With the smart rings becoming more popular, Apple is planning to new health tracker to its wearable portfolio. The are strong rumors that Apple is working on a smart ring to rival the Samsung Galaxy Ring and Oura Ring. The Cupertino tech giant has made remarkable progress in the health space, and with an “Apple Ring”, it could offer us a more comfortable way to fitness and sleep tracking. We’ve summed up everything we know about the Apple Ring.
Is Apple Coming out with a Ring
The Apple Ring concept was first rumored back in 2007. Then the Apple supplier tour from 2013 also hinted that an Apple-made smart ring is in the pipeline. Now, it’s been more than 17 years and people are curious to know if Apple has some real plans to launch a Ring. Well, the short answer is yes, at least according to certain reliable sources.
Earlier this year, Mark Gurman reported that Apple is exploring the idea of creating new wearables, including a fitness ring, smart glasses, and AirPods with cameras. According to the report, the Cupertino tech giant was planning to come up with “a smart ring that would take health-tracking features from the Apple Watch and put them on your finger”. However, Gurman also mentioned that an Apple Ring is just an idea so far, and the company hasn’t started working on the actual product yet.
Another rumor points to a different side of the story. A month after Samsung teased its smart ring at the January 2024 event, South Korea’s ETNews reported that Apple might be working to launch a rival. It stated that Apple has been closely following the potential of the smart rings, and it’s supposedly ramping up its development for a release within the next year or so.
While the actual timeline isn’t clear, there are enough rumors and leaks to believe that Apple has a long-standing interest in the smart rings, and the actual release might not be too far.
Apple Ring Design Rumors
When the Apple Ring rumors began to surface back in 2007, everyone was curious to know what the Apple-branded Ring would look like. The concept of a smart ring was relatively new at that time. Now that it’s 2024 and we’ve already seen Oura Ring, Samsung Galaxy Ring, and more, we have an idea about what smart rings look like. Since a smart ring has several tech and sensors lining inside, it’s slightly thicker than a normal ring but it still looks like a modern piece of jewelry. Also, smart rings come in various metal finishes and colors to offer that jewelry look.
If the Apple Ring concept sees the daylight, we expect Apple to come up with something similar to the sleek and minimal design of the Oura Ring. Over the years, Apple has filed several patents related to smart rings. The giant has racked up no shortage of ring-related patents so it has got plenty of designs to choose from. For instance, one patent explains how a smart ring could be used to control content on future VR glasses and headsets. The ring will have several sensors to gather input from the user.
Another patent describes an Apple Ring as a mini Apple Watch with biometrics, a touch display, and Siri to control a TV or tablet. On the other hand, the third patent suggests a smart ring that uses NFC to control Vision Pro with in-air gestures so users can have better control over their Apple headsets. The Vision Pro doesn’t include controllers, but a ring-like device might help expand the hand recognition capabilities.
A few years ago, Apple was keen enough on creating a miniature wearable that offers all the Apple Watch functionality on the finger. However, more recent leaks and rumors point to the release of a screen-free alternative to the Apple Watch or a companion device for the Apple Vision Pro. Well, whatever road Apple plans to take, it will be damn interesting to see the first Apple-made smart ring.
Apple Ring Possible Features
An Apple Ring is expected to arrive with all the Apple Watch’s health-tracking features, including step count, heart rate monitoring, sleep tracking, cycle tracking, ECG, and more. This will allow users to enjoy all the benefits of Apple Health without having to wear the smartwatch. Also, the Apple Ring may give you a new way to stay on top of your Activity Rings.
It’s worth knowing that Apple has also filed several gesture-related patents that can easily blend into real life. According to the “Skin-to-Skin Contact Detection” patent, the Apple Ring might detect movement or contact gestures between two body parts like tapping the two fingers together.
Also, there were leaks that the Apple Ring could use the ultra-wideband technology to detect a when user points at a device. Essentially, when a user points at a device while, the ring will use the U1 chip or similar technology to signal the device that the user is about to interact with it. This will allow the user to control the intended hardware.
In addition to gestures, Apple also considered how the user might control the ring, and how the ring can communicate back. In August 2023, the giant won the “Ring input device with pressure-sensitive input” patent that proposes an Apple Ring would deliver Apple Watch-style haptic buzz in case of any notifications, and the wearer can touch the surface to respond.
Now that Apple has entered the AI league, it might push its Apple Intelligence features at some level to every device in its ecosystem. Since a smart ring won’t have a lot of computing power, it will be interesting to see how Apple plans its strategy.
Apple Ring as an Apple Watch Alternative
An Apple Ring might be a more tempting alternative for users who wish to get deeper health insights without the bulkiness of a watch. Some Apple Watch users like me find it difficult to wear a smartwatch all the time and put it to a charge every day before going to bed. I feel the Apple Watch, or any other smartwatch doesn’t blend seamlessly into my lifestyle. An Apple Ring would surely attract users who prioritize convenience and find it impractical or uncomfortable to wear a watch, especially at night.
When Apple Ring arrives, it might fix one of the biggest issues of the Apple Watch, and that is the battery life. While we don’t have exact figures, the Apple Ring will offer a better battery life due to its simpler functionality and lack of a display. For reference, most smart rings can last up to several days on a single charge. Also, the Apple Ring might arrive with an affordable price tag, compared to the Apple Watch. So, it might impress a wide customer base who’s looking for a more flexible, comfortable, and affordable alternative to Apple Watch for 24/7 health tracking.
In the end, there’s no debate about what’s better, a smartwatch or a smart ring. This entirely depends upon the user’s lifestyle, preferences, and expectations from a tech wearable. As wearable technology continues to evolve, smart rings might gain more popularity and eventually become an indispensable tool just like smartwatches.
Apple Ring Expected Price & Release Date
At the moment, there aren’t any concrete rumors about the potential release date or how much an Apple Ring would cost. However, just like other Apple devices, an Apple-designed Ring would also make an expensive entry into the market. Also, Apple will follow a competitive pricing strategy to rival the likes.
For reference, Oura entered the smart rings domain in 2015 and its cheapest model is still around $300. On the other hand, Samsung launched the Galaxy Ring with an outrageous $400 price tag. From these facts, we can guess that the Apple Ring would be priced somewhere between $300 to $400. However, since Apple comes with everything premium, including the price tag, the price may go as high as $500. We might also see standard and premium versions offering a different set of features.
As of now, there are no clues of the Apple Ring release date. Mark Gurman claimed that the Apple Ring is just in the idea stage and the Cupertino tech giant isn’t actively developing any finger-worn device at the moment. Whereas, the Electronic Times reported that Apple is seriously considering a smart ring and we might see it within two years. However, there is no concrete evidence on when the Apple Ring will actually hit the market. Due to the lack of rumors, we might assume the Apple-branded smart ring could be a few years away.
Apple Ring Competition
Oura is the current leader in the smart rings market, and Samsung has also stepped into the business this year. Essentially, Apple has two rivals- Oura and Samsung. The standout feature of the Oura smart ring is that it looks like a stylish piece of jewellery lined with capable sensors that can track movement, heart rate, blood oxygen, and temperatures. The ring transmits the collection information to its companion app via Bluetooth. Since 2015, Oura released multiple versions of smart rings and has gained a stronghold in the market. The Samsung Galaxy Ring also features a minimal and modern design packed with all sorts of sensors, including ECG, SpO2, Heart Rate, and Sleep detection sensors.
The Apple Ring might have a similar feature set to the Galaxy Ring. That said, Apple might have an upper hand due to its wider ecosystem and continuity features. Also, the giant has been closely following the smart rings market for a few years now, so it might come up with something we haven’t seen before. After all, Apple surprises, sometimes!
That’s everything we know so far about the Apple Ring. We’ll update this piece as the rumor cycle evolves. Stay tuned!
Sagnik Das Gupta
