During the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, many wearable tech companies explored whether their devices could detect early signs of illness. Now, four years later, Oura is rolling out a new feature called Symptom Radar, designed to alert users to potential signs of respiratory illness.
Symptom Radar is not a diagnostic tool but rather serves as an “illness alert system.” Its origins lie in research Oura conducted during the pandemic on predicting sickness. While it won’t distinguish between illnesses like the flu, common cold, or COVID-19, it offers an early warning when physiological changes suggest something might be wrong.
“Our studies show that physiological changes in the body can start a day or two before symptoms appear,” explained Shyamal Patel, Oura’s head of science, in an interview with The Verge. This early detection allows users to take preventive actions.
The feature assesses metrics such as resting heart rate, heart rate variability, breathing rate, and temperature trends to detect significant deviations from a user’s baseline. After syncing their data each morning, users receive notifications indicating whether there are no signs, minor signs, or major signs of strain linked to respiratory symptoms. If signs are detected, the app encourages users to enable Rest Mode and prioritize recovery.
Initially introduced in April as part of Oura’s Labs program for testing experimental features, Symptom Radar benefited from user feedback and larger data sets to refine its algorithm. While Patel acknowledges that the algorithm isn’t flawless—false positives and negatives can occur—Oura has not disclosed specific accuracy rates.
Beta testers also expressed interest in receiving updates when no symptoms were detected. In response, the final version includes a historical graph that allows users to monitor their health trends over time. Patel also envisions Symptom Radar evolving to help users better understand factors that aid in faster recovery from illnesses.
Symptom Radar will be accessible to all users of the Oura Ring Gen 3 and Oura Ring 4 starting Wednesday, December 11.