Personal Health-Tracking Oura Ring Just Got a Huge Free Upgrade

The Oura Ring debuted way back in 2015 as a Kickstarter product. Not only did it achieve its funding goal and make it to market, it helped grow an entirely new market segment. What if you want to track your health throughout the day, but without the bulk of a smartwatch or fitness tracker strapped around your wrist?

That was four generations ago. Now the Oura Ring is in its fourth generation, and people go crazy for the lithe smart devices that count steps, monitor sleep health, and track calories burned during exercises. And a lot more. Only people have been complaining lately about the accuracy of the latest firmware, especially in counting the wearer’s daily steps.

Oura released an update on May 21 that didn’t just claim to fix the issues. It also added a slew of new capabilities. All for free.

the oura ring’s new features

There are quite a few updates, but the largest is how Oura has affected the way in which it measures your calorie burn during exercise. “Oura’s Active Calorie burn now takes your intensity of movement into account, meaning your heart rate during exercise,” Oura said in a blog entry on its website announcing the update.

“For active calories, the change in reaching your Activity Goal depends on what type of exercise you’re doing. If you’re doing a more intense workout like a HIIT class, you may see you’ve burned more calories than previously shown, making it easier to reach your goal. In lower-intensity exercises like yoga or casual walking, it may lower the active calorie burn amount shown.”

Put in layman’s terms, the Oura Ring just got an IQ upgrade when it comes to measuring your chosen exercise activity’s intensity, and the effects it has on your body.

Heart rate data can now be imported from partners, including Apple Health, Strava, and Health Connect by Android. And the Oura Ring doesn’t just play nice with those ecosystems, either.

With the update, you can connect your Oura Ring to programs by The Sculpt Society, CorePower Yoga, and Technogym. “These integrations uniquely leverage personal data from the Oura App, including sleep metrics, Readiness Scores, and heart rate variability, directly within the partner applications,” Oura says.

“This allows for a more informed and adaptive approach to movement, where workout suggestions, training intensity, and overall activity recommendations are contextualized by your daily physiological state.”

While the price may be unchanged, the Oura Ring just became a far better value, literally overnight.