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Tech Beat
Sep 5, 2026, 3:00 PMWearables

Oura Files to Go Public as Smart Ring Rivals Add Payments, Haptics and Screens

Oura files to go public after $1.21 billion in nine-month revenue as Ultrahuman, Circular, RingConn, Samsung and Dreame intensify smart ring competition.

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Summary

Oura filed to go public on September 3, 2026, after revenue nearly doubled to $1.21 billion for the nine months ended June 30. The Finnish company sold 3.6 million rings over the past year, has about 5 million paid members and recently launched Oura Ring 5, its slimmest and lightest model.

Ultrahuman raised $70 million with Qualcomm’s venture arm and plans rings that run software for AI interactions and games. Its third-generation, $479 Ring Pro ships in the U.S. in mid-September with redesigned heart-rate sensing, a dual-core processor and more on-device processing. The redesign follows an October 2025 U.S. International Trade Commission patent ruling for Oura that blocked Ultrahuman’s new U.S. inventory. Circular’s slimmer Ring 3 Pro and Ring 3 Slim are due early next year with NFC payments and vibrations for alarms, reminders and health alerts. The Pro adds FDA-cleared ECG for AFib, blood-pressure and glucose trends, advanced sleep analysis and biometric monitoring, but pricing remains undisclosed. RingConn’s $349 Gen 3, launched in May, uses externally measured blood pressure to calibrate vascular-strain insights, tracks heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep, activity and stress, and vibrates for health changes, inactivity and low battery.

Samsung’s $399 Galaxy Ring, launched in 2024 as the first smart ring from a major technology company, suits its device ecosystem but lacks sleep-apnea detection available from RingConn, Oura and Ultrahuman, plus AFib detection offered by Circular and RingConn. Dreame’s unpriced, undated ring promises haptic alerts, heart rate, blood oxygen, heart-rate variability and sleep tracking, plus a touchpad for music and phone photos. Pebble Halo adds a screen but remains India-only. Packing payments, haptics, screens, touch controls and apps into roughly two-gram titanium bands risks erasing smart rings’ less intrusive, screen-free appeal.

Positives

  • Oura’s nine-month revenue nearly doubled to $1.21 billion before its September 3, 2026, public filing.
  • Oura sold 3.6 million rings in one year and reached about 5 million paid members.
  • Ultrahuman raised $70 million with Qualcomm backing to develop rings capable of running software directly on the device.
  • Circular’s Ring 3 Pro combines NFC payments with FDA-cleared ECG for AFib and blood-pressure, glucose and sleep analysis.
  • RingConn Gen 3 adds calibrated vascular-strain insights and vibration alerts at a $349 starting price.

Risks & concerns

  • An October 2025 U.S. trade ruling blocked Ultrahuman from importing new ring inventory after Oura prevailed in a patent dispute.
  • Samsung’s $399 Galaxy Ring lacks the sleep-apnea and AFib detection available from several rivals.
  • Circular has not disclosed Ring 3 pricing, while Dreame has announced neither price nor availability.
  • Screens, touchpads and app ambitions could undermine the low-distraction experience that initially distinguished smart rings.
Primary sourceTechCrunchhttps://techcrunch.com/2026/09/05/oura-is-going-public-but-these-smart-ring-companies-are-coming-for-its-crown/
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