If you have not noticed, the smart ring has quietly become the wearable to watch, and Oura just refreshed the one that started it. The company announced the Oura Ring 5 on 28 May, and the big change is size. It is 40 per cent smaller than the Ring 4, with a more curved shell that sits closer to a normal piece of jewellery.
What is new
Smaller and more comfortable is the headline, and for something you wear to sleep, comfort is most of the product. The Ring 5 ships with a new charging case that tops the ring up four times before it needs a wall socket, which is a genuinely useful touch for travel. It comes in silver and black at US$399, with pre-orders open and shipping from 4 June, per Memeburn.
Good timing for Oura
The launch lands at a kind moment. Samsung's Galaxy Ring 2, the most obvious challenger, looks unlikely to arrive in the first half of the year, caught up in a patent dispute with Oura and reportedly soft sales, per TechRadar. With the main rival stalled, Oura has the field largely to itself heading into the second half of 2026.
Why people are choosing rings
The appeal is simple once you have worn one. A ring tracks sleep, heart rate and recovery without a screen buzzing on your wrist or a watch to charge every night. For anyone who wants the health data but not another notification machine, that trade is the whole pitch — and it is why the category, with the Ring 5, Fitbit and others all pushing the same idea, is heating up.
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