Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Oura Ring’s newest feature lets you spy on your friends

A person holding the Oura Ring 3rd generation Horizon and Heritage model.
The Oura Ring Heritage (left) and Oura Ring Horizon  Andy Boxall / Digital Trends

Oura, the company that produces the Oura Ring smart ring, has introduced its first social feature, which allows wearers to share certain data between friends. It’s called Circles, and its announcement is joined by the final release of its Sleep Staging algorithm, which has been in beta since 2022.

Recommended Videos

Oura’s CEO, Tom Hale, explained the thinking behind Circles’ launch:

“Our mission at Oura has always been to improve the lives of our members by taking a compassionate approach to health, and this new feature is just the next step in delivering a personalized experience that allows our members to connect with not only their bodies, but also their friends and family.”

Through Circles, you’ll be able to share the three main data points in the Oura Ring app — Readiness, Sleep, and Activity — collected over a two-week period. It’ll be down to you which scores you share and how often, and you’ll have the option of doing so daily or weekly. You can react to scores by using one of the custom emojis in the app and share data with up to 10 different Circles (which we assume to mean 10 different people). It doesn’t seem like you’ll be able to share any of the deeper data points, such as body temperature or resting heart rate.

Screenshots taken from the Oura Ring app.
Oura

Oura has also announced that its Sleep Staging algorithm will finally leave its beta stage and become the standard sleep-tracking system for the Oura Ring. It first launched in November 2022 and has been in beta ever since, with the option to switch between it and the old system available in the Oura app. Over the past months, it has been available to all Oura wearers, but the beta tag will now be removed for both Android and iOS users.

The algorithm is the result of two years of research and data collection from the Oura Ring and polysomnography (PSG) data from other sources, and Oura calls it “among the most accurate sleep-staging algorithms available in a consumer wearable.” It is in 79% agreement with PSG data for light, deep, REM, and waking sleep stages. The sleep-staging algorithm helps inform one of Oura’s other recent feature releases, your chronotype, to help you better understand when your ideal bedtime is.

Tempted by the Oura Ring? We recently completed our long-term review of the third-generation model and recommend digging into it before making a purchase.

Andy Boxall
Andy is a Senior Writer at Digital Trends, where he concentrates on mobile technology, a subject he has written about for…
This powerful Oura Ring feature knows if you’re getting sick
A person holding the Oura Ring 4.

A powerful feature previously trialed in the Oura Ring’s beta program has been fully released and is available to all wearers of the smart ring. It’s called Symptom Radar, and it examines key data points collected while you sleep and acts as an early warning system for the onset of respiratory illnesses. Yes, the Oura Ring really will be able to tell if you’re getting sick.

Most importantly, it’s really easy to immediately understand the Symptom Radar’s findings, as it will report back every morning using three distinct levels: No signs, minor signs of a respiratory illness, and major signs of a respiratory illness. The data will be plotted onto a graph so you can track your wellness over time and observe how symptoms may be evolving.

Read more
I used Oura’s and Samsung’s latest smart rings. This one is my favorite
Oura RIng 4 and Galaxy Ring in the hand.

Smart rings have fast become one of the hottest markets in the wearable technology market. For many years, Oura was the leader and the only real maker of smart rings that appealed to most people. Then came a myriad of other options, including rings from RingConn, Ultrahuman, Circular, and, most importantly, Samsung’s first smart ring.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring takes a different approach to the competition. Built around the Samsung Health ecosystem, it is designed to be a companion to the Galaxy Watch lineup. It has a much simpler set of features than other smart rings, which focus on packing as much technology into the ring as possible.

Read more
Oura to integrate glucose data into its smart ring app
A person holding the Oura Ring 4, showing the size.

Oura has announced a new partnership that will bring an important new metric to its smart ring app. It has teamed up with Dexcom, which makes glucose monitors and associated apps, and the data collected from its devices will soon be integrated into the Oura app. Oura's data will inform Dexcom's apps as well, providing wearers of both products with more insight into their health. The news comes just weeks after the launch of Oura’s latest product, the Oura Ring 4.

Dexcom’s continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) wearables track glucose levels throughout the day and night, helping those with  type 1 or type 2 diabetes to understand their blood glucose levels and make informed decisions about food and activity. Data is shown through an app on your phone and smartwatch, and will now be integrated into the Oura Ring’s app. What’s more, the data will flow both ways, with Oura’s data also informing Dexcom’s app.

Read more