{"id":372909,"date":"2025-12-28T11:11:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T11:11:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/372909\/"},"modified":"2025-12-28T11:11:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T11:11:16","slug":"i-wore-an-oura-ring-for-an-entire-year-heres-why-im-never-going-back-to-a-smartwatch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/372909\/","title":{"rendered":"I wore an Oura Ring for an entire year: here\u2019s why I\u2019m never going back to a smartwatch"},"content":{"rendered":"

A year ago, I purchased my Oura Ring 4<\/a>, and it has been sitting on my left index finger every single day. My hands have perfectly molded to its presence, and I actually feel like something is missing when I take it off to charge it.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve become somewhat obsessed with tracking my metrics with one of the best smart rings<\/a>, and I think that can only be a good thing. But you\u2019d never know, because the ring is discreet and has no screen to distract me, or the person I\u2019m talking to.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

With a smartwatch, our wrists demand our constant attention, but a ring takes that away while still effectively tracking metrics like heartbeats, sleep cycle, readiness and temperature. I can get an in-depth look at these metrics in the Oura app at the end of the day, so, for me, the best way to connect to my health is to disconnect from the screen.<\/p>\n

You may like<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want a screen<\/p>\n

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\"a\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

I may be cynical, but when I had an Apple Watch, I would always keep it on silent as I hated notifications coming through. It would constantly vibrate on my wrist, light up, and was frankly distracting.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

For many people, this kind of access to the outside world is ideal and keeps them connected to loved ones. But as someone who is easily distracted, this became more of a hindrance for me. I would constantly turn my wrist each time the watch vibrated, and even though it\u2019s just a glance, it would lead me to pick up my phone and ultimately forget about the task I was doing.<\/p>\n

Since the Oura Ring is screen-free, I\u2019m able to stay present in my daily tasks and remain connected to my body\u2019s data, just minus the glowing wrist. It\u2018s also one of my pet peeves when I am sitting talking with someone, and they keep looking at their smartwatch. I\u2019d even go so far as to say I find it pretty rude.<\/p>\n

Extended battery life<\/p>\n

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\"Oura\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Since the Oura Ring is screen-free, the battery life is far longer than that of a wearable with a screen. After all, screens drain a lot of power.<\/p>\n

Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.<\/p>\n

I only have to charge my Oura Ring once a week and still get all the data and features even when the power is running low. This means I get fewer data gaps where I have to take the ring off for charging.<\/p>\n

In-depth insights<\/p>\n

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\"Oura\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

I actually purchased my Oura Ring along with the Oura subscription because I had a major surgery in 2024, and I wanted to get back to exercising while still prioritizing my recovery. This was the best choice I could have made because, since returning to hiking, running and Pilates, the ring has become my advisor.<\/p>\n

I can get in-depth insights into my readiness when I work out. This allowed me to build the best routine to start getting strong while also paying attention to how much recovery I needed to give my body.<\/p>\n

Oura has even been able to alert me when I\u2019m about to get sick; when I had the flu, I knew a few days before to start taking it easy based on my temperature readings. And the temperature readings are also great for cycle tracking.<\/p>\n

So, I won\u2019t be taking this ring off any time soon, because staying screen-free and keeping track of my personal health now couldn\u2019t be simpler.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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\"Google\n<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

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More from Tom’s Guide<\/p>\n

Today’s best Oura Ring 4 deals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A year ago, I purchased my Oura Ring 4, and it has been sitting on my left index…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[49,48,195,61],"class_list":{"0":"post-372909","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gadgets","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-gadgets","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}