The Oura Ring 5 is official. The new health- and fitness-tracking smart ring is 40 percent smaller than its previous version, the Oura Ring 4, which was released in October 2024. This size upgrade (or downgrade, rather) is arguably the largest update to the smart ring’s hardware.
At 6.09mm wide and 2.28mm thick, the Oura Ring 5 should feel more comfortable around your finger. It also has a new coating for extra scratch resistance, and the smart ring is now waterproof up to 100 meters (328 feet).
It features a redesigned sensor to improve skin contact, including more powerful LEDs as well as more precise signal pathways to improve the accuracy of the heart rate readings, particularly at night and during workouts.
The battery has been redesigned to deliver a full week (6 to 9 days, on average) on a single charge. Oura says this will help with continuous wear, which is key to all the software updates that Oura has been investing in (more on that below). The Oura Ring 5 also has a new compact aluminum charging case that has the capacity for five full charges.
Software updates
While the hardware updates may seem fairly incremental, Oura is investing in its software, particularly its health tracking. The Oura Ring 5 now has live tracking for workouts. Essentially you can start a workout in the Oura app and see precise second-by-second tracking of your pace and distance if you are running, for example. You’ll still have to pull out your phone mid-run to see these numbers live, which is less ideal for most runners than looking down at their smartwatch to see if they are on pace.
Oura is also pouring more resources into the wearable’s ability to track various health metrics and the ability to use that data to monitor health. On the Oura Ring 5, the company is introducing Health Radar, which is an upgrade to its Symptom Radar that debuted in 2024. The Health Radar includes two new functions: blood pressure monitoring and nighttime breathing. The nighttime breathing gives users a 30-day view of their nighttime breathing patterns. The smart ring uses its LED sensors to track significant shifts in blood oxygen levels during sleep. More significant ones could be a sign of conditions like sleep apnea. This kind of tracking isn’t entirely new.
Blood pressure monitoring, however, is a new feature on smart devices. The smart ring doesn’t directly measure blood pressure like an arm cuff does. Instead, it uses its sensors to track changes in blood flow and blood vessel behavior that are correlated with high blood pressure. Over time, high blood pressure can change how stiff a person’s arteries are and thus alter how quickly blood flows through veins. Using the Oura Ring 5’s LED sensors, it can capture these shifts in blood flow. If it detects patterns associated with increased artery stiffness, it may suggest elevated blood pressure risk. Oura is among the first companies to use its LED sensors for this purpose; the latest Apple Watches also offer this feature.
A few other new health features include Oura Health Records, where users can upload their blood work and other health data for better tracking; personalized tracking of GLP-1 medications, where users can get an in-depth view of how long they’ve been on the medication and be able to track their symptoms and other issues throughout that time; and finally, a collaboration with brain health company Cambridge Cognition, where users can opt into a study that uses users’ data to track cognitive function over time. One long-term goal for devices like this is to figure out a way to take all of this data that people are tracking and use it to better health and longevity. This study is a step in that direction.
The software updates will all be available starting in June, according to the company.
Pricing and release date
The Oura Ring has evolved significantly over the past 13 years. If you look back at the original prototype, it highly resembles that of a candy wearable Ring Pop (perhaps the OG wearable?) Prior to the launch of the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic in October 2024, which was surprisingly clunky, the Oura Ring hardware seemed set on becoming a smaller and smaller version of itself. It seems it’s back on track in that regard.
The Oura Ring 5 is available for preorder today and starts shipping on June 4. $399 gets you the black or silver model, and $499 for the brushed silver, deep rose (more of a copper rose than gold), gold, or stealth. The charging case is $99. Oura requires a membership ($5.99 a month or $69.99 a year), and that hasn’t changed for the Oura Ring 5.
