Oura drops Ring 5, the world’s smallest smart ring

Smart rings have always come with a small compromise. To fit the sensors inside, they end up bulkier and more obvious than the rings people are used to wearing daily. And like many wearables, they track a lot without telling you much you can act on before something is already wrong.

Oura is going after both problems with the Oura Ring 5. The fifth-generation ring is the company’s smallest yet, close to the proportions of a wedding band, and it ships with new software that monitors for early signs of health issues rather than just recapping last night’s sleep.

What sets it apart

Oura Ring 5 is 40% smaller than the Ring 4, measuring 6.09mm wide (down from 7.99mm) and 2.28mm thick (down from 2.88mm). In photos it reads more like a wedding band than a fitness tracker, which answers the most common complaint about every previous generation. Oura says it rebuilt the sensors to get there without losing accuracy, adding twelve signal pathways that are meant to read more consistently across different finger sizes and skin tones.

Besides the size, the brand is pushing deeper into health-tracking. A new feature called Health Radar runs in the background and surfaces trends worth paying attention to. Two capabilities anchor it:

Blood Pressure Signals tracks your overnight numbers, working from the idea that blood pressure should drop while you sleep, and a pattern of it staying elevated can be an early marker of cardiovascular strain that daytime readings tend to miss.

Nighttime Breathing gives you a 30-day rolling view of sleep-related breathing disturbances, along with guidance on when it might be worth getting checked out, detecting for issues like sleep apnea.

Oura’s software updates

Starting in June, a handful of software updates will also land in the app. The most active of them is Live Activity Tracking, which lets you start a workout and follow your pace and distance live on your phone, with automatic workout detection that Oura says is sharper now, including for lower-motion activities like Pilates.

The rest go deeper into your health picture. GLP-1 Insights pulls your medication timeline into a single continuous view, and a new Health Records feature lets U.S. members connect with their providers to import lab results, medications, and conditions. From there, a partnership with Counsel Health can connect you with a licensed doctor in minutes.

According to the brand, these updates will reach Gen 3 and Gen 4 rings too, so you do not need the new hardware to get the new software.

Where to get it

Pre-orders are open now at ouraring.com, with shipping starting June 4. An Oura Membership is still required to get the full experience.