Apple is in the early process of researching new wearable form factors that could include smart glasses with AI capabilities and a ring-like product for health tracking, according to a new report from Bloomberg.
In the latest edition of the weekly Power On newsletter, it is said that Apple’s industrial designers have been floating the idea of a smart ring to leaders of the company’s health team. The main premise is that a smart ring could feature many of the health and fitness tracking features of today’s Apple Watch in a more affordable and less intrusive manner than the smartwatch.
The concept of a finger-worn device is not new; the Oura Ring is considered a pioneer in this landscape with robust sales, and Samsung is gearing up to launch its own Galaxy Ring later this year. Still, Bloomberg warns that a hypothetical Apple Ring remains nothing more than an idea inside the company at the moment, and any serious development of it is still a few years away.
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Separately, the company has begun early work on AI-powered glasses that would feature health sensors, speakers, and cameras. For example, wearers would be able to use Siri to control their smart glasses, and AI could be used in tandem with the glasses’ cameras to identify objects in their surroundings. Apple views this project as a “stepping stone” towards true AR glasses with displays that can project digital content into the real world like Vision Pro. As previously reported, true AR glasses likely won’t see the light of day till later this decade.
Apple also envisions its glasses as a replacement for AirPods in a head-worn form factor that could be worn for longer. The product would be similar to the $299 Meta Ray-Bans, which features a camera embedded within its frame to capture photos and videos from the wearer’s point of view. Meta Ray-Bans also features speakers for music streaming and comes preloaded with Meta AI for hands-free control with voice commands.
Work on the glasses is seemingly more concrete than that on the ring, as Bloomberg adds that Apple hardware engineers are currently in a process known as “technology investigation” for the former. Ultimately, both products are likely several years away, and Apple could choose to stick with more established form factors like the Apple Watch and Vision Pro.
