In the burgeoning sleep tech market, a new competitor has emerged: Oura Ring 4. Priced at $350, this device not only promises to monitor your sleep patterns, but also doubles as a fitness tracker, competing with heavyweights like Apple , Fitbit and others. Garmin. The ring, which masquerades as a fashion jewel, is equipped with sensors designed to collect crucial health data such as heart rate, body temperature and physical movement.
The appeal of the Oura Ring lies in its sleek design and promise of better sleep analysis, an attractive proposition in an era when more and more Americans are investing in sleep health. The market is full of products, from noise-cancelling sleeping sticks to high-tech mattresses aimed at ensuring a perfect night's rest, and Oura Ring adds to this mix with its compact and discreet shape.
However, the question remains: is the Oura Ring 4 really worth its price? Having recently become a parent, I'm in an ideal position to test this device, given my irregular sleep schedule. The new ring design is noticeably thinner and more comfortable than its predecessor and could pass for a regular ring if it weren't for its digital core.
Initial setup was simple. After sizing my finger and selecting a medium-sized silver ring, I downloaded the Oura app to pair it with my phone. The first test of the ring came quickly. My sleep was often interrupted by my newborn and my pets, making it a rigorous test of the ring's tracking abilities.
The results were mixed. According to the Oura app, despite numerous disturbances during the night, the quality of my sleep was rated as “Good”. This discrepancy highlighted a significant challenge with wearable technology: the difficulty of accurately measuring sleep quality through data alone. Additionally, the ring incorrectly recorded an excessive number of steps during a day largely spent driving, though Oura Health has acknowledged this issue and plans an algorithm update by 2025.
The ring also automatically detected various activities throughout the day, including some less strenuous ones, such as bathing dogs or cooking, suggesting these are classified as exercise. This seemed exaggerated and pointed to another limitation of current fitness trackers, which can struggle to accurately classify physical activity.
Despite these shortcomings, the Oura app successfully recorded interruptions caused by childcare in the middle of the night, showing some accuracy in real-time activity tracking. However, he failed to log several hours of sleep, attributing this to “too much movement,” which he classified as restless sleep. This misclassification was especially frustrating as it did not reflect the actual change I was able to get.
The Oura ring may be suitable for regular sleepers and may offer interesting insights into health over a long period. Some users have reported noticing potential illnesses early, which could be helpful. However, for those who have irregular or disturbed sleep patterns, such as new parents or shift workers, the current ring model may not meet their needs.
Bottom line, while the Oura Ring 4 offers an attractive design and the promise of detailed health tracking, it falls short in terms of accuracy and convenience for those with difficult sleep patterns. This highlights the inherent limitations of wearable sleep and activity trackers, which still struggle to accurately distinguish between various states of rest and activity. For now, those interested in detailed, reliable sleep tracking may want to look elsewhere or wait for further technological improvements.
