The latest version of our top-pick smart ring, the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic, comes with a little more personality and a stronger case. The Oura Ring 4 Ceramic retains the same health tech and battery life that users love, while offering it in four shinier finishes and a scratch-resistant zirconia ceramic exterior that’s meant to be worn every day.
Upgraded ceramic design and durability for daily wear
The zirconia ceramic shift is the newsflash. Oura claims it has a Mohs hardness of 8.5, which makes the outside harder than most steel and second only to sapphire crystal on that scale. For comparison purposes, stainless steel usually ranks around 4 to 4.5 on the Mohs scale and sapphire is about a 9, so everyday scuffs ought to be less of a concern here.
Reality check: ceramic will still show spots. Like high-end ceramic watches, you may detect “metal transfer” onto softer surfaces — appliances or gym equipment, for instance — but these are not scratches into the ceramic and can often be buffed out. Oura comes with a polishing pad and care instructions for cleaning.
The ceramic construction is bulky. The thickness grows from 2.88mm on the regular Ring 4 to 3.51mm. Weight now varies between 5.1g and 8.1g depending on size, versus about 5.2g beforehand. That’s still lighter than a lot of metal bands, but it will be an adjustment for people who are touchy about ring profile.
Same engine with smarter accessories and features
Beneath the ceramic, the Ring 4 Ceramic is identical to the base model in terms of electronics and sensors. It tracks over 50 metrics spanning sleep, readiness, activity, heart health, and women’s health using optical heart rate, temperature trends, and accelerometer data. Finger-based sensing is an asset here; peer-reviewed studies in Sleep and Frontiers in Physiology both found that finger photoplethysmography can outline heart rate and heart rate variability better than wrist-worn devices, aiding overnight recovery insights.
Battery life is again a standout at about five to eight days per charge. Our testing of the regular Ring 4 gets just over seven days in real-world use, with roughly 80 minutes needed for a charge on the puck. For travelers, Oura is unveiling an optional portable charging case that stores five full recharges (roughly 90 minutes per top-up), which refuels using USB-C.
And for fashion-forward owners who like to switch up their rings, there’s a new feature in the app that makes it possible to toggle between multiple Oura rings associated with one account. It’s live on iPhone and is starting to roll out on Android, allowing smooth transitions without missing data.
Extended Colors Without Compromising on Signal
The new shades — Cloud, Midnight, Petal and Tide — equate to off-white, metallic black, blush pink and pastel blue-green. And ceramic has benefits beyond style: It’s radio-transparent (Bluetooth permeates it), so its Bluetooth performance is not compromised as a full-metal band’s might be, and it’s thermally stable, which aids in consistent nightly temperature trend tracking.
Comfort is still its design brief. Ceramic’s satiny surface is comfortable on the skin, and molded inner grooves are designed to make it wearable 24/7: in bed or sweating through it at the gym. As with all optical sensors, good sizing is essential to get accurate readings: Most ring firms, including Oura, offer one-time sizing kits to dial this in before your order ships.
Price and market position for Oura Ring 4 Ceramic
The Oura Ring 4 Ceramic is priced at $499, which is a lot more than the standard $349 Ring 4. That uplift is consistent with the brand’s historic pricing for higher-end finishes like gold or rose gold. The portable charging case costs $99, too. Oura’s hardware is still bundled with an ongoing membership for advanced insights and long-term trends — a model that’s becoming increasingly prevalent among wearables.
Zooming out, the update is joining a movement of smart rings on the rise with products like the Galaxy Ring, Ultrahuman Ring Air, RingConn and Evie. Counterpoint Research and IDC analysts have cited rings as a high-growth niche, with discrete form factors and 24-hour recovery tracking in demand. With a tough-as-nails coating and fun new colors, Oura’s latest version cements its leading position.
Bottom line: a tougher Oura Ring 4 with same brains
If you want Oura’s deep sleep and readiness analytics in a more rugged body, this is the one to get. You pay more and receive a little bit of additional band bulk, but what you get in return is an incredibly scratch-resistant finish, brilliant colors all the time, and useful accoutrements for life on the go. Crucially, there’s no sacrifice in terms of battery life or metrics — just a smarter shell for the smart ring that already nails the basics.
