While everyone has been clamoring for a foldable iPhone, Apple has apparently been quietly developing a smart ring for years. A pair of newly discovered patents (spotted by Apple Insider) gives us a hint of what the Apple Ring might be capable of whenever it is released.
The first patent, simply titled "Ring Device," appears to cover features that you're familiar with in smart rings. The patent reads that an Apple Ring "may include near-field communications circuitry for emulating near-field communications tags based on biometric data and/or for logging health-related actions such as medicine intake."
However, beyond health tracking, the patent is also concerned with gesture controls. Technical drawings show a hand with a ring using it to control smart home devices like lamps or your television with gestures.
Additionally, it hints at voice controls where a "microphone may detect voice input and other sounds that can be used to infer the context in which the ring device is operating."
One potential way Apple could use these features by letting you control your smart home or phone with Siri via the ring. It could also utilize the Apple Watch noise level detector, suggesting that it could seamlessly fit into your Apple ecosystem.
At first blush, it could compete with the best smart rings.
Ring operation
The second patent looks to be concerned with how you would operate the Apple Ring. Drawings and the description depict a "ring device with variable rotational resistance," meaning it has elements that can be moved.
Apple justifies the moving element saying, "electronic finger rings can be employed as unobtrusive communication devices that are readily available to communicate wirelessly with other devices capable of receiving those communications."
So you could have a "rotating outer band" that could be used to communicate with "companion wearable devices such as smart watches, health monitoring devices, headphones, ear buds, and the like." Again, the patent suggests that the rotating elements could potentially be used to control smart home devices.
Potentially, the Apple Ring could be used to receive information that it would share with you via vibrations, letting you know when you've received a text or notification. Though how that is better than the Apple Watch remains to be seen.
Again, we don't know when or if Apple will release a smart ring, but these two patents give us an idea of how Apple might pitch one to consumers. It appears that such a device could be quite capable, with gesture controls being a key selling point for surpassing an Apple Watch.
