execs and cons
- The model’s slimmest good ring but, 40% smaller than the final gen.
- Further day of battery life.
- GLP-1 insights.
- Helpful app add-ons.
- In addition to the slimmer bodily kind, it is largely the identical because the Oura Ring 4.
- It’s round $50 dearer, nevertheless, with the identical annual subscription.
extra shopping for decisions
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After a number of weeks of sporting Oura’s skinniest Oura Ring 5 round my finger, I used to be using the subway after I noticed a woman’s hand donning the not-so-slim Oura Ring 4. The ring’s chunkiness caught my consideration, and I spent a number of seconds targeted on that thick piece of wearable know-how. It appeared big on her finger and immediately noticeable — ugly, even.
Additionally: I dug deeper into my Oura Ring data using this free app – here’s what I found
Perhaps I would not have seen that previous to the Oura Ring 5, however as quickly as Oura’s newest good ring launched with a considerably slimmer design, each different good ring for my part grew to become out of date.
It is humorous how shortly we change into accustomed to the latest factor, and how briskly know-how from a yr or two in the past turns into outdated within the introduction of a worthy improve. Nowhere is that extra evident than in Oura’s newest (and smallest) good ring.
As I’ve worn the Oura Ring 5 over the previous few weeks, I’ve thought loads about this concept. Like Apple unveiling the iPhone Air, the most important improve to this good ring is solely the scale and slimness of the machine itself; not an excessive amount of else has modified.
Certain, the Oura Ring 5 arrives with a number of software program updates that trace at Oura’s larger mission as a well being know-how firm, however you are actually shopping for it for its discreet construct — the software program is a stunning add-on.
Additionally: Oura Ring 5 vs. Oura Ring 4: I compared both smart rings for health tracking – you should buy this one
I’ve worn the Oura Ring 5 in all places these previous few weeks, and the most recent era is a worthy improve for a number of causes. This is what I discovered.
Two large upgrades
Oura Ring 4 on left and Oura Ring 5 on proper.
Nina Raemont/ZDNET
40% is the large quantity with the Oura Ring 5. It is 40% smaller than its predecessor, and, as somebody who has worn the Oura Ring 4 because it got here out, I can verify it is noticeable. It looks like different customers discover the distinction as properly: one Reddit person mentioned they thought they forgot concerning the ring round their finger, solely to note that it was there — simply much less cumbersome than the earlier era.
Additionally: Google’s Fitbit Air is a $99 screenless wearable that I can actually take seriously
Oura additionally says it added an extra day of battery life to the brand new ring, even regardless of the smaller measurement. That is due to optimized sign pathways, a brand new battery, and improved AI, the corporate says. That upgraded battery declare is perhaps true, nevertheless it’s closely depending on the scale of good ring you are sporting. I put on a measurement 6 ring, for instance, and I have never skilled that a lot of a change between my first few weeks utilizing the Oura Ring 4 and Oura Ring 5.
I examined the battery lifetime of the Oura Ring 5 by sporting it and recording its percentages every day to see simply how shortly the good ring’s battery depletes. As a result of battery capability depends on ring measurement, and I’ve considered one of Oura’s smaller rings, I used to be anticipating a shorter battery life already. This is how the battery fared over a six-day interval.
On June 9, Oura notified me that I had round seven hours of battery left earlier than it could run out. If I had let it totally die, it could have gone to 0% at 1 a.m. on June 10, making the whole battery lifetime of this good ring, on its first-ever battery run, round six days and some hours.
Throughout my first take a look at run with the Oura Ring 4 round a yr in the past, I wrote that the Oura Ring 4 gave me about 5 and a half days of battery life. With the 5, I received round someday extra of battery life throughout my first week. Not too unhealthy.
About that software program…
When Oura launched the Oura Ring 5, it introduced a number of new software program add-ons that make the good ring somewhat bit extra helpful and related for modern-day well being monitoring. In the previous few software program updates, Oura added a stay exercise tracker widget in your smartphone and a location function for while you’ve misplaced your ring or its charging case.
There additionally had been some particular options for ladies: Oura members might log their signs alongside their being pregnant or perimenopausal observe to contextualize their situation, offering deeper insights right into a person’s well being throughout a pivotal second. Oura continues this ethos with its newest function, accessible now on the Oura app.
Additionally: I tracked 3,000 steps on my Apple Watch, Google Pixel, and Oura Ring – this one was most accurate
One thing that may resonate with a brand new demographic is the GLP-1 insights function, which aggregates your well being information as you start taking weight reduction medicine. Dosing, weight, and unwanted side effects are linked to biomarkers Oura already measures, similar to sleep, stress, key vitals, and readiness. I did not take a look at out this function, since I am not on a GLP-1, however I can think about it being helpful for somebody beginning the drug and questioning whether or not their signs are regular or regarding.
One other function in improvement is Well being Radar, Oura’s extension of Symptom Radar, the near-magical function that successfully predicted an illness days earlier than I fell in poor health. Well being Radar will observe cardiovascular pressure and total blood strain well being, together with nighttime respiratory over a 30-day interval. It will arrive within the Oura app by July 8, 2026, and it is opt-in solely.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
Should you’re planning to improve from an earlier-gen ring to the Oura Ring 5, you may accomplish that for the thinner design, at first. That is the best draw of this replace, and one which has made sporting the ring extra pleasurable, extra discreet, and extra like precise jewellery.
Additionally: Why your Oura Ring battery is dying quicker (and what Oura is doing about it)
You may in all probability get one other day of battery life with this replace as properly, although we’ll see simply how lengthy that battery decides to final, because the Oura Ring 4 had a few battery issues of its personal that induced diminishing returns on battery over a yr of use. Oura has changed that battery with a brand new one for the fifth era ring, so I hope the Oura Ring 5 may have a longer-lasting battery than its predecessor.
So far as the same old stuff goes, the Oura Ring nonetheless excels at sleep, stress, and symptom monitoring. I would suggest it to anybody in search of the very best well being or sleep tracker in the marketplace, particularly if they need a sensible ring over a health band or watch.
