Oura Ring waterproofing explained: Is Oura good for swimming?
The Oura Ring 4 (and Gen 3) packs in top water resistance ratings, which means it can be used for swimming and watersports.
If you’re planning on buying Oura Ring 4, or the newest Oura Ring 5, then you might be wondering if they’re waterproof and whether you’ll be able to take your Oura for a swim.
There’s a common misconception around smart rings that they’re not waterproof, possibly because of their small and delicate build. But actually, most smart rings out there today boast some of the most robust water-resistance ratings going.
Below we explain the water resistance of Oura and what it means in real terms.
Is Oura Ring 5 waterproof?
To be clear, no tech is fully waterproof, but Oura devices boast some of the best water resistance you’ll find on the market.
Oura says that both Gen 4 and Gen 5 are water resistant up to 100m—that means an IP68 rating.
- Read our in-depth guide to water resistance
What can you do with Oura Ring 5 (and Gen 4)?
Pretty much anything. You can shower, swim, and even do high-velocity water sports (surf, jet ski, whatever)—Oura Ring 5 will stand up to the test.
Snorkeling and sauna are also on limits, so there really are very few activities that Oura Ring can’t handle.
However, scuba diving isn’t recommended. While the indicated IP68 technically means these rings may handle 100 meters of still water, diving creates extra pressure. Because of this, they are suitable only for surface swimming, snorkeling, and water sports.
Is Oura Ring 5 good for swimming tracking?
While Oura Ring can be worn for swimming, it’s not much of a swim tracker. Oura is generally a passive device, which looks at workout data holistically as part of your daily movement and doesn’t do much in the way of workout analysis.
With the newest Oura Ring 5, swimming is detected automatically, but there aren’t provisions for recognizing stroke or length data. Swimming is also part of the expanded auto-detected workout types, and it will export basic data to services such as Strava. You can see some of this data above in a summary of one of our swim sessions by Wareable tester Michael Sawh.
During swimming duration, calories burnt, and your heart rate are monitored, all of which you can find on the app afterwards. Still, we believe it’s not the best tracker for water sports.
- Check out our guide to the best smartwatches for swimming
