A newly surfaced patent application suggests that Oura is exploring a feature that would allow a future version of its smart ring to track ambient light conditions and potentially control connected smart home devices such as lights and blinds. The Oura Ring 5 only recently launched, but the patent points to work already underway on capabilities that could appear in a later generation of the device.
The patent filing, dated July 16 and titled Techniques for Evaluating Ambient Light Exposure and Chronotype via Wearable Devices, describes a system capable of tracking the timing, intensity, duration and color of light exposure throughout the day, including ultraviolet light. According to the filing, the ring and its companion app would analyze this light exposure data alongside a user’s sleep patterns and recovery metrics, with the goal of helping users achieve better quality rest. The system is designed to build a more complete picture of factors affecting sleep beyond the metrics current wearables typically track, such as heart rate and movement.
One of the more notable aspects of the patent involves the potential to link this light tracking data directly to smart home automation. Rather than simply reporting light exposure data to the user, the system described in the filing could automatically dim lights or close blinds and curtains as bedtime approaches, and reopen them in the morning to support a more natural wake up routine. For situations where a user does not have compatible smart home devices, the system could instead offer manual suggestions, while also allowing rules to be set that would turn off lights automatically if a user falls asleep with them still on. The patent also indicates that light exposure data could eventually factor into Oura’s existing wellness scoring system, adding another dimension to how the company measures overall health and recovery.
In terms of implementation, the patent suggests the feature could potentially work using the ring’s existing LED components to measure ambient light, avoiding the need for an entirely new sensor, though the filing also mentions the possibility of a dedicated light sensor for more accurate readings. A dedicated sensor would likely provide more reliable data, similar to how smartphones use ambient light sensors to automatically adjust screen brightness, though such a component could affect the ring’s compact design. Competitor RingConn has already introduced a similar light tracking feature in its Gen 2 smart ring, suggesting the underlying technology is technically feasible. Whether this particular feature makes it into an eventual Oura Ring 6 or a later model remains uncertain, since patent filings do not always translate into shipped products, but the filing offers an early signal of the directions Oura may be exploring for future hardware.
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