Smart ring maker Oura and glucose monitoring giant Dexcom just struck a partnership that will allow the companies' products to work together, with the goal being to help users see how nutrition and activity habits impact metabolic health.Â
The collaboration, which both companies announced on Tuesday, is yet another sign that wearable tech companies are expanding beyond wellness and activity tracking to address health in a larger way. The announcement also comes as Apple is said to be exploring noninvasive glucose monitoring and meal-logging tools for people who are prediabetic, according to Bloomberg. It also builds on Oura's work in this space, coming after it agreed to acquire metabolic health company Veri in September.Â
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Expect to see the first app integration between the two companies in the first half of 2025. Although the companies haven't said exactly what to expect, the press release says Dexcom's glucose biosensors and apps will be able to communicate with the Oura Ring and accompanying Oura app.Â
In the release, Oura CEO Tom Hale says the goal behind the partnership is to help Oura users make more informed nutrition decisions by showing how factors like sleep and exercise can impact one's glucose levels. Oura rings can measure activity, sleep, heart rate, skin temperature and stress levels, and the company also offers a food logging feature as part of its Oura Labs program, which lets users test features that are still in development.
"And because we know that people are affected differently by the same foods and activities, guidance and insights will be personalized," Hale said in the release.Â
In addition to enabling its products to share data with Oura, Dexcom is making a $75 million investment in Oura. The two companies will also sell and market each other's products.
Oura isn't the first wearable tech maker to support compatibility with Dexcom. The Apple Watch can pair directly with the Dexcom G7 continuous glucose monitoring system to enable people with diabetes to view blood sugar data on their watch. But the Oura partnership seems different; rather than viewing Dexcom data in the Oura app, it sounds like Oura wants to help users see how lifestyle factors can influence glucose levels. We'll have to wait until both companies announce more details about the partnership to know what to expect.Â
Apple is said to have similar ambitions. The iPhone maker has reportedly tested a food management app aimed at people with prediabetes, according to Bloomberg, which the company might eventually incorporate into future health products. The report suggests this app, which Apple has tested only with employees, would be intended to communicate the link between nutrition and blood sugar, much like the collaboration between Dexcom and Oura.
More broadly, the partnership is further evidence that the role of wearable technology is evolving beyond just being a fitness and wellness tracker. It suggests that such devices are growing increasingly capable of helping us monitor bodily changes and habits that can have more far-reaching health implications.Â
For example, Apple and Samsung each offer smartwatches capable of detecting potential signs of sleep apnea. Certain Samsung smartwatches can also measure blood pressure when calibrated with a cuff-based blood pressure monitor.Â
No smartwatches or smart rings have been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration for glucose monitoring, as the regulatory body reminded consumers earlier this year. So enabling deeper integration with existing glucose monitoring systems could give wearables like the Oura Ring more insight into how factors like food and exercise habits impact one's metabolic health.Â