility journey.
Daytime Stress now provides more context about the relationship between your daytime stress levels and your tags, movement, and activities. This will help you understand how your daily habits affect your stress and your recovery.
Advanced Readiness and Sleep Scores
The readiness score was one of the original ring's standout features. It’s a single-number snapshot of how prepared your body is for the day—based on your previous night's sleep, recovery, and overall balance. Now, Oura 4 has refined its algorithms to be more precise, offering additional context about what might be dragging your readiness score down (or boosting it up). The sleep staging is also reportedly more accurate, capturing deep, REM, and light sleep phases with minimal guesswork.
Enhanced App Experience
What's a high-end wearable without a user-friendly app to match? Oura's app has seen some nice improvements since I last reviewed it. The interface now provides more in-depth graphs, daily trends, and an even cleaner breakdown of your readiness, sleep, and activity scores. The integration with other health platforms and apps has also expanded, allowing you to combine Oura data with other fitness metrics if you like. For instance, if you track your workouts on another platform, Oura can import that information and factor it into your overall daily activity score.
Battery and Charging
Battery life is still solid, clocking in at about 4 to 7 days depending on how heavily the new sensors are utilized. Charging has remained fuss-free: just place the ring on its dock, and it’s good to go in under an hour for a full charge.
Day-to-Day Wear
A wearable is only as good as your willingness to keep it on, and I've found the Oura 4 is just as easy to wear as my old Oura. Because the ring is slimmer and more comfortable, it rarely feels like I'm wearing a piece of technology. You can also choose from a variety of finishes—silver, black, gold, and more—so it suits your personal style without screaming “health gadget.”
Why I’m Still a Fan
I’ve sung Oura's praises in the past, but here’s why I remain such an advocate:
Non-Intrusive: It’s a ring—lightweight and discreet. Unlike a smartwatch, you don't necessarily have to sacrifice a favorite watch or lug around something large on your wrist.
Data-Driven Insights: The accuracy and depth of health metrics have improved significantly. If you love tracking your sleep, HRV, and readiness in detail, the Oura 4 is a game-changer.
Holistic Approach: Oura doesn’t just throw raw data at you. The app offers actionable insights, letting you know when to push harder or scale back.
Style Factor: The new total circle design and variety of finishes mean it looks great for all occasions—casual or formal.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been on the fence about upgrading from an earlier Oura Ring, or you’re thinking about trying a health wearable for the first time, I wholeheartedly recommend giving the Oura 4 a try. The combination of sleek design, advanced metrics, and all-day comfort is hard to beat.
You can check out all the details and place an order on Oura’s website. If you do, please let me know how you get on. I’m always curious to hear how other people incorporate these insights into their daily routines.
With its enhanced sensors, continuous heart rate tracking, refined readiness scores, and that seamless circular design, the Oura 4 stands as the ultimate evolution of the ring I reviewed a few years ago. It’s not just a shiny upgrade—it’s a meaningful step forward in personal health tracking.
Go ahead, slip it on, and see what your body has to say today.
You’ll want to get a sizing kit before you order. They suggest wearing on your index finger 👆🏾 on your non dominant hand.
What about gesture recognition on the ORA Ring?
And (related) : what about an API?