The Oura Ring Gen 4 is the newest wearable tech model that hit the shelves last year. I have had the ring for three months and am giving a review of the features I find most helpful, as well as its shortcomings.

Oura Ring Gen 4: The Good

EMF Blocking

I love that the new ring blocks EMF, unlike previous models.

Explore Meditations and Breathing Exercises

I used these on my Gen 2 as well, and they are a lifesaver. I listen to any meditation that Oren does if I cannot sleep. His voice is calm and a bit monotone, so I often fall asleep before his meditation is through.

Discreet Design

Like all Gen models, the Oura’s design is discreet and can be made fashionable. I had a clunky Garmin watch between Oura Gen 2 and Oura Ring Gen 4, and while the Garmin was an excellent exercise tool, wearing a white rubber watch every day and everywhere can dampen an aesthetic, if that’s what you’re into. I went for the solid gold band, and it matches with all my jewelry. I also like that it doesn’t double as a watch or link to my iPhone in a way that’s distracting, much like the Apple Watch would. I certainly do not want another piece of tech texting me, calling me, notifying me, or distracting me throughout my day.

Cardio Age, VO2 Max, and Resiliency Features

These features are the most helpful, I think, since heart health is of such paramount importance. You now have data to go from, and you can work toward better numbers by focusing on stress, sleep, better workouts, and healthier nutrition choices.

Menstruation and Illness Prediction

With pinpoint accuracy based on body temp, the Oura Ring Gen 4 can tell you the exact day you will start your period, and its tracker features are great. Additionally, based on stress, body temp, and heart rate, it can predict if you’re about to feel under the weather.

Oura Ring Gen 4: The Bad

Accurate Calorie Burn

I am not entirely sure this feature is correct, and sometimes I think it undershoots my calorie burn, especially in a hot yoga class. Many say, and I will agree here, that the Oura Ring is not a great fitness technology. Its main concern seems to be in tracking your overall health, cardio-wise, physiologically, etc. You can start it up to track a workout, which is great, but I would not rely fully on its accuracy

Sleep, Naps, Etc.

I put this under the “bad” category, but it is more of a mixed bag. Like previous models, the Oura Ring Gen 4 tracks your sleep somewhat well, I think. It knows when you move, but as far as what sleep cycle you’re in, I think it gives its best educated guess. Additionally, it sometimes thinks I have napped if I am sitting watching TV or reading a book.

Oura Ring Gen 4: The Annoying

Stress Feature

It is nice to know if you’re stressed and what stresses you out, but this feature is not intuitive. It uses your heart rate throughout the day to notify you that you’re in a stressed, relaxed, or engaged state. However, saying I am stressed while I am working out is quite pointless. I wish they would ignore this feature when I am in workout mode. I have read other users who say this feature was helpful in telling them exactly what was stressing them out (their job for instance) so they could make that change, and I think that’s just great.

Titrating Step Counts

If you slept well, Oura Ring Gen 4 will up your step goal the next day automatically with no opt out. You can ignore the new goal, but if you like closing the gate so to speak on achievements, you are beholden to the new step count, which is anywhere from 1500-2000 additional steps per day. I am someone who likes the same (lower than average) step goal each day, so this is a bit annoying for me, but I deal with it. I believe the golden rule is 10,000 steps per day, a random number it seems. I read elsewhere that 12,500 is the optimal count. However, my current schedule does not allot for the 7 miles I would need to walk per day to reach this. My step goal is set to what I can reasonable achieve on my busiest day.

Miscellaneous

The food capture feature’s only use I think would be maybe a sort of food diary. I don’t need to take a photo of my kale salad or chocolate bar for the Ring to know if I am making good decisions. This feature might be in beta for the Oura Ring Gen 4 right now.

Reach Out

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