Why You Should NOT Buy Oura Ring 4: 5 Shocking Flaws vs 1 Genius Feature

Then there’s the subscription. After an initial free month, ongoing access to most of Oura’s meaningful data and long-term trends requires a monthly fee. Without it, the app retains only a few days of history and shows a stripped-down version of your scores. Anyone comparing the sticker price of the ring itself against a smartwatch is missing half the real cost — the subscription needs to be factored in from day one, not treated as an afterthought.

A Real Owner’s Experience: What Three Years of Use Actually Looks Like

Marketing pages and even professional reviews only tell part of the story. Tylor, who purchased a $606.55 rose gold Gen 3 Oura Ring back in October 2022, offers a longer-term perspective that’s harder to come by. After roughly three years of regular use, the ring simply stopped working. Oura’s diagnosis was a dead battery, and the unit was ultimately deemed dead on arrival for repair — with the company’s resolution being a $100 discount toward a new ring.

For Tylor, that didn’t square with the price paid. A premium finish that costs several hundred dollars, largely because of its color, failing after three years — with a token discount as the main remedy — left the experience feeling more disappointing than the glossy unboxing videos suggest. It’s a useful reminder that a smart ring is still a battery-powered electronic device, and like any of them, its lifespan and the manufacturer’s warranty support matter just as much as day-one specs.

Tylor also raised a common frustration with the sleep-tracking accuracy: lying still for extended periods while awake — reading, resting, scrolling on a phone — can register as sleep, since the ring is largely inferring sleep state from stillness and physiological signals rather than direct observation. It’s a limitation echoed elsewhere in independent testing, where reviewers have noted the ring occasionally logs restful downtime, like watching a movie or working at a desk, as a nap. Oura has continued refining its activity-detection algorithms to reduce these misreads, but it’s not yet a solved problem, and it’s worth going in with realistic expectations rather than assuming every green checkmark is gospel.

On the health-monitoring side, some long-term owners describe using the ring as one part of a broader routine for keeping an eye on cardiovascular metrics alongside guidance from their own doctor. That kind of use is worth flagging clearly: the Oura Ring is a consumer wellness device, not a diagnostic or treatment tool, and any decision about medication or managing a heart condition should be made with a physician — not based on ring data alone.

Oura Ring 4 vs. Oura Ring 5: Should You Wait?

Oura has already announced its next-generation ring, a slimmer, lighter model with redesigned sensors, a longer battery life ceiling, and new features including nighttime breathing analysis and blood pressure pattern tracking. Notably, several of these software features are rolling out to Gen 3 and Gen 4 owners as well, so upgrading purely for new capabilities isn’t strictly necessary. Where the newer model pulls ahead is in its thinner profile and expanded health-radar features; where the Oura Ring 4 still has the edge is its wider size range and, following a price adjustment, a lower starting cost than the newest generation.

Final Verdict

The Oura Ring 4 remains one of the most dependable wearables on the market for sleep tracking, recovery insight, and fertility monitoring, backed by genuinely strong clinical data rather than just marketing claims. It’s not trying to be a sports watch, and it shouldn’t be judged as one. But it is a serious financial commitment once you account for the ring’s price, the mandatory subscription, and — as at least one long-term owner has learned the hard way — a battery that may not outlast your loyalty to the brand. If passive, screen-free health tracking genuinely fits how you want to live with your data, the Oura Ring 4 still makes a compelling case. Just go in with clear eyes about the ongoing costs and the device’s real limitations, rather than the polished version alone.