My tryst with activity and wellness tracking began in 2015. This was the year Fitbit arrived in India, and the first gen Apple Watch made its global debut. Since then, I’ve tested numerous activity trackers and smartwatches.
Smart rings have gradually increased share of market and share of voice in popular culture this decade. Finnish company Oura pioneered the smart ring, the first-gen Oura ring also made its debut in 2015. Oura has now officially arrived in India with its latest Oura 4 Ring, the company released the Oura India Sleep report during the launch to underscore the ring’s sleep tracking credentials. After a couple of weeks with a (smart) ring on my finger, I feel quite committed to this relationship; but it does have its ups and downs.
One of the challenges for smartwatches has remained its form factor, especially if you are relying on one for sleep data. This is where an unobtrusive smart ring has a clear advantage. The Oura Ring 4 feels more like a piece of jewellery than a gadget, it can pass off for a wedding band. After over a decade and currently in its fourth iteration, Oura has refined its design, a fine blend of function and form. Oura has flattened the domes that conceal the sensors from the previous iteration. The Ring 4 feels like any other ring on your finger. The titanium build adds to its featherlight form. The current generation weighs about 3.3- 5.2 gm, depending on the size of your ring. The compact size also means that the ring is not repairable, the battery is not replaceable.
Oura’s sizing kit is the first step in your purchase process; the kit allows you to zero in on the exact fit. The ring is available in a range of sizes from 4 to 15 and comes in a choice of colours, with an ₹11,000 premium for the Brushed Silver, Gold, Rose Gold and the Stealth colour options. The inside of the ring conceals the sensors that measure heart rate (and heart rate variability), respiration rate, skin temperature and the accelerometer tracks movement and activity 24/7.
Oura tells us that the Ring 4 is water resistant up to 100 metres, it’s suitable for sauna and water sports but not ready for your diving expeditions. If you’re not used to wearing a ring, it’s easy to remove the ring and forget about it. I removed the ring the one time I used a swimming pool and every single time I took a shower over the three weeks I tested it.
The Oura Ring 4 connects seamlessly via Bluetooth to your smartphone. I paired it with an iPhone, the companion app is also available for Android smartphones. The user interface is one of the most visually pleasing we’ve seen on any wellness app, with intuitive navigation paths. Oura’s user experience is built around three key pillars – sleep, readiness and activity. The information is neatly arranged within three sections that include Today, Vitals and My Health. The app doesn’t just keep generating data but offers useful insights and observations about your body status. The Readiness score, for instance almost always matched how I was feeling on any given day while the sleep tracking is easily one of the best on any wearable.
Oura can share data with the Apple Watch (that I enabled) and Strava. Oura detected my gym workouts and I used the ring while doing weight training. During a recent 15km cycling trail in New Zealand, the Ring 4 auto-detected the entire trail and connected with my iPhone to map the trail. It also kept reading multiple fast walks (you can validate these activities to add to your list of activities). While some users have claimed that there are visible scratches during gym workouts, I always used the Ring 4 with my gym gloves and it’s largely unscathed.
Oura’ subscription plans have fuelled constant debate, given that some of its rivals (like the Samsung Galaxy Ring) don’t require a subscription to access the full suite of data. Oura’s India subscription plan (₹599/month) doesn’t come cheap but offers a lot of finer details that give it an edge.
We like the design of the charging dock. Oura claims 8 days of battery life, and it matched the results of our tests after two charging cycles. I had disabled blood oxygen monitoring, that could have resulted in an extra day of battery usage. Most users should manage about a week of battery usage that lends the Oura Ring 4 a clear edge over smartwatches in this department.
The Oura Ring 4 is one of the most evolved wellness wearables I’ve tested. It offers actionable insights and helps you cope with your everyday routines better. Smart rings seemed to have hit a peak with the Oura Ring 4 at the very centre of this evolution. With more AI insights in the pipeline, this experience only promises to get better. The ring’s form factor allows you to truly wear it and forget about it until you check out the app for the insights you need. I’d recommend pairing the Oura Ring 4 with a smartwatch if you’re a fitness enthusiast who needs to track workouts. You don’t need to wear that smartwatch all day or night. The Oura Ring 4 is probably the best smart ring right now, but the stiff price tag and recurring subscription costs make it a niche product ideal for those willing to pay a premium for wellness.
Published on April 8, 2026
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