Oura Ring 4 Review: First Impressions and Key Features of the New Smart Ring
The Oura Ring 4 is the latest release of smart health rings by Oura, with all-new features, design updates, and more advanced functions that enhance health tracking. The new model builds upon past success by offering an even more detailed view into sleep, heart rate, body temperature, and many other health metrics. To give you a full assessment, I spent a week using the Oura Ring 4 to explore its features, strengths, and weaknesses.
1. Design and Build Quality
- Sleeker Interior Design: The Oura Ring 4 features a more streamlined inside, as opposed to the raised sensor nodes that defined previous generations. This makes it feel more comfortable but is also easier to slip on and off.
- Full Titanium Build: While Gen 3 only came in titanium on the outside, Oura Ring 4 is entirely made of this material which will add to a much tougher yet premium feel. There are several color options available for it, and the black comes with a glossy finish that makes it look pretty presentable.
2. Enhanced Accuracy and Battery Life
- Improved Sensors and Algorithms: Oura Ring 4 boasts twice as many signal pathways as its previous model, meaning it possesses more accurate data with highly refined biometric readings- precisely what can make all the difference when measuring metrics like heart rate and breathing rate.
- Extended Battery Life: Even though Oura claims it has an 8-day battery life, we found a real-world experience of approximately six days per charge. While this performance is more than most smartwatches offer, users will find this difference from the advertised battery life slightly disappointing.
3. Oura App Overhaul
The updated Oura app is now organized into three tabs, making it easier to access different health metrics and trends:
- Today Tab: This one gives the user some live health insights, such as tracking goals for activity, measuring stress levels, and then even providing recovery suggestions. A little different from some more data-intensive interfaces on exercise apps, Oura simply assumes a proactive, active stance when suggesting when one might be active or have some downtime.
- Vitals Tab: Here, health metrics and scores are much deeper, including heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood oxygen levels.
- My Health Tab: Roll up long-term health trends to see overall health over time.
4. Symptom Radar and Readiness Score
- Symptom Radar: This is another experimental feature that catches minor deviations in health metrics and keeps patients aware of early symptoms of illness in the simplest of terms. While not diagnostic, it served as an early warning system that lets the users best prioritize a little rest and recovery when one does not feel too good.
- Readiness Score: This is another of the favorites among fans, showing different health metrics to see the recovery, energy, and overall health. In coordination with the symptom radar, the readiness score nudges the users nicely toward a balanced lifestyle.
5. Compatibility and Usability
- Cross-Platform Compatibility: Compatible with iOS and Android, this Oura Ring 4 can pair easily with each of these and is suitable for the greater majority.
- Activity Detection: The activity detection that takes place with the ring proves to be quite good on low impact activities like walking but less so with regards to cycling or more energetic workouts that may prove challenging when trying to track various activities.
6. Subscription Requirement
Oura Ring 4 will cost $349 and has a subscription fee of $6 to be able to unlock the advanced metrics along with some key features. The free basic scores, however, feature the activity, sleep, and readiness of users but, in turn, have to subscribe for other additional insights that include symptom radar and trend analysis. Other wearables, including the likes of Apple Watch and Samsung, are offering more without requiring a single monthly fee.
Pros and Cons of the Oura Ring 4
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Improved design and comfort | Requires subscription for full features |
| Enhanced data accuracy | Battery life is slightly below advertised |
| Advanced insights through symptom radar | Limited auto-activity recognition |
| Comprehensive app with user-friendly UI | Few hardware-exclusive features |
Conclusion
Oura Ring 4 would cost $349 and would also require a six-dollar subscription fee to unlock advanced metrics besides certain key features. While they offer free basic scores that carry the activity, sleep, and readiness of users, the need to subscribe for additional insight into symptom radar and trend analysis is required. Other wearables, including Apple Watch and Samsung, offer much without a single monthly fee.
