The Apple Ring was a fabled product rumored to be in the company’s product pipeline for some time. Sadly, almost all of the signs point to the fact that Apple is not working on a smart ring of any kind.
Rumors have abounded for a few years, but in October, the only person who might know – Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman – revealed that Apple “Apple isn’t actively developing a ring and has no plans to launch one.”
The top Apple insider notes that an Apple Ring would detract from the Apple Watch, and says the company has “no reason to cannibalize a product that still has room to grow and is the envy of the fitness-tracking industry.”
Turns out, those looking for the best smart ring in 2025 and beyond will have to look to the likes of the Samsung Galaxy Ring or the Oura Ring 4 instead.
One ray of hope points to the prospect it might still happen one day, but those chances are slim.
Apple Ring: cut to the chase
- What is it? A rumored smart ring, made by Apple
- When could it launch? Apple is reportedly not working on a smart ring at this time
- How much could it cost? There are no rumors about pricing, but competitors start at $399 / £399 / AU$750 or above
Apple Ring: price and release date predictions
With the news that Apple probably isn’t working on a smart ring, there’s very little to be said about a potential release time frame. Even if the company does change its mind the device is likely years away.
Pricing is likewise difficult to gauge, competitors are routinely priced at $399 / £399 / AU$750 or above but Apple is often in the business of making its products more expensive (and often better) than its rivals.
The only ray of hope we can offer in this otherwise gloomy outlook is a throwaway comment from a leaker made in late 2024. Yeux1122, who has been right about Apple’s future plans before, mentioned that Apple “is also still developing a ring-type wearable.” Given this leak came not one month after Mark Gurman revealed Apple wasn’t developing a smart ring, there’s good cause to treat this with a healthy dose of skepticism. It’s really a leak for those who want to keep hoping for an Apple Ring, nothing more.
Apple Ring: leaks and rumors
The Apple Ring rumors stretch back a long way, to at least 2020. A patent Apple filed that year showed a smart ring being used to control other devices – with the idea being that you could maybe change channels on your Apple TV with a tap on your ring. Of course, patents aren’t always guarantees of future products, but they show what companies are thinking about and exploring.
Fast forward to 2023, and Apple was once again filing smart ring patents that positioned its possible device as some kind of controller for other gadgets. It seems that any Apple Ring that shows up won’t just be focused on health and fitness – it will also give you new ways to control functions on your other Apple devices.
It would seem Apple isn’t limiting itself to wearables around your fingers, either. Yet another 2023 patent revealed plans for some kind of Apple Anklet you could wear around your ankle or around your neck. The success of the Apple Watch clearly has Apple thinking about how to get you tracking more fitness metrics.
Meanwhile, an industry report out of South Korea early in 2024 suggested an Apple smart ring was on the way, to take on Samsung and Oura. However, as nothing has emerged in the months since, either the sources of the report got it wrong or Apple changed its mind about its future product launch schedule.
We’ve seen one further sign that an Apple Ring might be on the way: an Apple survey sent to Apple Watch owners, asking how many of them currently wear a smart ring alongside their smartwatch. It might be a bit of a stretch to use this as evidence of an Apple Ring, but it’s not nothing.
Apple Ring: what we wanted to see
In the unlikely event an Apple Ring does ever materialize, how could it beat the competition? If any Apple engineers are reading this, here’s what we want to see from an Apple smart ring.
1. Stellar battery life
This shows up in every wishlist for every device, of course, but decent battery life is a must – especially as the standard Apple Watch can’t go more than a day or two without a recharge. In fact, that could be a key selling point for the Apple Ring: keep tracking your steps and other activities while your Apple Watch is on charge.
2. Top-tier sleep tracking
Speaking of Apple Watch recharging, many users charge theirs overnight. This means the smartwatch often can’t be used for sleep tracking, and we’re hoping this means the Apple Ring will be very good at it. Besides, the smaller size and lighter weight of a smart ring makes it more suitable for tracking the tosses and turns of your sleep anyway.
3. Lots of software features without subscription
We’ve already mentioned Apple Fitness Plus, but we’d hope many of the features of an Apple Ring would be available without a subscription – as they are with Apple Watch. And for those who wanted extra functionality such as fitness videos, customizations around workout plans, in-session metrics and more, there could be an extra subscription option.
4. A superior design
There really are only so many ways you can design a smart ring, but we’re hoping Apple brings the same aesthetic tastefulness to the Apple Ring as it’s shown with the iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. We’re thinking a super-slim and super-light form factor, a choice of different colors, and a smart ring that’s one of the most comfortable on the market.
5. Seamless Apple ecosystem integration
Apple usually manages this perfectly, with iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches getting new integrations and connections all the time – so we hope that extends to the Apple Ring. It’s unlikely that Apple will want the smart ring to replace the Apple Watch, and in fact it could be a useful screen for it (bear in mind Oura has an Apple Watch app, too).
You might also like
- Best smart ring 2024: Samsung Galaxy Ring, Oura and other alternatives
- Samsung Galaxy Ring review: The top smart ring for Samsung users
- I tried wearing an Oura smart ring and might never go back