GoKawiilThe Oura Ring has become synonymous with smart rings the way Kleenex has with tissues. With a 74% share of the category, according to Omdia's November 2025 report, it's helped define an entire category of health wearables.
As someone who's spent months poring over my Oura Ring data, I thought I had a pretty good handle on what it could do. But after sitting down with Oura's first-ever chief medical officer, Dr. Ricky Bloomfield, it turns out I was leaving a lot on the table.
Dr. Ricky Bloomfield, Oura Ring Chief Medical Officer. Oura
A former physician and Apple Health executive, Bloomfield joined Oura in 2025 to help shape how the company's data translates into real-world health insights. And the fact that he showed up to our interview wearing multiple Oura Rings proves he quite literally has his finger on the pulse of how tech is empowering health.
Our conversation led me to uncover tools I'd glossed over, learn the real story behind my favorite feature and rethink what's possible when it comes to tracking your health from your finger. Spoiler: It goes well beyond catching a cold early.
Symptom radar: The best pivot to come out of the COVID-19 pandemic
One of my favorite Oura Ring features is Symptom Radar. At its core, it's a sort of vitals dashboard that gives you a heads up when one of them drifts from your personal baseline, meaning it can give you an actual sign that your body may be under strain before you've fully registered it yourself.
"For many people, it's like a check engine light on a car. Most of us aren't experts in our cars -- we might hear a funny sound, but seeing that light show up on the dashboard is confirmation that, 'oh, we need to go do something about it,'" said Bloomfield.
My toxic trait is believing I can will illness out of existence by ignoring it, often powering through to the point of collapse. Symptom Radar has given me the objective confirmation I need to allow myself that rest day and will likely recover faster than if I'd just run myself into a wall.
Oura Ring's Symptom Radar flags signs of strain on the body and suggests recovery days. Celso Bulgatti/CNET
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