Pebble enters the ring business
Pebble has announced a smart ring, the Index 01, that is designed to record your thoughts and ideas. The term “smart” ring may be stretching the truth slightly as The Index 01 has one purpose, which is to record via a microphone. Notably, unlike other “smart” recording devices, the ring is not designed to listen in to everything going on around you. Rather, the microphone is activated when you press a small button on the ring. Because it’s a rather simple device, the Index 01 is small – about the size of a wedding ring – and has an internal battery that Pebble claims lasts for years… which is handy because you do not recharge it. It’s available for pre-order now at $75 (going up to $99 once the product actually starts shipping) and is an open source product so other developers can customize its use, adding services such as Chat GPT or other services.
The Circana Take:
- Pebble is definitely pulling out all the stops with its comeback. The company unveiled the Core Duo 2 and Core Time 2 earlier this year and the ring is a neat complement to these wearables.
- There are no ongoing fees for the ring, and it will work with both Android and Apple smartphones. This could be the small product that helps Pebble to differentiate itself from other wearable companies.
Diesel power
Ultrahuman is launching a redesigned version of its flagship Ring Air (yes, it’s another smart ring) in collaboration with fashion house Diesel. The new design comes either in shiny silver or distressed black with both featuring the Diesel “Double D” logo. It’s one of the first such collaborations that we have seen (Oura partnered with Gucci in 2022), taking the smart ring from being a smooth tech-first (and frankly rather banal) device to being a fashion/style first device. It has the same core experience as the standard Ultrahuman Ring Air (4-6 days of battery life, and health metrics including sleep tracking, recovery scores and heart rate monitoring). And, as with the original Ultrahuman rings, this new variant does not require am ongoing subscription.
The Circana Take:
- There’s a catch (isn’t there always?). Ultrahuman does not currently sell its smart rings in the U.S. market due to an import ban on the products relating to the patent dispute with Oura.
- Style comes with a significant price bump too. While the original ring costs €325 in Europe, the Diesel collaboration costs a whopping €559: a €230 mark-up. Fashion clearly comes at a price.