Smart rings may blend invisibly into our lives, but they’re not good at blending invisibly into our hands. Unless you’re a fan of chunky statement jewelry, it’s likely your smart ring makes every other ring you wear look tiny by comparison. That’s the issue Oura is looking to solve with the new Ring 5, which is a whopping 40 percent smaller than its immediate predecessor. Shrinking such a small piece of gear down by that much has taken a lot of engineering, but the company says it comes with no compromises. If you’ve previously been put off by the bulk of most smart rings, then today might have all the makings of your lucky day.
Oura’s VP of Product, Jason Russell, explained that the company heard plenty of users asking for smaller rings. To reduce the size by almost half, every part of the ring has been redesigned to be both smaller and more power-efficient. Those with a keen eye on the spec list may notice the number of signal pathways has dropped from 18 on the Ring 4 to 12 on the Ring 5. Russell explained that the 4th-gen ring had four low-power photodetectors, which worked in tandem with low-power LEDs. The Ring 5’s LEDs are four times as powerful, paired with three beefier photodetectors which, Oura says, offers better, more accurate readings across a wider range of skin tones.
The company is also responding to relatively lukewarm demand for the smallest and biggest ring sizes. Whereas the Ring 4 comes in sizes 4 through 15, the Ring 5 serves sizes 6 through 13. Oura doesn’t think it’s boxing out would-be buyers but Russell added that the Ring 4 will remain on sale to help cater to those groups. Naturally, Oura is also leaning harder into the fashion angle and is talking up the new paint jobs on these rings. As well as the basic finishes of Silver and Black, you’ll be able to get Stealth, Brushed Silver, a new more natural Gold and Deep Rose (Rose Gold). The finishes should also be more scratch-resistant thanks to a new vapor deposition application method, too.
Interestingly, there was no mention of any ceramic finishes, despite the colorways breathing new life into the Ring 4. This is entirely my own speculation, but I’d wager the company will launch those for the Ring 5 down the line as a mid-cycle refresh.
Oura promises that, no matter what size Ring 5 you own, you’ll see a week of life on a single charge. But if you’re away for longer and don’t want to schlep around the charging plate, you can bring along the new charging case. Its built-in battery is large enough to last a month on a single charge, and there’s a single button to both pair the ring and check the charge level. Oura added that each case is custom-designed for each ring size, so if your fingers shrink or grow, you’ll also need to replace this, too.
As eye-catching as the hardware is, it’s the insights generated by the ring that usually matters more. The advent of the Ring 5 is a chance to roll out a suite of new features to further cement its wearable health dominance. Health Radar, for instance, builds upon the proactive monitoring in Symptom Radar to keep an eye on your key health signals. Should the trends go in a less-than-favorable direction, you’ll get an alert with advice on your next steps. It’ll pay special attention to your blood pressure and nighttime breathing as key metrics, free from the confounding data that might appear when you’re up and about.
The downside to pretty much every consumer wearable is that its conclusions aren’t clinically validated. Even the most advanced smartwatch on the market can tell you your heart rate is elevated, but it won’t be able to tell you why. To mitigate this, Oura is partnering with Counsel Health to integrate its chatbot, letting users speak to an AI that offers personalized medical advice. Helpfully, you’ll also be able to bounce into a live chat with a real medical professional in the 43 states where such a thing is allowed.
There are plenty of smaller additions, like being able to see your workout stats displayed as a Live Activity on your iPhone lock screen. GLP-1 Insights will help users track medication and body changes as they go on their health journey. Users will also be able to upload their bloodwork results to the app platform, giving the system more data to crunch.
Rounding out the list is Health Records, a way to bring your hospital records together with your ring data. The company says the system uses the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Health Technology Ecosystem standards. Russell said that some users may wish to erase data from a troubling period, but didn’t have a way to do so without wiping their whole account. This is why Oura is now allowing users to edit specific elements of their health data without losing everything else. Naturally, it’s worth remembering that the US can access your wearable data far more easily than medical records.
The Oura Ring 5 is available to pre-order today, with shipping expected to begin on June 6, with the base finishes of Silver and Black setting you back $399. If you want the other paint jobs, you’ll need to plonk down $499, while the standalone charging case will set you back a further $99. Plus, of course, you’ll need to opt for the company’s monthly subscription, setting you back $6 a month or $70 for the year.
This story originally appeared on Engadget
