Oura Ring 4 vs Oura Ring 4 Ceramic

Oura sells Ring 4 two ways: all titanium, or with a zirconia ceramic exterior over the same titanium interior. Oura treats Ceramic as a sibling of the titanium ring rather than a new generation, so it tracks, charges and syncs the same way. What you’re really choosing is the shell.

Titanium against ceramic, spec for spec

Spec	Oura Ring 4	Oura Ring 4 Ceramic
Exterior	Titanium; PVD or DLC by finish	Zirconia ceramic
Interior	Titanium	Titanium
Thickness	About 2.88 mm	3.51 mm
Width	7.9 mm	7.9 mm
Weight	3.3–5.2 g by size	5.1–8.1 g by size
Sensor dome	Recessed, 0.3 mm	Recessed, 0.3 mm
Sizes	4–15	4–15
Battery	Typically 5–8 days	Typically 5–8 days
Charging time	Typically 20–80 minutes	Typically 20–80 minutes
Data stored on the ring	Up to 7 days	Up to 7 days
Water	100 m	100 m
US price (19 September 2026)	From $349 (Silver, Stealth); Gold $399–$499	$399 on sale, $499 list (Midnight, Cloud)
Finishes	Gold, Silver, Stealth	Midnight, Cloud; Tide and Petal not priced that day
In the box	Size-specific dock, USB cable	Size-specific charger, USB-C cable, polishing pad
Proposition 65 warning	Yes	Not required
Latest firmware	2.12.0 (17 June 2026)	2.12.0, on the same Ring 4 list

The ceramic shell is thicker and heavier

Both rings are 7.9 millimeters wide and keep their sensors in recessed domes 0.3 millimeters high, so you get the same low profile against your skin with either one.

Thickness and weight are where they part. Ceramic is 3.51 millimeters thick against about 2.88 for titanium, a little over half a millimeter more. Weight moves further: titanium Ring 4 is 3.3 to 5.2 grams depending on size, and Ceramic is 5.1 to 8.1 grams. The two ranges only meet around 5.1 to 5.2 grams, where a large titanium ring and a small ceramic one weigh about the same.

Titanium Ring 4 is titanium inside and out, coated in PVD or DLC depending on the finish, with a non-allergenic, BPA-free inner shell. Ceramic puts high-performance zirconia on the outside and keeps titanium on the inside.

Everything inside is shared

Oura says Ceramic uses the same Smart Sensing as titanium Ring 4. The titanium ring lists three photodetectors, two triple LEDs (red, green and infrared), a temperature sensor and an accelerometer. Oura describes Ceramic’s sensors by what they do instead: red and infrared light for blood oxygen, and green and infrared for 24-hour heart rate, heart rate variability and respiration. It doesn’t give Ceramic a photodetector count, but it calls the sensing the same.

Battery and charging match too: typically 5 to 8 days, depending on size, settings, activity and the battery’s age, and typically 20 to 80 minutes to charge, depending on where you start. Both store up to seven days of data on the ring, so a week without your phone is fine on either. Both use the white Ring 4 sizing kit, sizes 4 to 15, and both follow the same Ring 4 firmware list, where 2.12.0 was the latest, dated 17 June 2026.

Membership covers Gen3 and newer rings, including both shells, for $5.99 a month or $69.99 a year, with the first month free for new members. It’s tied to your account, so choosing zirconia doesn’t mean a second subscription, and automatic activity detection needs it on both.

Both work with an iPhone on iOS 16 or later or an Android phone on Android 11 or later with Google Play, as long as the phone has Bluetooth 5.0. The rings connect over Bluetooth Low Energy, with Airplane Mode, FCC certification and what Oura calls EMF-safe operation.

What’s in the box, and a warning label

Ceramic comes with a size-specific charger, a USB-C cable and a polishing pad for the zirconia. Titanium Ring 4 comes with a size-specific dock and a USB cable.

Oura also says Ceramic doesn’t need a Proposition 65 warning, while titanium Ring 4 does. That’s a label about materials, not a health feature.

Water and heat

Both are water resistant to 100 meters. Oura’s model page allows saunas and water sports but not diving, and its general advice allows showering, swimming and recreational snorkeling, rules out scuba, and caps time underwater at 12 hours. Neither Ring 4 model lists IP68; Ring 5 does.

Oura gives titanium Ring 4 an operating range of minus 10 to 54 degrees Celsius, and its general safety notes say minus 10 to 52; Ceramic has no range of its own. Charge either at room temperature. Oura says the ring isn’t a medical device.

What they cost

On Oura’s US store on 19 September 2026, titanium Ring 4 started at $349 in Silver and Stealth, with Gold from $399 to $499. Ceramic in Midnight and Cloud was $399 on sale, against a $499 list price. On sale, Ceramic cost the same as the cheapest titanium Gold; at list price it matched the most expensive. Oura also has pages for Ceramic in Tide and Petal, but they showed no separate price that day.

Membership comes on top after the free month, the same for either shell. The store also switched between dollars and euros that day, the Ceramic page included, so these are the dollar prices. Oura said on 18 June 2026 that finishes and sizes depend on current inventory, so check the US store for your size, finish and price before you buy.

In sizes 6 to 13, Ring 5 is the other option

If you wear a size 6 to 13, there’s a newer Oura to consider: Ring 5 is 6.09 by 2.28 millimeters, smaller than either Ring 4, but it drops sizes 4, 5, 14 and 15. See Oura Ring 4 vs Oura Ring 5 and Oura Ring 4 Ceramic vs Oura Ring 5.