Apple Has No Plans For a Smart Ring

[Webcat86]

Certainly it's a wearable-lite, which is the point; it's light, and watches are annoying for some people.

This is why I want them to release something more like a bracelet, which could offer all of the same sensors as a watch, whereas a ring is a big compromise.

You're incorrect about not reading heart rate and tracking workouts. But your point about not using while lifting weights is a good one. That's a fail.

I didn't say that a ring doesn't read heart rate. I said how I use my watch. A ring will log your heart rate, but without a screen you aren't able to see it. If you're in the gym and monitoring your HR to know when you're in a certain zone or waiting for it to reduce before your next set, a ring won't be much use. Nor is it going to be a companion device on a run — my AW tells me my average and rolling pace, distance travelled, and the option of telling it my goal at the start (e.g. if I want to run a certain distance, a specific amount of time, laps, intervals etc). A ring does none of these things.

That's not to say it has no utility. But from Apple's point of view I don't see much of the appeal because the nature of this type of device is so limited. It won't access the App Store, it is vastly inferior as a health wearable (which is where Apple is heading these days, even with the AirPod Pros now), and can't even be worn for all types of workout.

The only way I see Apple doing a ring is if it's specifically sold as a sleep device, designed to sync with your Apple Health data each morning. But even then, you'd lose the wrist temperature sensor

 

[Webcat86]

You might as well say the iPhone dilutes the value of the watch.

You could say it about the iPad and iPhone, but not the iPhone and Watch. Those two have amazing complementary utility — the phone doesn't come close to giving you the health data of the watch because it's not able to track them. And lots of people like the freedom of leaving their phone at home and just having the watch. But on the other hand, there's a lot the phone can do that the watch can't. These are really good partner devices, rather than diluting.