New Oura Ring 5 unveiled with dramatically smaller design, hypertension detection, more

The new Oura Ring 5 has arrived, and it packs a suite of enticing new features for fans of the smart ring form factor. The headline change here is that the Oura Ring 5 is 40% smaller than its predecessor, giving it a design that looks much closer to a traditional ring.

There are also new health features, including nighttime blood pressure and breathing trends. It’s the latest example of the increasing Apple Watch competition …

Oura Ring 5 design and features

The biggest change with the Oura Ring 5 is its design. It measures 6.09mm wide, down from 7.99 on the Oura Ring 4. It’s 2.29mm thick, down from 2.88mm. This is a dramatic reduction in overall size, addressing one of the biggest complaints of previous Oura Ring generations. In images, it now looks much closer to a traditional wedding band size.

By redesigning the mechanical, electrical, optical, battery, and sensing architectures, Oura achieved the most refined silhouette yet: thinner and lighter, with a smoother curvature engineered to feel completely natural on the finger. That shift in size makes Oura Ring even more desirable to a broader audience, especially for those who have wanted a truly discreet form factor.

Oura also says the Oura Ring 5 features a new signal architecture for better skin contact, as well as more powerful LEDs for clear and more consistent readings. There are twelve stronger signal pathways for “greater accuracy across more finger types and skin tones.”

Despite the smaller design, you also still get week-long battery life with Oura Ring 5.

Oura is introducing a new Health Radar feature, which it says will “continuously monitor key biometric signals in the background to surface patterns members should pay attention to, before they become problems.” It builds on the company’s existing Symptom Radar feature.

Oura Ring 5 adds a Blood Pressure Signals feature, which works in Health Radar by “continuously detecting shifts and patterns that may indicate cardiovascular strain, alerting members when their biometrics suggest signs of increasing blood pressure.”

With Blood Pressure Signals, Oura shows members Nighttime Blood Pressure – tracking blood pressure patterns during sleep, when the body’s cardiovascular system tells its clearest story. Free from the noise of daily life — activity, stress, and caffeine — sleep is when an important pattern can surface: blood pressure should naturally drop overnight, and when it doesn’t consistently, it can be an early warning sign of cardiovascular risk that daytime readings may miss.

Nighttime Breathing is another facet of Health Radar:

Oura includes Nighttime Breathing in Health Radar to help members understand how sleep and breathing patterns may impact their overall health. With Nighttime Breathing, members get a 30-day rolling view of sleep-related breathing patterns and disturbances, building on the nightly breathing regularity card members already see and transforming night-by-night data into a longer-term picture—with clear explanations and guidance to help members understand when breathing changes may be impacting sleep and whether further evaluation by a healthcare professional may be warranted.

Other announcements from Oura today include a partnership with on-demand care platform Counsel Health, “to bring AI-enabled care directly into the Oura app.” Oura users can also now bring clinical data into the app with a new Health Records feature. GLP‑1 Insights is a new feature in the Oura app that “gives members a single, longitudinal view of their medication journey.”

The Oura Ring 5 is available to pre-order today for $399 in black and silver, or $499 for gold, stealth, brushed silver, and deep rose. You’ll also need an Oura Membership, which is $5.99 per month or $69.99 per year.

What do you think of the Oura Ring 5 and the broader smart ring industry? Is it a compelling Apple Watch alternative? Let us know in the comments below.

My favorite Apple Watch links:

• Apple Watch Series 11
• Twelve South Butterfly 2-in-1
• Anker 3-in-1 Charging Station for iPhone, AirPods, and Apple Watch
• Nomad Titanium Apple Watch Band
• My favorite Apple Watch band

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