Oura Ring 3 vs Oura Ring 4: Which Smart Ring Fits Your Lifestyle?
Elisabeth Christ
Updated October 2024
The competition among smart rings keeps intensifying, especially with the recent launch of the Oura Ring 4. If you are seeking a sophisticated wearable device to monitor your health and fitness, you may be wondering how the Oura Ring 4 compares to its predecessor, the Oura Ring 3. This guide will explore the key features, upgrades, and distinctions between these two popular smart rings. This comparison will help you identify which Oura Ring aligns best with your needs, ultimately supporting your journey toward optimal health and wellness.
Key Takeaways
The Oura Ring 4 boasts a fully titanium design for greater durability and comfort, while the Ring 3 combines titanium with an epoxy interior. Additionally, the Oura Ring 4 offers a broader size range from 4-15, compared to 6-13 for the Ring 3. Both models track similar health metrics like sleep and heart rate, but the Oura Ring 4 enhances data accuracy with its new "Smart Sensing" technology, featuring 18 signal pathways versus 8 in the Ring 3. Battery life is slightly improved in the Oura Ring 4, lasting up to 8 days compared to the Ring 3's 7 days.
| Table header 0 | Oura Ring 3 | Oura Ring 4 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $299 | $349 |
| Thickness | 2.7–2.9 mm | Approximately 2.88 mm |
| Subscription | $5.99/month | $5.99/month |
| Fitness Tracking | Limited activity tracking | Up to 40 workout detection |
| SpO2 sensor | ✅ | ✅ |
| Optical Heart Rate | ✅ | ✅ |
| Menstrual Tracking | ✅ | ✅ |
| Smart Sensing Technology | Fixed configuration of optical paths | Up to 18 signal pathways |
| Ai Oura Advisor | ✅ | Enhanced |
| Sleep Tracking | ✅ | ✅ |
| Data Presentation | Insightful trends | Insightful trends |
| Additional Unique Features | Strava wellness app integration | Comfortable fit due to recessed sensors and titanium interior |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth LE | Bluetooth LE |
| Battery Life | Up to 7 days | Up to 8 days |
Oura Ring 3rd Gen
Wellness Tracking Smart Ring with Smart Holistic Insights
✓ Clearly presented and very helpful data
✓ New, more accurate optical heart rate sensor
✓ 7 temperature sensors
✓ Up to 7 days of battery life
Oura Ring 4th Gen
Advanced Smart Ring with High-Accuracy Insights
✓ up to 8 days of battery life
✓ AI ‘Oura Advisor'
✓ Advanced Smart Sensing algorithm
✓ New stress and resilience metrics
#1 Design & Fit
Oura Ring 3 vs Oura Ring 4
The Oura Ring 3 and Oura Ring 4 stay true to their minimalist roots, offering simple yet elegant designs that appeal to those who prefer subtle, unobtrusive wearables. The Oura Ring 3, released in 2021, comes in metallic silver, black, gold, and a matte black finish known as ‘stealth,’ giving users plenty of style options to match their personality. At 4-6 grams, it’s lightweight, but the small flat section on the top provides a unique fit that might take a bit of getting used to. On the other hand, the Oura Ring 4, with its sleek titanium body, builds on this simplicity by introducing a more refined feel. With fewer nodules and flat sensors, it feels even more seamless, giving it a clean-cut appearance, similar to a wedding band, and allowing for a more comfortable fit.
What sets the Oura Ring 4 apart is its enhanced flexibility. Thanks to the new flat sensor design, it can be twisted up to 30 degrees in any direction and still take accurate measurements—something the Oura Ring 3 can't claim. Both models sit comfortably on your finger, and while the Oura Ring 3’s sensors are optimized for the index finger, the Oura Ring 4 ensures its accuracy is retained no matter the orientation. The color palette of the Oura Ring 4 adds a touch of luxury with options like rose gold and brushed silver, appealing to a broader range of aesthetic preferences.
#2 Smart Features
• Wellness Tracking
Oura Ring 3
Both rings excel in wellness tracking, though the Oura Ring 4 takes the lead with more advanced capabilities. The Oura Ring 3’s optical heart rate sensor and seven temperature sensors enable comprehensive monitoring of your daily health, including heart rate, blood oxygen levels, and skin temperature. Its standout feature is the ability to predict menstrual cycles using temperature changes, which serves as a robust tool for users seeking detailed insights into reproductive health.
The Oura Ring 4 builds on this foundation by introducing a more intelligent sensing algorithm that increases the number of signal pathways from 8 to 18. This results in better accuracy for both heart rate monitoring and stress detection, especially useful in tracking cardiovascular health with its new ‘Cardiovascular Age’ feature. Women’s health tracking has also been upgraded in the Oura Ring 4, offering more sophisticated insights and symptom detection.
• Sleep Tracking
Oura Ring 3
When it comes to sleep tracking, both rings are champions, but the Oura Ring 4 takes the crown. The Oura Ring 3 delivers valuable sleep data, breaking it down into light, deep, and REM sleep, allowing you to understand your sleep patterns better.
But with the Oura Ring 4, sleep tracking becomes even more precise, with comparisons drawn to professional-grade polysomnography machines. The new AI-powered ‘Oura Advisor’ also plays a significant role in analyzing your sleep data, offering actionable suggestions on how to improve rest quality. Whether you’re aiming to balance work and recovery or simply looking for ways to optimize your sleep, the Oura Ring 4 makes it easier with detailed metrics and real-time feedback.
• Subscription & App Customization
Oura Ring 3
The Oura membership subscription—offered with both rings—provides access to premium features and deep insights through the Oura app. The Oura Ring 3 includes six months of free membership, followed by a $5.99/month fee for continued access to advanced tools and data. In contrast, the Oura Ring 4 mirrors this setup but adds more value with its smarter AI-driven features like the Oura Advisor, which provides personalized recommendations based on your health trends.
Both rings integrate seamlessly with the Oura app (available on Android and iOS), allowing you to customize your experience and access critical wellness metrics. Whether you're tracking readiness, sleep, or activity, both rings display the data cleanly and intuitively. However, Oura Ring 4 refines the experience with a more responsive and visually appealing app interface.
• Insights Presentation
Oura Ring 4
The Oura Ring 3’s insights are comprehensive yet straightforward, providing a clear breakdown of readiness, sleep, and activity scores. This clarity helps users easily interpret their data without feeling overwhelmed. However, the Oura Ring 4 elevates the presentation of insights with a new AI-based approach. The integration of the Oura Advisor feature offers tailored insights based on your habits and data, making the overall experience feel more personalized.
In addition, the Oura Ring 4 introduces new metrics like resilience, which assesses how well your body responds to stress, further expanding the depth of information available to users.
#3 Battery, Charging, & Connectivity
Oura Ring 3
Battery life is a crucial factor when comparing wearable devices, and both Oura Ring models perform well in this department. The Oura Ring 3 offers up to seven days of battery life, which is enough to cover an entire week of detailed health monitoring. Charging the Oura Ring 3 is relatively quick, with 50% charge achieved in around 25 minutes and a full charge in 80 minutes. However, it still uses the same simple black plastic charging dock connected via USB. The Oura Ring 4 makes a subtle but impactful upgrade here, with a more polished charging dock that is larger, sleeker, and metal-built, reflecting the premium nature of the product. The charging process is similarly fast, and the ring also boasts up to seven to eight days of battery life, depending on usage, which gives it a slight edge in consistency.
Oura Ring 4
Connectivity remains seamless for both rings, utilizing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to sync data automatically with the Oura app. Both devices support connection with iOS and Android devices, offering quick pairing and reliable performance. An added benefit for both is the inclusion of airplane mode, which extends battery life while limiting data transmission, making it ideal for users concerned with Bluetooth exposure during sleep. The Oura Ring 4’s improved sensor architecture, coupled with its AI-based features, ensures more efficient use of battery life, making it a smart option for those who want longer-lasting performance from their wearable.
Oura Ring 3 vs Oura Ring 4
Final Thoughts
Oura Ring 3 vs Oura Ring 4
Both the Oura Ring 3 and Oura Ring 4 are excellent smart rings, each with its strengths in health monitoring and user experience. The Oura Ring 3 offers solid performance for everyday tracking, while the Oura Ring 4 introduces more intelligent, AI-enhanced features and superior sensor capabilities. Whether you're seeking a high-performing wellness companion or an even more advanced personal health tracker, both rings are well-equipped to meet your needs, making either choice a worthy investment.
If you like to read more about Smart Ring, check out our other relevant guides here:
Samsung Galaxy Ring vs Oura Ring
Is Samsung’s New Smart Ring Any Good?
Author
Elisabeth Christ
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