Here's the thing about the Oura Ring 4 at $249: it's not the new one, and that's exactly why you should buy it.
The Oura Ring 5 is lighter and thinner, sure. But it uses the same sensors and runs the same software as the Ring 4. The newer model shaved off a few grams and a fraction of a millimeter, then walked away with the same heart rate monitor, the same temperature sensors, and the same sleep staging algorithm. If you've ever watched a crowdfunding campaign promise the world and deliver a plastic brick, you know that a discount on hardware that *already works* is the real prize. The Ring 4 is that hardware. Victoria Song tested six smart rings for our publication, and the Oura beat them all handily. That was true before the price dropped, and it's still true now that the Ring 5 exists.
What does this mean in practical terms? You can pick up a silver or black Ring 4 in sizes 8 through 13 for $249 at Amazon, Best Buy, or Target. That's a hundred dollars off the retail price, and the first significant discount since July. Best Buy even has a deep blue "midnight" color for $279 if you want something that doesn't look like every other ring on the train. If you're not sure about your size, grab the $10 sizing kit from Amazon or Target, it comes with a $10 credit toward the ring, so the kit is effectively free. The subscription is still $5.99 a month or $69.99 a year, and you still need it to access the full feature set. That hasn't changed. The price of admission is just lower now.
This kind of deal matters more when you consider what else is happening in the weird-gadget space right now. Amazon's flying security camera is weird, real, and hovering in your hallway, a product that asks you to trust a drone to patrol your living room while you're not home. That's a bet on future software and future reliability. The Oura Ring 4 is the opposite bet: a piece of hardware that has already shipped, already been tested by thousands of people, and already proven its sensors work. Meanwhile, Home Depot Slashes Prices on Power Tool Kits That Actually Stack Up, a reminder that the best time to buy a tool is often the moment the next version drops, not the moment the next version arrives. The Ring 4 is that tool.
One detail to watch: the Ring 4 is thicker than the Ring 5. Oura says the slimmer design of the new model leaves the competition in the dust. But "thicker" here means fractions of a millimeter, and the Ring 4 already fits a wider range of sizes than its successor. If you have larger fingers, sizes 8 to 13 are the ones on sale, the Ring 4's slightly chunkier profile is a non-issue. The real question is whether the Ring 5's thinner profile is worth paying an extra $100 for sensors that behave identically. The answer, for most people, is no. The razor clam in this spec sheet is the subscription: $70 a year, every year, whether you buy the Ring 4 or the Ring 5. That cost doesn't change. The only thing that changes is the upfront price, and right now, the upfront price is screaming at you to stop waiting.