I test smart rings for a living, and this is the Black Friday deal to beat

29 Nov 2024, 17:00 by Taylor Kerns · Android Police

The smart ring segment has grown by leaps and bounds over the past few years. Once a category dominated almost entirely by Oura, new releases from companies like Ultrahuman, RingConn, and even Samsung have introduced serious competition into the market. For my money, though, Oura remains the smart ring champ. If you're shopping for smart ring this Black Friday, Oura should be on your short list — but not the newest Oura Ring 4.

Oura Ring Gen 3 Horizon

$249 $299 Save $50

The Oura Ring Gen 3 provides a very similar experience to the newer Oura Ring 4 — and for Black Friday, the older ring is a full $100 less expensive than the latest model. The Gen 3 picked up improved automatic activity tracking this fall, making it a much better workout companion than many other smart rings out there/

$249 at Amazon

The Oura Ring Gen 3 is a great deal right now

The Oura Ring 4 is my favorite smart ring today, but as I noted in my review, its advantages over the Oura Ring Gen 3 I've worn for years aren't all that compelling. The newest Oura Ring 4 comes in more sizes, and with a smoother, titanium inner surface and slightly thinner build, it's a little more comfortable than the Oura Ring Gen 3. Oura also says the newer ring collects slightly more accurate data than the Oura Ring Gen 3 does, thanks to new sensor hardware and software the company's branded Smart Sensing.

But the very best feature Oura introduced with its newest smart ring, improved activity detection, isn't exclusive to the Oura Ring 4. The Oura Ring Gen 3 got the same capabilities in a software update around the time the Oura Ring 4 launched. Both the Oura Ring Gen 3 and Oura Ring 4 can automatically detect dozens of different activity types and log your average heart rate throughout the activity; after you're done, you'll even get a breakdown of the different heart rate zones you spent time in.

Before this feature came to the Oura Ring Gen 3, my least favorite part of the smart ring experience was having to manually start tracking before going for a run, then manually stop it when I was finished. Since the update, that's not something I need to think about anymore. Several smart rings including the Samsung Galaxy Ring can automatically start and stop tracking for walks and runs, but Oura can do it for all kinds of activities, like yoga, swimming, and yardwork. Some, like the less expensive RingConn Gen 1, don't offer workout tracking at all. Activity tracking is a huge leg up for Oura right now.

Best smart rings in 2024

Unlock your finger's full potential

Posts

It's worth the subscription — especially at a discount

To address the elephant in the room, Oura does charge a subscription for its smart ring. If you pick up a Gen 3, you'll be on the hook for $6 a month, every month, indefinitely. If you opt not to pay, your ring won't do much. You'll still get basic activity and sleep tracking, plus a readiness score each day, but Oura's more advanced features like detailed sleep analysis, stress insights, and that automatic activity tracking I described above require a membership. Rivals RingConn, Ultrahuman, and Samsung don't mandate a subscription in the same way.

I do wish Oura's subscription-free experience was a little better rounded, but I don't mind paying the six bucks a month. Any time I use a competing smart ring, I end up missing Oura's app, which presents data in more useful ways and, in my opinion, is easier on the eyes than something like Samsung Health. Oura's also shown an impressive commitment to bringing new features to older hardware where possible. The Oura Ring Gen 3 I'm recommending was released in 2021; it wouldn't have seemed unusual for Oura to restrict improved activity tracking to this year's new Oura Ring 4. It didn't do that, though. I have to think the mandatory subscription fee it's charging informs a business model that doesn't necessitate aggressively incentivizing users to upgrade.

At a starting price of $250 for the silver or black finish, the Oura Ring Gen 3 isn't the absolute cheapest smart ring you can get right now — the RingConn Gen 1 is on sale for $170. Still, at this price, Oura's previous-gen smart ring strikes a great balance between price and utility. It's the smart ring deal to beat this Black Friday.

Oura Ring Gen 3 Horizon

$249 $299 Save $50

$249 at Amazon