Key Takeaways
- Apple may be developing a smart ring to compete with Samsung’s Galaxy Ring.
- Smart rings could help Apple capture budget-conscious shoppers and deepen ecosystem attachment.
- New patents don’t guarantee a product, but they suggest Apple is seriously exploring smart rings.
Smart rings seem to be an increasingly popular product category. They’re not ideal for everyone — as a swimmer or powerlifter, you could easily destroy one — but for the result of the public, they offer some of the benefits of conventional fitness trackers without the cost or distraction. They might be the wave of the future. Samsung seems to think so, given the hype it’s dedicating to the Galaxy Ring.
Is Apple going to join the bandwagon? Nothing has been announced yet, but there’s reason to think the company is deep into development. Or at least seriously exploring the idea.
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1 A stream of Apple smart ring patents
Where there’s smoke…
US Patent and Trademark Office
New patents don’t automatically mean anything, since businesses file them all the time to secure their options. It’s suspicious, however, that Apple has filed multiple smart ring patents, covering concepts ranging from haptic feedback and gesture control to NFC and miniature displays, as AppleInsider notes. At a minimum, they confirm that Apple engineers have been seriously contemplating smart rings — if we’re lucky, they might even be a glimpse of an Apple Ring’s upcoming features.
I say lucky because we’ve been down this road with a few other unreleased Apple products. Perhaps the best example is the Apple Car, which devoured billions of dollars in development resources before being scrapped in early 2024. Even if an Apple Ring does ship, it might look nothing like (public) patent submissions.
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2 Smart ring market competition
Keeping up in the arms race
Apple is a rich tech giant with deeply entrenched products, and yet it can’t afford to ignore the competition. Losing an inch in a product category could mean losing a mile if customers are motivated to change platforms. Many shareholders still believe in the myth of infinite growth, meanwhile, which means Apple needs to expand into new segments whenever possible.
Smart rings have presumably been on Apple’s radar for years, given the popularity of models like the Oura, already in its third generation. It’s hard to fathom Apple ignoring Samsung’s Galaxy Ring — the two companies are archrivals, frequently racing to one-up each other in specs and options. The last thing Apple wants is people choosing Samsung devices over iPhones because it’s missing key accessories.
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3 Apple Watch price pressures
Meeting customers where they are
As popular as Apple Watches are, they can be a hard sell. The cheapest model, the SE, starts at $249, which isn’t an impulse purchase for most people, especially if they’re aware they’ll have to replace it in a few years. Prices can be even steeper overseas.
An Apple Ring could help capture more budget-conscious shoppers around the world, assuming Apple is willing to dip to the $200 mark or lower. There’s no guarantee of that — Apple normally targets a “premium” demographic — but there’s only so much potential for sales expansion with something like the Ultra 3.
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4 Apple ecosystem attachment
Golden (ring) cuffs
Apple
This is actually an extension of our second and third points, but Apple is always inventing new ways to lock people into its ecosystem. You can’t use an Apple Watch without an iPhone, and if you have both, you’re probably not going to spend thousands of dollars replacing them with Android gear. Likewise, someone sharing an iCloud+ plan with their family may have a tough time forcing everyone to switch to Google Drive.
An Apple Ring could deepen this attachment for a wider group of consumers, helping to slow or reverse the company’s sagging hardware sales. It’s not just about sunk costs either — people may be reluctant to abandon Apple Health, Apple Pay, or HomeKit features, and above all Apple wants to entice you with subscriptions like Apple Music and Apple Fitness+. Who knows, maybe an Apple Ring will include enough storage for a few Apple Music playlists.
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FAQ
Q: When is the Apple Ring coming out?
There’s no confirmation that the product exists yet, much less a definite release date. Hypothetically Apple could announce it as soon as fall 2024 — looking to steal the thunder of the Samsung Galaxy Ring — but no rumors have pointed to that so far. It would also represent an amazing feat of secrecy, given how often other Apple products leak ahead of time.
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