I believe these rings only promote anxiety among the young and healthy. By obsessively checking health metrics on an ongoing basis, the rings result in panic if any specific metrics is slightly off, even for a short period of time. Eat well, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep and see your doctor for a physical once a year and if you feel ill. If you feel good, chances are very good you are good.
I love you, Scott...listen to every podcast, but you and Jessica were wrong to disparage San Francisco this wk. Market St does not characterize our city, BUT Noe Valley, the Embarcadero, the Mission, Castro, Cow Hollow/Pac heights (Chestnut, Union and Fillmore streets), the Presidio (including commercial) and so much more is where locals go and hang TODAY. Market St/Union Square is being reimagined in a modern, more relevant manner. And when we do, it STILL and never will be the soul of SF. I would greatly appreciate a retraction from you and Jessica....thx...
After the way Harvest jacked up prices and is losing customers at a flood pace after being purchased by Bending Spoons, a Scott love story , I see nothing but trouble as well for Oura. Just pop and fizzle.
Evernote, another Bending Spoons holding, did exactly the same. Just prior to the IPO they increased my annual fee from 169.99 to 249.99. And their customer service is non-existent, i.e. they never reply. I’d switch to Notion but I have almost 20 years of data in Evernote.
the peloton comparison is doing the heavy lifting here. 87% twelve-month retention on 5m subscribers makes 11x revenue look almost reasonable, until you ask what the next 20m subscribers actually want the ring for.
The next ring upgrade looks like a useful test of subscription loyalty. Do users keep paying when they need to buy the hardware again? That would tell us something the annual retention figure alone cannot.
70% of us are obese & 90% have CKM. It's too late to save bodies. We are mostly damaged goods. Just left my office in Soho and there were huge numbers of OBESE GIRLS with long hair and the right makeup and shoes and bags with waistlines of 40 inches and more. NONE seemed unhappy. No one looked at them with disgust. BINGING is the #1 Eating disorder out of SEVEN. Until 2013 we only had two. Because no one ever comments on my comments I know it is lost. I have been talking about the failure of the EAT HEALTHY EXERCISE more mantra since 1987. But since the 30% are OK and in control the 70% will continue to decline and get more disease disability and early death.
I would respectfully suggest on this day the inversion of the column to begin with memories of 9-11.
Maybe Oura will donate rings subscription free to help track the health of the many first responders who continue to suffer from the after- effects of this tragedy.
Expect Apple to offer its own and likely better designed ring. Apple would also will also likely avoid the imposed tolls of Oura’s subscriptions (to access one’s own data???) and protect users’ HIPPA-related medical and health data. Keep an eye on insider selling and hot issue flipping. Not.
Apple is a good copycat consumer tech company but it would have launched a ring if it could. It cannot because of the strong IP protection of Oura's patent fence strategy
I just don’t see it. This feels like the next Fitbit or GoPro. Hot for a minute, stale and cold the next.
People care about these little tracking devices until they don’t. It would be one thing if the device was a one-time purchase, but they’re asking people to pay a sub fee for a wellness ring? Woof. And how many people are really going to feel compelled to hop onto the upgrade cycle when a new ring comes out every year or two?
Feels like at some point they will max out the high-end of the consumer base of people with enough disposable income and health obsessiveness to add yet another subscription service to their budget.
I'm surprised Scott didn't mention the class action lawsuit against Oura alleging its rings don't provide the advertised accuracy. The only way to get an accurate HRV reading is with a chest strap. Oura averages HRV during the day/night, which wipes out the highs and lows. None of this probably matters for the people who buy the ring, but it does for endurance athletes like me who use HRV for training and recovery.
Great article, well written as ever. Thank you. But subscription models are too much these days. Those that can offer service for "free" will have the edge imho
I disagree with the long term success of the company. The Oura ring is on the way out. Its metrics have stopped evolving and Apple has continued to improve. I consider myself a power user of electronic health gadgets. I, as well as a number of my friends, have discontinued our Oura subscriptions.
I believe these rings only promote anxiety among the young and healthy. By obsessively checking health metrics on an ongoing basis, the rings result in panic if any specific metrics is slightly off, even for a short period of time. Eat well, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep and see your doctor for a physical once a year and if you feel ill. If you feel good, chances are very good you are good.
Ahh, The Precious Oura. Just another dark trinket of the times.
I love you, Scott...listen to every podcast, but you and Jessica were wrong to disparage San Francisco this wk. Market St does not characterize our city, BUT Noe Valley, the Embarcadero, the Mission, Castro, Cow Hollow/Pac heights (Chestnut, Union and Fillmore streets), the Presidio (including commercial) and so much more is where locals go and hang TODAY. Market St/Union Square is being reimagined in a modern, more relevant manner. And when we do, it STILL and never will be the soul of SF. I would greatly appreciate a retraction from you and Jessica....thx...
After the way Harvest jacked up prices and is losing customers at a flood pace after being purchased by Bending Spoons, a Scott love story , I see nothing but trouble as well for Oura. Just pop and fizzle.
Evernote, another Bending Spoons holding, did exactly the same. Just prior to the IPO they increased my annual fee from 169.99 to 249.99. And their customer service is non-existent, i.e. they never reply. I’d switch to Notion but I have almost 20 years of data in Evernote.
Fitbit air costs 100 does hrv, tracks sleep really well, and has zero monthly cost. Pass on the oura ring ipo
Agree I’m wearing the Fitbit air now. And if apple or google ever announce that they are making a ring oura would be dead overnight. Pass from me too.
Oura and many other wellness devices getting sherlocked by Apple with the introduction of the new 12 Watch series?
the peloton comparison is doing the heavy lifting here. 87% twelve-month retention on 5m subscribers makes 11x revenue look almost reasonable, until you ask what the next 20m subscribers actually want the ring for.
The next ring upgrade looks like a useful test of subscription loyalty. Do users keep paying when they need to buy the hardware again? That would tell us something the annual retention figure alone cannot.
70% of us are obese & 90% have CKM. It's too late to save bodies. We are mostly damaged goods. Just left my office in Soho and there were huge numbers of OBESE GIRLS with long hair and the right makeup and shoes and bags with waistlines of 40 inches and more. NONE seemed unhappy. No one looked at them with disgust. BINGING is the #1 Eating disorder out of SEVEN. Until 2013 we only had two. Because no one ever comments on my comments I know it is lost. I have been talking about the failure of the EAT HEALTHY EXERCISE more mantra since 1987. But since the 30% are OK and in control the 70% will continue to decline and get more disease disability and early death.
I would respectfully suggest on this day the inversion of the column to begin with memories of 9-11.
Maybe Oura will donate rings subscription free to help track the health of the many first responders who continue to suffer from the after- effects of this tragedy.
Expect Apple to offer its own and likely better designed ring. Apple would also will also likely avoid the imposed tolls of Oura’s subscriptions (to access one’s own data???) and protect users’ HIPPA-related medical and health data. Keep an eye on insider selling and hot issue flipping. Not.
Apple is a good copycat consumer tech company but it would have launched a ring if it could. It cannot because of the strong IP protection of Oura's patent fence strategy
Insightful conclusion that each decade has its zeitgeist anxiety that benefits a certain stance
I just don’t see it. This feels like the next Fitbit or GoPro. Hot for a minute, stale and cold the next.
People care about these little tracking devices until they don’t. It would be one thing if the device was a one-time purchase, but they’re asking people to pay a sub fee for a wellness ring? Woof. And how many people are really going to feel compelled to hop onto the upgrade cycle when a new ring comes out every year or two?
Feels like at some point they will max out the high-end of the consumer base of people with enough disposable income and health obsessiveness to add yet another subscription service to their budget.
"The world’s most valuable companies appeal to human instincts." -- truth!
I'm surprised Scott didn't mention the class action lawsuit against Oura alleging its rings don't provide the advertised accuracy. The only way to get an accurate HRV reading is with a chest strap. Oura averages HRV during the day/night, which wipes out the highs and lows. None of this probably matters for the people who buy the ring, but it does for endurance athletes like me who use HRV for training and recovery.
Great article, well written as ever. Thank you. But subscription models are too much these days. Those that can offer service for "free" will have the edge imho
I disagree with the long term success of the company. The Oura ring is on the way out. Its metrics have stopped evolving and Apple has continued to improve. I consider myself a power user of electronic health gadgets. I, as well as a number of my friends, have discontinued our Oura subscriptions.
If SG is an investor interested cos he is touting his newsletters, it feels a bit Trumpy...Just curiuos