We’ve seen quite a few Apple Ring patent applications, a number of them granted, and the latest is one of the more extensive ones.
Among the interesting elements here is Siri support, and a description of how multiple rings could be worn – including a ring-to-ring wireless charging arrangement …
Apple Ring patents data back several years now, with a number of potential uses described:
- Health and activity monitoring
- An input device for Vision Pro style headsets or Apple Glasses
- An input device for Apple products more generally
The latest example, filed earlier this year and published today, describes all of this and more.
A ring device may be worn on a user’s finger. The ring device 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. An inertial measurement unit in the ring device may detect pointing and other gestures for controlling equipment. A microphone may detect voice input and other sounds that can be used to infer the context in which the ring device is operating. Motion data from a first device may be used to determine a gaze direction towards a second device so that ring input may be directed towards the second device. A map of locations of different devices that can be controlled by the ring device may be generated using a combination of pointing input, voice input, gaze input, and/or touch input.
Notably, Siri support is added to the functionality described.
A microphone may detect voice input and other sounds that can be used to infer the context in which the ring device is operating.
My immediate question was how Apple could possibly fit a speaker into a ring, given all the other tech already needed in such a limited space, but the company suggests that it might offer multiple rings. So one with a microphone and speaker might be different to one with health sensors, for example.
Due to space constraints in ring device, [it] may have different sets of components depending on the desired functionality.
For example, a motion-controlled remote control ring may have a first set of components that are specific to controlling external devices using motion input (e.g., an inertial measurement unit, a touch and/or force sensor, and a haptic output device).
A voice-controlled ring device may have a second set of components that are specific to voice-controlled assistant functions (e.g., an inertial measurement unit, a microphone, a speaker, and a touch and/or force sensor) […]
A health-monitoring ring may include a fourth set of components that are specific to health-related functions such as an electrocardiogram sensor, a photoplethysmogram sensor, a temperature sensor, an ultraviolet light sensor, an inertial measurement unit, and a grip sensor.
Another multi-ring setup described is using one ring to charge another.
The user may place power source ring device on the same finger that is wearing ring device so that the two ring devices come into contact with one another.
This seems … odd. My experience of the Oura Ring, for example, is that battery life is around a week, so I can’t see why this type of functionality would be needed. If you have any ideas, do share them in the comments.
9to5Mac’s Take
While some of these patents may be outdated – for example, Apple may have seen a ring as a way of detecting Vision Pro gestures before it perfected camera detection of hand gestures – this latest one was only filed this year, suggesting that the company does have an active interest in the tech.
I find it hard to imagine many people would want to wear more than one smart ring, but it may well be the case that different people want smart rings for different reasons – for example, one person is interested in health monitoring while another wants the ultimate compact Siri device.
Siri support becomes a much more appealing prospect as the intelligent assistant finally starts living up to its name.
As always, we include our standard disclaimer that Apple patents way more things that ever make it into products, but I do think some kind of Apple Ring is more likely than not.
Via Patently Apple. Stock photo of ring by Milad Fakurian on Unsplash.
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