The third-generation Oura (starting at $299) is like a mood ring on steroids: It looks like a basic metal band, but it houses small sensors to help keep tabs on your activity, physical and mental health, and sleep. It can even monitor your heart rate and track your body temperature around the clock, as well as predict your next period. If you don’t mind something less discreet, the $179.95 Fitbit Charge 5 is our Editors’ Choice winner for fitness trackers, and a better buy if you’re focused on physical fitness. But not everyone wants to wear a bulky wristband, and the Oura Ring Generation 3 is the best finger-based tracker we’ve tested.
Same Design, More Sensors
The third-generation Oura ring is made of titanium and comes in four finishes: black, gold, silver, or stealth (matte black). The silver and black versions cost $299, while the stealth and gold versions are $399.
Oura says the ring has a scratch-resistant coating, but my gold review unit shows some notable wear, especially on the palm side of the band—this is likely a result of me keeping it on while I did strength training with the NordicTrack Vault. The ring is water resistant up to 328 feet, so you can wear it while swimming, showering, diving, or just doing the dishes.
The third-generation Oura Ring is available only in one shape: a plain band that flattens at the top to give it a bolt-like appearance. Oura offered a version of the second-generation ring that came to a point at the top, but nixed that design this time around.
The new model features a non-allergenic seamless inner molding, with three sensor bumps that press against your finger. The band measures 0.3-inch wide and 0.1-inch thick. On paper, those dimensions seem tiny, but on my hand, the Oura feels a bit bulky—when I close my grip to hold a dumbbell or even my dog’s leash, it’s a bit uncomfortable. That said, the ring is notably more comfortable to wear to bed than a typical wristband-style fitness tracker. Oura says the ring is about as thick as the average wedding band, but unlike a wedding band, it weighs between just 0.1- and 0.2-gram; its lightweight design makes it feel a bit cheap.
The third-generation model is the same size and weight as its predecessor, but packs 32 times the amount of memory and three times as many sensors. The company says these improvements allow the ring to capture more (and more accurate) data. It now features seven temperature sensors (up from three in the second-gen model) that enable it to track your body temperature 24/7 and power the new period prediction feature.
In addition to infrared LEDs that measure your resting heart rate, heart rate variability (HRV, or the variation in milliseconds between each heartbeat and an indicator of stress), and respiratory rate, the third-generation model also features red and green LEDs. The green LED tracks your heart rate around the clock, while the red LED enables overnight blood oxygen saturation (SpO2) measurements.
The Oura sends your health metrics to its eponymous companion app (available for Android and iOS). However, in a major change, Oura now charges a $5.99 monthly membership fee (on top of the price of the ring) for access to all of its app-based features, including daily health metrics, personalized recommendations, and a library of about 50 guided meditations. The Amazon Halo and Whoop strap have a similar membership model. Oura says this change allows the company to consistently roll out new features and improve the user experience.
The ring comes with a free, six-month membership. Without a membership, new ring users will be able to see only their three daily Oura scores (Activity, Readiness, and Sleep), the ring’s battery level, basic profile information, and app settings. Oddly, owners of the second-generation ring don’t need to worry about the membership; they can continue to access the same features they always have. Oura said it will continue to support the older ring “with routine software and firmware updates for up to 2 years post-Gen3 release.” But as it releases new features, many will be unavailable on the second-generation ring due to hardware limitations.
Oura claims that the new ring’s rechargeable battery offers between four and seven days of power on a charge. In testing, it lasted six full days before its battery got down to 12%. It comes with a black aluminum charger that fully powers the ring back up in about 80 minutes. A light on the charger pulses when the ring is charging and turns solid when its battery is full.
Of course, one of the Oura’s biggest draws is its unassuming design. If you’re in the market for a wearable health tracker that doesn’t look like one, this is an excellent option and one of the only smart rings on the market right now. We’ve covered smart rings in the past, including the Motiv Ring and Ringly, but neither are available as of this writing. Amazon discontinued its unsightly Echo Loop smart ring, too.
Selecting Your Size and Setting Up the Oura
The ring comes in sizes 6 through 13. You can wear it on any finger on either hand, but Oura recommends that you place it on your index finger for the best results. When wearing the ring, make sure the sensor bumps are positioned on the underside of your finger for optimal accuracy.
After you place an order, Oura sends you a free sizing kit. When determining your size, make a fist to ensure that there is no gap between the top of your finger and the inside of the ring. If you’re in between sizes, Oura recommends selecting the smaller one. After confirming your size via a URL on the box, the company ships your actual ring. At the time of this writing, Oura says the sizing kit can take up to three weeks to arrive and that the delivery of your ring may take just as long.
When I tested the second-generation model, I got a size 8, and moved it around, for comfort, between my middle finger, pointer, and thumb. This time around, I went with a size 7, and wear it on my middle or ring finger.
Once your ring arrives, download the Oura app; create an account if you don’t already have one; and agree to the terms of use and privacy policy. The app then instructs you to place the ring on its charger. Make sure your phone is connected to Bluetooth and press Continue. When the app finds the ring, accept the Bluetooth pairing request, install the firmware update, and you should be good to go.
If you’re new to the Oura app, it gives you the option to link your account to Apple Health or Google Fit during the setup process. If you choose to do so, the ring automatically syncs your workout, sleep, and meditation data between the apps.
Next, the app asks you to enter your birthday, height, weight, gender (with options for male, female, and other), and select your preferred units (metric or imperial). If you connect your account with Apple Health or Google Fit, the app automatically populates these fields.
Finally, the app asks a few questions about your lifestyle, goals, and sleeping habits. You can skip these questions or change your answers in the My Profile section.
The Oura app is well organized, with the following tabs on the bottom: Home, Activity, Readiness, Sleep, and Explore. The Home tab offers a snapshot of your data, including your daily Activity, Readiness, and Sleep scores; I detailed these metrics in my review of the older model, so I won’t reiterate them here. In the Activity, Readiness, and Sleep sections, you can find a detailed breakdown of the factors that contribute to each score.
The ring takes about two weeks to establish your baseline for metrics such as body temperature, HRV, respiratory rate, and resting heart rate. Each day, the app highlights any potentially concerning metrics in red, so you can easily see where you may be falling short.
Oura offers trend graphs and educational information throughout the app to help you understand the metrics it tracks and interpret your results
The app also offers daily personalized guidance based on your data to help you tailor your workouts. When my overall Readiness was good, it said “If you’re up for it, how about doing some fun activity today to recharge both your body and mind?” On a different day, when it sensed my resting heart rate lowered the night before, it said I may not be fully recovered from the previous day’s activities and suggested I do something relaxing. If you haven’t yet met your daily activity goal, it offers recommendations to help you reach it, such as walking a mile.
In the Explore tab, you can access Oura’s library of meditation and breathing sessions. Meditations help you focus, relax, reset, and unwind for sleep and can last as long as 30 minutes. Before playing a meditation, you can optionally add a soundscape (at the train station, breathing bells, forest floor, harmonic field, pink static, rainfall, wave motion, or white static) that will play in the background.
After the meditation, Oura asks you to assess how you feel (much better than usual, better than usual, same as usual, worse than usual, or much worse than usual). It then brings up a summary screen that shows your lowest heart rate, average HRV, and skin temperature during the session, plus how these results compare with your baseline.
I love that Oura keeps track of these metrics as you meditate and shows your stats when you’re done. It might seem pointless to close your eyes and focus on your breath, but meditation can have a profound impact on your stress level. Data showing the benefits of meditation on your body might encourage you to stick with the practice. The Fitbit Charge 5 and the $179 Core handheld meditation training device offer similar features to help quantify the benefits of mindfulness and breathwork.
More Health Insights
The second-generation Oura was terrific for monitoring your sleep and recovery, but fell short as an activity tracker. That’s still largely the case, but the third-genetation ring has improved a bit on this front by offering 24/7 heart rate monitoring and an upcoming Workout Heart Rate feature.
The new Heart Rate section in the Home tab shows your current beats per minute and a graph of your hear rate throughout the day. You can tap into this section for additional data, including your average daytime heart rate, sleeping heart rate range, and total restorative time (periods when your body and mind are recharging appear in green on the heart rate graph), along with trend graphs of these metrics.
Like its predecessor, the third-generation ring features a 3D accelerometer, which Oura says can automatically detect and track more than 30 different activities. In testing, it automatically tracked housework and outdoor walks, but it didn’t log indoor cycling, strength training, or yoga sessions. When the Oura automatically detects a workout, the app asks you to tag the activity and confirm your start time, end time, and intensity level (easy, moderate, or hard). For walks, it keeps track of your activity calorie burn, intensity level, and workout duration. If you have your phone with you during the walk, it will log your distance, average pace, and a map of your route.
You can also manually add a workout after you’re done. Just tap the plus sign icon in the lower right corner of the Home tab; select your activity; and input your start time, duration, and intensity to get credit.
The Oura Ring still doesn’t let you manually track a workout in real time, but that should soon change. With the upcoming Workout Heart Rate feature, users of the new ring will be able to record their heart rate during runs, walks, and bike rides. After your workouts, the app will offer a summary of your stats, as well as insights to help you plan future training sessions.
Meanwhile, thanks to its beefed-up sensor suite, the third-gen Oura promises more accurate body temperature readings. After establishing your baseline temperature, it tells you if you’re running hotter or colder than usual and by how much (even if it’s a fraction of a percentage). This information can potentially help you identify if you’re getting sick before the onset of symptoms.
Oura also now offers period predictions, an optional beta feature. Using its new sensors, the ring takes your body temperature changes into account when predicting your next period, instead of simply relying on the old-school calendar method. When setting up this feature, the app asks you a few standard questions: the date your last period started, how regular it is, and the average length of your cycle (from the first day of your period to the day before your next one). It uses that information to notify you about your predicted period start date.
If your period starts earlier or later than the ring predicted, you can log it. Oura’s period predictions adapt over time as your cycle changes. The company recommends confirming your start date for the most accurate predictions.
Oura also plans to launch overnight SpO2 sensing and a new sleep stage-tracking algorithm in early 2022. The SpO2 feature isn’t revolutionary, but is nonetheless useful especially in light of COVID-19; that measurement indicates how well your circulatory and respiratory systems are delivering oxygenated blood to your body and can help you gauge whether a hospital visit is necessary. Many wrist-based fitness trackers offer this feature, including the Fitbit Charge 5, which can measure your SpO2 level on demand, not just when you sleep. Speaking of sleep, Oura is also touting the accuracy of its future sleep-staging algorithm. Neither feature was available at the time of testing, however, so I can’t yet comment on how well they work.
A Modern Day Mood Ring
If you want to keep a closer eye on your health, but you aren’t interested in wearing a fitness tracker on your wrist, the third-generation Oura Ring might be just what you’re looking for. It packs more sensors than its predecessor into the same discreet design and offers improved health-monitoring features including 24/7 heart rate tracking, more accurate temperature monitoring, and period predictions, while future updates promise to add overnight SpO2 monitoring and improve its sleep tracking. So while the Oura Ring is pricey at $299 and up, it’s the only worthwhile ring-based fitness tracker available. If you want to spend less and you’re willing to wear a wristband tracker, we recommend the more exercise-friendly Fitbit Charge 5.
