Oura Ring 4 vs Samsung Galaxy Ring: I Wore Both for a Month — Here’s What Actually Stuck

Natalie Torres May 31, 2026 Health and Beauty, Personal Care

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I have small fingers, I write about beauty products for a living, and I’m extremely skeptical of anything labeled “wellness wearable.” So when SmartBuy asked me to test the new Oura Ring 4 against the Samsung Galaxy Ring for a month, I expected to write a polite “both are fine, here are the specs” piece and move on with my day.

What actually happened: I started wearing one on each hand on May 1st. By May 12th, one of them was permanently on my nightstand. By May 28th, I’d worn the same one on every day, including in the shower, to two yoga classes, to a wedding, and through one truly miserable head cold. Here’s the honest comparison.

The two rings, briefly

The Oura Ring 4 is the fourth-generation version of the smart ring that started this category. There’s no screen, no buttons, no notifications. It tracks sleep, activity, heart rate, temperature, and (newly in version 4) blood-oxygen overnight. It costs $349 plus a $5.99/month subscription, which is the part of the pitch a lot of people stumble on.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring is Samsung’s first major push into the category, launched alongside the Galaxy Watch 7. It tracks the same general metrics, costs $399, and — importantly — has no monthly subscription. It pairs best with Samsung phones and the Samsung Health app, though it does technically work with other Android handsets.

What month one actually looked like

The first week I wore both rings, I did not know what I was supposed to be paying attention to. I just had two rings on my hands and I kept looking at two apps. By week two I’d settled into a rhythm of checking each in the morning while my coffee brewed.

Sleep was where the rings disagreed most. The Oura consistently logged me as getting roughly 20 minutes less sleep than the Samsung. Both agreed on when I went to bed, but the Samsung was generous about counting drowsy reading time as sleep. I trust the Oura number more, partly because it matched my actual mood the next day more often.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring’s real strength

Battery life is the headline win. I got six full days from a single charge, where the Oura needs a top-up every four. The charging case is also slightly more pocketable, which sounds trivial until you’ve forgotten the round Oura charging puck on a work trip and spent the last day flying blind.

The other strength: no subscription. If you live inside Samsung Health already, the Galaxy Ring slots in for a flat $399 and that’s that. Six months of Oura subscription is about $36, which sounds modest until you realize you’re paying it in perpetuity.

Where Oura still wins

The app. It is not close. Oura’s daily reports are the kind of thing a thoughtful friend who happened to be a sleep scientist would write. There’s an editorial voice, a clear hierarchy of what mattered yesterday, and concrete, sometimes blunt suggestions: “you were dehydrated; the temperature spike at 4 a.m. is consistent with that, drink more water.” Samsung Health’s energy score is just a number with a percentage. It is correct in the way a weather report is correct. It is not useful in the way a forecast is.

Oura also handled my four-day head cold properly. By day two it had flagged “signs of major strain,” cut my activity targets to almost zero, and quietly nudged me to rest. Samsung Health kept asking why I hadn’t hit my steps.

Fit, finish, and the part nobody warns you about

You do not order a smart ring; you order a sizing kit, wait a week, get a free plastic ring set, wear the size you think you want for 24 hours, decide, and then order the real thing. Skip this step and you will hate your purchase. Both Oura and Samsung do this and both are fine about it. Order half a size larger than you think.

The titanium finish on both rings has held up better than I expected. I do dishes wearing them, I cook, I lift weights at a gym. The Oura has a small scratch on the side that I cannot find the origin of. The Samsung is currently unscathed, which I attribute to luck.

The wedding test

Three weeks in, I had a wedding to go to. I wore one stack: my mom’s vintage gold band, a thin pinky ring I always wear, and one smart ring. I picked the Oura because it’s slightly lower-profile and the matte silver disappeared next to the gold band. Nobody noticed. That is the bar.

What I’d actually recommend

If you live in iPhone-land and you care about sleep quality more than you care about saving $72 a year in subscription fees, the Oura Ring 4 is the answer. The app does work that justifies the monthly cost. Grab a spare charger while you’re at it — the included puck is the kind of thing you definitely leave at hotels.

If you’re on a Samsung Galaxy phone, the Galaxy Ring is the rational choice, especially because it sidesteps the subscription. The data is good enough; the app is the gap. If Samsung ships a smarter Health app next year, the calculus flips.

The one I’m still wearing on June 1st? Oura. I am not the kind of person who believed I would care about a ring telling me to drink water. Apparently I am now.

Featured photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels. SmartBuy earns a small commission on qualifying Amazon purchases.