There will never be an Apple Ring, says rival with crossed fingers
The CEO of smart ring firm Oura has detailed the reasons there shouldn't be an Apple Ring, but sounds like he's hoping Apple is listening.
Render of a possible Apple Ring
Oh, just bring out a ring already. Apple Ring has been rumored for years, but in the last few months we have had absolutely certain claim that the project is dead. But that claim was followed only hours later by another one saying that Apple's smart ring would be out in 2026.
Now Tom Hale, CEO of the Oura Ring company, has told CNBC that it won't happen. For one thing, an Apple Ring would undercut the Apple Watch, and for another, making smart rings is so hard that Apple can't just walk in and do it.
"I think they [Apple] are unconvinced about the value of having a ring and a watch together and they're not interested in undercutting the Apple Watch as a business," said Hale during the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal. "I think they're probably keeping a close eye on Samsung and a close eye on us, but it's hard to do this product category right."
That last point should give pause to anyone with a long enough memory. It's like an echo of what smartphone companies like Palm, Inc, were saying before Apple launched the iPhone.
"We've learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone," said Palm chief executive Ed Colligan in 2006. "PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They're not going to just walk in.''
The next year, Apple launched the iPhone, and the rest is business history. Colligan left Palm in 2009, and Palm itself faded away when HP acquired it in 2010.
So Hale does not have history and precedent on his side, but he also seems to be assuming Apple hasn't done any work yet. But we know it has because the many patents Apple has either applied for or also had granted.
One of those was called "Devices and methods for a ring computing device," which was a patent application in 2015. A continuation patent on the same idea was granted in 2019.
So while we may never know how seriously Apple takes a smart ring, nor how much of its resources into the idea, we know it's been working on one for almost a decade.
True, it worked at least as long on the Apple Car before reportedly killing that off. Hale is right that Apple will want both the technology and the reasonable belief of success before it launches anything.
But Hale also appears to be counting on the idea that the Apple Ring will compete with the Apple Watch. He specifically discounts the notion that Apple would have a ring and a watch working together.
Yet all of Apple's devices benefit from being part of the company's ecosystem. Everything works with everything else, and nobody believed that the Apple Watch would compete with the iPhone.
And Apple is the company that intentionally destroyed its enormously successful iPod by launching the iPhone. By linking with the Apple Watch, the Apple Ring may be an accessory to an accessory, but there's no reason to assume Apple won't do it.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
Apple, just make the #TheRing for the simple reason i don’t want to wear my watch to bed, way too distracting!
The moment Apple feels there is a market for a ring, and that they can provide a quality product in that market, they'll release one.
I'm an Apple fan - I don't think I would buy a ring unless it offered new functionality my Ultra lacks (and, btw, neither my wife nor I have any trouble sleeping with it). Since AR glasses are still years away, I suspect so will an Apple Ring.
Exhibit A: online music sales
The biggest factor is Apple's software prowess and integration with its ecosystem. This is what happens when you control the hardware, software and services for a popular smartphone platform.
All consumer technology innovation is driven by the smartphone, the primary computing modality for consumers in 2024. If you do not control the smartphone technology, you are a bit player in the consumer world. A great example of this is Microsoft: having stupidly fumbled their mobile strategy (remember, they were once of the primary players), they are now mostly sitting on the sidelines wistfully watching Apple and Google compete. (And Google doesn't really control handset hardware, just as Samsung doesn't control the software).
How many of you are still using your TomTom and Garmin GPS standalone units? Yeah, I thought so. You rely on your phone now. Same with your Creative Zen MP3 player. Your Canon SureShot digital camera.
Apple will get in the smart ring market if they can make fat margins. It does require a bunch of SKUs which Apple is strongly averse to.
One thing for sure, there are smart ring prototypes sitting somewhere in Apple's labs. And probably worn on some Apple employees' fingers. Remember that there have been persistent rumors of Apple testing "wearables" on their campus for over 15 years. Even if they don't market it, they might be using it to test specific features (oxygen, insulin, etc.).
Would a ring cannibalize Apple Watch sales in any significant way? Highly unlikely! Why? Because people buying an Apple Watch are, first and foremost, buying a watch! A ring doesn't offer watch functionality. Also, the entire core purpose of an Apple Watch--essentially, iPhone functionality on your wrist in terms of calling, email, texting, calendar, Apple Music, etc--isn't possible with a ring. So if what you want and/or need is Apple Watch functionality, a ring is no substitute.
Very funny! And don't forget the headphone industry--though easy to do when AirPods remain a largely unknown Apple product.
Tim & Co have been doing damage control over the Vision Pro telling journos and such, 'look this is not a mass market product, it is a pro for those that want the future today'.
Yeah right!
Anyho they are telling all and sundry 'we will have a dumbed down version in the year 2025, 2025'. Remember that song by Zager and Evans.
If you don't recall that song, have a listen on YT and you will soon find out the fate of the Apple Vision Pro.
My predicament, is that you will never, ever see one: Pro or Plus, or SE.
What may happen is that Apple will utilise some of the learning from that device and create Smart Glasses, al la Google.
Or a mass market product to compete with Meta - who incidentally are making hay with their Quest.
So I don't wear a Watch every day but swap it/them out with one of my nice looking mechanicals. I'd wear my Watches more often if Apple made some nice analog watch faces worthy of a good dress watch. But it would still be a Watch. I'm talking form over function at this point.
A ring would allow me to wear a nice watch and still collect the health data I'd want. Does Apple have now have hardware that might not be in violation of the IP fight? If it could do SpO2 that would be great! If Apple makes a ring I'll check out before spending any money or making any judgements.