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Apple has been granted a new patent, which indicates the company is working on a smart ring, but there’s a catch. This smart ring won’t be fitness-focused, as most people would initially assume.
Many of you have heard of Oura smart rings, amongst others, and all of them are focused on fitness, pretty much. Well, Apple’s could be more focused on notifications, actually.
Apple could be working on a smart ring, but not for fitness purposes
What’s the deal here? Well, AppleInsider spotted a patent called “ring input device with pressure-sensitive input”. As the ring is described here, this would essentially be a tool to let you know when you receive a notification on your iPhone.
This patent details a ring that has a fixed center ring, and an outer ring around it, that can rotate. It would vibrate when you receive a notification. It is also envisioned to send inputs to companion devices. Devices such as smartphones, smartwatches, health monitoring devices, earphones, and more.
Samsung is also working on its own smart ring
The fact Apple is working on a smart ring doesn’t really surprise us, but a focus on notifications is somewhat surprising. As a reminder, Samsung is also working on a smart ring, allegedly. Samsung’s is allegedly close to completion, however, while Apple is not that close to the final product, it would seem. We cannot know for sure, though.
Smart rings do have great potential, but it’s difficult to make them do everything they’re supposed to do… and do it well, without being too bulky. It would be great if they served as notification gadgets, payment gadgets, and fitness wearables at the same time.
It remains to be seen if Apple will make something out of this patent. Just because the company patented something doesn’t mean it will come to fruition in the form of an actual product, of course.
