Future of tech accessories: Smart rings take center stage
Delhi : Smartwatches are wrist-worn gadgets that can do a variety of things, such tell the time, track your heart rate, and make phone calls. Smart rings are already causing a stir online as another wearable hand adornment. But interest didn't start to increase and the likelihood of mass production increased until recently, when major companies like Samsung and Apple were said to be working on the technology.
The market for smart rings was estimated to be worth USD $5 million last year, and according to ResearchAndMarkets.com, it will be worth USD $23 million by 2030. Although it's too soon to say whether the smart ring will follow in the footsteps of other highly anticipated but ultimately unpopular tech products, like Google Glass, it's still critical for customers to comprehend the advantages and potential of such technology.
What's a smart ring?
Smart rings seem very much like the classic rings we wear on our fingers, but they contain additional technological features. Currently available rings can respond to certain motions, vibrate to alert the wearer of notifications, and carry out tasks when given instructions. Similar to the smart watch, smart rings are not intended to replace smartphones but rather to be used in conjunction with them.
The monitoring of wearer-generated health and fitness data is the most popular application for smart rings, but they can also be used for digital payments, internet security, and access control to locations like homes or businesses. The user can also utilize gestures and movements to command the ring to perform certain tasks, like opening and closing applications.
One illustration is the "Wave for Work," developed by company Genki Instruments, which enables users to manage programs like Keynote, Microsoft Teams, PowerPoint, Skype, and Zoom using their fingers. However, fitting chips and sensors into a gadget with a radius smaller than a nickel is difficult, and this is the issue that many manufacturers struggle with the most.
Smaller companies like GO2SLEEP, Oura, Motiv, and THIM, all of which have manufactured rings with certain functionality but have nonetheless shown promise for the future of the business, are some of the technology's forerunners.
Big brands are making inroads
Oura, which creates a line of stylish smart rings that, among other things, track sleep and exercise, is possibly the most advanced rival on the market thus far. Samsung, the titan of Korean technology, may be gaining ground on Oura since it has made hints about plans to introduce a smart ring. Online rumors have been spreading regarding the tech giant's potential debut of a smart ring. The company already has a vast selection of wearable gadgets, including smartwatches and bracelets.
Android Authority reports that Samsung filed a patent application for the product in 2022, and the Korean Intellectual Property Right Information Service (KIPRIS) has given the term "Galaxy Ring" trademark status. Journal of the Korean electronics industry The Elec said that the firm was far along in the creation of the item, but according to Android Authority, the Galaxy Ring won't be available for purchase until at least 2024.
According to the company, the gadget can track, detect, recognize, monitor, and collect biometric and physiological data, as well as manage the data collected, according to the patent filings. Like it does now with Galaxy Watch bands, Samsung will probably couple the device with a mobile application. Although no pricing details have been released, Samsung's rivals in the market, including Oura, start their ring selections at about USD $300.
In 2021, there were rumors that Apple, Samsung's main rival on the global arena, was developing its own smart ring. An Apple ring hasn't appeared yet, though. Apple's smart ring might be a component of a system that adds functionality to other gadgets like the Apple Pencil and the recently unveiled Vision Pro AR/VR headset, according to a patent the firm filed and which Patently Apple published last year.
Apple may be laying the groundwork with this application for the smart ring to enter the productivity market and aid knowledge workers in employing hand gestures to operate Vision Pro to complete tasks.
