New Rumor Suggests An Apple Ring Could Be ‘Imminent’

Ever since Samsung teased a new Galaxy Ring last month, rumors have been swirling that Apple could be working on its own smart ring to match. While the company has racked up no shortage of ring-related patents over the years, a new report suggests that the company might have a product in active development for release within the next year or so.

The information comes from South Korea’s ETNews (Google Translate), but it’s unclear how much of it is based on speculation. Like most Asian sources, ETNews typically gleans its information from Apple’s supply chain. In this case, an “industry insider” says Apple has been following the market closely and believes that “advanced development for commercialization appears to be imminent” based on all the patents.

Of course, Apple has filed many patents over the years for all sorts of devices, including necklaces and key rings; nevertheless, Apple Ring patents feature prominently among its filings, which go back to at least 2015, which suggests there could be some smoke to this fire.

More significantly, while smart rings were once little more than a curiosity, the Oura Ring has changed the game and sparked new interest in the product category. With Samsung expected to unveil its first smart ring at this summer’s Galaxy Unpacked event, likely alongside its next generation of smartwatches, Apple may be reluctant to be left behind.

Then again, people made the same assumption about a folding iPhone after the first Galaxy Fold appeared, and here we are, five years later, with more questions than answers on what Apple is up to in that area.

Apple marches to the beat of its own drummer and rarely worries about what its rivals are doing. However, in this case, even Samsung is late to the party in joining a market that some analysts believe could grow to $200 million by 2031.

While it’s not exactly clear what an Apple Ring would do, the Oura Ring measures vitals like heart rate, blood oxygen levels, skin temperature, and movement, although it syncs over Bluetooth. Samsung’s Galaxy Ring is expected to follow suit and may even add ECG capabilities.

With Apple’s focus on health and wellness, the most logical assumption is that the Apple Ring will be a similar device. However, based on the company’s numerous patent filings, many believe Apple will adopt NFC instead of Bluetooth for communicating with an Apple Watch or iPhone.

However, it may not stop there. The Galaxy Ring reportedly aims to allow users to control other devices within the Galaxy ecosystem and possibly even make wireless payments. It’s not hard to imagine Apple finding some way to integrate its smart ring with the Vision Pro. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see the company market it as an Apple Watch accessory — something to wear with an Apple Watch — rather than as a standalone device.

Nevertheless, reading too much into Apple’s patent filings is dangerous, as the company patents hundreds of ideas that never make it into a product. Sometimes, these are filed purely for defensive reasons to allow Apple to cover all its bases in patent litigation or prevent other companies from capitalizing on concepts it came up with first. Many patents also describe technologies that aren’t practical.

Lastly, while this latest report sounds very optimistic, we’ve heard nothing about an Apple Ring from any of the other usual sources. If Apple is actively building such a device, it’s doing a much better job of keeping it under wraps. We have little doubt that Apple has engineers working on a smart ring inside the walls of Apple Park, where such projects are conducted with a level of secrecy that the Pentagon would envy, but the cat generally starts to come out of the bag as soon as Apple starts building prototypes that involve its leaky supply 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.]