Oura Ring Introduces AI-Powered Meal Tracking and Glucose Monitoring Features

Oura Adds Two New AI Features That Track Your Meals and Glucose Intake

Expertise Community Solar, State Solar Policy, Solar Cost and Accessibility, Renewable Energy, Electric Vehicles, Video Games, Home Internet for Gaming Two new AI-driven features are now permanent additions to the Oura app, expanding the capabilities of the company's smart ring. They're powered by an in-house large language model called Oura Advisor. One tracks a user's meals, with the help of photos, and the other tracks the user's glucose intake. There's no exact release date for the new features. The meals feature allows users to take photographs of their food to log meals, rather than type in each component and its calorie count. Oura's AI model will identify the pictured foods and provide dietary guidance and feedback. The meals feature also provides a nutritional breakdown of pictured foods so that users are able to get an at-a-glance summary of the total protein, fiber, sugars, fats and carbs they've consumed. The ring can make recommendations for the user's next meal based on health objectives. The other new AI-driven feature is glucose tracking -- but you can't use it without buying a $99 two-pack of Stelo glucose biosensors to take advantage of it. Each sensor can be worn for 15 days. Stelo is not for adults who are on insulin or at risk for hypoglycemia. By linking with the sensor, which is worn on the back of a user's arm, the Oura app will provide 24/7 glucose tracking -- and contextualize that tracking alongside mealtimes, sleep, stress and other activities that can raise and lower your blood sugar. Oura Advisor pulls together data from the new AI features alongside other Oura app information to provide sleep, readiness and activity recommendations. There's no extra charge for the new features, beyond the glucose sensor. They work on both iOS and Android devices. Both features will launch at the same time in the United States, while the meals feature will launch internationally later this year.

Your Oura Ring just got one of its biggest feature updates ever - for free

Two health tech brands, Oura and Dexcom, are joining forces for one major metabolic health update. On Tuesday, Oura announced a first-of-its-kind integration with Stelo, Dexcom's over-the-counter continuous glucose monitor (CGM), that will now display glucose data on the smart ring's app for a wider illustration of how sleep, exercise, and diet play a role in glucose management. Also: Oura's CEO wants its smart ring to be the doctor in your pocket As our body's main energy source, glucose impacts everything, including sleep, stress, and activity. The smart ring already displays this information on its app. However, thanks to the Stelo integration, users will see how these factors contribute to high, low, or maintained glucose levels and keep track of their levels in one place. Unlike sleep and activity on Oura, the Glucose feature won't give users a score. Instead, the feature will tell them whether their glucose range is optimal, suboptimal, or poor. "Our bodies all process food in different ways, which is why we're leveraging a unique combination of ŌURA's extensive biometric tracking, generative AI, and Stelo glucose data to address a critical need for more individualized and accessible metabolic health solutions," Holly Shelton, Oura's chief product officer, said in a press release. Also: I wore a low-cost OTC glucose monitor for two weeks. Here's what I learned "By integrating nutrition information with activity, stress, and sleep, we're empowering members with a deeper understanding of how their daily habits influence their wellbeing." Alongside the Stelo integration, Oura is releasing its AI-powered Meals feature, previously available exclusively through Oura Labs, to all members. Users can take photos of their food, and Meals identifies the nutrients and provides insights into how the food powers their energy or leads to a glucose spike. Within Meals is Nutrition Breakdown, which categorizes foods logged into the usual dietary suspects, like protein, fiber, carbs, and fats, while accounting for added sugar and processing level. Oura's recently launched AI Advisor will help summarize the meal and provide additional insights. Unlike other meal-tracking apps, Meals does not count calories. "We're taking a different approach here, which is really thinking about how we can help people understand the architecture of their behaviors around food," Maziar Brumand, Oura's vice president of product, explained to ZDNET on a call. The goal is to provide nonjudgmental dietary information to users to inform their meal choices, resulting in a sustainable and health-minded meal-tracker. The Meals feature will be available to all Oura users, including those without a Stelo CGM. The Stelo integration and the Meals feature aim to connect the health dots aggregated by the wearables in one easy-to-use app. "By integrating nutrition information with activity, stress, and sleep, we're empowering members with a deeper understanding of how their daily habits influence their wellbeing," Shelton said in the press release. Also: I found a smart ring that rivals the Oura 4 but costs less (and has no subscriptions) Oura's action- and insight-driven approach to health tracking helps the company stand out from competitors in the fast-changing smart ring space. For example, many Reddit users have spoken at-length on the Oura Ring subreddit about how the smart ring's sleep tracking features have helped them develop better bedtime habits, like avoiding alcohol before bed, because they can see on a graph and through a sleep score how their body responds to a late-night drink the morning after. This actionable approach to behavior changes could spread to the Glucose features on the Oura Ring. People might see how their blood sugar spikes after logging a donut and could avoid eating that food for breakfast the next morning. Or they could see how an after-dinner walk takes their blood sugar down and add it to their nightly routine. "Instead of avoiding specific foods based on one spike, we encourage members to observe patterns, experiment with habits, and discover what helps them maintain better glucose balance over time. With this approach, members can maintain a healthy relationship with food while building long-term habits that support metabolic health," Shyamal Patel, senior vice president of science at Oura, said in a press release. Also: Two popular smart ring makers just got caught copying Oura - here's what happens next Meals and Glucose will be available in the US on Android and iOS, and Oura members can purchase the Stelo (which includes two sensors that last for 15 days each) directly from Oura's website for $99 starting Tuesday. The Stelo CGM is available for those who don't use insulin and are over 18 years of age.

Oura adds AI-powered glucose tracking and meal logging

Victoria Song is a senior reporter focusing on wearables, health tech, and more with 13 years of experience. Before coming to The Verge, she worked for Gizmodo and PC Magazine. Oura is doubling down on metabolic health with two new AI-powered features: glucose tracking and meal logging. The former comes a few months after announcing a strategic partnership with Dexcom, which released its over-the-counter Stelo continuous glucose monitor (CGM) last year. Meanwhile, meal logging is the third experimental feature to come out of the company's Oura Labs beta program. The Glucose feature requires Oura users to buy a Dexcom Stelo CGM, which costs $99 and can now be bought directly from Oura's site. Once paired, folks with both an Oura Ring and Stelo will be able to view their glucose data inside the Oura app alongside other metrics like stress, movement, and tags. They'll also get AI summaries about their daily glucose trends. There's also a new metric called "time above range," which will tell users how long their glucose levels stay above the ideal 70-140 mg/dL target. Given that the Glucose feature requires a Dexcom Stelo (and therefore, regulatory clearance), so far, Oura says the feature will only be launching in the US for now -- though it is FSA / HSA eligible. Meanwhile, the Meals feature more directly utilizes the Oura Advisor chatbot, which uses generative AI to analyze a user's long-term data and trends, as well as give guidance on general health questions. This particular feature works by taking pictures of your meals. Oura Advisor then analyzes what you're eating and gives a breakdown of its estimated macronutrients and nutritional value. When prompted, it can also give feedback on how to build more satiating meals and provide what Oura describes as "non-judgmental insights" based on your overall health objectives. People who use both the Meals and Glucose features will also get access to another metric called "meal level time above range" that analyzes how long glucose levels stay elevated after eating. Oura's pivot to metabolic health isn't out of the blue. While it's not yet a major focus of smartwatch health features, metabolic health is clearly the next frontier for smart rings. (Probably because they tend to be popular with athletes and wellness-minded health enthusiasts.) Rival smart ring-maker Ultrahuman, for example, allows users to buy a CGM and see how the rest of their health tracking data relates to their glucose. With its Galaxy Ring, Samsung also introduced an experimental AGEs Index metric, which claims to tell users how they're metabolically aging. Oura itself has also been pursuing glucose tracking for some time now. A few months before its Dexcom partnership, the company also acquired Veri, a CGM startup that let users track both glucose and meals.

Your Oura Ring can now track meals and monitor glucose levels

On May 6, Oura Ring announced that it is bringing two new features to its smart ring app -- AI-powered meal tracking and glucose monitoring. Oura Ring is the best smart ring on the market (according to Mashable's tests, at least), and its holistic approach to health tracking helps users make decisions to improve their wellbeing. Now, the company is launching two new metabolic health tools in its app. Oura's glucose monitoring is a result of the brand's Dexcom partnership. Dexcom, a healthcare company specializing in round-the-clock glucose monitoring, usually specializes in diabetes management, but their Stelo Glucose Biosensor is made for individuals with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes who are not on insulin. However, it's also suitable for anyone curious about monitoring their blood sugar levels. Glucose feedback is available 24/7 in the Oura app, though you will need the Stelo biosensor. Working with the glucose sensor, the app breaks down how glucose levels might be affected by sleep, activity, stress, and nutrition. It also delivers a "Time Above Range" metric, which tells users how much time they've spent above the optimal glucose level and what changes can be made to stay in range. But to incorporate nutrition into the glucose equation, Oura is also introducing another new feature. The Oura Rings Meals tool allows users to log their meals and get feedback from Oura's AI on their overall nutritional value. While meal tracking tools often recall the calorie-tracking stress of diet culture, the company wants to avoid this trap. To track meals, users upload photos of their meals to the Oura app. The photos are analyzed through AI to produce an overview of their nutritional content and provide feedback. Meals is about more than just counting calories, Oura Ring says. The nutritional breakdowns focus on protein, fiber, fats, sugars, and carbs. And the insights that Oura provides aren't going to be scolding, like a parent nagging you to eat all your vegetables. Instead, the Oura Advisor gives non-judgmental feedback based on users' own goals. Meals is a permanent feature in the Oura app, and both features are available now to all United States-based Oura members.

Ōura adds AI-driven meal and glucose tracking features with Stelo by Dexcom

Ōura, maker of a health-monitoring smart ring, announced that it will use AI to track and analyze two new metabolic health features: meals and glucose. With these new product capabilities, Ōura's smart ring will add an AI-driven approach to metabolic health by combining meal insights with glucose data from Stelo by Dexcom, the first FDA-cleared glucose biosensor available without a prescription in the United States, directly in the Ōura App. These new features empower members with personalized insights and actionable guidance and are a major milestone in Ōura's journey toward becoming a fully integrated health solution. I've tried out Stelo by Dexcom and it does a great job telling you your glucose levels -- a great thing for those with a borderline diabetic condition. "Our product roadmap for this year is built on a robust investment in AI-forward offerings that enable a deeper understanding of the dynamic interplay of key health factors," said Holly Shelton, chief product officer at Ōura, in a statement. "The addition of nutrition-focused features to our product experience was a natural next step, especially considering how personal diet -- and its impact on health -- can be. Our bodies all process food in different ways, which is why we're leveraging a unique combination of Ōura's extensive biometric tracking, generative AI, and Stelo glucose data to address a critical need for more individualized and accessible metabolic health solutions. By integrating nutrition information with activity, stress, and sleep, we're empowering members with a deeper understanding of how their daily habits influence their wellbeing." Metabolic health plays a critical role in overall vitality, affecting everything from energy levels and mood to long-term disease risk. While conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and obesity are on the rise-with over 800 million people globally living with obesity and nearly half a billion adults living with prediabetes-metabolic dysfunction can impact individuals even in the absence of a formal diagnosis. Poor metabolic health has been linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney disease, and more, and may also contribute to everyday symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, and decreased physical performance. As a result, supporting metabolic health is essential not only for managing disease but also for optimizing how individuals feel and function in daily life. Proactive management through lifestyle changes can dramatically reduce these risks and symptoms; however, metabolic processes are intricate, and factors like genetics, hormones, and environmental influences can play a role. This complexity can make it difficult to pinpoint the most effective strategies for optimizing metabolic health. Through its new Meals and Glucose features, in addition to its existing feature set spanning sleep, stress, activity, heart health, and more, Ōura provides a comprehensive and integrated metabolic experience, setting it apart from existing offerings and directly responding to the growing demand for more personalized and holistic metabolic management tools. Meals After months of testing and supportive feedback in Ōura Labs, Ōura's innovation hub, Meals has transitioned to a permanent feature in the Ōura App. By simply taking a picture, members can quickly log their food and see how effectively their meals and snacks fuel them through AI-powered food recognition and comprehensive nutrition analysis. Unlike traditional meal tracking apps that emphasize calorie counts, Meals focuses on macronutrients and is designed to help members better understand how their dietary choices affect their health, empowering them to develop sustainable habits aligned with their goals. When members take or upload photos of their meals in the Ōura App, ŌuraA analyzes the dish to provide an immediate overview of its contents. Once analyzed, Ōura Advisor provides guidance and feedback on nutritional choices so members can learn how to build satiating, nutrient-dense meals to avoid energy slumps and cravings. Meals also includes a Nutrition Breakdown component, which categorizes key nutritional elements like protein, fiber, processing level, added sugars, total fats, and total carbs to provide an informational, at-a-glance summary. Ōura's guidance avoids penalizing food choices, instead presenting non-judgmental insights that help members make informed choices based on their health objectives, whether that's improving energy levels, maintaining metabolic health, or enhancing dietary balance. Glucose Through Ōura's strategic partnership and integration with Dexcom, a global leader in glucose biosensing, Ōura members can now purchase a Stelo directly from ouraring.com to receive 24/7 glucose insights and gain a better understanding of their metabolic health. Stelo, a small biosensor worn on the back of the upper arm, leverages Dexcom's most accurate glucose sensing technology and reveals how lifestyle factors can affect glucose. Prior to Stelo's launch in August 2024, glucose biosensors were only available with a prescription, and often involved significant out-of-pocket costs for those without insurance coverage. Since receiving FDA-clearance, Stelo has expanded access to this technology, giving more people valuable information about their health. Members who integrate Stelo with Ōura will see their daily glucose readings in the context of their meals, sleep, stress, and activity through a new Glucose feature in the Ōura App. "Personalized guidance and insights are essential for helping people understand how their lifestyle choices affect their body, while also encouraging them to make informed health decisions that can improve their overall quality of life," said Jake Leach, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Dexcom, in a statement. "By integrating with Ōura, we're bringing the first glucose biosensor and smart ring integration to the market, providing a one-of-a-kind and personalized metabolic health experience that allows users to better understand the link between activity, sleep, stress, nutrition, and their glucose. Through this partnership, we're once again redefining the wearable technology category in the pursuit of empowering people to take control of their health." Within the Glucose feature in the Ōura App, contextual graphs and insights from Ōura Advisor help members understand the interplay between meals, stress, daily movement, tags, and glucose so members can learn lifestyle habits that help them maintain or achieve optimal glucose levels. The feature will also provide a new key metric, "Time Above Range," which tracks how long glucose stays above the target range and provides an AI-powered analysis of glucose trends for that day. "Our approach to metabolic health and glucose monitoring is uniquely ŌURA," said Shyamal Patel, senior vice president of science at Ōura, in a statement. "Meal-induced glucose spikes can vary significantly due to factors like sleep, stress, exercise, and meal timing, which is why it's important to approach metabolic health holistically rather than focusing exclusively on diet. Instead of avoiding specific foods based on one spike, we encourage members to observe patterns, experiment with habits, and discover what helps them maintain better glucose balance over time. With this approach, members can maintain a healthy relationship with food while building long-term habits that support metabolic health." AI-Powered Health Insights Meals and Glucose join the suite of features supported by Ōura's AI-powered health coach, Ōura Advisor. Ōura Advisor is a holistic LLM designed to give Ōura members personalized, contextual, and empathetic guidance. In addition to integrating with various features in the Ōura App, Ōura Advisor can answer general health questions and pull in charts of a member's Sleep, Readiness, or Activity data to guide and support them in making changes that align with their health goals. "AI has been part of the Ōura experience since its inception, powering our core features and driving the personalized experience our members have come to know and love," said Shelton. "With the launch of Meals, Glucose, and Ōura Advisor -- and the strategic integration of AI across all three -- we're taking a pivotal step forward in connecting the dots to deliver the most personal and holistic health platform available. This launch is a significant milestone in our goal to continuously innovate and give members agency over their health." Pricing and Availability At launch, Meals and Glucose will be available on iOS and Android for Ōura members based in the United States, with plans to launch Meals internationally later this year. Ōura Advisor currently provides the most personalized responses about Ōura data related to Sleep, Activity, Readiness, and Resilience. Ōura Advisor intelligence will be released across additional Ōura features in the coming months. New and existing Ōura members will be able to purchase Stelo directly from ouraring.com for $99. Each Stelo order includes two sensors for a wear-time of up to 15 days each. Stelo can be purchased bundled with or without a ring and will be available in the United States only. Stelo is cleared by the FDA for adults not on insulin who are 18 or older in the United States interested in tracking their glucose, and for people with Type 2 diabetes not using insulin or those with prediabetes. Both Ōuraa Ring and Stelo are eligible for purchase with FSA/HSA funds. Ōura said it is building the most scientifically validated wearable; the lightweight and comfortable Ōura Ring is validated against medical gold standards and driven by continuous monitoring of 50+ individual health and wellness biometrics and insights. Thousands of teams, research organizations, and concierge medical practices manage the health of their populations with Ōura, and its ecosystem includes 800+ partners across women's health, metabolic health, fitness, behavioral health, and more. Ōura was founded in 2013 in Finland.