Apple Won’t Launch a Smart Ring, Says Oura CEO: “It’s Hard to Do”
Over the past few years, there has been a huge inflow of wearable technology products in the market spearheaded by big players such as Apple, Samsung, and Fitbit in health monitoring devices. However, there is one product that Apple fans have been waiting for the company to launch, yet they are yet to do so, and that is the smart ring. While Apple has been awarded a plethora of patents and there have been rumors regarding the company looking to design its smart ring, comments recently made by Oura CEO Tom Hale may imply that the company is not planning an entry into this space.
Let me begin with the Oura CEO’s comments, Apple’s potential restraint, and the pitfalls in designing an excellent smart ring.
What the Oura CEO Said
During an interview in an idea mensch, Oura’s CEO Tom Hale said that he does not anticipate Apple to launch a smart ring shortly. According to Hale, while thinking about a smart ring may sound like a great idea, creating one ring that has to be not only smart but also credible is much harder work.
When I asked Hale specifically about choosing results that met or surpassed general standards as a heuristic for separating good and bad literary works, he noted, “It’s hard to do.” While the smart ring market remains specific, several significant technical challenges need to be addressed, particularly when it comes to integration and power, while trying to keep the piezoelectric sensors small and still get reasonable battery life. Hale’s remarks are still quite compelling, especially seeing as Oura is one of the few companies that has been able to overcome all of these difficulties to deliver a cutting-edge smart ring.
Why Apple May Not Be Pushing The Envelope
Apple Company is reputed for developing and selling high-end electronic products with strict adherence to customer convenience and ergonomics. To enter the smart ring market Apple would have to match its predecessor’s precision, sturdiness, and compatibility with other Apple products. Unfortunately, it seems Apple has not fully decided on an actual product like this, despite filing patents for smart rings, because it does not seem to fit Apple’s current mission any time soon.
Here are a few reasons why Apple may be hesitant:
Miniaturization of Technology: Squeezing the miniaturized sensors used in the Apple Watch into a small ring design is still just about as difficult an engineering feat as one might imagine. Writing for Business Insider, telecoms points out that Apple’s wearables are famous for health-monitoring accuracy, and reproducing similar effects in a tiny device like a ring will not be possible.
Battery Life: However, one of the biggest challenges of wearable devices is battery life. Smart rings, as you can imagine, are not very large therefore they cannot largely accommodate batteries. This creates a problem because it does not allow for continuous health monitoring capabilities without needing to be recharged, which I believe Apple would not want to be an issue for its clients.
Market Potential: Even though the smart ring segment is promising, it is overshadowed by smartwatches and fitness trackers not a part of the smart ring’s niche. Apple might not have the same kind of demand and return on investment as it has on its most used wearable gadgets.
Shakespeare’s Challenges of Developing a Smart Ring
As Tom Hale pointed out, developing a successful smart ring involves overcoming several unique challenges:
Sensor Accuracy: While smartwatches have more skin contact areas to accommodate more advanced sensors, smart rings have to contend with far less space. Therefore, making sure the sensors are going to be able to give consistent readings, particularly for heart rate, sleep tracking, and blood oxygen levels is extremely challenging.
Comfort and Design: Any design of a smart ring has to be just as comfortable as a regular ring and meant to be worn at all times which narrows down the range of materials and shapes. It has also to be strong enough to last throughout day-to-day uses.
Limited Space for Components: Due to its ring form factor, the number of components that fit in the gadget remains low, and so, developers have to leave out features such as heart rate monitor, temperature monitor, and even sleep analysis. Balancing the levels of fragility and durability is very challenging indeed.
The Success of the Oura Ring
Yet, Apple has been reluctant, whilst Oura has become the leading company of smart rings, proving that there is a need for premium, health-focused rings. Nowhere is the sophistication of the Oura Ring celebrated more than when it comes to its features such as the tracking of the sleep cycles, the recording of heart rates, and the even recording of change in body temperatures. It has found its niche market in people who engage in fitness training and other users who like to hack.
Nonetheless, Oura -like any other business- has had its share of struggles. It took a few generations of the company to fine-tune the design where battery life, comfort of use, and functionality converged. It is success exemplifies just how challenging it is to do a smart ring correctly.
The Information and Future of Wearable Technology
So Oura stays optimistic Apple won’t launch a new smart ring anytime soon and it’s necessary to underline that Apple is a long-term company. The company tends to enter a new market when the technology is ready so that it can bring well-developed products that define the industry.
For now, though Apple appears content with continuing to polish its current line of Wearables, most notably the Apple Watch which has now become the go-to device when one thinks Wearable and Health and Fitness. That is why despite the present absence of a smart ring, due to the constant advancements in sensor miniaturization and battery life extension, there might be new attempts at the creation of the smart ring in the future by Apple.
However, as Tom Hale rightly mentioned, until then, it became a rather difficult industry to enter for any firm including Apple with all its resources and innovation capabilities.
Conclusion
Although a possible Apple smart ring would certainly pique a lot of interest, perhaps the difficulties noted here contribute to why Apple has not ventured into the segment. For now, Oura and other competitors will remain at the top of the niche industry and develop new ways how smart rings to work.
In the meantime, Apple fans will have to rely on Apple’s current offerings which include the latest technology on the Apple Watch and other wearables. Maybe, one day Apple will wake up everyone and introduce a ring that will make all the consumers sit up and take notice like the iPhone or the Apple Watch.
What can you say about smart rings? What do you think of Apple entering this space? Please drop your thoughts in the comment section below.
