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As a fitness tracker reviewer, sometimes I'm sick of wearing smartwatches — here are 3 discreet, screenless fitness trackers I've personally tested, and where to buy them on Prime Day

✇TechRadar - All the latest technology news
By: matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans)

As TechRadar's Senior Fitness and Wearables Editor, I'm usually testing at least one smartwatch, and sometimes two at once. But occasionally I get overwhelmed with the volley of notifications or the compulsion to check my metrics, and swap the tracker out with something more discrete and screenless.

I'm not the only one. 'Focus' wearables are on the rise, be they fitness bands without screens, smart rings, or something else like hybrid watches. They're different form factors, but they all do fundamentally the same thing — passively track your health and fitness in the background, rather than actively show you information during a workout like the best smartwatches.

Below is a trio of fitness trackers I've personally tested, along with my verdict about what kind of person they're best suited for — and where to find the best deals for Amazon Prime Day.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

If you dislike the idea of a smartwatch but still want a useful fitness tracker — maybe you want to wear a proper analog/digital watch — then I would recommend you start your search by looking at these three wearables.

1. Google Fitbit Air

Google Fitbit Air

(Image credit: Peter Hoffmann)
  • Best for: everyday exercise, budget buyers

I recently reviewed the Google Fitbit Air and really liked it. The old Fitbits have been redesigned as a screenless fitness tracker, around 12g including strap, with all the information being fed into the app so you can check it at your leisure. There's a haptic alarm you can tap to get rid of, but that's really all the interaction you have with the wristband, other than charging it around once a week.

It's very comfortable to wear during sleep because of its lightweight, and it cleaves very close to chest-based heart rate monitors and the likes of the top-tier Apple Watch Ultra 3. It's very popular because it's cheap too, at just $99.99 / £84.99 / AU$199 — at its base tier.

It does have an AI-powered premium health coach attached, which is an optional extra costing $9.99 / £7.99 / AU$14.99 a month, or $99.99 / £79.99 / AU$140 annually. Without this, you get your base stats such as sleep, steps, recovery, heart rate, and workout tracking. As you'll see later on in this article, premium tiers and subscriptions are becoming a theme. But whether you choose to subscribe or not, the Fitbit Air remains a solid choice for screenless tracking.

Read our full Google Fitbit Air review

2. Oura Ring 4

Oura Ring 4

(Image credit: Oura)
  • Best for: holistic wellness, sleep tracking

The Oura Ring 5 is out, true, but that just means there are lots of deals on the Oura Ring 4 this week. Another subscription-based wearable, starting at $349 / £349 (less if you snag a Prime Day deal) with a $5.99-in-all-regions subscription attached, the Oura Ring 4 sits firmly at the premium end of the finger.

But it is undeniably impressive. It's even more comfortable than the Fitbit above (and thus a top-tier sleep tracker), boasts accurate metrics, and has an impressive suite of features, including a tag-based system to allow you to add context to your day's metrics and a sophisticated auto-exercise detection feature. It emphasizes holistic wellbeing, with emphasis on balance and mindfulness, even if the option for in-app blood tests is a bit creepy and, for want of a better word, 'biohacky'.

It comes in a range of finishes and colors, so it is a lot more discreet than the cheap plastic Fitbit. Price aside, it's an excellent fitness tracker, and the Prime Day deals should help soften that blow.

Read our full Oura Ring 4 review

3. Whoop 5.0

Whoop 5.0 Band mid-workout

(Image credit: Max Delaney / TechRadar)
  • Best for: serious athletes, optimizers

The screenless fitness tracking pioneer, Whoop is a wearable for perpetual optimizers. Whoop is designed to effectively be never taken off: the charging puck included with two of Whoop's three membership tiers effectively allows you to charge the device while it's still attached to your wrist, so you need never, ever take it off at all. Whoop collects and organizes an enormous amount of data, spitting it out in the form of all sorts of metrics, from your Whoop Age to its proprietary Strain score.

Its app is fantastic, implementing AI features well and housing an intuitive, comprehensive workout builder for gym rats. It's an excellent device for competitive athletes, casual CrossFit and Hyrox enthusiasts, and weekend warriors.

But Whoop is a premium device which you don't exactly buy: you rent access to it each year, starting at £169 / $199 / AU$299 per year for the Whoop One 5.0 and rising to £229 / $239 / AU$419 per year for the premium Whoop Peak tier, which nets you extra features like Whoop Age.

The highest tier is Whoop Life, which gets you a premium Whoop MG device with medical-grade heart health features, costing £349 / $359 / AU$629 per year. In my opinion, paying that each year in perpetuity doesn't represent good value — unless you can score an Amazon Prime Day deal on it.

Read our full Whoop MG review

More Prime Day deals in the US

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Should you hold off on the Oura Ring 5 and get the Oura Ring 4 instead? Here's our verdict

✇TechRadar - All the latest technology news

It's a tale as old as tech time: a new flagship device appears on the scene, which means the device it's replacing gets a price drop, and potentially offers better value for money for the discerning gadget buyer.

For this guide, we're going to be looking specifically at the Oura Ring 4 (which launched in 2024) and the Oura Ring 5 (launched in 2026). The Oura Ring 4 is likely to see some great Amazon Prime Day deals, but should you go all in on the latest and most expensive model? Or is the older model the better investment when bought at a discount?

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

There's no doubt that both models qualify as two of the best smart rings on the market right now, but which one is right for you depends on your budget and what your priorities are. Here's how they compare.

Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4: pricing

Oura Ring 5

The (Image credit: Oura)

While pricing varies as special offers come and go, the Oura Ring 5 launched for a starting price of $399 / £399 / AU$649, with some finishes costing extra at $499 / £499 / AU$799 – that's a little more expensive than the original Oura Ring 4 (note that the prices for Australia are for third-party resellers, not from Oura directly).

There's an upgraded charging case available for $99 / £99 / AU$159 for the Oura Ring 5, and then there's the monthly subscription: $5.99 / £5.99 / AU$9.99 a month or $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$109.99 a year. While a subscription isn't technically necessary to use an Oura Ring, you do need one to access the bulk of its features.

So what about Oura Ring 4 price drops? At the time of writing, the starting price is $349 / £349 if you go through the official channels, and we're seeing some good deals on the Oura Ring 4 already, which you can find below. Given that it's an older model, you're much more likely to see discounts on this smart ring on both the Oura shop and third-party retailers like Amazon.

Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4: specs and features

Oura Ring 4

The Oura Ring 4 launched in 2024 (Image credit: Oura)

What you need to know first is that the Oura Ring 5 is notably slimmer than the Oura Ring 4: for the most affordable finishes, it's 6.09 mm (0.24 inches) wide and 2.28 mm (0.09 inches) thick, down from 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) and 2.8 mm (0.11 inches), which is a reduction of about 40%.

That can make a difference when it comes to comfort and day-to-day wear. The new model is lighter too, with those reduced dimensions, weighing 2 grams rather than 3.3 grams. Both models are available in a variety of ring sizes to fit your finger, though the Oura Ring 5 introduces a new sizing scheme that doesn't match its predecessor.

Oura Ring 5

The new, slimmer Oura Ring 5 (Image credit: Oura)

The Oura Ring 5 is also more scratch resistant, while both models offer the same level of waterproofing (down to a depth of 100 meters). Battery life has been improved on the new model too, with the official estimates standing at 5-8 days for the Oura Ring 4, and 6-9 days for the Oura Ring 5.

As for sensors and health tracking features, this is where the rings are mostly tied. Oura says the fifth-generation model is more accurate because of a change in the sensor layout, but the core sensor tech is the same between the two models, and the software experience through the app is the same for tracking steps, activity, heart rate, and more.

Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4: Verdict

Oura Ring 4

The Oura Ring 4 is still an excellent smart ring (Image credit: Oura)

There's clearly a lot that's new and improved in the Oura Ring 5: it's slimmer and lighter, and offers better battery life. Oura says it's also more accurate, though that's not something we've finished testing ourselves just yet. That said, the tracking capabilities, sensors, and app features are more or less identical between the models.

Where the Oura Ring 4 really has the potential to outdo the newer model is in terms of pricing. As time goes on, you're likely to see bigger and bigger discounts on the fourth-generation model — and don't forget that we awarded it our Health & Fitness Device of the Year award for 2025. It's a seriously impressive bit of kit, and if the right discount comes along during Amazon Prime Day, it'll certainly be a better-value package than the Ring 5.

Regardless, you'll need to weigh up what's most important to you for your next smart ring, and how much you're prepared to spend to get it. Both of these premium smart rings from Oura will give you years of use — so we might be talking about the Oura Ring 6 before you need to think about upgrading again.

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