Activity tracking on Oura Ring is about to get a whole lot better, but I've got bad news about your step count

• Oura has announced a major upgrade to its activity tracking algorithms
• It says the changes will make Oura Ring more accurate for step counts and better at determining active calories burned
• The company warns members could see an average decrease in step count of 20%

Oura has announced a major upgrade to its activity tracking algorithms and platform that it says will more accurately detect steps and active calories burned during exercise.

"Today, we’re excited to announce all-new updates to Oura’s activity tracking platform and algorithms, empowering our members to more accurately track all the ways they move—from yard work to yoga," the company said in a press release.

Oura says it has developed a "new and improved" algorithm that will improve the accuracy of step counts and active calories burned. Dubbed "Real Steps", the company says the change is the next iteration of its step-counting algorithm.

Rather than estimating step count using generic movement, the new update "enables Oura to act more like a pedometer, using a more advanced machine-learning model to more accurately determine when ring movement is a step."

This should mean more accurate step counting, but I've got some bad news. Oura says you will likely see a drop in your step count compared to what you're used to, with members seeing an average decrease of 20%.

So if you've been using your Oura Ring to walk 10,000 steps a day, the chances are you might only have been walking 8,000.

Oura Active Calories

Oura's Active Calorie burn metrics now include the intensity of your movement during exercise, as measured by your heart rate. As such, if you're doing more intensive workouts like high-intensity interval training, you might see an increase in calories burned.

However, lower-intensity exercises like walking and yoga will likely yield a decrease in what you're used to seeing.

These changes aren't specific to any one model, so they should be available on the company's best smart ring, the Oura Ring 4, as well as the older Oura Ring 3.

Oura didn't specify how the change is rolling out, so just make sure to keep your Oura app and your Ring's firmware up-to-date.

While getting more accurate fitness tracking on a health and fitness device is always welcome, it sounds like some users might be in for a bit of a shock when they get their new step counts for the first time.

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