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svish

macrumors G3
Nov 25, 2017
9,653
25,548
Not expecting Apple to release a Ring anytime in the near future. Looking forward to seeing Samsung's product.
 

chrisone

macrumors regular
Aug 19, 2013
106
87
If it's an "Apple Watch without the Watch" I would be interested. I've stopped sending notifications to my watch and pretty much only use it for the health metrics and fitness features. I never have to care what time it is.
Apple Pay would be convenient. Main use case for my Apple Watch in any case. As you say, notifications I try to have down to minimum.
 

constantsnags!

macrumors regular
Apr 16, 2008
163
161
Aotearoa
Just curious do you even work out? What do you do with all the metrics?
I’m a lapsed 5x Ironman, swimrunner, open water swimmer, ultra runner and indoor rower. Yes, the metrics matter to me because I have to balance that stuff with being a parent, husband and to do my job. They help me predict when I will need to take some time out, let me know if what I’m eating is working for me, and recently they’ve been essential in helping me improve my sleep quality.
 

XboxEvolved

macrumors 6502a
Aug 22, 2004
807
1,002
I like the idea of it as a health wearable. In a way it’s like how there were different sized iPods, and there are several situations where I can’t wear a watch but a ring is perfectly fine. I think Apple wouldn’t mind if it cannibalized its own Apple Watch some as well. $300+ though I dunno. If it works even better than the watch, is super durable, and is like the AirTags or AirPods in that they don’t get updated all the time I could see that price being easier to take.
 

constantsnags!

macrumors regular
Apr 16, 2008
163
161
Aotearoa
do we need a device to tell us we had a bad night?.
Perhaps a device to tell us when we had too many drinks would be a little more meaningful to the world.
On the interesting side, being a ring it could actually measure blood pressure during the day to provide trends!. That would be totally useful.
The point is that it’ll help you track down what is causing you not to have a good night’s sleep, and demonstrate what the effects of alcohol are very clearly indeed. I’ve had one beer tonight with dinner and I know for a fact my sleep will be influenced by that….because I track the reported data and compare it to what happened previously.
 
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wanha

macrumors 65816
Oct 30, 2020
1,482
4,354
On "Ring vs Watch", there are also situations where a watch is less obtrusive than a ring - mainly physical activities involving the use of hands such as working out with weights, rock climbing, or painting, so it's not an obvious one is better than the other.

As always, context is king.
 
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wanha

macrumors 65816
Oct 30, 2020
1,482
4,354
I don’t wear a watch, and I’m sure as heck not going to wear a ring. First the car, and now this. Apple is determined to collapse on itself with these ridiculous products.

Well that settles it. Apple is doomed.
 

ksec

macrumors 68020
Dec 23, 2015
2,228
2,586
If it's an "Apple Watch without the Watch" I would be interested. I've stopped sending notifications to my watch and pretty much only use it for the health metrics and fitness features. I never have to care what time it is.

That is exactly what I want. A "Band" for health only with ultra long battery life.
 

BornAgainMac

macrumors 604
Feb 4, 2004
7,283
5,268
Florida Resident
I find rings to be uncomfortable and distracting. Would rather have a fully loaded MacBook Pro compared to an Apple ring made of gold with 8 GB of RAM and 5G support.
 

CausticSoda

macrumors 6502a
Feb 14, 2014
661
1,753
Abu Dhabi
Such a hard pass on this... I don't care what it does. I like my iPhone, Apple Watch and Mac. That's about it. I can't even be bothered with an iPad these days. But I don't want to become a walking "Apple device product hanger".
 
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Ries

macrumors 68020
Apr 21, 2007
2,317
2,895
Would rather have a fitness band with a week long battery life, as flat as possible without display.

Can’t workout with a ring.
 

Abobrek

macrumors regular
Aug 15, 2012
234
407
The way that I see it, is that Apple Watch is limited to how it can be upgraded. Changing the screen technology, adding sensors, battery life, and changing the shape are basically all that can be updated.

Now, as we are seeing upgrading the screen technology is a slow, cumbersome process that doesn’t happen every year or even once every 5 years (see Apple’s cancellation of Micro LED Ultra Watch 2). Upgrading sensors also takes many, many years. Therefore the only meaningful upgrades to Apple Watch that are left are battery life and changing the shape, which wouldn’t happen every year. Yes, one could argue the materials Apple Watch is made from can change, but highly unlikely due to the materials Apple Watch (and Ultra) are currently made from and were made from previously.

With this being said, Apple basically has backed itself into a corner and NEEDS another type of health wearable. This is where a ring comes in. A ring will be seen as “new” but essentially it will be an Apple Watch with limited functionality. Yes, there will be some differentiators that the “Apple Ring” and Apple Watch will have, such as controlling devices using the ring, biometrics, and perhaps some health features, BUT the ring will basically be a screen-less Apple Watch.
 

Abobrek

macrumors regular
Aug 15, 2012
234
407
I would be interested, but only if it comes without a subscription, unlike Oura.
Not going to happen. Apple, sadly, is a for profit company. They seek maximum profits and an “Apple Ring” will have a subscription, ESPECIALLY since Oura has proven the subscription model to be successful and if Samsung’s Galaxy Ring has a subscription as well (likely).
 

darngooddesign

macrumors P6
Jul 4, 2007
18,017
9,623
Atlanta, GA
I wear a mechanical watch on my wrist. I’ve been interested in mechanical/automatic watches since I was a little kid. Since then I’ve built up a nice collection of watches. They’re fascinating machines (basically the iPod of their time in terms of cutting edge miniaturization in a consumer product) and they’re fashion accessories. I will never cede that wrist space to an Apple product.

My fingers on the other hand? Wide open. Apple could do something really special with a ring. Something no one else is doing. People here scoff but the idea of a genuinely functional smart ring is very interesting.

Sounds like a ringing endorsement. 😁
 

MacProFCP

Contributor
Jun 14, 2007
1,210
2,765
Michigan
I see this as another device from Apple that most people won’t want or need.

Apple may be the top smartwatch manufacturer but the sales pale in comparison to other devices. I don’t see the AVP being any different and probably even less adoptable. And now, this thing? Really? Can’t Apple fix the stuff it already has? Fix the bugs and get the Mac back to sales increases instead of double digit declines.
 

azentropy

macrumors 601
Jul 19, 2002
4,031
5,403
Surprise
While I still wear my Apple Watch daily (I've had the 0, 1, 4, 5 , 8 and now 9 series) it really has just become a fitness monitor, siri input for certain tasks/shortcuts, shows me the time and notifications. I rarely use any "apps" and found dictation pretty bad to use for any input. If I have to do anything I just pull out my iPhone anyway. I gave up on sleep monitoring as even when I did take the time to charge it I found it uncomfortable to sleep with. My 9 is the first one I've had that I haven't had to charge midday. But really what I would like is an Apple Fitness band. It would do 99% of what I do now (on of course a much smaller screen) but hopefully would last a week or more between charges instead of one awake day. A ring probably wouldn't do enough as I would at least like to see notifications to see if it was worth picking up my iPhone.
 

Someyoungguy

macrumors 6502a
Oct 28, 2012
534
926
If this is happening for the want to find the next best thing, I plead with Apple to just stop and ask themselves how many people actually want this, and is it going to be adopted on a large enough scale to warrant the research and development.

I say this with no malice or negativity. Apple have the bones of a business ready to take over the world.

They have forged a synergy with current customers by creating incredibly good computer chips and nice computer/laptop designs/quality (for the most part).

Focus on that, lower the prices of upgrades and pour money into improving software rather than wasting it on vanity projects very few people actually want.

From cars to VR to health ring pieces. Seems like a case of ignoring your core audience to entertain a bored minority.
They have to keep trying new, disposable crap like this because investors demand constant profit growth. As Android and iPhone reach performance and feature parity, the phone is becoming a commodity, which is a death sentence for a businesses who’s focused there (low profit, low entry barrier for competitors, little differentiation). You don’t get market growth from polishing the stones you’ve already sold (i.e. fixing the software), and you don’t get profit growth in a saturated, commoditized phone market. You have to strike out into new areas, and I personally feel that only now are we seeing the real cost of losing the visionary that Jobs was.

P.S. - I would disagree about a “synergistic” relationship with customers. The natives are growing restless with $200 RAM upgrades and $3,500 face pads.
 
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ThisIsARealityCheck

macrumors newbie
Feb 21, 2019
11
16
I wonder if you had these things on every finger if it could give the kind of haptic feedback that could replace controllers for AR/VR in the Vision Pro
 
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