We Got Our Hands on the New Oura Ring 5, and It’s Thinner Than We Could’ve Imagined

This week, Oura finally announced something consumers have long be awaiting: less bulky wearables. The Oura Ring 5 is for sale now, with orders expected to ship on the official launch date of June 4. The smart ring’s biggest boast is being a whole 40 percent thinner than its predecessor. In a pre-announcement session, I got to spend a little time with all six colors and finishes of the Oura Ring 5, and photos don’t even do it justice. This thing really is that slim and sleek.

This is the first tech upgrade for the wearable since 2024’s Oura Ring 4 and it’s coming with better sensors, longer battery life, and improved water resistance, as well as major software updates hitting the Oura app. Alongside it, a new charging case that fits the 5 for $99 hits store shelves the same day. A few weeks ago, I sat down with two of Oura’s VPs of Product to get an early look at all of this and more.

In this line of work, most weeks I’m seeing something early that’s cool and supposedly cutting edge, but rarely does my jaw actually drop like it did when I saw the Oura Ring 5 unveiled. The bands are really remarkably thin. At first the weight almost makes it feel more like plastic than the old rings, but when I caught the shine off the glossy gold ring I knew that we were firmly in “too good to be true” territory. Looking down at my own Oura Ring Ceramic—which I once thought to be discreet and chic—looked bulky and tech-y for the first time. Safe to say, five minutes with the Oura Ring 5 ruined me on all other smart rings—at least in terms of looks.

It’s not just slim for the sake of it. The official company line has always been to wear the ring on your index finger for optimal accuracy. In practice, this also removes the danger of scraping your Oura Ring against your wedding ring or other jewelry. With a smaller ring, Oura hopes to give users a bit more freedom.

While the shape may look the same (flat, circular), the thinness required a complete reengineering of the sensors. The new sensors lie flatter for more accurate and consistent readings, but it also may change the sizing more than expected. From the Oura Ring 3 onward, I’ve always been a size 11. After trying on a sampling of new rings, my size has gone up to a 12. All rings still come with a free sizing kit and a warning that size may differ, and I would suggest taking them up on that this time.

Color-wise, old favorites black, stealth, and silver (glossy and brushed) are returning as is, while gold has got a slight rejiggering to make it even more gold; I can’t say I personally noticed a huge difference. The one exception is the strikingly pink rose gold, which has been retired for now. Instead, it’s being replaced by deep rose—more of a gender-neutral copper tone that’s definitely going to appeal to more men. It looks sexy in person, but I’m still a brushed silver guy.

I couldn’t put the improved sensors or battery life to the test in my quick demo session, nor could I dive much into the new software features I was shown. These included nighttime blood pressure monitoring, GLP-1 insights to help users track their body’s response to weight-loss medication, and a long-awaited option for live activity tracking. In comparing the Oura Ring to other screen-free trackers, I’ve found this to be one of its biggest software deficiencies. Finally, you’ll be able to select a workout before you start it, and use the app for real-time pace and lap tracking. That’s major, but it’s playing catch-up. On the hardware side, Oura just lapped everyone else.

I’ve been with Oura since the Gen 3 Horizon Ring, and this is the biggest leap I’ve seen the hardware make. This is set to be the final nail in the coffin of the “are smart rings fashionable” debate, and in the ensuing years I’m sure we will see competitors follow suit with slimmer, thinner offerings. For now, the form factor of the Oura Ring 5 is genuinely ahead of its time.

You can preorder the Oura Ring 5 here in all six colors. It releases on June 4.