Oura Ring originated with a focus on three pillars of health: Sleep, Readiness, and Activity. Now, it has evolved into a personal health companion, allowing members to connect the dots between their sleep, movement, heart health, fertility, menstrual cycle, stress and resilience, and more. 

Over the years, we have continually improved our sensing technology and machine-learning algorithms to ensure we deliver the most accurate sleep tracking, heart rate and HRV, and temperature trends data to members. 

Today, we’re excited to announce all-new updates to Oura’s activity tracking platform and algorithms, empowering our members to more accurately track all the ways they move—from yard work to yoga. This update will be rolling out over the next two weeks to Gen3 and Oura Ring 4 members. 

What’s New? 

As we evolve, we want to make sure that our members are getting the most accurate information regarding their daily movement. We have developed a new and improved algorithm for more accurately detecting steps and determining active calories burned during exercise. These updates are likely to affect how you reach your Activity Goal completion due to the differences in step count and calorie burn. 

Real Steps

Real Steps is the next iteration in Oura’s step counting algorithm. Rather than estimating step count using generic movement, Real Steps enables Oura to act more like a pedometer, using a more advanced machine-learning model to more accurately determine when ring movement is a step. This means you will likely see a change in your step count than you may be used to, with members seeing an average decrease in step count of 20%. 

LEARN MORE: How Oura Measures Steps & Activity 

More Accurate Active Calories

Oura’s Active Calorie burn now takes your intensity of movement into account, meaning your heart rate during exercise. In November 2024, updates to Automatic Activity Tracking unlocked the ability to measure heart rate and heart rate zones after an activity was added. Now, your activity data, including active calories, will reflect that measurement.   

For active calories, the change in reaching your Activity Goal depends on what type of exercise you’re doing. If you’re doing a more intense workout like a HIIT class, you may see you’ve burned more calories than previously shown, making it easier to reach your goal. In lower-intensity exercises like yoga or casual walking, it may lower the active calorie burn amount shown.

RELATED: All About Heart Rate Zones

Activity at Oura 

Oura provides members with a variety of tools and methods to track their activity and movement patterns. By delivering in-depth data and analysis on daily exercise and movement patterns, Oura empowers members to make informed decisions about their lifestyle and routines, promoting a more active and balanced approach to wellbeing.

Activity Score

Oura’s Activity Score takes into consideration a number of contributing factors—including step count, training frequency, training volume, and inactive time—to help you understand how you’re balancing activity and rest.

Automatic Activity Detection

Automatic Activity Detection identifies up to 40 different activities, including walking, strength training, skiing, or housework, and provides average heart rate and heart rate zone information after an activity has been automatically detected.

Personalized Activity Goals

Taking into consideration a member’s daily Readiness Score as well as their baseline goals, personalized Activity Goals can also be adjusted manually. Members also have the choice to use a calorie burn goal or step goal depending on what’s most important to them, supporting all types of movement and goals. 

READ MORE: All Movement Counts: Using Oura to Track Low, Medium, and High-Intensity Activities