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Oura Ring 5 launches with blood pressure tracking at $399

Oura Ring 5 launches with blood pressure tracking at $399

New Capabilities

Smaller fifth-generation smart ring adds nighttime cardiovascular monitoring and in-app telehealth as Apple and Samsung crowd the same space

June 4th, 2026: Ring 5 shipments begin

Overview

Oura's fifth-generation smart ring went on sale Thursday with blood pressure monitoring and on-demand telehealth access, starting at $399. The Ring 5 is 40% smaller than its predecessor and monitors nighttime blood pressure shifts that can warn of cardiovascular strain.

Samsung shipped live blood pressure readings on a smartwatch in March; Apple won FDA clearance for hypertension alerts in September 2025. Oura ships without that clearance. A January 2026 FDA guidance update made that possible—companies can now market blood pressure estimation as a wellness feature without the formal review Apple went through.

Why it matters

If wearables can catch undiagnosed hypertension early, primary care changes. And Oura needs that pitch to justify its $11 billion valuation.

Questions about this story

0

What are the measurement tools it has?

The Oura Ring 5 tracks 50+ health metrics using rebuilt optical sensors across 12 signal pathways, covering heart rate, blood pressure signals, blood oxygen, skin temperature, sleep stages, HRV, and activity.

Why it matters: The upgraded sensor array — designed for better skin contact across more finger types and skin tones — is what makes the new blood pressure and nighttime breathing features possible at this smaller form factor.

  • Hardware: precision low-profile sensor domes with 12 signal pathways; rebuilt optical sensors for clearer, more consistent readings
  • Cardiovascular: heart rate (resting + active), heart rate variability (HRV), blood oxygen (SpO2), and new Blood Pressure Signals that track nighttime cardiovascular shifts
  • Sleep & recovery: sleep staging, Nighttime Breathing (detects disturbances that may signal apnea), skin temperature, and Readiness scores
  • Activity: pace, distance, and heart rate for running, cycling, and strength training; plus GLP-1 medication-response tools new to Ring 5
Sources
Oura (official blog) Oura engineering blog Gadgets & Wearables
Room for disagreement
  • Oura markets Blood Pressure Signals as a cardiovascular wellness tool, not a medical measurement — cardiologists quoted in the Boston Globe warn the distinction is too subtle for most users, who may treat the readings as clinically accurate when they are not FDA-cleared.
AI-generated with web search — may be wrong. Check the linked sources.
0

What are the main fetures?

The Oura Ring 5 packs five major new capabilities into a body 40% smaller than its predecessor: nighttime Blood Pressure Signals, sleep Nighttime Breathing disturbance tracking, on-demand telehealth via Counsel Health, GLP-1 medication insights, and live activity tracking — on top of its existing 50+ health metrics.

Why it matters: Blood pressure and breathing monitoring during sleep are the two features most likely to catch cardiovascular problems early, and the Ring 5 is the first wearable to combine both in a form factor small enough to wear 24/7.

  • Hardware: titanium body now 6.09 mm wide and 2.28 mm thick, waterproof to 100 m, with 6–9 days battery life and 12 sensor pathways Oura says produce a pulse signal 100× stronger than wrist wearables.
  • Blood Pressure Signals: monitors cardiovascular patterns during sleep — the body's most stable window — and alerts users when biometrics suggest rising pressure; ships without FDA clearance under the January 2026 wellness-guidance update.
  • Nighttime Breathing: 30-day rolling view of sleep-related breathing disturbances, targeting early signs of conditions like sleep apnea.
  • Software: on-demand care ('Health Radar') powered by Counsel Health, GLP-1 Insights for weight-loss drug users, and live activity tracking with heart rate — all also rolling out to Ring 3 and Ring 4 via software update.
Sources
Oura Blog TechCrunch Engadget
Room for disagreement
  • Cardiologists and the Boston Globe warn that blood pressure features shipping without FDA clearance — under the January 2026 wellness-guidance loophole used by Oura, Samsung, and Whoop — could mislead patients into trusting readings that haven't been validated as medical devices; Oura and the FDA frame the same guidance as appropriate for consumer wellness tools.
AI-generated with web search — may be wrong. Check the linked sources.
Play on this story Voices Debate Predict Higher or Lower

Key Indicators

$399
Ring 5 starting price
Silver and Black finishes start at $399; Gold, Stealth, Brushed Silver and Deep Rose cost $499.
40%
Size reduction vs Ring 4
Body width drops from 7.99mm to 6.09mm; thickness from 2.88mm to 2.28mm.
5.5M+
Oura rings sold
Cumulative units sold through Q3 2025, per CEO Tom Hale. Half of all rings sold shipped in the prior 12 months.
$11B
Oura valuation
Set by a $900 million Series E round led by Fidelity in October 2025.
43
US states with in-app care
Where Counsel Health, Oura's telehealth partner, can connect users to licensed physicians.
75%
Smart-ring share of fitness-tracker revenue
US share per Circana, up from 46% a year earlier; under-34 buyers drive most of the lift.
~5M
Paid memberships (Q2 pace)
Oura paid memberships on track to exceed five million by end of Q2 2026—a fourfold increase over two years, per Bloomberg reporting on the IPO filing.

Voices

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People Involved

Tom Hale
Tom Hale
Leading Oura's push from sleep tracker to clinical health platform; pitching the IPO

Organizations Involved

Oura Health
Oura Health
Consumer health hardware and subscription software
Ring 5 on pre-order; IPO underwriters engaged with public debut targeted for later in 2026

Finnish smart-ring maker selling continuous health tracking through a $5.99-per-month subscription.
Apple
Apple
Consumer technology company
First wearables maker with FDA-cleared hypertension alerts

Maker of Apple Watch, the world's best-selling wearable.
Samsung Electronics
Samsung Electronics
Semiconductor and electronics maker
First to put live systolic and diastolic readings on a smartwatch

Maker of Galaxy Watch, the leading Android wearable.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Federal agency
January 2026 wellness guidance allows blood pressure estimation without clearance; cardiologists publicly raising accuracy concerns

Federal agency that decides which wearable health features qualify as medical devices.
Counsel Health
Counsel Health
Virtual care platform
Provides on-demand telehealth inside the Oura app

AI-powered virtual care startup partnered with Oura on the Ring 5's on-demand care feature.
Aktiia
Aktiia
Digital health startup; cuffless blood pressure monitoring
Only company with FDA 510(k) clearance for an OTC cuffless blood pressure monitor

Swiss maker of the Hilo Band, the only FDA-cleared cuffless blood pressure wearable sold over the counter in the US.

Timeline

January 2013 June 2026

13 events Latest: June 4th, 2026 · 1 month ago Showing 8 of 13
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Ring 5 shipments begin

    Latest Product

    First Ring 5 units reach pre-order customers; software update lands on Gen 3 and Gen 4 rings.

  2. Oura unveils Ring 5 with blood pressure tracking and on-demand care

    Product Launch

    Fifth-generation ring is 40% smaller, starts at $399, and ships with Blood Pressure Signals, GLP-1 tools and in-app telehealth via Counsel Health. Pre-orders open the same day.

  3. Boston Globe reports FDA has loosened wearables oversight

    Regulatory

    Cardiologists warn the rush of blood-pressure features shipping without clearance could mislead patients.

  4. Oura IPO plans reported at over €9 billion

    Corporate

    Euronews and Bloomberg report Oura has confidentially submitted draft paperwork to the SEC.

  5. Samsung ships cuff-free blood pressure readings on smartwatch

    Product

    Galaxy Watch update delivers live systolic and diastolic readings, a first for a wrist wearable.

  6. FDA wellness guidance clears path for blood pressure features without 510(k) review

    Regulatory

    The FDA's revised General Wellness guidance lets companies market non-invasive blood pressure estimation as a consumer wellness product, skipping formal 510(k) clearance, provided the product avoids medical or diagnostic claims. Oura, Samsung, and Whoop all shipped blood pressure features in the months that followed.

  7. Oura raises $900M Series E at $11 billion valuation

    Funding

    Fidelity leads the round; the company more than doubles its 2024 valuation in under a year.

  8. Apple ships hypertension alerts in watchOS 26

    Product

    Feature rolls out to Apple Watch Series 9 and later across 150 countries, including the US and EU.

  9. FDA clears Apple Watch hypertension alerts

    Regulatory

    Algorithm scans 30 days of optical heart-sensor data to flag possible high blood pressure.

  10. Aktiia's Hilo Band becomes the first FDA-cleared OTC cuffless blood pressure monitor

    Regulatory

    Swiss startup Aktiia wins 510(k) clearance for the Hilo wristband—the first cuffless blood pressure device authorized for over-the-counter sale in the US, priced at roughly $280. It uses optical pulse-wave sensors on the wrist and launches in the US in 2026.

  11. Oura hits $5.2 billion valuation

    Funding

    Late-2024 round more than doubles the company's prior valuation as Ring 4 ships in volume.

  12. FDA clears Apple Watch ECG

    Regulatory

    First consumer wearable feature to win FDA clearance, setting the template every rival now follows.

  13. Oura founded in Oulu, Finland

    Founding

    Petteri Lahtela, Markku Koskela and Kari Kivelä launch Oura as a sleep-tracking ring aimed at biohackers.

Historical Context

3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

September 2018

Apple Watch ECG FDA clearance (2018)

Apple shipped the Series 4 watch with an electrocardiogram feature that won FDA clearance under the De Novo pathway. It was the first consumer wearable able to flag atrial fibrillation, a leading cause of stroke. Apple paired the feature with an Irregular Rhythm Notification that scanned heart data in the background.

Then

Cardiologists split. Some welcomed the early-warning tool. Others reported a surge in patients arriving with watch alerts that turned out to be benign.

Now

Apple's clearance set the template every wearables maker follows now: ship a feature with FDA clearance to claim clinical credibility, then build out from there. Stanford's Apple Heart Study followed in 2019, validating the approach for over 400,000 enrollees.

Why this matters now

Oura's Ring 5 launches without FDA clearance for its blood pressure feature. Whether the ring can match Apple's clinical trajectory depends on whether regulators grant similar status to its algorithm.

August 2024

Dexcom Stelo over-the-counter launch (2024)

Dexcom launched Stelo, the first continuous glucose monitor sold over the counter to people without diabetes. The biosensor patch, previously prescription-only, went on sale in the US for $99 a month and tracked blood sugar every 15 minutes.

Then

Sales beat internal forecasts. Abbott rushed its competing Lingo product to market the same year. Some endocrinologists warned of needless anxiety from glucose readings in healthy people.

Now

Stelo redrew the line between medical device and consumer health gadget. Insurers and employers began pilots that subsidize the patches for wellness programs.

Why this matters now

Continuous monitoring of a single vital sign, once a doctor's job, became a $99-a-month consumer product. Oura is now trying the same move with blood pressure.

October 2007 to January 2021

Fitbit's rise and Google acquisition (2007-2021)

Fitbit launched in 2007 as a clip-on step counter and rode the early wearables wave to a 2015 IPO valuing it at $4.1 billion. Apple Watch, Garmin and cheaper competitors then ate its margins. Google closed its $2.1 billion acquisition in January 2021.

Then

Fitbit's standalone brand faded inside Google. The company laid off staff and pulled back from medical-device ambitions.

Now

The Fitbit arc became the cautionary tale of wearables: category creator gets out-distributed by phone-platform owners once health features become table stakes.

Why this matters now

Oura is the category leader in smart rings the way Fitbit once led wristbands. Apple and Samsung adding blood pressure features is the same competitive pressure that hollowed out Fitbit's lead.

Sources

(20)
+14
TechCrunch 9to5Mac AppleInsider Engadget The Boston Globe Bloomberg CNBC Euronews Gadgets & Wearables STAT News BusinessWire MobiHealthNews Tom's Guide Cooley LLP PR Newswire Fierce Biotech Engadget Bloomberg Tom's Guide CNBC