What to expect from the Oura Ring 4

Oura has pretty much dominated the smart ring market since its inception, but a new player has entered the space, making things a bit confusing. Tech giant Samsung recently released its own smart ring, the Galaxy Ring, giving Oura a strong competitor. Adding to the pressure is the fact that the company released the Oura Ring 3 three years ago, which is pretty much an obsolete product in the tech world.

The latest Oura model has been on the market for quite some time now, so it seems reasonable to expect a new version to arrive in the near future. Not much is known yet, but some details are starting to emerge.

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Oura Ring 4 release date

Big question mark at this point

Unfortunately, Oura is keeping mum about the new Oura Ring, so there’s no concrete information on when it might launch, but Android Authority has spotted an FCC certification listing for the Oura Ring 4, which indicates that the company is actively moving forward with the certification process, which could mean Oura is getting closer to launching the new ring.

Additionally, looking at the company’s past release schedule, there’s a three-year gap between each version, so it still seems possible that Oura could release Oura Ring 4 this year.

Pricing for Oura Ring 4

Expected to be consistent with past Oura Rings

All versions of the Oura Ring, except for the version that first launched on Kickstarter, are priced at $299, so we expect the Oura Ring 4 to be at least close to that price. Keep in mind that the Oura Ring is slightly cheaper than the Galaxy Ring and Ultrahuman Air in part because Oura requires a subscription to access its features. Oura isn’t expected to change its subscription model, so it won’t affect the purchase price.

Features of Oura Ring 4

Updates and Design Tips

Oura

There haven’t been any major leaks or details released about the Oura Ring 4, but the aforementioned FCC listing gives a vague hint as to what to expect.

First off, there are two model numbers on the listing: OA11 and OA12. Oura currently produces two versions of the ring: the smooth, rounded Horizon and the Heritage, which features a plateau design. The two model numbers lead us to speculate that Oura will keep both of these versions (or similar) for the Oura Ring 4.

There are several photos in the certification listing that show a fully circular design with no flat areas, and what’s notable in the photos is the smooth sensor array — the current Oura Ring uses ridges for the sensors, so it looks like Oura is going the way of smartwatch sensors with smooth inner walls.

The certification listing also notes that testing is currently underway for sizes 7, 9, 13, and 15. It appears Oura is expanding their sizing slightly, as their rings currently range from sizes 6 to 13. While size 6 isn’t listed among the test sizes, it’s possible that smaller sizes will be included in the range. As someone with very small fingers, I hope so.

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While the details above aren’t all that groundbreaking, there are two new tools that are more interesting. First, Oura has filed a patent indicating that it aims to address sensor inaccuracies caused by differences in skin color, as discovered by Wearable. Sensors in smartwatches and rings use LED lights to penetrate the skin and measure various health metrics. However, as Oura points out, “a user’s skin color can affect the signal strength of the received light signal.”

Different skin tones absorb different levels of light, which affects the amount of light received by the photodetector, resulting in inaccurate readings for features like blood oxygen levels. The patent suggests that Oura plans to employ a method to detect skin color and incorporate that information into certain measurements to provide more accurate data. It’s great to see companies addressing differences in skin tone, so we’d love to see this feature make it into the Oura Ring 4.

Finally, in a 2023 blog post, Oura announced that it had acquired Proxy, a digital identity signaling platform, leading many to speculate that the upcoming Oura Ring will offer contactless payments akin to Apple Pay or Garmin Pay. This is a huge convenience win for smart rings, bringing them one step closer to fulfilling the functionality of smartwatches and making them more practical for a wider range of users.