Oura, the innovator of the smart ring that allows users to track an array of biometric data, is launching new features focused on social sharing and sleep tracking. As the competition among technology companies to win consumers’ hearts and minds with wearable trackers intensifies, Oura introduces its new community-sharing feature, dubbed Circles, enabling users to create private groups to share activity, sleep and readiness scores with close family, friends, doctors, or trainers. Sharing physiological data can help in combatting the public health crisis of chronic loneliness, suggests Oura CEO Tom Hale. Rather than setting up a competitive environment, the feature offers a shared intimate space of support and empathy.
At present, consumers are preoccupied with measuring their fitness, health, and exercise as a response to the pandemic situation. Leading companies such as Alphabet’s Fitbit, Samsung, and Garmin have expanded their wearable device capabilities, while Apple introduced new health tracking features that use its existing watch technology and temperature sensors to monitor sleep and mental health.
Oura, originally known as a sleep tracker, has enhanced its sleep staging algorithm by introducing a four-stage sleep classification that includes wake, light, deep, and rapid eye movement sleep to compliment the measurement of brain waves, body oxygen levels, heart rate, breathing, and eye and leg movements. This new algorithm marks “the largest dataset of sleep in existence,” says Oura CEO, Tom Hale. By tracking these different stages of sleep, users can assess the quality of their sleep and areas for improvement to better cognition processes.
Oura has implemented a variety of strategies to expand its consumer base, including adding new features and forming partnerships. In 2021, the company partnered with Gucci to launch the luxury version of its ring priced at $950, while it recently signed a deal with Best Buy to become its first US-based large-scale retail partner, featuring its rings in over 850 stores across the country. In February 2022, Oura launched an employer-centric wellness arm designed to collaborate with companies, schools, sports organizations, and military programs to help employees achieve their health goals. The company sold its one-millionth ring in the first quarter of 2022, according to its latest sales data.
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