Here's Apple's Smart Ring Patent
Would the Apple Watch be better if it was digitized?
Since its release, the Apple Watch has failed to capture the same magic that made the iPhone the Steve Job’s biggest moneymaker and, despite a Target rollout, that’s unlikely to change any time soon. But maybe a smart ring could finally crack the wearables market? At least, that might be Apple’s thinking based on a patent titled “Devices and Methods for a Ring Computing Device”, published Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Like the Apple Watch, the ring would have a built-in microphone and camera, motion sensors, a small display, and you could use it to communicate with your iPhone. Biometric sensors would register commands via finger motion, which seemingly has the potential to turn the world into a comedy of misunderstood, seemingly creepy finger waggles when all you’re trying to do is check the weather report.
This still has a lot of the same pitfalls the watch is struggling with. Convincing people to wear a largely outmoded accessory for one. There’s little to sway people who scoff at the watch as long as they have their phones, since this doesn’t offer much more than making the tech smaller. And consumers who were considering a watch might decide to hold off if they think an impending ring announcement is just going to leave them with immediately obsolete jewelry.
Or they might just want to buy a Ringly smart ring.
Though if they roll out a high-end emerald model, it’ll be our first clue Apple is after a bite of that sweet, sweet superhero market.
