The Oura Ring is the personal health tracking device to beat in 2020 – TechCrunch

The Oura ring has garnered a lot of attention lately because of its role in a number of COVID-19 studies and being used by both the NBA and WNBA as a potential tool to prevent novel coronavirus outbreaks in these two leagues back to a regular game plan. Oura has released several generations of the Ring, a health and fitness tracker that reports a range of data, and I’ve spent the last month using one to see what all the fuss is about.

The basics

The Oura Ring is a health tracker that is no different from any other wearable device with a similar purpose. It is a ring that is practically indistinguishable from an actual ring without intelligent functions. It is available in different designs and several versions. The ring has sensors on the inside, but they hardly add to its overall thickness and are completely hidden when the ring is worn.

Despite its small size and profile, the Oura Ring is still a connected device with an internal battery and the ability to communicate with a smartphone via bluetooth to transmit the data captured by its sensors. In the box you also get a USB-C stand for the Oura ring, which powers it via induction charging.

The built-in battery is suitable for up to seven days of continuous use – and that includes wearing the Oura ring while you sleep. During my use, this appeared to be an accurate estimate. In general, however, the battery life just seemed “long enough” which made me not really think about specific areas, and it charges so fast that it’s easy to remember to put it on the dock occasionally when it is convenient (I did this a lot during the work day at my desk where I keep the Oura dock. Oura’s app also sends helpful notifications to remind you to charge before bed if you’re running low on battery power Approach your ring.

design

Oura’s design for this latest iteration of her ring is fantastic – both as a piece of jewelry and doubly as a connected health and activity tracker. It is available in two versions, “Balance” and “Heritage”, both of which are available in several metallic finishes. Both have a polished silver and glossy black option, while “Balance” has a premium version with inlaid diamonds and “Heritage” has a matte black option (which I checked).

All different surfaces are made of lightweight titanium with a molded plastic inside to protect the sensors and provide transparency for their work. The outer coatings are all coated with a scratch-resistant outer layer – but like almost any other metal jewelry, scratch-resistant is not scratch-resistant. The matte black finish I checked definitely shows some wear and tear after a few weeks of use, but I fully expected that, and it’s surprisingly tough considering the number of times it’s in contact with other metal surfaces, stones, and everything else comes in contact with daily. The small blemishes that appear give it a pleasant patina in my opinion instead of negatively affecting its aesthetics.

The Oura ring is also set in terms of size and fit, and the company has come up with a clever way to ensure a snug fit for customers. They offer a free size kit that they ship out first so you can find out which Oura size is most comfortable and decide which finger to wear. The size is important as you want the Oura ring to be snug enough that it doesn’t fall off or shift too much, but also not too tight for it to be uncomfortable.

Ultimately, the design is fantastic as it is both an attractive ring and an incredibly comfortable device that can be worn all day and all night. Unlike even one Apple Watches or other wrist-worn clothing require virtually no adjustments to get used to wearing them while sleeping, or discomfort from different types of straps. It’s the first wearable I’ve used that really made me forget I was wearing one in the first place, and it’s one that no one else will notice you’re wearing.

Features and performance

What is the Oura Ring actually pursuing? A lot of things, actually. As mentioned, it measures sleep as well as various other metrics under two other general categories: readiness and activity. Sleep, preparedness, and activity all offer a summary overall rating of 100 to give you an idea of ​​where you are right now. However, each rating is calculated from a number of sub-metrics that add up to this larger rating.

Oura’s sleep tracking is much more in-depth than the upcoming Apple Watch sleep tracking that Apple is releasing with its next watchOS update this fall. It tracks when you go to sleep, how long you sleep, how much of it qualifies as “deep” and how much is “REM,” and gives you a metric or your sleep efficiency, your time in bed, your total sleep time, and more. Readiness tracks your body temperature, heart rate variability, breathing rate, and resting heart rate, while activity automatically measures calories burned, inactive time, your steps, and proximity to your overall activity goal.

Credit: Darrell Etherington

For all three categories, you can dive into each individual sub-metric and view trends over time or individual scores per day. However, you can also just view the total score, which is provided in a feed-like dashboard in the app and accompanied by practical, actionable advice on what to do with your day, activity, or sleeping habits based on that score and how to do it develop.

It’s also the easiest to understand health tracking app I’ve used, and one of the apps with the greatest depth when it comes to digging deeper into what is actually being tracked and what it means in detail. And because the app focuses heavily on establishing a baseline and then monitoring deviations from that baseline and providing advice based on that, it is more likely to be useful and specifically relevant to you.

Bottom line

With most wearable technologies, including the Apple Watch, I regularly have some sort of internal riot that I find too disruptive or too cumbersome to use continuously. With the Oura ring, self-monitoring of health reaches a perfect climax when it comes to combining comfort with useful and actionable information and an inconspicuous and attractive design that actually makes me put it on.

The jury is unsure whether the Oura Ring can actually accurately detect COVID-19 or predict the onset of its symptoms. Still, it’s a fantastic personal health tracking device and a great tool for anyone who wants more control over how they feel on a daily basis. By actively creating an individual baseline and comparing your actual overall condition with that of Oura on a daily basis, Oura offers one of the best potential platforms for long-term insights into personal wellbeing.