The Oura Ring app recently delivered my three-year anniversary report, detailing its insights about me and my performance over the past 36 months. This data, spanning six pages, reminded me that the Oura Ring is one of the few tech devices I’ve consistently used for such a long period, surpassing even my laptop and iPad Pro. This commitment stems from its genuine value. However, with the impending release of the Galaxy Ring, I question whether Samsung can truly compete.
The Oura Ring’s enduring appeal lies in the app’s ability to present vital statistics with simplicity and clarity. The core focus revolves around just three key metrics: Sleep, Readiness, and Activity. While deeper data exists upon closer examination, understanding your body’s performance and daily preparedness is effortless at a glance. The combination of resting heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV), and body temperature offers invaluable insight, confirming my subjective feelings. The Activity tab utilizes graphs to visualize daily exertion and exercise, offering a quick comparison to previous days. This intuitive design rivals Apple’s Ring system on the Apple Watch, requiring minimal attention to other stats. This eliminates the need to spend hours deciphering data, analyzing complex graphs, or interpreting pseudo-informative text surrounding the presented numbers. The Oura Ring excels in delivering essential information in a clear and concise manner, requiring only a few moments to comprehend.
The Oura Ring seamlessly integrates into daily life, offering 24/7 comfort. Its placement on my finger allows me to wear any watch I desire while still tracking activity and movement. The Oura Ring’s inconspicuous design makes it a permanent fixture on my finger, as there’s no compelling reason to remove it.
For the past year, I’ve worn the polished silver Oura Ring. While I’ve experimented with silicone covers, including the OSleeve and Oura’s own version in its Equinox-backed bundle, I’ve primarily opted for an unprotected finish. The surface exhibits minute scratches and scuffs, but they remain unobtrusive and invisible from a distance. Crucially, the edges of the ring haven’t accumulated many marks. I continue to appreciate the understated elegance of the silver finish. The black and Stealth finishes make a bolder statement, and while I haven’t worn the gold versions, they are undeniably more noticeable on the finger. Although the Oura Ring isn’t much larger than a traditional ring, its wider and thicker profile increases its visibility. If subtlety is desired, the silver finish is the preferred choice.
The battery life remains impressive, consistently lasting four to five days before needing a recharge. This performance is remarkable considering the small battery capacity (around 15mAh) and continuous data monitoring. I haven’t observed any significant degradation over time. Managing the battery effectively involves charging during morning showers, ensuring a full charge and preventing interruptions. This routine seamlessly integrates into daily life.
While I appreciate numerous aspects of the Oura Ring, it isn’t without shortcomings. Oura recently introduced the Heart Health metric, estimating cardiovascular age (CVA). The company claims this metric, utilizing VO2 Max figures, provides a reliable indicator of heart health and cardiovascular capacity. Oura delves into the scientific basis behind these figures, presenting them in the app through a simple graph and VO2 Max reading. However, despite my desire to trust these numbers, I remain skeptical. The Oura Ring isn’t a medical device, and none of its features are FDA-certified. Therefore, these readings are based on estimations derived from data and research. While I have no reason to suspect unfitness or a risk of heart disease, my cardiovascular age is seven years below my actual age, and my VO2 Max is classified as High. Considering my lack of athleticism or active lifestyle, this estimation seems overly optimistic. A review of the Oura Ring subreddit reveals similar skepticism regarding the accuracy of the Heart Health feature. This feature receives little attention from me, as I haven’t verified the data outside of the Oura app. It’s merely one of the new features added over the past year.
Oura continues to charge a subscription fee for full access to its app, and Heart Health joins other features like Resilience, Body Clock data, and enhanced data trend insights. Not every feature will be universally beneficial, and their introduction warrants careful consideration. The Oura Ring app’s simplicity and quick access to key data are strengths, and additional features and graphs can increase visual complexity. While the app hasn’t reached this point yet, it has become significantly busier over the past year. Careful integration with the design is critical to avoid confusion and prevent the Oura Ring from losing its appeal.
Currently, the Oura Ring remains my recommended smart ring, but its supremacy is uncertain. The Samsung Galaxy Ring is on the horizon, and Samsung’s capabilities shouldn’t be underestimated. Samsung already produces excellent smartwatches with robust health and fitness tracking features. If they can successfully translate these features to a smart ring, the Oura Ring could face significant challenges, especially if Samsung avoids a subscription fee. However, I haven’t encountered a smart ring that rivals the Oura Ring’s elegant hardware, in-depth data, and well-presented app. Others prefer RingConn’s simplicity, but I appreciate how the Oura Ring can almost replace a smartwatch, providing flexibility in wristwatch choices. The Galaxy Ring casts a looming shadow over the Oura Ring, and unless Samsung restricts it to Android devices (as with the Galaxy Watch range), the original smart ring is poised for its toughest challenge yet. For now, the Oura Ring remains firmly on my finger, just as it has for the past three years.
