The Oura Ring 4 is a sleek, smart health and wellness ring that builds upon the success of its predecessors by delivering improved sensors, more advanced insights, and a more personalized user experience. Combining a discreet design with powerful biometric tracking, the Oura Ring 4 is designed for people who want continuous, in-depth health monitoring without wearing a smartwatch or fitness band. With features ranging from advanced sleep tracking and readiness scores to temperature trends and heart rate variability, this wearable is a top-tier health companion.
In this review, we’ll explore the Oura Ring 4’s design, key features, performance, pros and cons, and whether it lives up to its premium price tag and wellness-focused reputation.
Introduction to the Oura Ring 4
The Oura Ring 4 continues the brand’s mission of delivering actionable health data in a minimalist form. Unlike other wearables that sit on your wrist, the Oura Ring fits comfortably on your finger, offering a nearly invisible yet highly effective way to track your body’s signals. With new generation sensors and updated algorithms, the Oura Ring 4 dives even deeper into your sleep quality, daily readiness, and activity levels, making it a favorite among biohackers, athletes, and wellness enthusiasts.
Let’s take a closer look at what’s new and how the Oura Ring 4 stands out.
Key Features of the Oura Ring 4
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Advanced Sensor Suite
The Oura Ring 4 features an upgraded sensor package, including new green, red, and infrared LEDs, plus advanced temperature sensors and a 3D accelerometer. These sensors allow it to track heart rate continuously, measure oxygen saturation (SpO₂), and detect subtle changes in your body that could signal fatigue, illness, or recovery needs. -
24/7 Heart Rate Monitoring
Unlike previous versions, the Oura Ring 4 enables real-time, continuous heart rate tracking during the day, workouts, and sleep. This gives users a fuller picture of cardiovascular health and stress levels, enhancing the accuracy of readiness and recovery metrics. -
Daily Readiness Score
The Readiness Score is one of Oura’s hallmark features, combining data from sleep, activity, HRV, body temperature, and recovery trends. It gives users a simple yet comprehensive indicator of how ready they are to take on the day—or when it’s better to take it easy. -
Deep Sleep and Recovery Tracking
The Oura Ring 4 provides highly detailed sleep tracking, analyzing stages of sleep (light, deep, REM), sleep latency, and disturbances. The result is a personalized Sleep Score and insights designed to improve both your quantity and quality of rest. -
Activity and Movement Intelligence
While not designed as a full-on fitness tracker, the ring monitors your daily movement, calories burned, steps, and inactivity alerts. It also includes an updated Activity Score based on exertion vs. recovery balance, nudging you toward sustainable routines. -
Temperature and Respiratory Trends
One standout feature is its ability to track nightly skin temperature variations and breathing patterns, making it useful for early illness detection, menstrual cycle awareness, and recovery monitoring. -
Minimalist Design with Premium Materials
The Oura Ring 4 maintains its stylish look with lightweight titanium construction and a durable PVD coating. It’s available in a variety of finishes—Silver, Black, Stealth, and Gold—and is water-resistant up to 100 meters. -
Integration and App Experience
The Oura app has been updated to offer deeper insights, weekly trend summaries, personalized guidance, and integrations with platforms like Apple Health, Google Fit, and Natural Cycles (for fertility tracking).
Performance and Accuracy
The Oura Ring 4 performs remarkably well for a non-wrist-based wearable. It delivers reliable and consistent data across key health metrics—especially sleep, HRV, and temperature. The continuous heart rate tracking brings it on par with many wrist-based fitness trackers in terms of data richness.
Battery life remains strong at 4–7 days per charge, depending on usage. Charging takes around 20–80 minutes on a wireless charging puck.
Compared to smartwatches, the Oura Ring offers less interaction (no display or notifications) but excels in passive, always-on monitoring that emphasizes recovery and long-term health insights over immediate feedback.
Pros of the Oura Ring 4
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Discreet and comfortable: Lightweight and unobtrusive, blends into everyday life.
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Excellent sleep and recovery tracking: Among the most accurate consumer devices for sleep stage and HRV monitoring.
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Advanced sensors: Continuous HR, SpO₂, and temperature sensing rival high-end wrist wearables.
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Insightful app: Easy-to-understand scores and trends promote actionable health decisions.
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Good battery life: Up to a week between charges.
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Water-resistant and durable: Suitable for everyday wear, workouts, and even swimming.
Cons of the Oura Ring 4
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High price: Premium build and features come at a cost, especially with the ongoing subscription model.
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Subscription required: Full features locked behind a monthly membership ($5.99/month).
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Limited fitness features: No GPS or advanced workout metrics—better for recovery than performance training.
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No display or smart notifications: Purely a health tool, not a smartwatch replacement.
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Sizing required: Must use a sizing kit before purchase, adding a step to the buying process.
How to Get the Most Out of Your Oura Ring 4
To make full use of the Oura Ring 4’s capabilities:
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Wear it consistently: Long-term data improves trend accuracy and readiness insights.
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Sync with your health apps: Connect to Apple Health or Google Fit to combine data sources.
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Use Readiness and Sleep Scores daily: Plan workouts, workdays, and recovery based on your body’s signals.
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Monitor illness indicators: Pay attention to subtle changes in temperature and respiratory rate for early detection.
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Explore guided content: Use the Oura app’s guided sessions for breathing, meditation, and relaxation when stressed or fatigued.
Conclusion
The Oura Ring 4 is one of the most advanced health-tracking wearables in a minimalist form factor. It offers precise insights into sleep, readiness, and recovery without demanding your constant attention or disrupting your lifestyle. While it’s not for fitness buffs looking for detailed workout data or those seeking smartwatch features, it excels for those prioritizing holistic wellness, recovery, and long-term health optimization.
For users who value privacy, design, and deep physiological insights, the Oura Ring 4 stands as one of the most impressive and user-friendly wearable tools available today.