The Oura Ring 4, the latest iteration of the popular smart ring, brings subtle yet meaningful improvements to its predecessor, including a sleeker all-titanium design, improved sensor accuracy, and extended battery life. While maintaining its position as a leader in the smart ring market, Oura faces increasing competition from newcomers like Samsung, raising questions about whether these updates are enough to keep the brand at the forefront of wearable technology.
Smart Sensing Technology Enhancements
The Oura Ring 4 introduces advanced “smart sensing” technology, significantly improving data accuracy and comfort. This new system utilizes 18 signal pathways (up from 8 in the previous model) to collect health data, with an algorithm that dynamically selects the most reliable pathway in real-time.
Key enhancements include:
- 120% improvement in blood oxygen sensing signal quality
- 15% more accurate breathing disturbance index
- 7% fewer gaps in daytime heart rate data
- 31% fewer gaps in nighttime heart rate data
These improvements, combined with the ring’s new titanium interior and recessed sensors, result in a more comfortable fit and more consistent data collection, addressing previous issues with data gaps caused by ring movement.
Expanded Size Range Options
The Oura Ring 4 introduces a significantly expanded size range, now offering options from size 4 to 15, compared to the previous generation’s 6 to 13 range. This expansion makes the Oura Ring 4 more accessible to a wider variety of users, accommodating both smaller and larger finger sizes.
The new sizing options include:
- Smaller sizes: 4 and 5, catering to those with more petite fingers
- Larger sizes: 14 and 15, accommodating users with larger hands
- Existing range: 6 to 13, maintained from the previous generation
It’s important to note that the sizing for the Oura Ring 4 may differ from previous models, with the new rings running approximately half a size larger than standard US ring sizes. For example, an Oura size 10 corresponds to about a US size 9.5. This change in sizing emphasizes the importance of using Oura’s sizing kit before ordering to ensure a proper fit.
Titanium Design and Durability
The Oura Ring 4 features a significant design upgrade with its all-titanium construction, including both the exterior and interior of the ring. This marks a departure from the previous generation’s epoxy interior, enhancing durability and potentially improving sensor accuracy. The new design eliminates the raised sensor domes found in earlier models, resulting in a sleeker and more comfortable fit.
Key design improvements include:
- Fully rounded shape, removing the flat edge present in some previous models
- Recessed sensors that reduce the interior protrusion from 1.3mm to just 0.3mm
- Expanded size range from 4-15, compared to the previous 6-13, accommodating a wider variety of finger sizes
- Available in brushed silver, black, gold, rose gold, silver, and stealth finishes
These changes not only enhance the ring’s aesthetics and comfort but also contribute to improved durability and potentially more accurate health tracking capabilities.
Source: Perplexity
