Articles tagged with "smart-ring"
Oura Ring 4 Ceramic review: a colorful glow up
The Oura Ring 4 Ceramic is a stylish and durable smart ring made from zirconia ceramic, designed to offer a more attractive alternative to typical bulky tech wearables. Available in four colors—Midnight (dark blue), Cloud (white), Tide (light teal), and Petal (light pink)—the Ceramic version costs $500, which is $150 more than the standard titanium Ring 4. Although it is thicker (3.51 mm vs. 2.88 mm) and heavier (5.1 to 8.1 grams depending on size) than the titanium model, the reviewer found it comfortable and lightweight, with a smooth finish that resists fingerprints better. The ceramic material provides a warmer, less slick feel that may initially feel slightly “sticky” on the finger but becomes comfortable with wear. The colors are infused from natural minerals in the ceramic, ensuring vibrancy that does not fade, at least over the short term. Regarding durability, Oura notes that the ceramic ring
materialswearable-technologysmart-ringzirconia-ceramicdurabilitytech-wearablesdesignFormer Meta employees launch Sandbar, a smart ring that takes voice notes and controls music
Former Meta employees Mina Fahmi and Kirak Hong have launched Sandbar, a smart ring called Stream designed to capture voice notes and control music through a discreet, wearable interface. Both founders have extensive backgrounds in human-computer interaction and neural interfaces, having worked at companies like Kernel, Magic Leap, Google, and CTRL-Labs before their time at Meta. Motivated by the challenge of capturing fleeting thoughts without interrupting daily activities or drawing attention, they developed Stream to enable users to record whispered voice notes via a touch-activated microphone embedded in a ring worn on the dominant hand’s index finger. The ring’s companion iOS app transcribes these notes and includes an AI chatbot that helps organize and edit the content, offering personalized voice feedback and haptic confirmation for silent use in public. Beyond voice capture, the Stream ring functions as a media controller, allowing users to play, pause, skip tracks, and adjust volume without needing to access their phone or headphones. Sandbar is opening pre-orders for the
IoTwearable-technologysmart-ringvoice-controlAI-assistanthuman-computer-interactionpersonal-productivity-devicesFormer Meta employees launch a ring to take voice notes and control music
Former Meta employees Mina Fahmi and Kirak Hong have launched Sandbar, introducing Stream, a smart ring designed to capture voice notes and control music discreetly. Drawing on their extensive backgrounds in human-computer interfaces and neural tech, the founders created Stream to address the challenge of capturing fleeting thoughts without interrupting daily activities or speaking aloud in public. The ring, worn on the dominant hand’s index finger, features microphones activated by a touchpad gesture, enabling users to record whispers that are transcribed in a companion iOS app. The app includes an AI chatbot that interacts with users during recording, helping organize and edit notes, with a personalized assistant voice that resembles the user’s own. Beyond voice note-taking, the Stream ring functions as a media controller, allowing users to play, pause, skip tracks, and adjust volume without needing to access their phone or headphones. The device provides haptic feedback to confirm inputs and supports private conversations via headphones in noisy environments. Sandbar is opening pre-orders for Stream
IoTwearable-technologyvoice-interfacesmart-ringhuman-computer-interactionAI-assistantpersonal-productivity-devicesWireless wearable mouse ‘picoRing’ runs one month on single charge
Researchers at the University of Tokyo have developed picoRing, a wireless, ultralow-power ring-shaped mouse designed to control augmented reality (AR) glasses more intuitively and efficiently. Weighing just 5 grams, picoRing can operate for over 30 days on a single charge by consuming between 30 and 500 microwatts of power—hundreds of times less than previous smart rings. This extended battery life is achieved through a novel semi-passive inductive telemetry (semi-PIT) communication system, which uses a wire coil with distributed capacitors to amplify magnetic fields and extend communication range without active power amplification. A wristband acts as a signal relay between the ring and the connected device, allowing the ring itself to use less power-intensive components. While picoRing offers promising improvements for wearable input devices, especially in AR and VR environments where traditional mice are impractical, it has limitations. The prototype is still somewhat bulky for a ring, experiences interference, and supports only simple inputs like scrolling
IoTwearable-technologylow-power-communicationAR-controlwireless-mouseenergy-efficiencysmart-ringOura launches Ring 4 Ceramic collection, new charging case, and a ‘health panel’ feature
Oura has launched the Oura Ring 4 Ceramic collection, marking its first smart ring line without metallic finishes. Made from durable and lightweight zirconia ceramic, the rings feature colors derived from natural minerals, ensuring long-lasting vibrancy without fading. The collection includes four colors—Tide, Cloud, Petal, and Midnight—and is priced at $499, with membership options available. Oura emphasizes the rings as both a tech product and a personal style statement, designed for everyday wear and self-expression. To complement the rings, Oura introduced its first charging case, capable of storing up to five full charges and fully charging both the case and ring in 90 minutes. The case, priced at $99, also serves as a secure storage option and will be available later this year. In addition to hardware updates, Oura unveiled a new Health Panels feature within its app, allowing users to track 50 blood biomarkers alongside sleep, readiness, and activity data. Members can schedule blood tests at over
IoTwearable-technologysmart-ringceramic-materialshealth-monitoringcharging-casebiometric-dataOura ring maker raising $875M Series E, bringing valuation to $11B, report says
Oura Health Oy, the maker of the Oura health and fitness ring, is raising $875 million in a Series E financing round that values the company at approximately $10.9 billion, nearly doubling its previous $5 billion valuation. The funding round is expected to close by the end of September 2025 and could potentially exceed $900 million. Since June 2024, Oura has increased its total ring sales from 2.5 million to 5.5 million units, reflecting significant growth. The company projects revenue to surpass $1 billion in 2025, doubling its 2024 revenue of $500 million, with forecasts for 2026 sales to exceed $1.5 billion. Oura plans to use the new capital to scale production, expand internationally, and invest in product development. Bloomberg highlights that recent growth has been driven by female consumers, retail store sales, purchases via health savings accounts, and international market expansion.
IoTwearable-technologyhealth-techsmart-ringfitness-trackingSeries-E-fundingproduct-developmentSmart ring maker Oura’s CEO addresses recent backlash, says future is a ‘cloud of wearables’
Oura CEO Tom Hale addressed recent backlash stemming from misinformation that the company shares user data with the U.S. government. Hale firmly denied these claims, clarifying that Oura’s health data—collected through its smart rings, including metrics like heart rate, sleep, and body temperature—is never shared or sold without explicit user consent. He explained that while Oura participates in a Department of Defense (DoD) program, the enterprise solution operates in a separate, secure environment inaccessible to the government. Hale also dispelled rumors about a significant partnership with Palantir, stating that Oura’s relationship is limited to a small commercial contract related to a DoD certification standard (Impact Level 5) and does not involve data sharing or system integration. Hale emphasized the company’s commitment to user privacy and security, noting that Oura’s terms of service explicitly oppose using user data for surveillance or prosecution. Access to user data is tightly controlled and only permitted with user authorization for specific purposes, such as
IoTwearable-technologysmart-ringdata-privacyhealth-trackingcloud-computingcybersecurityUltrahuman acquires viO HealthTech to launch enhanced cycle and ovulation tracking
Ultrahuman has acquired smart ring maker viO HealthTech to enhance its cycle and ovulation tracking capabilities. Leveraging viO’s temperature-sensing algorithm, originally developed for its OvuSense fertility monitors over 15 years and trained on a dataset of more than 260,000 cycles, Ultrahuman is launching a new premium plug-in called “Cycle and Ovulation Pro” for its Ultrahuman Ring AIR. This plug-in offers users accurate cycle tracking, fertility planning support with ovulation confirmation, and the ability to detect irregular patterns such as early or late ovulation. Additionally, users can log moods and symptoms to identify long-term wellness trends, providing a more personalized and adaptive experience compared to traditional menstrual tracking platforms that often assume regular 28-day cycles. Ultrahuman emphasizes that its new offering is designed to support users with diverse cycle patterns, including those affected by conditions like PCOS, endometriosis, or thyroid disorders, who typically find existing platforms less accurate or helpful
IoTwearable-technologyhealth-trackingsmart-ringfertility-monitoringsensor-technologywomen's-healthGalaxy Ring - thiết bị theo dõi sức khoẻ siêu nhỏ
IoThealth-technologysmart-ringwearable-technologySamsunggesture-controlBluetooth