For over a decade, smart rings have struggled to be anything more than jewelry that tracks basic heart data and sleep patterns. But the new Oura Ring 5, the smallest smart ring in the world, promises to be more than a fitness tracker — it is a proactive help platform that aims to connect daily biometrics with professional medical care.

Bigger isn’t always better

The most immediate change is the smart ring’s size. The Oura Ring 5 is 40% smaller than the previous generation. Oura achieved this by redesigning the ring, without sacrificing accuracy. In fact, Oura claims it’s more powerful and accurate than ever. By using more powerful LEDs and 12 optimized signal pathways, the company claims it has improved sensor readings, despite the smaller form factor. Compared to competitors like the Apple Watch and the WHOOP Band, Oura Ring 5 matches or surpasses their heart rate and sleep-tracking accuracy, according to early third-party reviews. Its smaller form does not appear to compromise performance, making it a strong contender among top health wearables.

Is the Oura Ring 5 your new digital doctor?

While this is impressive, the most impactful updates are found in the software. There is a whole host of features available on Oura Ring Gen3 and later, headlined by Oura’s Health Radar. While previous rings just notified you when you were stressed or tired, Health Radar is designed to be proactive. It continuously monitors your background biometrics, such as nighttime blood pressure and breathing patterns, for medical-grade insights.

There are also clinical-focused features, such as GLP-1 insights, that provide a centralized hub for users to log medication doses, track side effects, and monitor weight loss. Some of these advanced capabilities, including connected care—which lets users ask health questions and connect with licensed physicians through Oura’s partnership with Counsel Health—as well as Health Records, which lets users in the United States import lab results, diagnosed conditions and medication lists, require a paid Oura Membership subscription for access. Underpinning that portfolio is Oura Advisor and Oura’s proprietary AI model for women’s health, both available through subscription. In short, Oura can serve as a unified health record that combines your clinical data with a stylish daily wearable, provided you are comfortable with the ongoing subscription cost.

Of course, this creates a sticky situation. Once you’ve aggregated your medical history and health journey in Oura, it will be harder to leave the ecosystem. It also begs the question: Is the convenience of having a digital doctor literally at our fingers worth giving our sensitive, clinical-grade information to a company? Oura is aware of this hurdle — the company uses end-to-end encryption to safeguard user data, and claims that health information is processed securely and stored in accordance with privacy regulations. Oura also lets users export or delete their data at any time, giving you more control over your personal information.

No matter how you feel about it personally, the Oura Ring 5 is no doubt one of the most capable health-tracking devices on the market. Just make sure you’re comfortable with the data trail it leaves behind.