The Oura Ring is my go-to for tracking my period. On the other hand, the Ava Bracelet takes it a step further with detailed tracking into one’s fertility and conception journey. Not intended to be used for contraception, the Ava Bracelet aids fertility and pregnancy journeys.
Contrary to the bracelet, the Oura Ring and its integration with Natural Cycles make it a great non-invasive way for contraception and taking fertility matters into your own hands, quite literally.
But are these the only functions for these wearables? There’s more where that came from. If you’re someone who is sick of popping birth control pills, is trying to conceive naturally, or is simply on a journey to know your body better, you may be wondering which is the right device for you. Let’s find out.
P.S. I only track my periods with the Oura Ring, but I will let you know the use for both to help you decide which wearable is better suited for you according to your requirements.
| Metrics the Oura Ring Tracks: | Metrics the Ava Bracelet Tracks: |
|---|---|
| Workout Tracking | Resting Pulse Rate |
| Sleep Stages | Skin Temperature |
| Sleep Duration and Movement | Breathing Rate |
| Nap Detection | Sleep Duration |
| Readiness Score | Sleep Stages |
| Heart Rate, Heart Rate Variability | HRV Ratio |
| Breathing Rate | Weight |
| Blood Oxygen | Daily Log for mood, workout, symptoms, etc. |
| Skin Temperature | Perfusion Pulse Rate |
| Cycle Tracking | Pregnancy Insights |
| Pregnancy Insights | Movement |
| Daytime Stress | |
| VO2 Max | |
| Body Clock | |
| Cardiovascular Age |
Right off the bat, the Oura Ring does much more than the Ava Bracelet. From tracking sleep, to workouts and overall activity, to regular period tracking and being a pivotal tool in non-invasive form of birth control if paired with the Natural Cycles app, the Oura Ring does it all.
The Ava Bracelet focuses on fertility tracking, giving an extended ovulation period of 5 days, facilitating getting pregnant.
| Specifications | Oura Ring | Ava Bracelet |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Ring | Watch-Style Sensor Bracelet |
| Sensors | 3- Infrared photoplethysmography sensors (PPG), Negative temperature coefficient (NTC) sensor, 3D accelerometer | 3- Temperature, PPG Sensor, and Accelerometer |
| Number of Measurements Taken | All-day tracking | Periodically, each night while sleeping |
| Temperature Sensor Accuracy/Precision | ±0.36°C/±0.13°C | ±0.8°C/ ±0.2°C |
| User Inputs | • Workouts • Period • Tags for mood, environmental factors | • Period/Flow Information • Cervical Fluid Consistency • Sexual Intercourse • Pregnancy Test Results • Mood • 10 User-Defined Functions |
| Sizes | 8 sizes (6-13) | Minimum wrist size: 12.5 cm / 4.9 in, Maximum wrist size: 20.5 cm / 8.1 in |
| Color | 6 colors – Silver, Black, Stealth, Brushed Titanium, Gold, and Rose Gold | 1 color- teal blue and white |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 4.0, WiFi | Bluetooth Wireless, WiFi |
| Compatibility | iOS 15 and higher or Android 9.0 and higher | iOS 15.0+ / Android 5.0+ or higher |
| Battery Life | Up to 7 days | Battery Life: 12 hrs (rechargeable) |
| Water-Resistance | 100 m | No |
| FSA/ HSA Eligible | Yes | Yes |
| Price | Starts at $299 | $239 |
| Subscription | $5.99 USD/month | No |
Grab the Ava Bracelet If:
Your Period is Regular, and You’re Trying to Conceive
A device that you only have to wear at night, sync to your app and charge in the morning and is almost 90% accurate in detecting your fertility window? Sounds too good to be true, no?
Ava has made all this possible with their wrist-worn bracelet that looks like a plastic version of a smartwatch without a screen. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t only track your fertility window, it also tracks your sleep duration, sleep stages, resting pulse rate, breathing rate, HRV ratio, perfusion pulse rate, and temperature.
It needs a minimum of 4 hours of sleep every night and about 1-2 months to be accustomed to your cycle, and as long as you sync your data every morning and don’t let the device die on you, it may save you multiple trips to your OB-GYN.
Ava has a fan base for their device for the sole reason that trying to get pregnant can be an emotional rollercoaster for many. While it may be a little pricey, they have a money-back guarantee if you don’t conceive within the initial 12 months of buying this device.
That’s a bold claim, but I do love a company that has faith in its product. These claims are not just relying on faith; they’re relying on years of being on the market and much research (more on this later). They’re also cleared by the FDA.
It also predicts (scary accurately, might I add) 5 days of fertility window as opposed to 3 that most devices do. This increases your chance of getting pregnant and additionally can be used to log activities like walking or jogging and continue throughout your pregnancy to gain insights into your body.
The Ava Bracelet also lets you log your various moods in order to help the algorithm with predictions and track stress. Along with the mood, you can also log your period, the flow, cervical fluid consistency, and more for a better understanding of your fertility.
The only cons I could see with this device is that it is not PCOS/PCOD friendly. For people who have conditions that result in irregular periods and/or heavy or very little bleeding, like endometriosis, PCOS, PCOD, fibroids, etc. It is also not advised by the company to be used as a method of birth control. Therefore, only serves one purpose.
Grab the Oura Ring If:
1. You Want to Track Your Periods
If you’re someone like me, not going in any particular route and simply wanting to track your period, Oura Ring is a no-brainer for you. It integrates with many third-party apps, but even without the need for these, it predicts my periods flawlessly.
I, of course, have to manually put in the start and end dates of my period, but the algorithm, along with temperature reading, is almost always correct in detecting the dates of my ovulation and period. It also has pregnancy insights if you wish to track the same.
I do have to point out, though, that the Oura Ring can detect the fertility window for 3 days prior and 2 days after ovulation, this gives Ava Bracelet an edge over Oura for extending this period for those trying to conceive.
2. Your Period is Regular, and You Want a Non-invasive Way of Birth Control
Oura’s integration with Natural Cycles is a game changer for people who want to take their fertility into their own hands without putting their bodies through the rollercoaster of hormonal fluctuations and side effects associated with OTC birth control pills and IUDs.
The Natural Cycles app takes the body temperature taken by the Oura Ring first thing in the morning and estimates your cycle and its phases. Why this works well in conjunction with the Oura Ring, is because Oura takes body temperature measurements throughout the night and gives an average temperature which is more accurate than a one-time measurement taken in the morning.
Although the Natural Cycles can also be used for getting pregnant and follows your journey throughout your pregnancy, it is also focused on birth control, as opposed to the Ava Bracelet, which is solely focused on conception and helping women get pregnant naturally.
Similar to the Ava Bracelet, dodging pregnancy can be tricky in case of irregular periods, so although this method can be good for tracking your periods and fertility windows, I can’t comment on how reliable it will be for birth control.
3. You Want to Track More Than Just Your Periods
The Oura Ring is more than just a fertility tracker. Unlike the Ava Bracelet, it is worn throughout the day and night in order to track activities and movement throughout. It is also really helpful that the battery lasts almost 6 days, so I don’t have to plug it every single day.
The Oura Ring tracks my sleep with such detail, giving me a score based on the metrics calculated as to how well I slept, allowing me to judge the same at a quick glance. It also gives me a score for my activity, pushing me to move throughout the day rather than for a couple of hours at the gym, and also a readiness score, which tells me how well my body has recovered and how ready it is to take on the day.
Apart from the 3 scores- it dives deep into each metric and lets me add various ‘tags’ from my mood that day to environmental factors in order to understand overtime which patterns triggered which outcomes.
It also tracks various workouts automatically and has the ability to manually log workouts. It also has a ‘trends’ tab in which I can see how each metric is performing over time and which needs improvement.
The Accuracy
- A study detected the Oura Ring had a sensitivity ranging from 71.9% to 86.5% for detecting menstruation and 83% for detecting ovulation.
- Ava bracelet had an accuracy of 90% for detecting the 5-day fertility window.
- Oura Ring detects fertility window 3 days prior and 2 days post ovulation.
- Owen Davis, in a conversation with The Verge, said that beyond temperature, other metrics aren’t universally agreed upon as accurate measures for ovulation but Ava’s algorithm can accurately detect the window where a woman can conceive.
- The HR readings from Ava were off by 7.75 beats per minute, but despite this, the direction both Ava and ActiGraph moved in were the same.
- The Ava bracelet has only a small connection with moods logged and stress levels, which means mood only somewhat reflects on your actual stress.
- Another study reflected Oura’s accuracy in tracking nocturnal skin temperature and the changes that coincide with various phases of the menstrual cycle.
- Oura conducted a study with 16 individuals over a week, comparing the temperature taken by the Ring and research-grade iButton under lab and real-world conditions. The performance was matching almost 99% under lab conditions and 92% in the real world. They also concluded that the Oura Ring reflects changes in one’s physiology and not the environment.
Final Verdict
Using the Oura Ring over time has helped me improve various aspects of my life, providing a holistic view of my health by combining sleep, activity, and period tracking. Because I don’t have a sole purpose pertaining to my fertility, I prefer the Oura Ring.
For people who are looking to get pregnant, the Ava bracelet has promising claims, and if you want a little more surety before diving down the IVF path, I feel the Ava bracelet could really be helpful in your journey.
For non-hormonal birth control, I do believe the Oura x Natural Cycles could be a game changer, especially without putting the body through a rollercoaster.
That being said, please consult your doctor if you have a specific concern while tracking your fertility. And if you wanna know how the Oura Ring has helped me inch towards a healthier life, give this a read.
