The new ring is here. It is svelte. Serious.
Oura has launched its fifth iteration. It checks nearly every box on the wishlist. Thinner. Scratch-resistant. The battery lasts longer.
It blends in. As jewelry should. As it has always done.
But the glow up runs deeper than surface shine. Sensors are more accurate now. Workout detection finally understands low-impact movement. Maybe I get credit for Pilates at last? There is also a tougher Health Radar. It flags blood pressure quirks and breathing shifts before things go south. The battery holds out despite the shrinking footprint.
There is a catch. There usually is.
The price sits at $399. That is $50 above the Ring 4.
Oura used to rule this space alone. No competition. Then came Ultrahuman. Circular. The patent fights only sharpened the edge of rivalry. The market has moved beyond fingers, too. Google’s Fitbit Air does the stealth tracking job for $100. On the wrist.
The Ring 5 feels like a fight back. Better hardware. Deeper software. Features competitors haven’t touched. Is the extra cash worth it? That is the question.
Design
Thinner. Slimmer. Better fit.
The Ring 5 measures 6mm wide. 2mm thick. Forty percent smaller than its predecessor.
Does a millimeter matter? Only if you lift weights while wearing one. Then yes.
New finishes arrive. Light gold. Closer to the real thing. Deep rose. Copper tones. They sit alongside the standard silver. Black. Brushed options. Sizes 6 through 13 hold.
Scratch resistance gets a boost. Aerospace-grade titanium coating claims the title. My Gen 4 looked beaten up. Lost a fight with a cat. I want to test this one.
Waterproof rating stays. 100 meters. IP68. Nothing new there.
Performance
Better fit means tighter skin contact. Accuracy rises with it.
Oura wants you to resize. Your old size might not work. New LEDs fire stronger signals. High motion stops causing gaps. Darker skin tones get better readings. This was a weakness before.
Activity detection improves too. Automatic. Low-impact workouts get recognized now. Pilates finally counts? I used to earn more credit for laundry than for an hour of mat work. Oura noticed the complaint. Or just got better. We will see.
Battery
One-day gain sounds modest. It is welcome though. Fitting more power into less space is hard.
Expect six to nine days. Larger rings pack larger cells.
A $99 Charging Case arrives alongside the ring. It holds five full charges. A month of life on the move. Wireless charging supported. The case matches specific sizes only. No swapping. Worth it for travelers. Worth it if you hate digging through hotel drawers.
Finding the ring gets easier. The new Locate feature uses Bluetooth proximity. The old way only showed the last spot. Now it guides you there.
Software
Real-time tracking used to be Oura’s blind spot.
It is changing. Live stats appear when a workout starts. Pace. Distance. Heart rate zones. Connect external heart rate monitors. It looks like a training companion now.
Symptom Radar leans in harder. It warns you when your body strains. When sickness looms.
Health Radar expands. Blood pressure patterns show up. Long-term trends only. Not exact numbers. It tells you when to call a doctor. Breathing disturbances get a 30-day window. Sleep apnea flags appear.
These are wellness tools. Not FDA diagnostics yet. Though the line blurs daily. Apple Watch does similar things legally now.
GLP-1 tracking arrives. Ozempic. Wegovy. Dosage shifts impact stress. Recovery. Activity. The app tracks the ripple effects.
Health services deepen too. A partnership with Counsel Health brings telehealth into the mix. Medical record uploads happen inside. AI guides the path. Oura Labs launches a Brain Health Study. Cognitive tests mix with physical data. How habits shape the mind over time.
Privacy
Higher stakes for privacy now. The app handles medical records.
A time-based deletion tool fixes this. Erase data from a specific window. Keep the long-term history. Configure third-party sharing settings. Oura claims it does not sell your data.
Trust remains the variable. True deletion is faith-based. Selective curation is smart. Better than what competitors offer. The updated policy shows awareness. At least.
The Cost
Preorder starts now. Ships June 4.
Base models—Silver and Black—cost $399. Premium finishes. Gold. Rose. Stealth. They start at $499
Membership stays $6 monthly. Or $70 yearly. HSA and FSA eligible for ring case and sub.
Software updates roll to older models. Gen 3 and up get the radar features. GLP-1 insights too. US members get them in June. Lab uploads go global June 30.
Full review coming. The paper spec looks solid.
The metal is different now.
Is the heart
