Oura Ring 5 shrinks fast, feels instantly better than 4

After wearing the Oura Ring 5 for a day, the biggest difference is how easily it disappears on the finger. The ring is visibly smaller and lighter than Oura Ring 4, and Oura says the new design adds an extra day of battery through a complete redesign of hardwa

For the first full day with the Oura Ring 5 on my finger, the surprise wasn’t a new feature list. It was how little I noticed it.

Oura unveiled the super-slim Oura Ring 5 in late May. and it arrives with a 40% smaller. thinner design than the Oura Ring 4—Oura’s previous model that launched two years earlier. In practice, that reduction in size and weight changes the whole experience. It feels easier to live with during the small, everyday moments that usually make wearables feel like wearables.

Oura didn’t just slim the ring and call it a day. The company says it redesigned its smart ring completely to make room for an extra day of battery life. That redesign included changing the battery, refining the algorithm, and inserting more powerful LEDs for health tracking. Oura also positions this as its most substantial update across generations—while much of the software arriving on Oura Ring 5 is also available on Oura Ring 4.

The practical impact shows up immediately in comfort. With the Oura Ring 4. the ring was thick enough that I could never fully squeeze my fingers together without leaving a small gap. It wasn’t the end of the world—battery decline over time was. for most people. a bigger complaint—but it was marginal enough to be annoying. especially since I was wearing it almost 24/7.

That gap has largely disappeared with Oura Ring 5. When I squeeze my fingers together now, only a tiny bit of space remains. The ring’s reduced size also makes it blend in better with everyday accessories. It looks like the kind of jewelry you forget about because it’s not visually demanding.

There’s a moment in the day when that difference becomes almost funny: when you do the Girl Scout hand sign—stick your index, middle, and ring fingers together with no gap. The Oura Ring 5 lets me do it without fighting the thickness of the ring the way the Oura Ring 4 made me.

When I compared Oura Ring 5 to ZDNET’s Kerry Wan’s wedding band. the two rings came out as practically the same thickness and width. That’s where the story shifts from “spec change” to “sensor tech finally meeting real life.” The ring may still be a health tracker first. but it’s the comfort improvements—sensor technology. battery. and hardware becoming slimmer—that make it feel like wearable tech has matured into something you can wear as often as you want.

Even the battery claims need time to be proven. Because I’ve only had Oura Ring 5 for a day, I can’t vouch for its extended battery life yet. I’m planning to update the review in a week, after putting Oura’s extra-day claim through more wear.

The same goes for the rest of the software updates arriving through Oura Ring 5, including Health Radar, live activity tracking, blood pressure signals, and more. For now, the clearest upgrade is the one you feel every time you move—Oura Ring 5 is simply smaller enough to stop getting in the way.

Oura Ring 5 Oura Ring 4 smart ring health tracking battery life Health Radar live activity tracking blood pressure signals wearable technology