72 hours later, I’m already in love

I’ve worn enough smart rings at this point that most new launches tend to blend together. The category is maturing, which is great, but it also means many updates have started to feel incremental. That was until the latest from Oura.

The new Oura Ring 5 is thinner and lighter with upgraded sensors and the same great battery life. The launch also includes features focused on cardiovascular health, nighttime blood pressure trends, and sleep-related breathing insights. As someone who has long considered Oura one of the best sleep trackers available, I’m excited to see those additions as well.

I’m still riding the high of my ceramic Oura Ring 4, with the blue hue I still haven’t gotten sick of, so to already be testing a new, even better ring is a surprise. I’ve only had the ring on hand for a few days, but my early impressions are that this isn’t just an incremental update. The Oura Ring 5 feels like the update I’ve been waiting for, and I’m happy to keep wearing it to find out if it is.

I’ve long been a fan of Oura’s rings, but I’ve never quite loved wearing them. As someone with pretty small hands, previous generations felt a bit too bulky for certain activities and never fully blended in with the rest of my jewelry. That’s not to say they looked bad; they just always looked like smart rings. On the other hand, they’ve looked completely normal on my husband, so it wasn’t a universal problem with the design, just the size.

The Oura Ring 5 is the slimmed-down design I’ve been hoping for. It’s noticeably thinner, and while I wouldn’t call it dainty, it’s much more in line with the rings I typically wear. For the first time, I don’t feel like I’m wearing a man’s wedding band. I also don’t feel like it screams “tech,” which is great for an introvert who dreaded the inevitable checkout-line conversation every time someone spotted my Oura Ring 4. If I do want to make a statement, I can still rotate older rings into the mix thanks to multi-device support.

Because Oura changed its sizing this generation and dropped my usual size 5, I ordered a size 6 and have been wearing it on my pointer finger. The fit is perfect, and I actually like the design even more there. I’m also testing the new gold finish, which is more subtle and muted than the warmer gold of previous generations, and I absolutely love it. I’d happily wear this ring even if it didn’t track my sleep, and that’s about the best I can hope for in a smart ring.

Comfort has been excellent so far, too. A new device usually takes me about a day to get used to, but I forgot about the Oura Ring 5 after just a few hours, aside from the fact that my toddler loves to twist it. That same toddler also regularly pulls me by the pointer finger on walks and adventures, and the ring has proven snug and comfortable through that mayhem as well.

The Oura Ring 5 is light and unobtrusive, doesn’t grind on my adjacent fingers, and is perfect for sleep tracking. I’ve even found it comfortable during weightlifting and rowing, two activities that usually have me removing my rings entirely. I haven’t had a chance to test it during lacrosse or racket sports yet, but so far it’s been easy to wear around the clock, including in showers and during regular chores. On the other hand, I have been extremely lazy about cooking this week, so I haven’t had to take it off while rolling my go-to meatballs or slicing chicken breasts. Still, between the reduced profile and updated finish options, the Ring 5 already feels like Oura’s most wearable design yet.

I have long loved Oura’s approach as a passive tracker offering holistic insights. Plenty of wearables overwhelm users with charts and data, but don’t actually help you understand your health any better. Oura’s best features have traditionally been the ones that take complex information and present it in a way that’s actionable. The Oura Slack channel here at AA goes off semi-annually about how effectively Oura predicts sickness, or how we wish another brand would echo Oura’s approach to big-picture insights.

That focus seems to be carrying over to the Ring 5’s newest additions. I’ve only had limited time with the device, so it’s too early to evaluate the accuracy of the ring itself, but the new tools feel like a natural extension of what Oura already does well.

I’m especially interested in the new blood pressure pattern monitoring. If Oura can provide useful context on how stress, sleep, recovery, and daily habits influence cardiovascular health over time, it could make a traditionally intimidating health metric feel much more approachable.

Oura also added new breathing-related insights, which build on the brand’s already excellent sleep tracking experience. Along with cycle tracking, sleep is one of the main reasons I recommend Oura to most people. It’s where the company started after all. Seeing Oura continue to invest in that area isn’t just encouraging; it’s comforting.

Meanwhile, between health record integration, lab data, physician support, AI-powered guidance, and GLP-1 tools, the company also seems interested in becoming a broader health platform/one-stop wellness shop. Then there’s Live Activity tracking for a deeper foothold in fitness tracking. Of course, the real test will come after a few weeks of wear. The best health features are those that don’t rely on novelty but are actually useful and accurate. That’s something I’ll be looking for in my full review. For now, these are the features I’m most excited to test over the coming weeks.

My biggest reservation isn’t actually about the ring itself. Oura still keeps many of its most valuable insights behind a subscription, and that’s becoming a harder sell as the smart ring market gets more competitive. While I’ve generally found enough value in Oura’s platform to justify the monthly fee, consumers have more choices than ever. Add in the growing number of passive health trackers beyond the smart ring category (hello, $100 Fitbit Air), and both the cost of the ring and the ongoing subscription start to feel steep.

I was also disappointed to learn that Oura’s new charging case isn’t included with the ring. Given the Ring 5’s premium price, it would have been nice to see the accessory bundled with the device rather than offered as a separate, pricey purchase. Again, when competitors like RingConn already include a portable charging case with their devices, Oura looks like it’s not reading the room.

If the Oura Ring 4 felt like a refinement, the Oura Ring 5 feels like the company focused equally on health features and true wearability. The slimmer design alone has me talking it up (literally, I already convinced two friends it’s worth a pre-order). The new health features appear promising. Whether the pleasant surprise of a slimmer fit lasts and whether the new features prove genuinely useful are questions for the full review, but after three days with the Ring 5, I’m very optimistic.