Using the Oura Ring and Withings Watch

There is no shortage of bloggers, journalists, and scientists reviewing fitness trackers and comparing them to each other and to research-quality instruments. I admit, I have compared my own Fitbit, Apple Watch, iPod app, iPhone app, and Oura Ring. They use different sensors, algorithms, purposes, and quality metrics. There are differences and it would be easy to conclude that tracking fitness with these consumer devices is useless. However, I am not interested in knowing an absolute truth. I am interested in mapping a trajectory of improvement. The devices will show how I change relative to my starting baseline. There is a ton of scientific evidence that when people track change, they make better decisions and achieve better outcomes more quickly. Two groups of people can do the same thing, but the group getting feedback will improve more. The evidence is available in industry, finance, human resources, education, behavior change, mental health, physical health, etc.; it seems pretty universal. Besides, analyzing data is fun!

With that caveat, here is what I have learned from using data from the ring and the watch to monitor my activities.

Day 1 Sleep:

The first night I had my Withings watch, I wore it overnight. I don’t plan to do this on a regular basis, but I did want to know what sleep tracking would look like on the watch. 

Sleep record in HealthMate app

Sleep record in Oura app

The display of information in the Withings app is well-designed. A half dozen data points are nicely illustrated and quantified in a single screen.

I took the ring off the charger and put it on at 10:36 pm. The ring recorded that I laid down at 10:37 pm and fell asleep at 10:51 pm (ring app displays sleep latency on a different screen, 14 minutes in this case). The watch does not record lying down or bedtime, but said I fell asleep at 10:53 pm. The ring said I woke up at 7:30+ am and stayed in bed for a few minutes. The watch said I woke up at 7:36 am. The watch’s autodetect function seems to work pretty well. Overall, they matched better than I expected.

The watch recorded 3 awakenings that corresponded to my getting up to adjust the AC or to go to the bathroom. The ring recorded the same 3 awakenings and 3 more. It is sensitive not only to getting out of bed, but also to large changes in body position. [I woke up with back and knee pain and shifted position to reduce it.]

The watch says I was in bed for 8 h and 43 m and got 8 h and 19 m of sleep. The ring says I was in bed for 9 h and 1 m and got 7 h and 40 m of sleep. The differences are due to the ring’s ability to measure sleep latency and its greater sensitivity to awakenings. Additionally, the ring app distinguishes between light and REM sleep; the watch app does not. The watch indicates substantially more deep sleep than the ring.

The watch app gave me a sleep score of 86%; the ring gave me a sleep efficiency rating of 85% (again, shown on a different screen). 

There is one place in which the watch app is nicer. At the bottom of the screen, I can click on Week or Month to see the trend of sleep scores and hours slept. The ring app gives me that information, but there is more clicking required.

Nighttime heart rate record in HealthMate app

Nighttime heart rate record in Oura app

     

The watch and ring apps were quite close on the minimum and average heart rate during the night. The pattern of heart rate matched well, too. The watch uses smoothed curves, while the ring emphasizes the detailed pattern. 

Managing sleep is my top priority, beause of its relationship to reducing inflammation and increasing resilience. Wearing a ring to sleep is more comfortable than a watch and the data I get from the Oura ring is more extensive (temperature, respiration, HRV, etc.), but it is good to know that the Withings watch is a serviceable option. 

Day 2 Hike: 

I went for a walk in my neighborhood in the middle of a hot sunny day. I walked a familiar 1 mile loop, that is up a grade, levels off, and then goes back down a grade. 

The ring does not map an activity or workouts separately, although it records movement intensity during the day and calculates steps and calories. Following the hike, the ring said that I had walked 4960 steps and burned 123 active calories, since 9 am. The ring activity record looked like this. 

Daytime activity record in Oura app

     

The watch said that since 9 am, I had walked 3963 steps and burned 100 active calories. The watch activity record looked like this.

Daytime activity record in HealthMate app

Although the illustrations are quite similar, there is a larger numerical discrepancy (4960 vs 3963 steps) than I had anticipated. As advertised, the ring counts all activity involving the hands/arms and calculates calories burned and step equivalents from intensity. The watch calculates steps and calories burned from whole body movements. In that context the differences in the activity metrics make sense.

During a hike, the watch gives real-time information on elapsed time, steps, heart rate, distance, calories, etc. After the hike, the app provides detailed data for the hike and displays it clearly as soon as I open the app. 

Route mapping in the HealthMate app

  

The route map provides pace data, not only as a average for the hike, but also at any point in the hike. This feature is great for tracking improvements in fitness on familiar routes, allowing me to challenge the hill or track recovery on the flat, for example.

Analyzing pace in the HealthMate app

Day 3 Hike:

One of my favorite features is the overlay of heart rate on the activity record. This feature allows me to track how well I am meeting my targets for working my heart; keeping my heart rate above 130, but less than 150 or in the “fat-burning zone” around 110. 

Exploring pace in the HealthMate app

Comparing pace to heart rate in the HealthMate app

       

Becoming more active is my second priority. The ring provides basic information about activity intensity throughout the day, but no details on individual workouts, even when imported from Apple Health or manually entered. In contrast, wearing a watch allows me to get real-time information on exercise intensity and heart rate. It is good to know that I am meeting a heart rate goal in a workout, but not overdoing it. I have on one occasion, used the real-time route information to get back on track when I made a wrong turn on the trail. The watch’s workout summary data is more extensive (route, pace, elevation, distance, etc.). It provides meaningful data for tracking improvement in fitness.

Battery usage:

On Day 1, after 24 hours of wear, the watch's battery was at 95%. At the end of Day 1, I charged the battery to 100%. On Day 2, after 15 hours of use including recording sleep and a hike with GPS, the watch's battery was still at 100%. 

Synchronizing:

Real-time information is available with the watch. However, I go to the app for more detailed and trend information. When I open the app it says it is connecting, synchronizing, and loading, but the information is not always the latest information from the watch. This is especially true for heart rate data; it seems that it is processing the heart rate data very slowly. It is frustrating to have to wait 20 minutes and try again. I will admit that at the end of the day, all the information is there.

Do I need both a ring and a watch?

Yes. The two devices have different strengths. Having both allows me to see a complete picture of my health and track change in my behavior and its relationship to improving health.