Apple Watch Band // Apple Watch // Oura Ring 4 // Oura Ring Stacking Ring

With all the hype around the Oura Ring and Apple Watch lately, there’s been a lot of questions: Which should I get? Do I need both? What do each of these fitness trackers do?!

Well, let’s break it down shall we!? Team LIY put both to the test from fitness to technology goals and beyond – after reading this post we hope you’ll have a better grip on which tracker [or both!] are best for you!

p.s. read more of our in-depth thoughts on all things Oura Ring here!

First things first – let’s chat about the “why” behind just whyyyy we wanted to purchase each of these trackers!

Oura Ring:

• Looking for a more comprehensive, subtle way to track health
• Interested in cycle tracking, HRV, sleep quality, and overall readiness
• Didn’t want to be glued to a screen or get distracted by notifications [note: Oura uses bluetooth rather than WiFi for connecting to the app as well!]

Apple Watch:

• Wanted something with step tracking, notifications, and access to everything from calls to calendar alerts
• Needed something sporty that doubled as a little accountability coach

Time to break it down…

Activity & Fitness

Our Pick for Activity/Fitness: The Apple watch is the winner for workouts overall! Between tracking heart rate, GPS, calories, time, and even distinguishes between types [yoga, running, HIIT, etc.]. It’s a better choice if you thrive on goals, streaks, and tracking more details for your workouts in real-time! Oura ring does count steps, calories burned, and helps with movement goals but just gives a basic recognition of workout types and is not as detailed as the apple watch in this area.

Sleep

Our Pick for Sleep Tracking: Oura ring has more in depth data and tracking when it comes to sleep! With the Oura ring we love that you can see how things like stress or late-night wine affect rest! It also has a better charge life allowing for it to be work all night for sleep tracking rather than needing charged overnight like the Apple Watch.

Women’s Health

Our Pick for Women’s Health: If women’s health — especially cycle tracking, hormonal insights, fertility, or stress awareness — is a top priority, the Oura Ring offers more depth and personalized insight than the Apple Watch! Oura ring can also integrate with other women’s health apps [Clue, Apple Health, Natural Cycles, Flo, & Glow]

Heart Health & Stress:

Our Pick for Heart Health: We would recommend the Oura Ring! The Oura Ring is helpful for spotting early signs of illness or stress. [Steph noticed stress from caffeine, quit it, and saw instant improvements!]. While the apple watch can measure heart rate throughout the day and during workouts, it doesn’t give the same big-picture recovery or stress trends as Oura!

The Cliff Notes:

Oura Ring:

• If you’re looking for deep insights into your sleep, stress, and recovery and prefer a more subtle wearable look/feel: choose Oura Ring!

Favorite Features:

• Sleep & Stress Insights: The detailed sleep breakdown and stress cues have helped many of us make real lifestyle changes! Like quitting caffeine or giving ourselves grace for recovery during a cycle or sickness!
• Cycle Tracking: From fertility to just knowing when your cycle is coming – Oura’s syncing with Natural Cycles has been a favorite!
• Data-Driven Decisions: Lauren noticed her stress spike during chaotic kiddo mornings—and cuddling brings it back down. Now that’s info worth knowing!
• Minimal Charging: Just once every 5–6 days. Yes please.
• Less bulk: Worn on finger and no screen!

What We’d Change:

• Step Tracking: It’s not the most accurate when it comes to movement metrics.
• Style: While it’s sleek, a few of us wouldn’t mind if it was just a bit daintier. Pairing it with a slim band can help balance the look!

Hot Take from the Team: Oura feels more inward-focused. It tells you what’s going on inside: how rested you are, if your body’s stressed, and how ready you are to take on the day. It’s less about how much you move and more about how well you recover and overall wellness!

Apple Watch:

If you want motivation to move, all your alerts in one place, and phone-free convenience: Apple Watch!

Favorite Features:

• Closing Those Rings: We can’t lie – we love a goal 🤣 Seeing those movement, standing, and exercise rings close is helpful and motivating!
• Phone-Free Freedom: Being able to leave your phone in the other room and still get texts, calls, and alerts? Game changer. The apple watch is bascially a mini smart phone!
• Everyday Tools: From calendar nudges to pinging your phone when it’s MIA, it’s become a BFF on the wrist!
• Real Time Data: heart rate, workouts, ECG!

What We’d Change

• Battery Life: This came up from almost everyone. If you’re tracking sleep or doing long workouts, be ready to charge it daily – sometimes more [EEK!]
• Step Accuracy: Like Oura, it’s not always spot-on – especially if your arm isn’t moving!
• Face Size: Hannah mentioned the smallest watch still feels a little bulky for small wrists!

Hot Take from the Team: Apple Watch is outward-focused. It’s great if you want notifications, encouragement to move, and tools to stay on top of a busy life. It’s a little less about recovery/overall wellness and a little more about activity!