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It’s been less than two years since I last reviewed Oura Ring 4so I was surprised to learn Oura Ring 5 it was coming too soon. After all, we’ve had nearly three years between the release of Oura Ring Gen 3 and Oura Ring 4.
But while I expected the Oura Ring 5 to be just a refresh, the updated design really proves it’s a generational leap over the Oura Ring 4. In fact, with a smaller profile, longer battery life, and other notable improvements, the Oura Ring 5 feels like the smart ring that all other rings strive to be.
|
Category |
Oura Ring 5 |
|---|---|
|
Materials |
High performance titanium exterior, titanium interior |
|
Protection |
IP68 It is water resistant to a depth of 100m/328ft |
|
Sensors |
Red, green and infrared LEDs (heart rate, blood oxygen) Digital temperature sensor Accelerometer |
|
Battery |
6-9 days, charging time up to 80 minutes |
|
Connection |
Bluetooth 5.0 LE |
|
Platform support |
iOS (Apple Health), Android (Health Connect) |
|
Dimensions |
Width: 6.09 mm Thickness: 2.28mm |
|
Weight |
2g+ (depending on size) |
|
Dimensions |
6-13 |
|
Colors |
Silver, Black, Hidden, Brushed Silver, Gold, Deep Rose |
At first glance, the Oura Ring 5 looks slightly smaller than the Oura Ring 4, but you don’t get the full effect until you hold it in your hand. At just over 2 grams for my size 11, the Oura Ring 5 is surprisingly light. Honestly, it feels like a normal ring on the hand, unlike previous generations, which were a bit heavy.
Not only that, but the ring is surprisingly small, and if you’re coming from Oura Ring 4 (and especially Oura Ring 4 Ceramic), then you will definitely see the difference. The narrower width helps the Oura Ring 5 blend in with the rest of your jewelry, making it look more like a regular ring than a smart tracker.
I can see this going a long way towards popularizing wearable technology, as the main problem users had with previous Oura smart rings was their size. I didn’t mind the size of the previous models, but now that I’m using the Oura Ring 5, I can’t imagine going back to anything bigger.
The bezel is also slimmer than previous models, which is great for a number of reasons. The first generally makes it less noticeable, especially when carrying things or lifting weights. This last part is especially important because the ring doesn’t stick out as much, so there’s less worry about it rubbing against things like dumbbells in your hand.
Second, the slimmer profile makes it even better to throw on a cover without having to worry about adding too much thickness. Oura still doesn’t make a first-party case, so I keep using third-party covers I find on Amazon when I’m training. I note that the ring does not scratch and scratch as easily as previous models, but it is not immune, so the coating helps to keep it as clean as possible.
One thing that surprised me about the Oura Ring 5 is the battery life. Despite being 40% smaller than the Oura Ring 4, the latest model offers better battery life. Oura says it should last six to nine days per charge, which is fine for my usage.
When I started tracking battery life, the Oura Ring 5 was fully charged on Monday morning, and I didn’t need to charge it until the following Wednesday. It includes several days of manual and automatic exercise tracking, as well as daily sleep tracking, leaving 8% of the battery empty.
Speaking of tracking, the Oura Ring 5 still provides detailed health monitoring, especially for sleep. I’ve noticed that heart rate data is more relevant when tracking things like sleep or activity, whereas previous models often have gaps or fail to collect heart rate data at all, especially during workouts.
That said, workouts are the only area where Oura Ring 5 falls a little short. When tracking high-intensity workouts, I often find the Oura Ring 5’s heart rate data to be very low compared to other wearables I’ve used. Garmin Venu 4 and Fitbit Weather. I don’t notice the same deviation at rest, as the live heart rate data is the same as the Garmin Venu 4 and Fitbit Air, but the Oura Ring 5, like its predecessors, should not be relied upon as a training device.
It’s actually not too surprising to me; Oura Ring is more of a passive health tracker than an active fitness monitor. Fortunately, Oura has added the ability to connect another device to the app as a live heart rate source. You can use a dedicated heart rate monitor or even a smartwatch to see live heart rate data with distance and pace (via location data on your phone) during your workout.
Fortunately, the number of steps seems to have improved, although this is one area where smart rings struggle. I tracked a 5,000-step walk between the Oura Ring 5, Garmin Venu 4, and Fitbit Air, and while the ring had the biggest deviation, it was only 15 steps off, which is pretty good.
|
Device |
Number of steps |
|---|---|
|
Oura Ring 5 |
4,985 |
|
Garmin Venu 4 |
4,996 |
|
Fitbit Weather |
5004 |
This is one area where Oura Ring 5 excels automatic activity tracking. The ring can pinpoint when I’ve done certain activities without manually tracking them. This includes walks, runs, and even more varied activities like yard work and dancing. I continue to be amazed every time I look at my phone after a night out and see the ring asking me to confirm that I danced.
As for the app experience itself, it’s very visual, with a customizable set of focus indicators at the top. These shortcuts make it easy to learn about sleep, activity, stress, and more. You can even track your weight by manual entry or by syncing with third-party apps like Withings, and the app will show your weekly, monthly, and yearly trends.
The day view changes dynamically and shows the most important indicators when you wake up, such as your sleep score and your steps towards the end of the day. You can also see a timeline of your activities down, showing tracked activities or synced workouts from other apps.
The Vitals tab shows daily measurements, while the Health tab gives you a longer-term look at your health trends. From + button, you can access quick actions, where you can start an activity, start an unguided meditation session, or even record meals. The meal clipping tool is actually pretty neat, as Oura can pretty accurately analyze what you’ve eaten from a photo and provide information about nutrition and meal times to help with things like curbing hunger and reducing snacking.
Throughout the app, Oura members can also use Oura Advisor, an AI chatbot focused on health and wellness. you can run it using + button for general questions or for more specific conversations about recent changes and updates within each key metric, such as sleep and activity.
Different Google’s new AI-focused Google Health appoften felt like an overload of information, Oura’s insights are lightweight throughout the app, allowing users to tap into the Advisor for more information. When you chat with a consultant, you can ask them about your measurements or general health questions, and they’ll use the health-focused broad language model (LLM), which is “drawn from a broad base of established medical standards, research and knowledge sources” to provide relevant and contextual answers.
One of my favorite things about the advisor is that she keeps in touch with me frequently based on recent activities and more. You can even change the tone of the Advisor’s responses and how often it comes in, which adds a nice touch of customization.
It is a new feature for Android phones Place itI’ve been asking for years. With this, Oura Ring 5 owners can know where their ring was when it was last connected to their phone, which can provide a good starting point for searching where. If you’re in range, the app will alert you when you approach the ring.
Because the ring has built-in GPS, ultra-wideband (UWB) or not Bluetooth 6the app won’t give you accurate tracking, so you’ll have to rely on the app’s proximity clues and do some of the work yourself. Still, it’s better than nothing, and hopefully it will keep the third Oura Ring model from being lost.
Of course, almost all of these features are only available through Oura Membership, a monthly (or yearly) subscription that provides access to the ring’s most useful features and insights. A lot of people are still upset to learn that the Oura app requires a subscription to be really useful, but I think it’s worth the cost considering how Oura has continually improved their products over the years and consistently produced the best smart ring on the market.
Oura Ring 5 is exactly that. The Oura Ring 5 is what other smart rings strive to be: slim, light and practically invisible, while keeping your health and wellness in check. Starting at $399, it’s not cheap, and membership is still a point of contention for some, but Oura proves that smart wearable technology can really come together.
Put a ring on it
The Oura Ring 5 is the latest smart ring from Oura, with a smaller and lighter design, but with longer battery life and a better feel.
