{"id":56589,"date":"2025-09-11T04:57:06","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T04:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/56589\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T04:57:06","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T04:57:06","slug":"new-generation-device-smartens-up-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/56589\/","title":{"rendered":"new generation device smartens up \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oura 4<\/strong> <\/p>\n

\ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7<\/strong> <\/p>\n

Price:<\/strong> \u20ac399<\/p>\n

Website:<\/strong> https:\/\/www.harveynorman.ieOpens in new window<\/a><\/p>\n

Where To Buy:<\/strong> Harvey Norman<\/p>\n

The last time I looked at the Oura Ring<\/a>, it was the second generation of the device and we were deep into Covid lockdowns. The ring measures everything from sleep and respiration rate to heart rate and body temperature and, at the time, it was being looked at as a possible early warning system for Covid, after some evidence that suggested the ring was flagging symptoms before the wearer really felt them. <\/p>\n

The overall verdict was a good one although the ring had some shortcomings. It was less suited to smaller hands, for example, and it didn\u2019t track workouts, which left some people still dependent on activity trackers and smartwatches when they may otherwise have abandoned them. <\/p>\n

But along came the Oura 3, the Oura 4 and we are back to it again. <\/p>\n

I have been wearing the ring for more than a month, letting it track my vitals, checking in daily on the app to see what my sleep quality has been like, and getting a general overview of my readiness for the day. <\/p>\n

The Oura 4 has been redesigned a little, taking away the irritating bumps on the inner part of the ring that were designed to keep it in place for proper readings. Now, the ring will find the best path for sensors to measure everything. <\/p>\n

That means fewer nooks to get gunked up too, and the ring doesn\u2019t feel quite as bulky, although it is not yet as slim as a regular, non-smart ring that doesn\u2019t have to cram in a battery. Most people mistook it for a wedding band, albeit one on the wrong hand. <\/p>\n

It still does a lot of the same things \u2013 heart rate variability, skin temperature,, breathing, sleep stages, activity and blood oxygen among others. That is all crunched to give you scores on health and wellness that are designed to give you an overview of your health, so you can track if things are going in the right direction, or adjust if they aren\u2019t. <\/p>\n

It now tracks heart rate during workouts too, giving you stats for how long you spend in each zone and, if you are interested, your stress levels. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Good-looking and practical: the best activity trackers on the market from \u20ac100 to almost \u20ac1,000Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Oura doesn\u2019t just tell you are stressed though; it will also offer some information on what that actually means. The ring will measure stress from all sources, whether it is illness putting your system under pressure, movement and activity, or just the common or garden type of stress that we are all supposed to avoid. It also suggests ways to deal with the different stresses, including mindfulness exercises. And there is also an adviser that will help steer you in the right direction, with a sprinkling of AI behind it. <\/p>\n

To keep track of its accuracy, I measured it off the Whoop band<\/a> reviewed a few months ago to see how closely they tied in. The results were surprisingly close. The sleep quality scores closely tracked each other and, for the most part, the automatic activity tracking was fairly close together. If the Whoop band said I should be feeling good for the day, the Oura 4 also did. <\/p>\n

And, most importantly, that was reflected in how I actually felt. Don\u2019t rely on apps for everything, kids; they occasionally get it wrong. <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t all good, however. While the Oura 4 was good at tracking sleep overnight, it failed a bit on naps. I\u2019m not a habitual daytime napper, so it was surprising when the ring occasionally flagged a period of inactivity \u2013 TV watching, for example \u2013 as a nap. That was quickly dealt with though, as Oura\u2019s system asks you to confirm some activities in the app before it logs them. <\/p>\n

It also persistently flagged short bursts of activity as housework. On one occasion, I was simply walking up the stairs rather than doing anything more strenuous. There wasn\u2019t a vacuum or a mop in sight. Again, I dismissed those suggestions as they arose. <\/p>\n

The app also has a new focus on women\u2019s health, allowing you to track cycles and get insights based on hormonal factors. <\/p>\n

The inconspicuous nature of the Oura 4 was its biggest draw. Charging it on average once a week was a close second. You could wear the ring almost anywhere, unlike an activity tracker. And given the decent battery life, the ring often took over when the smartwatch needed a break. <\/p>\n

But there are extra charges for the premium features after the trial period for new users expires, and given the cost of the ring \u2013 it starts from \u20ac399, depending on the finish you want \u2013 it is a pricey investment. <\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018It\u2019s like having a personal health coach in your pocket. I live a healthier, better life because I have this\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Good<\/p>\n

The design has been refined a little, making it more subtle and nicer to wear. It adapts to your hand rather than the other way around, which not only makes it more accurate, it is also more comfortable to wear. Charging is almost impossible to mess up, and the ring gets a good week or longer before needing a charge. <\/p>\n

There are a variety of colours and finishes too, and Oura has also extended the sizing to both smaller and larger hands. <\/p>\n

Bad<\/p>\n

Occasionally flags activity and rest incorrectly, although the more you use it the smarter it seems to get. And there are extra charges for some of the app\u2019s features. <\/p>\n

Everything else<\/p>\n

In the US, the ring will also link in with other sensors such as continuous glucose monitors. It would be nice to see that come in everywhere else. <\/p>\n

Verdict <\/p>\n

The health and wellness tracker you might just have been holding out for \u2013 if the price fits your budget, of course. Four stars.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Oura 4 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d9 \ue9d7 Price: \u20ac399 Website: https:\/\/www.harveynorman.ieOpens in new window Where To Buy: Harvey…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":56590,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[18,6693,19,17,31919,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-56589","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-health-wellness","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-tech-tools","13":"tag-technology"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56589"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56589\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}