Ultrahuman Ring Vs Oura Ring | Which Is The Best Smart Ring?

Here’s a smart ring showdown between two dupes. Yes, you read that right. The Ultrahuman smart ring has been declared to be the Oura Ring’s dupe by many. With little to no price difference, let’s break down if one is better than the other.

You probably already know this, but I’ll still tell you- there’s only so much you can do in terms of innovation in the smart ring market. Don’t get me wrong, I still marvel at the fact as to how such a tiny device can do so much. I mean in terms of design.

While the smart ring market may have limited room for radical innovation, both the Oura Ring and the Ultrahuaman ring are jampacked with impressive features and technology. Let’s dig a little deeper, shall we?

Ultrahuman vs. Oura Ring: Specifications

Specifications	Ultrahuman AIR	Oura Gen3
Dimensions	8.1mm wide, 2.45 – 2.8 mm thick	7.9mm wide, 2.5mm thickness
Weight	2.4 – 3.6 g	4-6g
Sizes	10 sizes(5-14)	8 sizes (6-13)
Colors	5 colors – Raw Titanium, Aster Balck, Matte Grey, Bionic Gold, and Space Silver	6 colors – Silver, Black, Stealth, Brushed Titanium, Gold, and Rose Gold
Material	Fighter jet-grade Titanium with medical-grade hypoallergenic epoxy resin	Titanium with PVD coating
Water resistance	100 m	100 m (IP68)
Connectivity	Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE5)	Bluetooth 4.0
Compatibility	iOS 15 and higher or Android 6 and higher	iOS 15 and higher or Android 9.0 and higher
Sensors	Infrared PPG (Red, Green, and IR LEDs)	Infrared PPG (Red, Green, and IR LEDs)
Battery	24mAh LiPo battery	15mAh (US6) – 22mAh (US13) LiPo battery
Battery life	Up to 6 days	Up to 7 days
Time to full charge	2 – 3 hours	20-80 minutes
Subscription	Free	$5.99 USD/month
Customization	Yes, an additional $39	No
Price	$349	Starts at $299
Warranty	1 year	1 – 2 years
Additional Coverage Plan	$30 billed annually	2-year ($45) and 3-year ($60) plan

Ultrahuman vs. Oura Ring: Design and Customisation

Although not very different in thickness, somehow, the Ultrahuman being 0.5mm less than the Oura ring makes it slightly more comfortable to wear.

The sensors on both rings are also placed differently. While the three sensors on the Oura ring poke out at the base of the ring, the Ultrahuman has a flat, raised inner surface that is slightly better, in my opinion, when it comes to the fit of the product.

Neither of the two are uncomfortable, but if I had to be really brutal and precise, the Ultrahuman is a tad bit easier to slip on and off my finger.

One thing I have to mention is that the sizing kit that comes with the Oura ring is true to size, while I found the sizing kit with the Ultrahuman to be slightly loose as compared to the actual ring. Expect the ring to be just a smidge more snug than the sizing kit ring you choose.

The Oura Ring doesn’t provide an engraving or customization on the ring, while the Ultrahuman does at an additional cost of $39 for a maximum of 8 characters. The customized version also takes 7 additional days to ship.

Ultrahuman vs. Oura Ring: Metrics They Measure

Ultrahuman AIR	Oura Gen3
1. All-Day Tracking	1. All-Day Tracking
2. Workout Tracking (Up To 1 Hour)	2. Workout Tracking
3. Sleep Tracking	3. Sleep Tracking
4. Recovery/Readiness Score	4. Recovery/Readiness Score
5. Heart Rate Variability	5. Heart Rate Variability
6. Heart Rate Tech – Optical/PPG	6. Heart Rate
7. Breathing Rate	7. Resting Heart Rate
8. Body Temperature	8. Heart Rate Tech – Optical/PPG
9. Circadian Rhythm	9. Breathing Rate
10. VO2 Max	10. Blood Oxygen
11. Cycle Tracking	11. Body Temperature
12. Stress Tracking	12. Cycle Tracking
13. Blood Oxygen	13. Day-Time Stress
	14. VO2 Max
	15. Body Clock
	16. Cardio Age

I use my Oura ring mainly for tracking sleep. The metrics are detailed and much easier to understand. While the metrics for steps were pretty identical on both the rings, the sleep detection by Ultrahuman had certain inconsistencies (more on that below).

I prefer wearing smart rings for workouts such as yoga and pilates, but they are not ideal for weightlifting. As for activity tracking, automatic workout detection only works for walking and running on the Oura Ring. Any other workout needs to be added manually via the app.

The Ultrahuman allows recording of various workouts (still in beta) but the metrics for HR are still pretty off. It also doesn’t allow you to add workouts if in case you’re not wearing the ring at the time of working out. Such a red flag!

Mohit Kumar replied to a Reddit thread stating:

“The ring is currently optimized for HR and HRV at rest. This is accurate compared to gold standard devices and chest straps. HR during motion is a work in progress. We released a firmware update today to make progress here.”

Although the comment was made on 23 Nov 2023, like many users, these metrics are still not resolved for me either.

But if you still want to give the workouts with the Ultrahuman a shot, there is another feature you might like. The ‘Discover’ tab allows you to access workout videos for HIIT, yoga, weight training, and much more.

Podcasts are also available for meditation and to help you fall asleep. A feature I use more than any other in my Ultrahuman ring.

So, let’s talk about what Mohit claims to be “accurate.” The sleep data.

For the most part, the sleep metrics recorded by both Oura and Ultrahuman were pretty similar. There’s just one tiny thing that’s been bothering me. Somedays, if I wake up in the middle of the night for longer than 5 minutes, the Ultrahuman stops recording my sleep data altogether.

Here Is the Data I Recorded with Both Oura and Ultrahuman for 4 Nights in A Row

Metrics	Day 1		Day 2		Day 3		Day 4
	Oura	UH AIR	Oura	UH AIR	Oura	UH AIR	Oura	UH AIR
Total Sleep	7h 56m	7h 14m	8h 23m	7h 50m	8h 15m	5h 26m	6h 35m	5h 51m
Time in Bed	8h 53m	8h 42m	8h 50m	8h 20m	9h 2m	5h 40m	7h 9m	7h 1m
Efficiency	89%	83%	94%	87%	90%	97%	92%	84%
RHR	51bpm	62bpm	55bpm	69bpm	53bpm	59bpm	55bpm	65bpm

Although the time and RHR are not extremely different, on day 3, my dog woke me up in the middle of the night due to a thunderstorm, and as you can see, the Ultrahuman stopped recording my sleep post that.

If they get this metric sorted, that’ll be a win for Ultrahuman. But for now, the Oura Ring is a clear winner in my books.

Cycle Tracking

Oura’s cycle tracking is a no-brainer for me; the insights into my phases, with predictions accurate to the T, Oura’s cycle tracking is unmatched.

The UH AIR also offers insights into my cycles; however, it does not predict the dates of my cycle or menstrual phases. Following the steps of Oura, Ultrahuman has partnered with Clue, to integrate their data with the UH app and provide better insights, but it’s still nothing as compared to Oura.

Oura also has an integration with Clue, but their partnership with Natural Cycles goes a step further with their FDA-cleared, non-hormonal birth control.

Performance Coach or Oura Advisor?

Ultrahuman’s performance coach is like having my personal trainer on my phone. The data provided by Ultrahuman is so vast, and sometimes it can get overwhelming. This feature allows me to ask a real person instead of a bot about my data and how to make sense of it.

Oura has also launched a similar feature, the Oura Advisor. But unlike the performance coach, Oura Advisor is powered by AI and not a real person behind the screen. This is the reason why I found the chat with Oura Advisor a bit more impersonal.

It is also noteworthy that the Oura Advisor is currently only available under the ‘Oura Labs’ in the iOS app and not in Android.

Ultrahuman’s Performance Coach is much better than Oura Advisor in terms of providing a real, personalized experience.

Circadian Rhythm by Ultrahuman or Body Clock by Oura?

I first learned about circadian rhythm when I was trying to get into intermittent fasting. When I saw this feature in my Ultrahuman ring, I was quite fascinated. This feature allows me to align my habits and caffeine consumption in a way that won’t affect my sleep pattern.

It also sends reminders at optimal times to get sunlight and exercise so as to have a better day altogether.

The other day, it notified me about “residual adenosine levels.” Confused is an understatement; I thought something was wrong with me. Upon a few Google searches, it simply means a natural chemical that signals the body when to sleep. Using this information, the UH app tells me not to consume caffeine as my bedtime is approaching.

What I liked about this feature is that it gives me options instead of coffee, with their caffeine content, so I can make a conscious choice.

Oura has a similar feature based on circadian rhythm, the Body Clock. It displays the optimal time to sleep in conjunction with current sleep patterns in a clock form. How did Oura determine my optimal sleep window? Via my chronotype.

Simply put, chronotype is the circadian rhythm that determines my activity levels.

While both features are similar, Ultrahuman takes the cake for giving me alternatives to caffeine and optimal times to get some natural vitamin D.

Additional Features

Ultrahuman’s Food Tracking

If you like keeping a track of your macros and diet in general, this feature is something that Ultrahuman gets brownie points for (or some protein, no sugar, paleo brownie, at least).

Ultrahuman provides food tracking as an extension of their Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM), M1. Now, you don’t need the M1 to track food; the food logging can work without it. However, if you need to track the impact of your diet on your blood glucose levels, you can opt for the M1.

What I like is that I don’t have to have a separate app for tracking my macros. But if you like the barcode scanning feature from the My Fitness Pal app, good news for you: the Ultrahuman app can read and pull data from the same and integrate it for a holistic view of your eating habits.

Ultrahuman vs. Oura Ring: The App

The apps are very similar in terms of the metrics and graphs. Ultrahuman shows scores in three fields- movement index, sleep index, and recovery score; Oura shows scores in readiness, sleep, and activity.

Although I love the optimal caffeine intake feature and the ability to access a professional to answer my questions, the Oura app’s interface is inarguably better.

For anyone starting out with smart rings, Oura’s metrics, split into three tabs, are beginner-friendly and so much easier to understand. Ultrahuman’s app looks a little complex, and it feels like I am thrown a bunch of graphs and numbers in my face the minute I open the app.

All the data is compiled onto the Home tab, which provides deeper insights as and when you keep clicking through each metric. If they are taking “inspiration” from Oura, I hope they make navigating their app a little less complicated in future updates.

Ultrahuman vs. Oura Ring: Battery and Charger

Oura Ring claims a battery backup of 7 days but with the SpO2 feature, the battery has significantly reduced. Although turning off the SpO2 on my Oura ring has made a difference, my Oura ring’s battery lasts around 6 days before I need to charge it again. P.S. Here are a few more tips to optimize your Oura ring’s battery.

The Ultrahuman, on the other hand, claims a battery of 6 days, but realistically, it lasts me around 3-4 days. More like 4 days.

As for the charger, both are size-specific, and the Oura charger lights up when you put the ring on charge.

On the other hand, the Ultrahuman charger lights up even when the ring is nowhere near it. Now I need a little light when I sleep, so it doesn’t bother me much, but for someone who needs pitch black to fall asleep, I can only begin to imagine how annoying it must be.

I never thought I’d consider a charger while reviewing a gadget, but because of Ultrahuman’s need to “light up the night,” I prefer my Oura.

The Ultrahuman is also sooo slow to charge. It takes around 2hrs to charge my ring. I also noticed the ring gets a little heated after charging.

Oura, on the other hand, an hour maximum, depending on the level of charge I had before.

Another drawback of the Ultrahuman while charging is that sometimes, when I put the ring on charge and go about my day, I open the app, and it shows ‘not charging’ despite the light being on. So, to ensure that the ring is charging, every time I put my ring on charge, I need to open the app to make sure it’s charging.

Ultrahuman vs. Oura Ring: Price

The price of both the rings, the Ultahuman and the Oura are not much different. The key difference lies in the cost of the subscription. While the Oura ring has a slew of features, apart from the basic few, they’re locked behind a paywall. We need to pay $5.99 USD/month to access these features.

The Ultrahuman comes up to be cheaper because it has a no-subscription model.

Final Verdict

Oura claims the design looks very similar to their ring. Can a ring really be any different, though? What I don’t stand by is copying their marketing techniques and Instagram graphics.

All I want to say is if Ultrahuman really wants to be considered better than Oura, they need to get their metrics right. The ring has so much potential, but with correct metrics and a simpler display of the same on the app, it could be a game changer.

The metrics Ultrahuman provides that too, without a subscription, are truly commendable. But the reliability battle is where Oura shines.

With Ultrahuman being very quick with updates, if you’re on a budget, investing in an Ultrahuman could be the way to go because I do believe they will improve with time. But if you don’t mind the subscription model, Oura is the way to go.

Frequently Asked Questions