On September 3, Oura filed an S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, applying to list on Nasdaq under the ticker "OURA." Neither the share count nor the price has been set, and the listing is not yet complete. Still, it matters that a company selling ring-shaped devices is going public as a recurring-revenue business built on paying subscribers. The competition among smart rings has shifted from who can quietly measure sleep and activity to how much of the post-measurement data analysis gets locked behind paywalls, and what the ring itself is asked to do.
With 5 million paid members, Oura files for an IPO
According to the SEC filing, Oura's revenue for the nine months ended June 30, 2026 was approximately $1.215 billion, up 74% year-over-year. Of that, roughly $974 million came from hardware such as rings, and about $240.53 million from membership fees—a rough 80/20 split. As of that date, Oura had 5 million paid members, and its weighted-average 12-month paid member retention rate, calculated by cohort, was approximately 85%.
Oura's US membership fee is $5.99 per month or $69.99 per year. New buyers get the first month included, and canceling doesn't remove all functionality—but detailed analytics require an active membership. This line drawn in Oura's membership materials is easy to miss if you only compare ring prices.
What investors will scrutinize in the IPO filing goes beyond unit shipments. Do hardware buyers keep paying for analytics, and does the membership fee create a reason to switch to a competitor? Tracking member growth and retention reveals whether sales growth translates into sustained post-purchase usage.
No monthly fee doesn't mean no cost after purchase
For readers who want to avoid subscription fees, the RingConn Gen 3 offers a clear contrast. Priced at $349 in the US, it doesn't require a monthly membership. Meanwhile, Ultrahuman's US order page lists the Ring PRO at $479 and states that basic data viewing doesn't require a monthly fee. The order page explicitly states that ongoing membership isn't required to access data.
However, Ultrahuman's official PowerPlugs page offers both free and paid add-ons. Specialized features like Cardio Adaptability and Cycle & Ovulation Pro are paid, with the company citing costs such as licensing and regulatory compliance. The design doesn't restrict the base app's functionality but lets users purchase additional analytics as needed. It's worth separating "no monthly fee" from "no costs at all after purchase."
In other words, the comparison isn't simply "does it have a subscription or not." Someone who just wants daily sleep and activity data pays differently than someone who wants additional analytics for cardiovascular health or menstrual cycle tracking. Oura bundles detailed analytics into its membership fee, while Ultrahuman unbundles certain specialized features. Which is cheaper depends on how long you plan to use it and which features you need.
Samsung, too, announced the Galaxy Ring in 2024 as a product offering health metrics within Samsung Health without a subscription. However, using it requires a device running Android 11.0 or later and a Samsung account, and features like Energy Score have Galaxy-specific requirements. Samsung's announcement treats "no monthly fee" and "works without being tied to a specific device" as separate issues.
New products diverge on what vibration is for
The RingConn Gen 3's vibration feature is designed to alert users to health changes or excessive sitting. The official FAQ explicitly states it can't be used for message notifications or alarms. Despite the shared "vibration-capable" label, this differs from the use cases announced by Circular and Dreame.
| Product | Vibration/Control Use Case | Sales Stage | Constraints/Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| RingConn Gen 3 | Notifies health changes, excessive sitting, low battery. Not used for messages or alarms | Product and pricing announced | Battery life: 10–12 days with vibration on, 11–14 days off. The vascular health trend feature isn't a single blood pressure reading and isn't for diagnosis or treatment |
| Circular Ring 3 Pro / Slim | Alarms and health reminders. Payment support planned as a separate feature | Scheduled for 2027 launch | Price and specific launch date not yet announced. Circular's CEO explained that vibration, previously removed, is being reintroduced due to user requests |
| Dreame AI Haptic Ring | Tap the ring to control music selection, photography, and presentations. Vibration for notifications | Announced at CES 2026 | Price and market launch timing unconfirmed |
RingConn limits vibration to health notifications. Circular touts alarms and payments, while Dreame emphasizes touch controls—but their sales stages don't align. These features in the comparison table can't all be treated as options available right now.
The "10–12 days with vibration on, 11–14 days off" figure on RingConn's product page isn't a footnote to place beside a headline "up to 14 days" claim. If you plan to use vibration for health alerts and reminders, the stated figure is 10–12 days; the 11–14 day range only applies when vibration is turned off. And these manufacturer-stated figures aren't results from a standardized test. Before comparing battery life, you need to align on what vibration is being used to notify.
In Tom's Guide's interview with the CEO, Circular explained that vibration—removed in the Ring 2—is being brought back due to user demand. Dreame, meanwhile, is pushing further, trying to expand the ring from a passive measurement device into a control input. Whether it actually ships as announced at CES remains to be seen, but a ring that passively measures and one that responds to hand gestures demand different considerations around fit and accidental input.
Qualcomm backs the ring's evolution into a computing device
On the same day as Oura's IPO filing—September 3—Ultrahuman announced it had raised $70 million. The funding round included participation from Qualcomm Ventures and Labcorp, bringing together both a semiconductor company and a testing services company as investors. With the Ring PRO, the company is moving processing on-device and introducing UltraSignal, which feeds sensor streams into new algorithms, along with PowerPlug add-ons for specialized features. The announcement also outlined a vision of connecting the ring to blood testing (Blood Vision), continuous glucose monitor (CGM) metabolic response tracking, home environment monitoring (Home), and an integrated service called Jade—rather than treating the ring as a standalone product.
However, connecting to external blood tests or CGMs is different from the ring itself gaining the ability to measure new biometrics. What Ultrahuman is expanding is a service that links biometric signals captured by the ring with other data, including decisions about which analytics to charge for. The shift toward on-device processing also doesn't currently mean the ring can run general-purpose apps or games.
As on-device processing increases, the features you can add after buying a ring also become a competitive factor. Pay a flat monthly fee, buy only the analytics you need, or choose a service that bundles the device with external testing—the comparison no longer fits neatly into a ring's price tag.
Distinguish health features by measurement method and availability region
In May, Oura announced plans to roll out Health Radar to Gen3-and-later members in the US, UAE, and India through July. Blood Pressure Signals is a feature that detects patterns suggesting possible cardiovascular strain—it doesn't measure blood pressure as a single reading. Nighttime Breathing similarly deals with 30-day respiratory trends. Oura's feature announcement also mentions trialing Counsel Health, which combines AI with physicians, through Oura Labs—but Japan isn't among the regions listed for the Health Radar rollout.
When comparing health features, it helps to distinguish between "flagging a trend," "measuring a value," and "used for diagnosis." RingConn displaying a vascular health trend is different from a blood pressure monitor taking a single reading. Services that aggregate external test results into an app also offer a different kind of value than sensors measuring metrics directly on the ring. Comparisons that simply count the number of analytics offered miss this distinction.
Oura's design—rolling new features out to Gen3-and-later devices—reduces the need to buy a new ring for new analytics. Meanwhile, anyone wanting payment or vibration-based controls will find their choice shaped by which model supports it and when it launches. As Oura's IPO review proceeds, Circular's launch plans and Ultrahuman's shipping timeline will also become more concrete. Once these features actually arrive, the real comparison will be whether the added cost is worth it, and whether you can keep wearing the ring long enough for the notifications to matter.