Oura Gives Its Smart Rings a New Ceramic Look
Oura Rings are my favorite wearables on the market. They have the best health-tracking you can get for daily life, but without having a distracting screen, fabric to clean, or much hassle. Users can tag exercises, meals, and habits as they like, tracking how these affect their metrics — or leave…

Oura Rings are my favorite wearables on the market. They have the best health-tracking you can get for daily life, but without having a distracting screen, fabric to clean, or much hassle. Users can tag exercises, meals, and habits as they like, tracking how these affect their metrics — or leave them all alone, letting the ring track throughout the day. The three issues I had with my Oura Ring 3 were that the ridges on the inside of the ring dug into my hands while I was tracking, that the app looked rather old-fashioned, and that the step counting was always inaccurate.
Oura introduced a new algorithm earlier this year, which solved the steps issue; rolled out a new version of its app in November, which looks much better; and the Oura Ring 4 is completely smooth on the inside. Now, the company has added something people weren’t looking for but are happy to have — a new material with some new colors.
The Oura Ring 4 Ceramic has the same functionality as the metal Oura Ring 4, but wrapped in high-performance zirconia ceramic instead of metal. That means the same red and infrared LEDs for blood oxygen measurement, green and infrared LEDs for continuous heart rate and heart rate variability monitoring, a digital temperature sensor for trend analysis, and an accelerometer for 24/7 activity tracking — but with a different look. The weight is indistinguishable from the metal Oura Ring 4, but the ceramic version is visually thicker and has a slightly different, warmer feel — and is just as comfortable. The chunkier look contributes to it feeling like a piece of elegant jewelry. It is available in sizes 4 to 15 and comes in four colors: dark blue, light pink, soft green, and white.

I got the white — or “Cloud” — colorway and within a day of use, I had a small dark mark on the underside of the ring. This is not because the ceramic is vulnerable, but because it is much tougher than anything else one makes contact with. A quick polish with the complimentary ceramic polishing cloth restores it to perfect condition.
In short, it’s the same great smart ring, but with a new chic material, some new colors, and a more premium price. At $499 — a $150 premium over the standard $349 Oura Ring 4 — the ring includes a first-month membership, but subsequent membership costs $5.99 per month or $69.99 annually.

