ALAWABA – In its last Unpacked event, Samsung has teased their upcoming Galaxy Ring, which is expected to arrive in the second half of the year, however, eyes are on Apple as a recent report by ETNews has uncovered that Apple is not just patenting smart ring technologies, but is actually close to a finished product and coordinating its release.
The Electronic Times claims that Apple has been closely monitoring the market for indications that a smart ring will be a well-received, more discreet substitute for a watch that is comfortable to fall asleep with and could be worn for extended periods of time.
Considering a Bloomberg report which revealed that Apple had filed a patent for a touchscreen ring back in 2015, it appears that the company has been getting ready for this. A few other patents for a ring that could be used to operate other linked gadgets, such a Mac, Apple TV, iPad, and even VR gear, surfaced in the years that followed.
In last November, ET reports that Apple has also filed a patent for an NFC system applied to smart ring devices, which may be used for contactless payment, possibly with Apple Pay, or to control other devices.
The sector leader for smart rings at the moment is the Finnish healthcare startup Oura, which specializes in medical features like heart rate monitoring and sleep. However, its popularity hasn't yet materialized yet, the industry thinks that the smart ring market will start to grow seriously now that Apple and Samsung are involved.
