Oura – a stylish smart ring that tracks your body’s health output 24/7 – more useful info than Fitbit but no ECG and looks like a wedding band
It's not cheap at $299 but looking at the materials it's not trying to be a cheap product. It really is quality made from titanium with three different colour finishes and two basic shapes to choose from. It works with Android and iOS phones for syncing of data. One even has real diamonds set in it at $999. The rings are manufactured in Finland.
Battery life is rated to be up to a week and water resistance to 100m which hits the perfectly usable category: The Oura ring is a Bluetooth Smart class 2 device. Bluetooth is only active on the ring for short periods of time, well below 1% of the day. Data is transmitted more continuously when the ring syncs with the app, and during firmware updates. Additionally, the Bluetooth signal and advertising are turned off when you’re inactive or sleeping. The ring will store up to 6 weeks of data without needing to sync for those who like to disable connectivity during the day or night.
Two features that make it unique over a Fitbit are:
1. Heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) – Oura measures your resting heart rate during sleep and rest by detecting changes in your Blood Pulse Volume (PPG). The measurements are done from the arteries on the palm side of your finger using two infrared LEDs. Oura tracks your heart rate variability (HRV) while you sleep, and during restful moments during the day. It calculates your HRV from the rMSSD, a well-known HRV parameter that provides a good view of your Autonomic Nervous System activity (stress). On-demand resting heart rate and heart rate variability tracking for rest and breathing exercises are planned to be released in early 2019, as well as correlation with the local weather.
2. NTC Body Temperature Sensor – Oura registers your body temperature reading every minute while you sleep. The Oura app doesn’t show absolute temperature values in Fahrenheit or Celsius, instead, it shows how your body temperature changes around your own personal baseline over days, weeks and months.
Apart from that the normal body movements like steps and calories, inactivity alerts, automatic sleep tracking and trends, resting heart rate, night-time average respiratory rate are also done.
Important though to also note what it does NOT do… it does not provide real-time heart rate or body temperature data for example during exercising. It is taking readings every minute and works out trends and averages. This greatly saves battery life but can be better compared to how a Fitbit works in non-exercise mode. It is counting steps/calories, will show the rise in heart rate and temperature while exercising but it is not continuous instant readings. Also being a ring, you can't attach it to your ankle with an extender like a Fitbit.
See https://ouraring.com and an in-depth interview with their CEO at https://youtu.be/ji5U4F9xvWY
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Oura Ring: the most accurate sleep and activity tracker Oura Ring: the most accurate sleep and activity tracker is all about you: it measures the physiological signals of your body, understands your lifestyle, and guides you to make your own optimal daily choices. The ring features scientifically validated sleep tracking and personalized guidance. |