00:00Welcome to my review of the Oura Ring 5. Now, every time I talk about Oura Ring, people jump at
00:06me in the comments saying it's not worth it, there are cheaper alternatives, and the subscription one isn't worth it.
00:11And look, yes, cheaper smart rings exist. I've tested them. But none of them, especially right now, feel as complete
00:20as the Oura Ring 5.
00:25Let's talk about the design up front, because Oura managed to make this ring 40% smaller than the Oura
00:32Ring 4 I have here. I'll throw a spec comparison up on the screen.
00:37Part of me still can't believe how much this looks and feels like my normal jewelry. To that effect, Oura
00:43even made some of the colors this time around more jewelry-like.
00:47Gold is a brighter, more modern look to match normal jewelry, and they even replaced the old rose gold with
00:53a stunning, more coppery, deep rose.
00:56But you can see I went with silver because not only is it one of the two colors that cost
01:01$400 instead of $500, but I just also like silver jewelry.
01:08Oura Ring 5 is also more scratch resistant thanks to the upgraded physical vapor deposition coating.
01:13Believe me, I was skeptical, especially coming from the Oura Ring 4 ceramic after my rose gold Oura Ring 4
01:20got beyond beat up.
01:22But I've been wearing this for, say, like two weeks at this point. I travel, I wear a ton of
01:27other rings right next to it, and I haven't gotten one single scratch.
01:32That's pretty amazing!
01:35So scratch resistance and sizing are probably the two biggest questions I've been getting.
01:40I use the Gen 5 sizing kit, and in my experience, sizing is basically the same as the Gen 4.
01:47I was a 9 in the 4, and I'm still a 9 in the 5.
01:50The good news is Oura includes a sizing kit when you buy direct, or you could even try one in
01:55person at Best Buy.
01:56Amazon also sells it for about $10, which gets credited back towards your Oura Ring purchase.
02:02Long story short, don't overthink it, just use the sizing kit.
02:08Moving away from hardware, what's always set Oura apart for me is the software.
02:14The app is incredibly thorough, yet also so easy to understand.
02:19At a glance, you get your key metrics, but if you want to go deep, the insights are there.
02:23Sleep tracking is still best in class, stress tracking is the most useful I've seen on any wearable,
02:30and symptom radar is genuinely impressive.
02:33Like, it can flag when your body is off before you even feel it.
02:37Now, full disclosure, I still wear an Apple Watch, especially for workouts.
02:42I really like having all my metrics on my screen.
02:45I can't see myself ever truly giving that up, but Aura has improved here, too.
02:50Now, with live activity tracking, you can see workout stats on your phone during runs or gym sessions.
02:56But where Aura really shines is with passive workout tracking.
03:00It automatically detects workouts, and yes, it still occasionally labels my entire life as housework,
03:05which I will take credit for.
03:07But if you still want a tracker that does the tracking for you kind of always in the background,
03:13Aura is still doing a very solid job at that.
03:17Aura is also very clearly pushing hard into women's health, which I am very excited about.
03:24There are two big updates here.
03:25Menopause insights, which uses structured questions around sleep, mood, and cognition to track changes over time.
03:32And we have upgraded cycle insights, now with hormonal birth control tracking, showing how biometrics shift across hormone and non
03:39-hormone days.
03:40And perhaps most importantly, this isn't locked to the new hardware of the Gen 5.
03:46Older rings are getting the access, too, which makes the subscription, again, feel more justified.
03:53Battery life is another huge appeal of a screenless fitness tracker.
03:57No display to power, less power needed, makes sense.
04:01But even with the Aura Ring 5 being smaller, it has the same week-long battery life on average that
04:07Aura Ring 4 had.
04:08Also, the same as Fitbit Air for what it's worth.
04:13But what about compared to other smart rings?
04:15I do know that Ringcon rings get a few more days of battery life, and I really appreciate that that
04:22company offers a trade-in program.
04:24I've asked Aura why it doesn't. I know users are really starting to speak up about it more.
04:29Hopefully we'll get a change on that front at some point.
04:33Then there's UltraHuman trying to come back after losing a trademark infringement suit and it had a privacy breach situation.
04:40It's just not good, and for what it's worth, when I tested the UltraHuman ring, I didn't really love it.
04:46The battery life was mid at best.
04:48What keeps me recommending the Aura Ring is the entirety of the experience.
04:52Okay, yes, the others are subscription-free, but if you're going to take your wellness tracking seriously by buying a
04:58$300 to $400 piece of hardware in the first place,
05:01then why wouldn't you put up a very reasonable monthly that hasn't gone up in years and delivers new features
05:08and labs on the regular?
05:11All that said, if there is one part of the Aura Ring experience I do not think is worth it,
05:16it's the charging case.
05:18I was super excited by the idea of it when it came out for Aura Ring 4 earlier this year,
05:24but in practice, meh, I throw it in my bag.
05:28The ring didn't always stay put. It's honestly, to me, no more convenient than really just using the charging base.
05:34And for $100 more, I think you can pass.
05:38I guess, like, if you need a gift for someone who very obviously loves their Aura Ring, sure, but you
05:43will have to get the right size that matches their ring, so just keep that in mind.
05:51To wrap things up, the Aura Ring 5 is the clearest version yet of what Aura is trying to be.
05:57Yes, there are cheaper, subscription-free alternatives, and those trade-offs are real, but Aura's value has always been in
06:04the depth of its data, the quality of its insights, and how seamlessly it just kind of fits into my
06:09daily life.
06:10Between the design upgrades, best-in-class app, and expanding health features, this is a product where maybe software even
06:17matters more than the hardware.
06:19But, yeah, the hardware looks pretty killer this time around, too.
06:23But what do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments, especially if you'd like to
06:28see a set of essentials like I had done for the Aura Ring 4.
06:32Otherwise, that's it for me for this video.
06:34Thanks for watching. I'll catch you next time.
