The Oura Ring 4 Smart Ring is the latest evolution of the popular health-tracking wearable, blending style, advanced technology, and comprehensive health insights. Launched in October 2024, this sleek, all-titanium smart ring promises to track sleep, heart rate, fitness, and stress with improved accuracy and up to 8 days of battery life. Paired with the Oura Ring 4 Sizing Kit for a perfect fit, it’s designed to be a discreet yet powerful tool for wellness enthusiasts. In this unbiased review, we’ll explore the Oura Ring 4 Smart Ring’s features, performance, and value, diving into its strengths and limitations to help you decide if it’s the right choice for your health-tracking needs.
Design and Comfort: Sleek and Discreet
The Oura Ring 4 is a masterclass in minimalist design. Crafted from titanium, it weighs just 3.3–5.2 grams, making it feel like a premium piece of jewelry rather than a tech gadget. The Gold finish is elegant, blending seamlessly with everyday wear, whether you’re at the office or a formal event. Unlike its predecessor, the Oura Ring 3, the Oura Ring 4 features recessed sensors, eliminating the small bumps that some users found mildly uncomfortable. This smoother interior enhances 24/7 wearability, crucial for continuous health tracking.
The Oura Ring 4 Sizing Kit is a standout feature, ensuring a snug yet comfortable fit. The kit includes 12 plastic rings (sizes 4–15), and Oura recommends wearing the sizer for 24 hours to account for finger swelling. During testing, the size needs to fit perfectly on the index finger, with no slipping or tightness, even during workouts or sleep. However, sizing can be tricky if upgrading from the Oura Ring 3, as the fit differs slightly, so the kit is essential for first-time buyers or upgraders.
Sleep Tracking: The Gold Standard
The Oura Ring 4 Sleep Tracker is where this smart ring truly shines. Its sleep-tracking capabilities are among the best in the wearable market, backed by clinical studies showing 5–10% higher accuracy than competitors like the Apple Watch or Fitbit for sleep stage detection. Using red and infrared LEDs for blood oxygen, green LEDs for heart rate variability (HRV), and a temperature sensor, the Oura Ring 4 monitors sleep duration, stages (light, deep, REM), efficiency, and latency.
In practice, the Oura Ring 4 Smart Ring delivered detailed sleep insights via the redesigned Oura app. After a week of use, it accurately distinguished between restless nights and deep, restorative sleep, correlating with subjective feelings of restfulness. For example, a night of 7.5 hours with 1.5 hours of REM and 1 hour of deep sleep yielded a high Sleep Score of 85, while a disrupted 6-hour night scored 65, prompting rest recommendations. The app’s “Today” tab presents a clear timeline of sleep events, with expandable metrics for those who want to dive deeper. Unique features like chronotype analysis and nap tracking further enhance its value for sleep-focused users.
Fitness and Activity Tracking: Solid but Limited
As a Oura Ring 4 Fitness Tracker, the device is competent but not exceptional. It automatically detects 40 activities, including walking, running, yoga, and strength training, using an accelerometer and heart rate sensors. During testing, it reliably logged walks and housework, providing heart rate zones and calorie estimates. However, activities with low hand motion, like indoor cycling, often went undetected, a known limitation of smart rings. Manual workout tracking for running and cycling showed heart rate data comparable to a Garmin smartwatch, but step counts were slightly inflated compared to an Apple Watch.
The Oura app’s Activity Score encourages weekly consistency over daily quotas, which suits casual users but may frustrate athletes needing real-time metrics. Unlike smartwatches, the Oura Ring 4 lacks a screen, so you can’t check stats mid-workout without opening the app. For marathon runners or gym enthusiasts, a dedicated fitness tracker or smartwatch remains a better choice.
Heart Rate and Stress Monitoring: Accurate and Insightful
The Oura Ring 4 Heart Rate Monitor uses advanced Smart Sensing technology with 18 signal pathways (up from 8 in the Oura Ring 3), improving accuracy across skin tones and finger sizes. In testing, resting heart rate and HRV aligned closely with a medical-grade pulse oximeter, and daytime heart rate during walks matched a chest strap within 2–3 BPM. The ring’s ability to track HRV is particularly valuable, offering insights into stress, recovery, and potential illness. Low HRV readings prompted rest days, which aligned with feelings of fatigue.
Stress tracking is another highlight, with the app displaying a real-time graph of stress levels (stressed, engaged, relaxed, restored) based on heart rate, HRV, and motion. During a busy workday, the ring flagged elevated stress, and tagging activities (e.g., “meeting” or “coffee”) helped identify triggers. The Resilience Score, which measures stress recovery over time, provided a holistic view of mental and physical balance.
Women’s Health and Additional Features
Here comes the favorite feature of the Oura Ring 4, stressed by women editors in FoxBestFinds: its exceptional women’s health tracking, a standout reason 59% of users are women. Leveraging body temperature, HRV, and respiratory rate, it predicts cycle phases, ovulation, and fertile windows with impressive accuracy—period predictions hit within 1–2 days, and the Fertile Window aided family planning, syncing seamlessly with apps like Natural Cycles for birth control. For women in perimenopause or menopause, these insights helped navigate irregular cycles and sleep disruptions, making the Oura Ring 4 a non-invasive health ally. Additional perks include cardiovascular age estimation, meal logging (in beta), and integration with over 40 apps like Apple Health and Strava. While the AI-driven Oura Advisor offers personalized tips, it feels less polished than the app’s robust metrics.
Battery Life and Charging
The Oura Ring 4 boasts up to 8 days of battery life, a step up from the Oura Ring 3’s 7 days. In real-world use, it lasted 5.5–6 days with blood oxygen sensing enabled, consistent with reviews citing 5–6 days under typical conditions. Disabling SpO2 extended battery life closer to 7 days. Charging takes 80 minutes via a redesigned puck, which is sturdier than the Gen 3’s but less convenient than a case like the Samsung Galaxy Ring’s. Notifications for low battery were helpful, preventing data gaps.
App Experience: Intuitive but Subscription-Dependent
The Oura app is a highlight, with a clean, three-tab layout: Today (real-time stats), Vitals (detailed metrics), and My Health (long-term trends). Setup involves a questionnaire to tailor goals, and AI-driven insights refine recommendations over time. However, the $5.99/month or $69.99/year subscription is a major caveat. Without it, you’re limited to basic Sleep, Activity, and Readiness Scores, locking advanced features like stress tracking and cycle insights behind the paywall. While the subscription adds value, it’s a deal breaker for some, especially when competitors like the Samsung Galaxy Ring are subscription-free.
Value and Competition
At $449 for the Oura Ring 4 (plus the subscription), it’s a premium investment. The Oura Ring 4 Sizing Kit and HSA/FSA eligibility soften the cost, but it’s pricier than the Samsung Galaxy Ring ($399, no subscription) or Ultrahuman Ring Air ($349, no subscription). For sleep and recovery tracking, the Oura Ring 4 remains unmatched, but its fitness tracking lags behind smartwatches like the Apple Watch Series 10 ($399) or Fitbit Charge 6 ($159.95).
Who Is the Oura Ring 4 For?
The Oura Ring 4 Smart Ring is ideal for those prioritizing sleep, recovery, and women’s health over intense fitness tracking. Its discreet design and long battery life make it perfect for 24/7 wear, especially for users who dislike bulky smartwatches. However, athletes or those seeking real-time workout data may find it lacking, and the subscription may deter budget-conscious buyers.
Positive and Negative Points of the Oura Ring 4 Smart Ring
Positive Points
- Best-in-Class Sleep Tracking: Highly accurate sleep stage detection, nap tracking, and chronotype insights make it a top choice for sleep-focused users.
- Comfortable Design: All-titanium, lightweight (3.3–5.2g), and recessed sensors ensure 24/7 comfort.
- Accurate Heart Rate and HRV: Reliable heart rate monitoring and HRV insights for stress and recovery, comparable to medical-grade devices.
- Women’s Health Features: Precise cycle tracking, ovulation prediction, and fertile window estimation.
- Long Battery Life: 5.5–7 days in real-world use, with a quick 80-minute charge.
- Intuitive App: Redesigned app with clear, actionable insights and integration with 40+ apps.
- Sizing Kit: Ensures a perfect fit, critical for accuracy and comfort.
Negative Points
- Subscription Cost: $5.99/month or $69.99/year required for advanced features, unlike some competitors.
- Limited Fitness Tracking: Struggles with low-hand-motion activities and lacks real-time workout metrics.
- Pricey Upfront Cost: $349 for Gold finish is higher than some alternatives, especially with subscription.
- Sizing Complexity: Fit differs from Oura Ring 3, requiring the sizing kit even for upgraders.
- No Screen or Alarm: Lack of a display or vibrating alarm limits standalone functionality.
Conclusion
The Oura Ring 4 Smart Ring is a premium health tracker that excels in sleep, recovery, and women’s health monitoring. Its sleek design, accurate sensors, and intuitive app make it a standout for wellness-focused users, while the Oura Ring 4 Sizing Kit ensures a perfect fit. However, the subscription cost, limited fitness tracking, and high price may give pause. If you value discreet, holistic health insights and don’t mind the ongoing cost, the Oura Ring 4 is a worthy investment. For fitness enthusiasts or budget shoppers, alternatives like the Samsung Galaxy Ring or a smartwatch may be more suitable.
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