Oura Ring review: our writers have been wearing the Oura ring for a year — save up to £100 on the Gen3 for Black Friday
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THE Oura ring is one of the best-rated products Sun Shopping has ever put to the test — and the Gen3 ring is on sale for Black Friday.
Sleek and unintrusive, the Smart ring is a chic way of keeping up-to-date with insightful health data.
From activity scores to keeping an eye on your sleep, the Oura Ring reads more than 20 biometrics including body temperature, heart rate and blood oxygen levels.
It then turns these insights into three daily scores that tell you when you need more sleep, when you might be getting sick, and when it's time to push yourself.
It's become something of a cult item, with celebs including Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Aniston and Prince Harry spotted wearing them, and they're popular among athletes too; the FA bought the entire England team Oura Rings ahead of the Euros in Germany.
However, our main complaint is that they're not cheap; prices for the new Generation 4 ring start at £349, and a monthly subscription is required to use it to its full capacity.
We've not had the chance to review the Generation 4 ring yet, but we've got plenty of experience with the on-sale Gen3 ring.
Read on for our honest thoughts.
Pros
- Very lightweight
- Easy sleep tracking
- Precise step counter
- Compatible with birth control app Natural Cycles
- Stylish
Cons
- Chunky
- Expensive
- Some colourways can get tarnished
- Not just a one-time purchase: you'll need to pay a monthly subscription
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Rating: 5/5
Oura Ring review UK: how we tested
Three Sun Shopping writers have been wearing the Oura Ring for over a year to give it a comprehensive review.
We tested its ability to track sleep, stress and activity, as well as how well it works with the Natural Cycles app for contraception.
Oura Ring review: first impressions
Order and unboxing
The Oura Ring comes in eight sizes, so customers are first sent a sizing kit containing plastic rings to try out.
Each ring sizer has three replica sensors which need to be on the palm side of your finger to ensure proper ring orientation.
Oura explains: "These mimic the LED sensors located inside the Oura Ring, which are used to detect and track your body signals."
The brand recommends wearing the Oura Ring on your index finger for optimal performance but it works on all fingers, depending on your preference.
The key is making sure it's tight enough to stay in place, but not so tight that it's uncomfortable.
Oura Ring Gen3, from £299 from £249
Once we'd settled on our size and placed an order, the Oura Ring was delivered in a relatively speedy fashion, arriving within two business days (impressive, considering it was sent from The Netherlands)
Setup
The whole setup process took none of our testers longer than 10 minutes. We simply downloaded the Oura app and ensured our Bluetooth was on to allow the ring to pair.
Oura Ring Gen3, from £299 from £249
After a simple email sign-in link for verification, the app confirmed basics like height and weight and asked permission to share Apple Health data.
It took about 10 seconds to pull in the data from a long walk earlier that day, adding estimated calories and information on how our day was pacing.
Design
At first, we thought the ring might look too chunky or wide compared to other jewellery. However, we quickly became used to it and found it remarkably comfortable.
Although there are just two design options (the angled design of Horizon or the simple round band of Heritage), you'll find the perfect Oura Ring for your taste, as it's available in a variety of colours and finishes: ideal for styling with your existing jewellery and accessories.
Oura Ring Gen3, from £299 from £249
Sleep tracking
Sleep tracking is one of the features that excited us the most about trying the Oura Ring: It solves the problem that many Apple Watch users face, which is that a smartwatch isn't very comfortable to wear in bed.
Both the length of your sleep and the amount of time you spend in various stages of rest can be measured by the Oura Ring, including periods spent awake, in REM sleep, deep sleep and light sleep.
Based on this, Oura gives you a tangible sleep score out of 100, which is particularly useful on those days when you lack 'oomph'. You're quickly reminded that you've had a perfect night's sleep, have a high readiness score – and therefore have no excuse not to finish that report, or head to the gym!
The app also lets you know when it's time to start winding down for the evening and offers evening meditations to help you set the mood, which we found very beneficial in helping us drift off.
Stress and heart rate tracking
One of the newer functions of the Oura Ring is .
Every fifteen minutes, the app captures your temperature and heart rate and provides you with a stress reading (once it's figured out your baseline biometrics for the day).
There are four different readings: Stressed, Engaged, Relaxed, and Restored.
However, we've not been too impressed with this function as it seems to indicate that we're mostly in a state of stress or 'engaged' – even when we're relaxing or doing calming activities such as yoga.
We've also noticed that it tends to spike during exercise, hot showers and after eating – again, moments we wouldn't equate with stress.
As it's a relatively new function, we're hoping to see it improve over time, with updates.
And indeed, Oura recently released a Stress Resilience metric which analyses how your body deals with and recovers from the stressors of the previous day, so it's clearly a feature being worked on.
Oura Ring Gen3, from £299 from £249
Oura Ring and Natural Cycles
The Oura Ring records temperature, which means you can use it in conjunction with the app as a method of hormone-free birth control and tracking your daily fertility status.
Natural Cycles normally relies on you remembering to take your temperature first thing in the morning with an oral thermometer. However, when , your temperature has already been recorded while you sleep.
This made the process seamless for us: Oura simply lets you know your fertility status in the morning, so there's no risk of forgetting to manually take your temperature.
Oura Ring Gen3, from £299 from £249
Once the Natural Cycles app has synced with the data from the Oura Ring in the morning, it asks you a few questions before advising whether it's a green or red day.
On green days, your temperature indicates you aren't ovulating and don't need to use protection, while on red days, you'll need to use extra protection.
Natural Cycles takes into account what your fertility goals are, so if you're trying to get pregnant, it will predict which days you are fertile.
If you're sick or hungover, the temperature reading can't accurately reflect your fertility status due to your temperature being affected, so don't worry: those readings won't be taken into account.
Like all contraceptives, Natural Cycles is not 100% effective. , it's 93% effective with typical use and 98% effective with perfect use, so take that into account when you're weighing up your contraceptive options.
One of our reviewers had negative experiences with hormonal birth control in the past (although it does work perfectly for many) so having the option of non-hormonal birth control was great for their peace of mind.
Natural Cycles membership – £9.99 a month or £69.99 for a yearly subscription
Oura Ring vs Apple Health
Both the Oura and Apple Health apps allow you to view information about your breathing patterns overnight, as well as your heart rate during sleep.
While Apple Watch does record sleep stages, Oura's matches performance with the polysomnography test (the gold standard for helping to diagnose sleep disorders), making it superior for sleep tracking.
Oura Ring Gen3, from £299 from £249
Going to sleep with our Apple Watch each night was never something we could get used to, so using the Oura Ring to track sleep was a dream: we immediately felt more comfortable.
When it comes to wearable tech, it makes sense to convert to an Apple Watch if you often wear a watch.
However, if you dislike wearing bulkier items and don't want to miss out on crucial health data, the Oura Ring is the perfect solution.
Testing the Oura Ring: battery life
The Oura Ring is a great option if you want a fitness tracker you can wear without thinking about – and when it comes to battery and charging, it's a clear winner.
We struggled to find time in the day to take off our Apple Watch to charge it; the battery lasts less than 24 hours, which means by the time we're settling down to sleep, the watch needs charging and therefore can't be used to track sleep.
The Oura Ring, on the other hand, lasts around six days on a single charge and notifies you when it's time to charge so you don't miss out on sleep tracking.
Where to buy an Oura Ring in the UK
The most popular place to buy an Oura Ring is
However, it's also available from and .
How much does an Oura Ring cost?
The brand-new Oura Ring Generation 4 starts from £349, with more premium finishes like Gold and Rose Gold going up to £499.
The Gen3 ring our writers reviewed is more affordable, and is now on sale for Black Friday.
The Heritage Ring now starts at £249, down from £299.
The Horizon Ring also starts at £249, down from a more pricey £349.
With all rings, you'll have to pay a £5.99 subscription fee to use the ring's features.
Oura Ring Gen3, from £299 from £249
What are some Oura Ring alternatives?
If you're looking for an alternative to the Oura Ring, there are a number of options out there including the all-new Samsung Galaxy Ring, which Sun's Tech team have tested out for their Samsung Galaxy Ring review.
Its AI-powered health insights feature advanced health-tracking capabilities such as heart rate monitoring, sleep analysis, and fitness tracking – all fully integrated with Samsung's ecosystem of devices and apps.
Another alternative is the Ultrahuman Ring AIR, which we put to the test in our Ultrahuman Ring AIR review.
It tracks sleep, activity and heart rate like the Oura Ring, but stands out with its emphasis on metabolic health. In our opinion, this makes it a better choice if you're particularly focused on glucose monitoring and metabolic optimization.
It's available in five colourways compared to the six colours of the Oura Ring (Horizon) and is priced at £329 – whereas the Oura Ring starts from £299 and goes up to £549.
If you're open to other wearable smart tech, the latest tracks sleep, heart rate and exercise along with body temperature and blood oxygen levels, while another smart ring alternative is the , which declares itself 'the world's thinnest smart ring'.
What's the difference between the Oura Ring Generation 2 and 3?
The is the latest version of the Oura Ring, launched in October 2021.
The greatest difference between it and its predecessor, the Oura Ring Generation 2, is the sheer scale of information the third-gen tracker provides.
New features give you comprehensive data about your heart health, so you can see how your current cardiovascular fitness will impact your health long-term – and how positive changes made now will bring benefits down the line.
For example, Cardiovascular Age tells you if your heart health matches your chronological age, while Cardio Capacity is a measure of aerobic endurance that indicates how well your body supplies oxygen to your muscles during exercise. The better your cardio capacity, the healthier you are.
In addition, the Oura Ring Generation 3 tracks your heart rate in real-time and features more accurate sleep staging tech, as well as improved battery life.
It also has more temperature sensors, allowing for better accuracy in predicting ovulation dates and understanding your menstrual cycle.
Is Oura coming out with a new ring?
Oura came out with its fourth-generation ring a couple of months ago.
We're in the process of getting hold of one to test out, but the headlines are that the new ring has a slightly better battery life, a fully titanium exterior and more sensors.
Can you use the Oura Ring without a subscription?
You can use Oura Rings without a membership, but expect some limits to what it can do.
The basic functionalities such as tracking sleep, activity and readiness scores are all available without a subscription.
However, we recommend paying for a subscription, as for just £5.99 a month (and your first month free) you get in-depth analysis and additional health insights, which can be particularly beneficial if you're looking to optimize your health and wellness.
Can you shower with an Oura Ring?
Yes, the Oura Ring is water-resistant up to 100 meters so it's completely safe to shower while wearing it, without the risk of getting it damaged.
In fact, Oura says it’s fine to wear your smart ring not only in the shower but in saunas, hot tubs, ice baths and cryotherapy tanks.
Beware of extended exposure to extreme temperatures though, which could cause damage to the battery.
Does the Oura Ring track steps?
In a word: yes.
The Oura Ring focuses primarily on tracking sleep patterns, activity levels and other health metrics, rather than solely counting steps.
However, if you want to make sure you're on top of your daily step count then fear not: it registers all your daily movements and its activity algorithms promise to be 'fine-tuned to recognize steps from the rest of your daily movement.'
Just keep in mind that other wearable devices or apps might give you different step estimates, as some categorize any movement as steps while others will have different thresholds for what constitutes as activity.
Which is better: a smart ring or smart watch?
Choosing between a smart ring and a smart watch essentially all comes down to your individual preferences and needs, rather than one being 'better' than the other.
Smart rings like the Oura Ring offer discreetness, as they resemble traditional jewellery and are less intrusive in daily activities. They also excel in sleep tracking and subtle notifications.
In contrast, smart watches boast larger displays, so they're ideal if you prioritize visual information when it comes to tracking your health. In our Whoop review, our tester was impressed by the 'seamless' graphics that are used to present the data, adding that a nifty trick is to 'flip your smartphone horizontally to see a full-screen graph of your day. Satisfying does not cut it - it’s glorious.'
Ultimately, both types of device offer unique benefits so it's all down to what speaks to you most. Have a shop around, read reviews like this one and our Whoop review, and you're sure to find the right wearable health tech for you.
Oura Ring: final verdict
After months and months of testing, we can confidently say that the Oura Ring is a must-have bit of tech that's helped improve our lives.
Aesthetically, it looks great, while its minimal design can be seamlessly styled around our outfits without sticking out, as some smartwatches do.
It was also incredibly comfy to wear all day and night: there were times we even forgot we had it on.
The best function is its sleep tracking, which provides much more in-depth information compared to other devices and helped us understand why we had poor sleep.
That, in addition to its many other features, like being able to be paired with Natural Cycles and its heart rate tracking, made it a useful tracker day-to-day.
While it's not the cheapest option available, it's an investment that pays off – it's helped us become more aware of our personal health metrics and has bolstered our overall health.
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We're big fans of keeping it simple and love Oura’s uncomplicated approach to scoring. With one look at the app in the morning, you’ll be able to see what your body needs for the day.
Oura Ring Gen3, from £299 from £249