Calories logging from meal photos – Oura’s AI Brilliance
I recently covered the likely direction for Oura’s hardware as they release Ring 4 later this year.
More: Oura on Amazon
However, Oura‘s ecosystem extends beyond the market-leading ring to its app. It looks like the app is about to include two new headline features, one being groundbreaking if it can get the calorie count correct.
Feature 1 – Heart Rate Zone Tracking.
This feature builds on widely used sports science from heart rate, exemplified by Apple Watch’s move to cover Training Load in the latest watchOS 11.
TL;DR – Accurately taken heart rate during sports can be weighted and averaged over a few weeks to give a modelled view of your fatigue. Put that against overnight HRV from the Oura Ring and you get an excellent view of what your body can handle.
Feature 2
Oura’s excellent app will let you take pictures of the meal you’re about to eat. Great. But then it will use AI to determine what’s in the meal and approximate the number of calories. That will be a GREAT boost to calorie trackers…if accurate.
Good Smart Ring choices
- Buy: Oura
- Buy: Ultrahuman
- Buy: RingConn
- Buy: Circular Smart Ring
- Buy: Amazfit Helio ring – $
299$201 - Buy: Samsung Ring
Last Updated on 28 January 2026 by the5krunner
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tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. ID
I can see this working if the user can calibrate it before using it in full eg. Taking a photo AND also inputing the weight measurements a few times, so the AI can adjust with a few common meals, plate size, etc.
Also from what I remember MakroFactor did something similar, where you described the dish and it would pull up a bunch of foods that fit and some suggested weights (eg. Chicken with white rice and broccoli = 150g chicken, 100g rice and 100g broccoli).