If the Oura Ring 5 gets these 3 upgrades on top of the already 'future-proof' Oura Ring 4, it's a day-one purchase (and might beat the Samsung Galaxy Ring to the top of our smart ring list) | Tech Radar
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If the Oura Ring 5 gets these 3 upgrades on top of the already 'future-proof' Oura Ring 4, it's a day-one purchase (and might beat the Samsung Galaxy Ring to the top of our smart ring list)
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Take a read through our Oura Ring 4 review and you'll see there's a lot to like about the smart ring that launched in October 2024: we described it as being "nearly the perfect fitness tracker", while praising its battery life, tracking capabilities, and design.
However, the high score attached to that review — 4.5 stars out of 5 — doesn't mean that the Oura Ring 4 can't be improved upon, and we've got some ideas about the kind of updates that might make the rumored fifth generation model a worthwhile upgrade.
This is an increasingly competitive field as well, with rival devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Ring, another Ultrahuman smart ring and Ring Conn Gen 3 recently announced, and Apple widely expected to get involved in this product category too, eventually.
The Ring Conn Gen 3 smart ring boasts a feature that even the Oura Ring 4 and the Samsung Galaxy Ring don't have
Best smart ring 2026: The top discreet fitness trackers
'To get something to last for 15 days took us months of engineering effort' — Ultrahuman CEO breaks silence on the long-rumored Ring Pro, its next Oura rival
That's before we get on to all the other 'focus' screenless fitness trackers that discerning consumers can pick from, including the Google Fitbit Air. The Oura Ring 5 needs to build on what makes the current version such a great device.
There's nothing official out there about the Oura Ring 5 yet, but we have an inkling that Oura is working on a new model of its smart ring. We got the company's 3rd-gen device in October 2021 and the 4th-gen wearable in October 2024, so it makes sense that we might see something new later in 2026. The team at Gadgets & Wearables notes that another Oura device has already been registered with US regulators.
While there are only so many ways that a smart ring can be designed, the Oura Ring 5 renders leaked by Android Headlines suggest that not much is going to change in terms of aesthetics — and the 5th-gen ring is apparently going to come with the same charging accessories as well.
What might be different are the colors: the same source predicts that the current Rose Gold color is going to be replaced by Deep Rose. The existing matte black, standard gold, and silver options are expected to be retained, with the silver one apparently going to be available in both a glossy and brushed option.
We may see some new colors with the next Oura ring (Image credit: Oura)
Other details are rather thin on the ground, though Android Headlines does say that the battery life on the Oura Ring 5 will be more or less the same as on the current model (so around six days, based on our testing). There will be improvements in sensors and health tracking, the report says, though we don't get any details.
More clues about what to expect come from Android Central, which points to patents Oura has registered for modular add-ons, GPS tracking, haptic feedback, and smart gesture support. As always with patents though, they're not always guaranteed to be turned into actual features, even if the company concerned is exploring a certain technology.
It looks as though the Oura Ring 5 will offer an evolution of what we've got with the Oura Ring 4 based on these leaks and rumors, rather than something radically different — though perhaps with some surprises still to come in terms of software, sensors, and fitness tracking capabilities.
Google I/O is almost here, and Wear OS 7 needs these 5 upgrades to stay competitive against Garmin and Apple Watches
The Oura Ring 4 launched in October 2024 (Image credit: Oura)
At this point it's probably too late in the development of the product to convince the Oura engineers to include features that have or haven't already been locked in, but it's still worth talking about what we'd like to see from the upcoming smart ring — if only to have a list to refer back to when it does arrive.
You couldn't claim the Oura Ring 4 is bulky, exactly, but there is some room for improvement here, especially when it comes to the larger ceramic version of the wearable. The standard Oura Ring 4 is 2.88 mm thick, while the ceramic version bumps that up to 3.51 mm (and it's heavier too).
The Ring Conn Gen 2 is a mere 2 mm thick, while the Samsung Galaxy Ring is 2.6 mm, so it's an area where Oura is currently being beaten by its competitors.
Size and weight is so important for a wearable like this, which you're expected to have on around the clock, and Oura might be able to get the new ring fractionally smaller.
The starting price for an Oura Ring 4 is
An Oura subscription isn't an optional extra: It's necessary to use your device, and will set you back
The Oura Ring 4 is great for many things, but it's not ideal for activities like racket sports or weight training: the risk of damage to the device or to your own body goes up, whenever you're doing any kind of gripping or holding with your hands, and that's not something you want to have to worry about.
One of the third-party fixes for this, especially when it comes to gym work, is a silicon sleeve to wear over the Oura wearable. If one of these were to be included in the box with the Oura Ring 5, that would save on extra cost for the user (see above), and mean that the device would be more useful right away — without any accessories.
We'll have to wait and see if the team at Oura has been thinking along similar lines since the launch of the Oura Ring 4, but we'll let you know as soon as there's anything official on a new product (a product that's very likely to break into our best smart rings list).
Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on Tech Radar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, Pop Sci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.
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