Prince Harry’s favourite smart ring is back and smaller than ever

Oura, the smart ring firm that popularised the smart ring with a little help from celebrity wearers such as Prince Harry and Kim Kardashian, has announced the Oura Ring 5, claiming it is the world’s smallest smart ring ever.

Smart rings are gadgets worn just like regular rings but they contain an array of sensors to track health metrics such as steps, calories burned, heart rate and sleep quality. The Oura Ring 5 is slimmer than previous models and is made from a lightweight titanium.

The idea is the gadget collects much of the same data as a smartwatch but in a much subtler form factor. You can then view all your data in the companion app, which offers insights and recommendations on how to improve your health and fitness habits.

The Oura Ring 5’s slimmed down design addresses the fact smart rings are necessarily bulkier than traditional rings in order to fit in sensors and a battery. I reviewed the Oura Ring 3 and Oura Ring 4, and their inherent bulkiness was one of the things that put me off wearing them full time.

Claiming the Ring 5 is “the smallest smart ring in the world” and 40 percent smaller than 2024’s Oura Ring 4, pits Oura against its main rivals the Samsung Galaxy Ring and the Ultrahuman Ring Air.

Unlike those competitors, Oura charges £5.99 per month for a subscription, a fact that could irk given the Oura Ring 5 starts at £399 in silver and black and goes up to £499 for gold, stealth, brushed silver and deep rose.

“Oura Ring 5 is a big step toward our vision of giving every body a voice,” said Tom Hale, Chief Executive Officer at Oura. “By reimagining Oura Ring 5 to be smaller, easier to wear, and pairing it with our most advanced software yet, we’re making it possible for many more people to wear Oura every day—and to benefit from the personalised, predictive health insights that come with it.”

The Ring 5 promises a week of battery life and is fully IP68 dust and water resistant, so should cope with endless trips to the beach, pool plunges and daily showers.

Oura said its app is also getting an update to introduce live activity tracking, so you can start a specific workout and then monitor “key metrics” from your phone. It’s aimed at running, cycling, and strength training, showing Oura is trying to appeal to the audience who may currently be opting for sports watches.

The app also has updated smarts to track women’s health, with menopause insights based around a questionnaire on the wearer’s sleep, mood, cognition, and daily functioning. There’s even a hormonal birth control guide that adapts depending on the wearer’s method of contraception.

This more passive style of wearable is truly making a comeback. The Fitbits of the early 2010s were screenless wristbands with simple data collection at their core. The latter rise of the Apple Watch and feature-heavy sports watches from the likes of Garmin not only go very granular into data but also put a distracting mini computer on your wrist.

The Oura Ring and its rivals promises 24/7 tracking in a device that you’re meant to forget you’re wearing - something I struggled with on previous, bulkier Oura Rings, but an approach I enjoy.

Though I found it had its flaws, the recent Fitbit Air from Google is somewhat a return to the brand’s basics with a screenless strap. The difference in 2026 is that Fitbit, and Oura, present you with apps that go very deep on analysis, and are injected with AI to personalise the experience.

They also charge those pesky subscriptions to ensure you keep paying up every month to get the most out of your purchase.

The Oura Ring 5 is available to pre-order now and ships from June 4. It’s available in the UK at ouraring.com and from John Lewis, Harrods, Selfridges, Healf, Boots, Currys, Argos, InMotion, Amazon UK, EE and Jersey Telecom.