New Oura Ring Gen3 packs more advanced health sensors into a small package

What you need to know

• Oura Health launches its third-generation health tracking ring.
• The new Oura Ring features enhanced sleep monitoring and SpO2 sensing.
• The ring also has temperature sensors to help detect if you're sick.
• Oura Health is pairing the ring with its new membership with access to more features and content.

When you think of wearables, rings don't usually come to mind, but Oura Health is still trying to make it a thing with the third-generation Oura Ring.

The wearable offers many of the features you'd find in some of the best fitness trackers but in a small, inconspicuous package. Despite its small size, it offers all-day tracking features, including heart rate monitoring, sleep monitoring, menstrual tracking, and even temperature sensors to help determine whether or not you might be sick.

The Oura Ring's infrared sensor is now met with red and green LEDs that will enable more accurate sleep monitoring as well as SpO2 sensing, features that will be available in 2022.

Later this year, Oura Ring Gen3 will be able to monitor your heart rate during a workout and give you insights on how you can improve your training sessions, complete with a dashboard to show your metrics. And an upcoming Restorative Heart Rate feature will help you determine if you're resting enough and taking enough breaks throughout the day.

There's an increased focus on women's health with Period Predictions, which will use the temperature sensors to alert you six days before your next cycle and will adapt as it changes. Oura Health says this is just the start of its investment in women's health and family planning.

The ring can automatically detect 30 different activities and is also water-resistant so that you can take it for a swim. And with the Oura app, you'll have quick access to your metrics and more, including three scores that track your readiness, sleep, and activity. For those that rely on Apple Health and Google Fit, the app will automatically sync with either service so you can have your metrics in one place.

Oura Health calls the Gen3 "an engineering feat" with health tracking technology packed into less than a centimeter of space. Even with all these new tracking features packed in, the ring features week-long battery life, so you don't have to constantly worry about charging it. And when you do need to charge it, the wireless charger will top up the device in 20 to 80 minutes.

Oura is also highlighting its newly launched $6 membership that will give users access to health insights, personalized recommendations, and access to a library of content with over 50 videos and audio sessions such as breathing exercises, meditation, and more.

New Oura Ring members will be treated to a free six-month trial to the membership, while existing members can get a discount on the new ring when they upgrade with a free lifetime membership.

The Oura Ring Gen3 is priced at $299, which is admittedly not cheap considering you can buy a Fitbit Versa 3 for less. It comes in four different colorways; silver, black, stealth, and gold.