Whats Happening With Smart Rings Oura Ultrahuman and Their Legal Battles
Smart rings are in trouble as legal disputes lead to bans on some brands in the US market.
City: Recently, smart rings have faced big challenges. Since October 21, 2025, fewer health-tracking rings are available. This change happened because of a lawsuit between Oura, a popular smart ring company, and its competitors RingConn and Ultrahuman. Oura claimed that they used its patented design, so the US International Trade Commission agreed and banned those two companies from bringing new rings into the US.
This ruling is tough for Ultrahuman, which wanted to grow its US factory for more ring production. Unlike Oura, which charges $6 a month for its services, Ultrahuman’s rings do not need a subscription, making them more attractive to some users. I talked briefly with Ultrahuman’s Bhuvan Srinivasan about what the company plans to do next in the US market.
Why were the rings banned? The ITC decided that Ultrahuman and RingConn copied the same hardware design used in Oura rings. This design involves how the rings have internal and external parts that hold electrical components inside them. This ruling might seem broad because it covers many smart ring and electronic designs. Several smart ring makers have struggled with this patent issue in the past few years.
Some companies tried to find ways to keep selling rings in the US. In 2024, Oura let Circular, a French smart ring company, keep selling its rings through a deal. However, I found it had problems during my two-week test. Samsung also tried to sue Oura first, but that didn’t work. Later, Oura filed a lawsuit against other brands like Samsung’s Galaxy Ring and Reebok’s smart ring. Oura also reached a deal with RingConn and Omate so they could keep selling rings in the US.