It is understandable in some narrow sense because you want the outer surface to be nick-resistant, so you need to make it out of reasonably thick metal. Plastic rings would look terrible after a couple of weeks.

But it's really hard to justify the big picture. It's hundreds of bucks + a monthly subscription for... what, exactly? Why does this need to exist? If you really want to gamify your pulse and sleep patterns for some inconceivable reason, a phone or a wristwatch can collect the same information in a more practical and safer way.

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wongarsu 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Thinner skin, so you can in theory get better sensor readings. And you don't have to convince people to give up the watch they already own. Selling somebody who owns a $4000 watch another watch is an uphill battle that requires Apple watch levels of sophistication, selling them a ring is a lot easier

I also find the cost of the Oura outrageous. But getting the $450 smart ring instead of the $20 smart ring from aliexpress is the buyer's choice. It doubles as jewelry, and some people are willing to spend on that. And the software quality is certainly better than with the bargain bin option

	▲	mejutoco 23 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		You cannot lift weights with that ring, but you can with a whoop. That, plus the battery life (no display) makes it very practical. Just my 2c as a whoop user
	▲	addaon 4 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		> Selling somebody who owns a $4000 watch another watch is an uphill battle I’d wager the future lifetime spending of someone who owns a $4000 watch on other watches is at least one and maybe two orders of magnitude greater than the general population.

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_ks3e 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Perhaps you could reinforce both the outside and the inside, so any swelling would be directed parallel to the finger?

	▲	AlotOfReading 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Or have a cut in the outer ring with an insert filling the gap. A partial ring is easiy to bend outwards, but difficult to bend inwards.