By Julie Clover
While smart rings with health features are growing in popularity, Apple has no plans to enter the smart ring market, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. While Apple has explored the idea, the ring is not currently in active development, and Apple has no plans to release the ring.
Samsung's Galaxy Ring
Smart rings on the market from companies like Oura measure heart rate, track body temperature, and have sleep-tracking capabilities, all of which are features of the Apple Watch. If Apple does release a smart ring, it would have the same feature set as the Apple Watch and would likely cannibalize Apple Watch sales.
Back in February, Gurman said that Apple's industry group had approached Apple about working on a smart ring, with the device possibly being a cheaper alternative to the Apple Watch. Apple executives were apparently not interested, and no active development was underway.
Gurman's report followed a February rumor from the Korean website Electronic Times that Apple was “accelerating development” of a smart ring that could be used to track health. The site claimed that Apple was considering the smart ring idea as an extension of its wearables lineup, but those rumors could have been fueled by Samsung's Galaxy Ring.
Samsung unveiled the Galaxy Ring in July alongside new foldable smartphones. Designed to work only with Galaxy devices, the Galaxy Ring tracks movement, sleep, heart rate, and breathing rate, giving users a daily sleep score and energy score.
New devices from Samsung can spark rumors about Apple products, since the two companies typically compete in the same markets, but there are some cases where Apple hasn’t followed in Samsung’s footsteps. Samsung has had foldable smartphones for years, while Apple still doesn’t seem to have any concrete plans for a foldable iPhone.
There have been Apple patents for ring-like devices, and those patents have also led to rumors of an “iRing,” but Apple patents all sorts of weird things that never make it to market.
Gurman is a reliable source for information about Apple’s future plans, but there are those who still think an Apple ring is coming. CCS Insight reported to CNBC this week that Apple could release a “connected ring” to compete with Samsung by 2026.
Instead of releasing a ring, Apple could cut the price of the Apple Watch. The next-generation Apple Watch SE, scheduled for release in 2025, is expected to have a plastic case, which could lower the cost and make it more appealing to customers looking for something cheap and durable, both for themselves and their kids.
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