AJ is a journalist from New York City. He's covered a variety of consumer tech topics throughout his career, with his work published on media outlets including CBS, FOX, and NBC.
Oura Rings are unquestionably the leader in the smart ring market and offer a unique experience compared to other top fitness trackers. But lately, it seems that Oura Health, the maker of the smart rings, is losing the aura it once had, whether it's delaying its IPO or being sued over false health-monitoring claims.
There’s also the fact that there is an increasing number of other wearables, including smart rings, that can essentially do the same health-marker monitoring as the Oura Ring, but at a lower price and with fewer subscriptions, if any at all. All hope isn’t lost for the company just yet, but it may need to make a few changes to maintain its historically substantial success.
Oura Health is currently facing a class-action lawsuit
The lawsuit claims the company misled consumers about sleep-tracking accuracy
In the documented lawsuit, the suing party alleges that “Oura Rings cannot measure a user’s sleep or cycles as advertised, given that the devices lack the sensors necessary to measure brain electrical activity, eye movements, muscle tone, and other key sleep parameters.” They go on to claim that the rings cannot measure sleep because the ring cannot monitor sleep from a finger. The 53-page lawsuit, which began in August 2026, also alleges that the ring “infers sleep stage data” from other health markers, such as heart rate, blood oxygen trends, peripheral skin temperature, and physical movement. The lawsuit seeks $5 million in monetary relief for those who purchased the Oura Ring 4, Oura Ring 4 Ceramic, or Oura Ring 5.
Oura pushed back against the lawsuit, in a statement shared with USA Today shortly after the lawsuit was made public, saying that "multiple third-party, independent studies support our claims of accuracy, and we have transparently reported on the mechanisms and measures that inform Oura’s sleep staging.” The company even published its own article on its website, doubling down on its sleep-monitoring features.
The case is still pending, but if it’s proven that the rings cannot measure sleep cycles, that could deliver a huge blow to the company. Many of the latest top fitness trackers on the market feature sleep-cycle monitoring, including Apple Watch, Fitbit, Whoop, Garmin, and Samsung Galaxy Watch/Ring. However, Oura is one of the few companies that primarily market their fitness tracker as a sleep tracker, while the other top brands market their products more broadly across health tracking, offering a range of features.
Oura Health delays its IPO
The company claims the delay is due to market ‘uncertainty’
On September 21, 2026, Oura announced plans to go public on Nasdaq later this year. However, a week later, it announced delays of those plans due to market ‘uncertainty,’ according to CNBC. The company planned to raise over $2 billion with the IPO, selling 50 million shares. Oura told CNBC that the delay comes despite strong demand and expectations that revenue will grow 90% year over year in fiscal year 2026.
The timing of Oura’s decision to delay going public raises the question of whether the delay is related to its ongoing lawsuit, but numerous companies have delayed their IPOs this year due to market volatility and geopolitical tensions worldwide.
What changes could make the Oura Ring better?
An "Oura Ring Air" could be a game-changer
Oura’s latest fitness tracker, the Oura Ring 5, starts out at $399 and goes up to $499 for premium colors such as gold and silver. The only features you get for free without a subscription are three daily Oura scores: sleep, activity, and readiness. However, you cannot see the details of those scores or why you received them without a subscription. It costs $5.99 monthly, or $69.99 annually, for full access to features including continuous heart rate monitoring, blood pressure, women’s health cycle monitoring, cardiovascular age, and cardio capacity (VO2 Max).
Apple Watches and Fitbits, on the other hand, offer all their biomarker-monitoring features for free, with the latest Apple Watch models starting at $249, while the discreet, minimal Fitbit Air costs $99. There’s also the RingConn Gen 2 Air, another smart ring that offers features similar to Oura's, but currently costs only $199.
What could help Oura right now is a cheaper version of its rings, like an “Oura Ring Air,” with a ring made of plastic, silicone, or fabric, compared to its standard titanium and ceramic models. The company could even remove a few features from the ring while keeping popular health-tracking features on there at no subscription cost.
I have also always been hesitant to pay the high price tag for the Oura Rings because if your ring size changes after 30 days, and the ring becomes too tight or loose, it isn’t adjustable, and you can’t exchange it for a different size. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how Oura pivots in response to this year's challenges.