I tested the Apple Watch and the Oura Ring: Which is better?

Battery life

So this was a big deal for me as a certified lazy person without an outlet next to her bed. What I love most about the Oura Ring is that A full charge lasts me several days before I have to refill it – it’s the kind of low-maintenance device I’m aiming for, lol. On the other hand, Normally I have to my Apple Watch at least once a day. I get it – it’s a full screen that spits out notifications all day, so it needs more juice, but if I forgot to charge the battery, it would die overnight. As someone who wants to track activity during the day And Sleep, that wasn’t ideal.

PS: I found out I could save battery life by turning on Do Not Disturb or Theater Mode (which basically turns the screen off), but then you can’t get notifications. I also grabbed this Satechi 3-in-1 charging station for my desk that allowed me to charge my Apple Watch, phone, and Airpods at the same time while I worked, which helped too!

Sleep tracking

Since realizing that my terrible sleep was actually affecting my ability to live a normal life, I’ve gotten into the habit of religiously tracking and checking my sleep stats first thing in the morning. Both the Oura ring and Apple Watch tell you exactly how much REM, deep, and light sleep you’re getting each night, and how your time in bed compares to the time you actually slept.

Oh, and Oura goes one step further and gives you an easy-to-understand sleep index from 0 to 100 based on your recovery, your sleep efficiency, how quickly you fell asleep, and your overall schedule. Plus, it detects any nap you take (even if it’s a 10-minute power nap on your lunch break) and adjusts your sleep score accordingly!

And FYI, when you wear Apple Watch at night, the sleep/wake alarm will automatically vibrate from your watch and not ring from your iPhone. If you’d rather keep hearing your alarm from your phone, there’s a simple solution: just set a regular alarm instead of using the Watch app’s sleep/wake feature!

Fitness tracking

Okay, this is where the Apple Watch really shines, Simone Biles at the Olympics style. You can select an activity on your watch like hiking, HIIT or kickboxing and get tons of stats on your workout as well as seeing how close you are to closing those infamous rings (aka your daily move goals).

For research purposes, I wore both devices while surfing in Bali (they are both waterproof – you can wear the Apple Watch to a depth of 50 meters and the Oura ring to a depth of 100 meters!) and discovered within an hour that The The Apple Watch was the clear winner, absolutely no competition. There is a surf setting on the watch – the water lock is automatically activated once you select it – and it tracks your calories burned, heart rate, time and location for the duration of your workout. On the other hand, the Oura ring didn’t notice that I was surfing so I had to enter the activity manually.

The Oura is good at detecting walking and running (and it always shows me the most accurate number of steps because I wear it on my wrist almost 24 hours a day!!), but ultimately it’s not the best fitness device on the market. For example, it’s uncomfortable to wear when I’m lifting weights, so I take it off at the gym… which is fine because it doesn’t collect much valuable data when I’m doing weight training anyway.

Cycle tracking

Yes, menstrual cycle tracking is a lesser-known feature of Oura and Apple Watch that can help you think more “I saw that coming!” when it comes to your period and less “Yuck, again?” Both devices have highly sensitive sensors that measure your temperature throughout the night to detect subtle rises and falls that indicate a change in your cycle, as well as app features to help you note confirmed period dates, log PMS symptoms, and track pregnancy.

There is one key difference, however. The Oura ring in conjunction with the Natural Cycles app is an FDA-approved form of non-hormonal birth control, while the Apple Watch cycle tracking is not intended for medical use – it only has Retrospective Cycle tracking: The system tells you when you may have ovulated after the date has passed.

Various things to consider

Because the Apple Watch is a smart device with a screen, it has a handful of fun features and capabilities that the Oura ring doesn’t have. For example, it can tell you if you haven’t washed your hands long enough, it can Push notifications for medication intakeand you can even make yourself a damn electrocardiogram to test your heartbeat. The Apple Watch also works as a Bluetooth remote for taking iPhone pictures!

Oh, and one of my favorite features of the Apple Watch as a city dweller? The sound notifications! I’m someone who is constantly afraid of going prematurely deaf due to the noise levels in NYC (have you ever stood on a subway platform while two express trains roared by?), so it’s great to Tracking my noise exposure all day.

Prices

Prices for both devices vary widely (!!) depending on which material and color you choose, which is good news for anyone on a budget. And anyone who wants to treat themselves to a fun color scheme.

The Apple Watch Series 9 launches at 399$ for their aluminum surface and $699 for its stainless steel finish. On the other hand, Oura Ring is a bit more affordable, $349 to $549 for the latest Horizon Style depending on the color and $299 to $449 for the older Heritage style (which, FWIW, has identical hardware).

Oura Heritage Ring

Apple Watch Series 9

A quick snapshot of the Apple Watch…

Looking for a TL;DR? Keep scrolling to take a look at the Apple Watch’s most outstanding features (and some of its not-so-stellar drawbacks).

Per

• Excellent activity and fitness tracking

• Ideal for being on the go without a phone and still receiving notifications or making calls

• Interchangeable straps

• Tracks your heart rate and sends you notifications when something looks unusual

• Sends notifications about medication intake, hydration and standing reminders

• Informs you when a noise level in your environment is reached that is dangerous to your ears

• Waterproof up to 50 meters depth

• Easy to find if lost (also allows you to find your iPhone if you lose it!)

Disadvantages

• Quite bulky

• Battery life varies but typically needs to be charged daily

• Retrospective cycle tracking is not intended for medical purposes

• Can only be paired with iPhones

• Does not give you a score for interpreting the data collected

A quick snapshot of the Oura Ring…

Below you will find a brief summary of all the outstanding features of the Oura Ring as well as some of the less ideal features.

Per

• Incredibly elegant and easy to style

• Lightweight and comfortable to wear while sleeping

• Long battery life, only needs to be charged once or twice a week

• Gives you daily results to help you interpret your data

• Superior cycle tracking features

• Can be combined with Natural Cycles as an FDA approved form of contraception

• Excellent pedometer

• Waterproof up to 100 meters depth

• Lost rings can be found via Bluetooth

Disadvantages

• Not the best at tracking types of physical activity

• Cost: $5.99/month for app subscription

• Not a phone replacement (cannot answer calls or send SMS)

So which is better?

On the one hand, the Apple Watch offers a wider range of entertaining and technical features that connect seamlessly with the iPhone—it also requires a bit more manual maintenance (it’s pretty much a mini iPhone and needs to be charged quite often). On the other hand, the Oura Ring is an excellent health and wellness device. It is smaller And wonderfully low maintenance—Plus, It can operate for several days on a single battery charge.

After testing both, I found that I like the Oura ring better for my current needs. I love that it has a detailed cycle tracker and gives me daily metrics for sleep, fitness, activity and endurance. Plus, you can easily wear it every day with any outfit (important!).

However, if you value powerful fitness features, you should choose the Apple Watch. Let’s say you’re the type of person who goes for a run before heading to the office, and texting and checking notifications is allowed there as long as you do it on an Apple Watch—in this case, the decision is entirely yours.

Oh, and if you have the money to buy both (okay, moneybags!!) then by all means go for it. I wore both for weeks and can confirm that you will benefit from both as they offer different features!

Why should you trust us?

As cosmos Unofficial tech expert and shopping editor Hannah Oh has spent months testing various health trackers and wearables like the Oura Ring, Apple Watch, Fitbit, and WHOOP. She takes her sleep and well-being very seriously (eight hours a night or not!) and spends her free time explaining to her friends and family why they should jump on the biometrics bandwagon.

You might also like