Oura vs Ultrahuman, and what a weekly scan adds
What Oura Ring 5 and Ultrahuman Ring PRO read and cost, where Ultrahuman stands in the US after its patent fight with Oura and where a weekly scan fits.
Soma Labs4 min read
Two smart rings come up again and again when people shop for one in the US: Oura and Ultrahuman. Here's what each ring reads, as its maker describes it in September 2026, and where a weekly scan like Soma Axon fits beside them.
What Oura reads
Oura Ring 5 went on sale in May 2026, from $399, and Ring 4 is still sold from $349. The ring carries red, green and infrared lights, light sensors, a temperature sensor and an accelerometer. Oura says it takes your heart rate for a full minute every five minutes while you're still. At night it reads your heart rate variability, your skin temperature against your own baseline, your blood oxygen and your breathing rate, and turns them into Sleep, Readiness and Activity scores.
Since June 2026, a feature called Health Radar has looked across 30 nights for patterns in your breathing and in what Oura calls blood pressure signals. It doesn't show blood pressure values. Oura says the ring isn't a medical device, and it has no FDA clearance of its own, though Oura says it's studying a blood pressure feature the FDA would regulate.
Any ring from Gen3 on needs a membership for full insights, at $5.99 a month or $69.99 a year. Without one, the app shows only the three daily scores.
What Ultrahuman reads
Ultrahuman Ring PRO costs $479 with its charging case, and there's no subscription to see your data. Ultrahuman says it reads your heart rate variability and skin temperature around the clock, your heart rate through the day, and your sleep, activity and blood oxygen, which its app turns into scores for sleep, recovery and movement. The battery lasts up to 15 days, where Oura Ring 5 lasts 6 to 9. Paid add-ons, which Ultrahuman calls PowerPlugs, cover things like cycle tracking. Ultrahuman says its ring and app aren't medical devices.
The patent fight
In 2025 Oura won a patent case against Ultrahuman at the US International Trade Commission, and since October 21, 2025, Ultrahuman's older Ring AIR can't be imported into the US. In March 2026, US Customs ruled that the redesigned Ring PRO falls outside that order, and Ultrahuman says its US rings are made in Plano, Texas. On September 26 its US store listed Ring PRO as a pre-order, shipping from October 10. Ultrahuman has appealed the trade commission's decision, and Oura has other patent suits against it still open in Texas.
How the two differ
Oura charges a membership, and Ultrahuman doesn't. Ultrahuman's battery lasts about twice as long. Oura is on sale now at its own store and at retailers like Best Buy and Target, while Ultrahuman's US rings ship from October 10. Both sell blood tests on the side: Oura's Health Panels test 50 biomarkers at Quest for $99, and Ultrahuman's Blood Vision tests more than 60 for $99 every six months.
Both rings read you from your finger. Neither lists a way to measure body composition, photograph your skin or test your grip and balance.
Where a weekly scan fits
Soma Axon is a pod we're still building. Once a week, you'll change in a private room, step in wearing underwear or a fitted garment and stand with your hands on two grips and your feet on a plate. In a few minutes, cameras, thermal imaging, EEG and ECG will read your skin, heart and breathing, body composition, balance and strength, and you'll turn a quarter at a time so the cameras can photograph your skin all the way around. The light, the positions and the instrument will stay the same every week.
The Soma app runs on iPhone and reads Apple Health between visits. With a membership, Oura writes heart rate, sleep, steps, workouts and breathing rate there, and Ultrahuman writes heart rate variability and temperature. The ring covers your nights, and the pod covers the week.
Soma won't diagnose anything. It's a general wellness product and it isn't a medical device.
Side by side
| Oura Ring 5 | Ultrahuman Ring PRO | Soma Axon | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How you use it | Worn day and night | Worn day and night | A pod you visit once a week |
| Price | From $399, plus the membership | $479, no subscription for your data | Shared before the first pod opens |
| Battery | 6 to 9 days | Up to 15 days | Nothing to charge |
| Body composition | Not listed | Not listed | At every visit |
| Skin photos | No | No | At every visit, compared week to week |
| Medical status | Not a medical device, Oura says | Not a medical device, Ultrahuman says | General wellness, not a medical device |
| In the US | On sale | Pre-order, shipping from October 10 | First prototype being built |
Sources, as of September 26, 2026. Oura: its store, Ring 5 page, Ring 5 guide, Ring 5 launch, membership, heart rate, Health Radar, Apple Health and Health Panels pages, and MedTech Dive on its blood pressure plans. Ultrahuman: its Ring PRO page, US pre-order release, Apple Health note, App Store listing and Blood Vision page. The case: the trade commission's notice, the Customs ruling, Ultrahuman's appeal and Oura's Texas suit. More on Oura Ring vs Soma Axon and Ultrahuman Ring PRO vs Soma Axon.