Despite being tempted by deals left, right and centre, I firmly decided that there was only one thing worth splurging for this Black Friday season, and that was an Oura Ring.
At a starting price of £349/$349 plus an Oura subscription, the new Gen 4 was just far too expensive for me to consider. However, the smart ring company is phasing out its Gen 3 model, and as such the price has dropped significantly.
You can now buy one from just £249/$249, with huge savings on the priciest models. Just note that prices vary wildly on Amazon depending on model, size and colour.
I opted for the Brushed Titanium version in the Horizon shape, which currently costs £279/$279. In the UK, it’s available from Oura directly, as well as from Amazon and John Lewis. US readers can grab it from Oura, Amazon, and Best Buy.
Oura
While my job as a tech journalist would seem to suggest otherwise, I often find smartwatches and fitness trackers with displays too distracting, with the constant buzzes of notifications and shaming reminders to stand up driving me slightly insane.
As someone with small wrists, many models are also far too big and rugged to wear all the time. Smart rings omit all that, blending in more seamlessly with outfits while tracking all your vitals in the accompanying app.
The Oura Ring Gen 3 does what I need it to by tracking my steps, exercise, heart rate and sleep. Plus, it has a battery life of up to seven days – much higher than many leading smartwatches from Apple, Google and Samsung.
My TikTok feed has been full of praise for the Oura Ring thanks to its cycle tracking features – it’s the only smart ring on the market to be compatible with Natural Cycles, an FDA-approved app.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
It does this by continuously monitoring your heart rate and temperature – many users have also found out that they are sick from wearing the Oura Ring, with the app notifying them of temperature spikes or breathing irregularities.
I bought it from Oura directly, though shipping has taken a little while as it comes from Europe, so if you don’t want to wait, I’d suggest looking at a store based in your local country.
Just make sure you order the sizing kit first and wear different options for at least 24 hours, as your finger size can fluctuate depending on the time of day and temperature – as I discovered first-hand.
While this isn’t the newest Oura Ring, the upgrades on the Gen 4 weren’t enough to deter me from saving money. These include a slightly longer battery life, a lighter and more comfortable fit and a higher number of sensors that allegedly provide more accurate tracking – though some reviews and Reddit users suggest they haven’t seen massive differences in their data when comparing the two models.
Of course, we haven’t been able to put the two Oura Rings head-to-head yet, so we don’t know these claims first-hand. Nonetheless, there are enough positive experiences out there about the Gen 3 that made me snap up this deal.
I assume that this offer will be around until stocks run out, so if you want to take advantage I wouldn’t wait – especially if you’re keen on a particular colour and size. Amazon and John Lewis already appear to have run out of some options at the time of writing.
Read the full article here
