This is how the rumor mill works: someone writes a report that quotes a source saying something might happen – and then everyone feels compelled to write that news too. And you feel a little foolish if you don't cover what everyone else is writing – and the rumor mill turns.
This time it's a claim that Apple could be about to jump into the smart ring market, according to a new report from ETNews. It's been widely covered in the mainstream tech press – but is it worth our attention?
The Korean publication quoted a supposed insider as saying:
“Apple has consistently released smart ring-related patents for several years, so advanced development for commercialization appears to be imminent.”
Does that mean that it's indeed imminent? Absolutely not.
Apple has been filing ring patents for the best part of 10 years, and we’ve been following its progress closely. It also won an updated smart ring patent in November 2023 – so it's undeniable that is does have significant interest in the segment.
But it does this for thousands of patents, and that doesn't mean that it's close to making the product a reality.
While smart rings are exploding in popularity, they are still very niche – even if Samsung is about to enter the market. However, we don't have confidence that Samsung will make its ring available to those without Samsung smartphones, so there's a chance that its ring will have a serious impact.
So it feels unlikely Apple would jump in at this stage.
That said, there’s nothing more niche than wearing a spatial computing snorkel in your workplace – and Apple has gone there, so anything is possible.
How we test
James is the co-founder of Wareable, and he has been a technology journalist for 15 years.
He started his career at Future Publishing, James became the features editor of T3 Magazine and T3.com and was a regular contributor to TechRadar – before leaving Future Publishing to found Wareable in 2014.
James has been at the helm of Wareable since 2014 and has become one of the leading experts in wearable technologies globally. He has reviewed, tested, and covered pretty much every wearable on the market, and is passionate about the evolving industry, and wearables helping people achieve healthier and happier lives.