Oura Ring just became a much better fitness tracker — here's why

(Image credit: Future)

The Oura Ring just got a major upgrade that might make the discreet fitness-tracking ring more attractive to athletes. Strava integration will now be available through Oura's platform, giving users of both systems the option to merge their activity data for easy viewing.

While the Oura Ring Generation 3 was already one of the best fitness trackers that didn't look like a traditional activity band or smartwatch, the user experience existed mostly in its own app. While my Apple Health data syncs with the Oura Ring, the consolidation options haven't reached much further.

But now, Oura Ring will play nice with Strava, which is one of the best workout apps and best running apps out there. In our Strava review, our fitness editor Jane McGuire appreciated the platform's community vibe, and how there's a good variety of free vs. paid features.

To use the Oura Ring app, you'll still be paying $5.99/month. Though, it seems a better value now that Activity and Readiness data will be added to your Strava account. The integration works both ways — Strava activity data gets uploaded to your Oura dashboard, so even if you're not wearing your ring (or tracking Strava through something like the Apple Watch Series 7 or Samsung Galaxy Watch 4) your progress syncs.

I've been using Oura Ring for more than six months now as a complement to my Apple Watch, specifically for sleep tracking purposes. Through the Apple Watch can be worn overnight, watchOS 8's sleep tracking data is minimal compared to the sleep stage, sleep efficiency and HRV metrics available with Oura.

Yet In watchOS 9 for Apple Watch — which features new watchOS 9 faces, health apps and an improved notification UI — sleep tracking gets a significant overhaul. I wondered if that would cut into Oura Ring's popularity, but revealing the Strava partnership makes me feel more optimistic for the company's interests in advancing,.

And these days, advancing can simply be improving user convenience by having their favorite programs or devices work well together.

Oura Ring's Strava integration is available now.

Kate Kozuch is the managing editor of social and video at Tom’s Guide. She writes about smartwatches, TVs, audio devices, and some cooking appliances, too. Kate appears on Fox News to talk tech trends and runs the Tom's Guide TikTok account, which you should be following if you don't already. When she’s not filming tech videos, you can find her taking up a new sport, mastering the NYT Crossword or channeling her inner celebrity chef.