Oura Ring 4 Ceramic ZDNET's key takeaways The Oura Ring 4 Ceramic retails for $499.
It has the same capabilities as the Oura Ring 4 but a zirconia ceramic finish and four new colors.
It's a stylish and whimsical addition to the Oura Ring lineup. View now at Ouraring
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I've said it before, and I'll say it again: most technology is ugly and unappealing to an artful eye. No matter how many times a smartwatch brand describes its device as delightful or beautiful in the keynote, it will still be a bulky piece of metal with red and green glowing sensors.
That's okay. We accept technology's aesthetic flaws because of the functional purpose it serves. I don't need my laptop to be pretty -- I need it to write this article. I don't need my smartwatch to be as luxurious as a Rolex -- I need it to record my workouts. But wouldn't it be nice if the tech accessories we wear around our wrists, fingers, and ears were as pretty as the jewelry we don on a night on the town?
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That's the crux of Oura's latest smart ring, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic. It ditches the hard metals that debuted with the Ring 4 for a soft, airy palette of pastels and rich colors. Four $500 smart rings are a part of this lineup: petal (a pastel pink), tide (a pastel blue), cloud (a creamy white), and midnight (a rich navy).
A whisper of stylish quiet luxury wrapped in a techy health-tracking package, the ring is $150 more than the starting price of its original Ring 4 lineup.
The lineup and its vibrant array of colors seem to appeal more to a feminine clientele than its original Ring 4 lineup of neutral metals. More of a fashion statement than an everyday tech accessory, Oura bills the Ceramic ring as a personal touch that can further reflect the style and taste of its wearer, letting their style, whether that's an airy white ring or a daisy pink ring, "ring true."
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In tandem with its release of the Ceramic, Oura also launched multi-ring support in its app, so users can switch out their Oura Ring 4 one night for their Oura Ring 4 Ceramic without having to disconnect one to connect the other.
Compared to the original Ring 4, the Ceramic is a bit chunkier. The Oura Ring 4 was already thick, and the Ceramic is thicker. It's made with zirconia ceramic, a tough material made to withstand scratches. This material is so strong, Oura says, that it's prone to wearing the scuffs softer metals impose upon it. Oura addresses these scuffs with a gifted ceramic polishing pad included with the purchase of a Ceramic ring.
Nina Raemont/ZDNET
The Oura Ring 4 and the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic are the same as far as software goes. Besides the different material coating the outside (titanium with the Ring 4 and zirconia ceramic with the Ring 4 Ceramic), the hardware in the ring - the battery and the sensors - is the same as well. Because of this, I won't get into detail about the software of the smart ring, which is fantastic. You can read about that in my original Oura Ring 4 review.
Out of all the technology I review daily, the Oura Ring is one of the few products I wear at all (or most) times. Its data illustration and quantity of tracked biomarkers deliver the right amount of information to its health-enthusiast user base. It has advanced features for wellness freaks, but also enough data to satisfy curious sleep and exercise trackers.
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The smart ring has correctly told me when I'm getting sick and helped me get back in good shape. It also prioritizes security and is one of the few companies committed to protecting health data. It's a product that keeps its promise - no small feat in the wearable health sphere.
The zirconia ceramic finish is absolutely gorgeous. Unlike the Oura Ring 4 and its titanium finish that discolors over time, the zirconia ceramic maintains its rich color that's built into the material. It's shiny and smooth, a great finish to run your finger over, and it's the only wearable I've tested that doesn't immediately look like it.
Maybe I could say the same about its metallic counterpart, but the Ring 4 Ceramic is different in Oura's prioritization of it as a fashion statement first and a health tracker second. This not only widens the audience for Oura Rings but also further normalizes and aestheticizes health tracking.
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The only issue Oura users, including myself, have dealt with is the device's increasingly weak battery life over time. After around a year of use, Oura Ring 4 users have reported a shorter battery life, nowhere near its eight-day guarantee. Oura seems to be addressing this by offering free rings to users and initiating a ring recycling program for older rings.
ZDNET's buying advice
The only difference between the Oura Ring 4 and the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic is the Ceramic's playful palette of colors, material, and an additional $150 starting price. This fashion tax makes the ceramic smart ring a fashion accessory first, a health tracker second, and a status symbol third.
If you'd rather track your health with a beautiful and capable smart ring with a pop of color than you would a bulky smart watch or metal smart ring (and you can afford a $500 smart ring), the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic is for you.