Before I get into it, the Oura Ring 5 is a great device if you’re in the market for a smart ring and don’t think you’ll miss having a screen to glance at.
After my positive review of the Oura Ring, following the unboxing and using it for a few days, I quickly learned that there was a lot I liked about the ring, but a lot more I missed about the Apple Watch. Saying that, I don’t think one is better than the other. It’s down to personal preference and the type of device you’re looking for.
Oura has a beautifully designed app, and it tracks a lot of useful insights. There may be some things it tracks more accurately because it’s measuring from your finger, although I haven’t tested that myself. However, I found myself missing having a screen to glance at for things like text messages or being able to see my heart rate without opening an app. With Oura, if your phone isn’t with you, you’ve got no way of checking what the ring is telling you.
Despite really liking the design and the useful metrics, there were quite a few things I missed, which I’ll come on to shortly.
After sleeping on it, I’ve now returned the ring and bought a replacement device. There’s a post coming on that tomorrow, and it might give you a laugh.
My original post on the Oura Ring 5 is linked here, and I still stand by the positives I mentioned. It might be for you if you’re looking for amazing battery life, impressive metrics and don’t mind not having a screen.
The Things Oura Got Right
I liked the Oura Ring, I really did. It was smart and comfortable to wear, and I went four days without having to charge it, which is amazing battery life for something that’s constantly checking your metrics, including monitoring your sleep.
Battery life was a huge selling point for me. I found myself frequently charging my Apple Watch Series 10, sometimes forgetting to charge it before heading out, which was frustrating. The ring definitely solved that issue, so if it’s a device with remarkable battery life you’re after, then an Oura Ring might just be for you.
In addition to battery life, Oura has a brilliant app which can share data with third-party apps, including Apple Health. The main source of your insights, though, is the Oura app itself, which they’ve designed beautifully. It provides detailed analysis of your sleep, stress levels, readiness and much more.
I think for a device that doesn’t have a screen to view your stats on, Oura has really made the app a place you’ll want to visit. It’s visually beautiful and presents insights in a digestible way that makes you want to regularly check on them.
The Oura Ring is small, right! It’s a ring, and it pretty much mirrors a premium-looking ring that you’d buy from a jeweller. It isn’t immediately obvious that it’s a health ring. You basically need to take it off to see the sensors underneath it.
One thing I did like was the ability to wear normal watches. I bought a Casio which wasn’t expensive, and it was cool to be able to use a watch just for the time, knowing that my ring was doing the tracking.
I want to be clear that absolutely none of these positives disappeared. I just found myself missing having a screen on my wrist. I’d had an Apple Watch for several years and thought I’d be able to adjust to not having one, but personally, I couldn’t do it.
I was just trying to convince myself otherwise.
What I Didn’t Realise I’d Miss
If I haven’t alluded to it enough already, I missed having a display I could refer to that wasn’t my phone.
I had a few moments where I realised my phone was in another room and I had to actually go to it to see if I had any new notifications, something I used to glance at my Apple Watch for. You don’t realise how useful it is having another screen to show your notifications, which is a seamless mirror of what’s on your phone.
I also missed the Apple Activity Rings. Those little annoying things that your watch and phone prompt you to close each day. Despite them being sometimes annoying, it was good to glance at their progress on the watch screen and through widgets on my iPhone Home Screen. I won’t take them for granted again.
I’ve said this before, but having instant information available on a little screen is such a joy. Being able to see your heart rate, vitals and exercise progress on your wrist is so handy, and you don’t realise just how handy until you can no longer do that.
I missed Apple Pay as well. I’ve only recently realised just how much I use Apple Pay in everyday life. My cards literally sit in my wallet gathering dust unless I absolutely must use them, but Apple Pay is so widely accepted nowadays that it’s an added bonus having it on your wrist.
I also missed things like my train tickets being available on the watch, and the convenience of them appearing on screen when I was at my location.
Two things that all of the above points have in common: I’m a sucker for the Apple ecosystem and I’m fully sold on it, and the overarching feature I missed was the screen.
I guess a lot of these features are things that you don’t necessarily miss until they’re gone.
I did have a couple of frustrations with the Oura Ring, and again, these are things that wouldn’t bother everyone.
Even though it was water-resistant, I didn’t like the idea of wearing it when washing my hands or doing the dishes. I was worried it could slip off or that I’d mark it.
I didn’t think the subscription would bother me, but the more I thought about it, the more I didn’t want another subscription fee. I’m not really sure I found that the fee was necessary, although I didn’t have the ring long enough to properly judge. I also didn’t like the sound of not having the subscription. It felt like a requirement instead of an optional upgrade.
Why I Finally Decided to Return It
So my main reason for returning the ring was that I missed the screen. I also thought about the subscription fee and compared it with what you’re getting from Apple in terms of apps and features. Overall, I’d say Apple comes out on top for me.
I don’t want to talk too much about what I’ve opted for instead, as I’ll come on to that in a separate post, but you’ll probably have a good idea.
The Oura Ring cost me £399. Comparing that price point to other devices on the market, you can get the latest version of a particular watch for around the same price, depending on the extras you opt for.
When I considered that, alongside the features I was missing, I decided that returning the ring was the right choice for me. I was paying a similar amount for something that didn’t quite give me everything I wanted, even though it did plenty of things really well.
The Oura Ring is still a good choice if you’re looking for a device that blends in with your jewellery and you don’t want a bulky watch on your wrist. The insights were useful, the app was excellent and the battery life was one of the best things about it.
I don’t regret trying it. In fact, I’m glad I did, because it’s made me realise just how much I actually used my Apple Watch for things other than tracking my health.
I thought I’d be happy with something that quietly tracked everything in the background while I went about my day, but it turns out I missed all those little conveniences more than I expected.
Would I buy another Oura Ring? Probably not, but that’s not because I think it’s a bad product. It’s just not the right wearable for me.
And after making such a fuss about moving away from the Apple Watch, I’ve somehow ended up buying another one.
I’ll tell you more about that tomorrow.