Bloomberg reports Apple is building early prototypes of a screenless wearable with a thin fabric band and sensor-equipped module, aimed at competing with Whoop and Oura Ring. The project remains in an early technology-investigation stage and isn't expected to launch before 2028, if it ships at all. Executives including Eddy Cue and Tim Cook reportedly back the effort, with Cue pushing Apple's health team to borrow ideas from simpler, fitness-focused competitors since taking over health leadership last October.
9to5mac.com
· 2026-09-22
Amazon is currently selling the Oura Ring 4 for $319.99, down 20% from its $399 list price, matching the lowest price seen since Prime Day. The smart ring tracks sleep, recovery, readiness, heart rate, temperature and stress, and offers roughly 5 to 8 days of battery life depending on size and settings.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-22
A longtime Oura Ring wearer has stopped using smart rings after about a year, citing fit issues caused by weight loss and temperature swings, the need to remove the ring for weightlifting, and damage from frequent hand washing. The user says two devices broke over the period, partly due to inconsistent removal for water exposure and physical activity.
notesbylex.com
· 2026-09-12
Apple unveiled the Watch Ultra 4, its top-tier smartwatch, featuring an S11 chip, upgraded heart-rate sensors, and battery life reaching 84 hours in low-power mode or 50 hours in normal use. The device introduces a daily readiness score, a VO2 Max test, and an AI-powered insights tab in the redesigned Health app, plus audio intelligence features for environmental sound alerts and conversation tracking.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-09
Oura has acknowledged in SEC paperwork filed ahead of its IPO that some Ring 4 units suffered battery performance problems, which contributed to an $84.4 million rise in warranty expenses during fiscal 2025. The company replaced affected rings free of charge, sometimes even after the standard one-year warranty had lapsed. Oura has not specified which production batches were affected.
androidauthority.com
· 2026-09-07
Oura is extending its Menopause Impact Scale, a self-reported questionnaire it launched in May that measures how menopause symptoms affect quality of life, beyond its own app. Ten partners—including Alloy Health, Gennev, Wisp, Pomelo, Maven, Tia, Xella, Oova, Mira and Hertility—will now integrate the scoring tool into their care and tracking services. The scale evaluates 22 symptoms across seven categories such as sleep, cognition, body image and hot flashes, and results can be exported as a PDF to share with providers.
cnet.com
· 2026-09-02
Whoop has removed the membership requirement for its Advanced Labs blood-testing screenings, letting non-subscribers access them for roughly $70 per test. However, the Whoop band itself remains functionally locked without an active subscription, requiring at least $149 a year for basic features like recovery insights, sleep tracking, and VO2 max data.
engadget.com
· 2026-09-01
A newly filed class-action lawsuit claims Oura Ring cannot accurately determine sleep stages because it relies on AI inference rather than direct brain-wave measurement, likening its accuracy to a coin flip. The complaint argues Oura is exploiting sleep-deprived consumers by marketing statistical estimates as reliable science. Verge writer Victoria Song notes that no wearable device measures brain activity directly, since all such gadgets rely on motion and physiological proxies interpreted through algorithms.
theverge.com
· 2026-08-26
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