Ever since Samsung teased a brand new Galaxy Ring final month, rumors have been swirling that Apple might be working by itself good ring to match. Whereas the corporate has racked up no scarcity of ring-related patents through the years, a brand new report means that the corporate may need a product in lively improvement for launch throughout the subsequent 12 months or so.
The data comes from South Korea’s ETNews (Google Translate), however it’s unclear how a lot of it’s primarily based on hypothesis. Like most Asian sources, ETNews usually gleans its data from Apple’s provide chain. On this case, an “business insider” says Apple has been following the market carefully and believes that “superior improvement for commercialization seems to be imminent” primarily based on all of the patents.
In fact, Apple has filed many patents through the years for all types of units, together with necklaces and key rings; nonetheless, Apple Ring patents function prominently amongst its filings, which return to a minimum of 2015, which suggests there might be some smoke to this hearth.
Extra considerably, whereas good rings have been as soon as little greater than a curiosity, the Oura Ring has modified the sport and sparked new curiosity within the product class. With Samsung anticipated to unveil its first good ring at this summer season’s Galaxy Unpacked occasion, possible alongside its subsequent era of smartwatches, Apple could also be reluctant to be left behind.
Then once more, folks made the identical assumption a couple of folding iPhone after the primary Galaxy Fold appeared, and right here we’re, 5 years later, with extra questions than solutions on what Apple is as much as in that space.
Apple marches to the beat of its personal drummer and infrequently worries about what its rivals are doing. Nevertheless, on this case, even Samsung is late to the celebration in becoming a member of a market that some analysts consider might develop to $200 million by 2031.
Whereas it’s not precisely clear what an Apple Ring would do, the Oura Ring measures vitals like coronary heart price, blood oxygen ranges, pores and skin temperature, and motion, though it syncs over Bluetooth. Samsung’s Galaxy Ring is predicted to observe go well with and will even add ECG capabilities.
With Apple’s concentrate on well being and wellness, probably the most logical assumption is that the Apple Ring shall be an identical machine. Nevertheless, primarily based on the corporate’s quite a few patent filings, many consider Apple will undertake NFC as a substitute of Bluetooth for speaking with an Apple Watch or iPhone.
Nevertheless, it could not cease there. The Galaxy Ring reportedly goals to permit customers to manage different units throughout the Galaxy ecosystem and presumably even make wi-fi funds. It’s not exhausting to think about Apple discovering some approach to combine its good ring with the Imaginative and prescient Professional. It additionally wouldn’t be shocking to see the corporate promote it as an Apple Watch accent — one thing to put on with an Apple Watch — reasonably than as a standalone machine.
Nonetheless, studying an excessive amount of into Apple’s patent filings is harmful, as the corporate patents a whole lot of concepts that by no means make it right into a product. Typically, these are filed purely for defensive causes to permit Apple to cowl all its bases in patent litigation or forestall different corporations from capitalizing on ideas it got here up with first. Many patents additionally describe applied sciences that aren’t sensible.
Lastly, whereas this newest report sounds very optimistic, we’ve heard nothing about an Apple Ring from any of the opposite traditional sources. If Apple is actively constructing such a tool, it’s doing a significantly better job of preserving it underneath wraps. We’ve little doubt that Apple has engineers engaged on a wise ring contained in the partitions of Apple Park, the place such tasks are carried out with a degree of secrecy that the Pentagon would envy, however the cat typically begins to return out of the bag as quickly as Apple begins constructing prototypes that contain its leaky provide chain.
[The information provided in this article has NOT been confirmed by Apple and may be speculation. Provided details may not be factual. Take all rumors, tech or otherwise, with a grain of salt.]