“It seems rumors that claimed Apple conducted research into an ‘iRing’ wearable product were based in reality, as a new patent application reveals work on a finger-mounted device stuffed with microphones, motion sensors, a haptic feedback system, biometric sensors, cameras and even a small display,” Mikey Campbell reports for AppleInsider.
“The fairly comprehensive patent application, titled ‘Devices and methods for a ring computing device’ and published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday, describes an advanced ring-style wearable that uses voice, motion and touch input to control and interact with larger computing devices,” Campbell reports. “In many ways, the claims read like an overview of Apple Watch, but distilled into a much smaller form factor.”
“While there are disparities between Apple’s ring computer and production hardware — front- and user-facing cameras among the most audacious — the document outlines a number of capabilities currently being marketed as tentpole Apple Watch features like heart rate monitoring and inductive charging,” Campbell reports. “Interestingly, a good number of technological advances described in today’s published paper were introduced with Watch, including Force Touch and the Taptic Engine, suggesting Apple was mulling an alternate design for its first foray into wearables. ”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: An evolutionary dead end or sign of things to come?
SEE ALSO:
Apple patent application reveals sensor-laden ‘Apple Ring’ – October 1, 2015
Apple’s entry into wearable computing: iRing, not iWatch? – March 20, 2014
Without Apple to lead the way, current crop of clumsy wearable gadgets not ready for prime time – January 10, 2014
Analyst: Apple to release full-blown, ‘iRing’-controlled, carrier-subsidized ‘iTV’ television this holiday season – June 5, 2013
Analyst: Apple ‘iTV’ with ‘mini iTV’ and ‘iRing’ motion controller to launch this year – April 3, 2013
My Precious!
=:~)
Yes absolutely volcano worthy. At some point more people are going to start to realize that getting constantly bombarded by trivial information distracts one from what is important. I can’t eve watch TV without the local station placing a little radar screen in bottom right corner showing some rain that I should be worried about. We are going to have to strike a balance soon.
iMood Ring
iWatch to the iRing – is iNailPolish next?
I’ve heard one university had some students developing a nail surface device that acts as a trackpad.. I suppose if you can make paint based solar panels, nail polish based versions of the thumb-trackpad may be possible.
Microsoft is asking if it can kiss Tim’s ring again.
This is stupid, no smart ring is going to take off without a physical keyboard with real buttons!
What, a square faced ring? Rings are supposed to have round faces!
This thing is useless without standard USB ports.
You people are acting like as if Apple invented rings with biometric sensors, I’ve been wearing mine since the 1970s:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mood_ring
“PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.” — De Beers
What’s up with the 1 day battery life? My current wedding band has infinite battery life, which is important because I need to wear it when taking a shower.
Meh, I’ll wait until Apple Ring 2 comes out 6 months later.
Apple Maps still sucks.
Nopd Apple maps does not suck at all.
It had a bummpy start.. But its great now…. It works perfectly
I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic, or missed the sarcasm in my comment.
The human-looking finger and thumb in the picture are numbered. Are they part of the invention?
Talk to da hand!
Embedded smartphone like those shown in the most recent Total Recall movie? 😀