Apple Has 'Explored' a Smart Ring, Glasses, and AirPods With Cameras

Apple has considered developing several new wearable devices over the years, including a smart ring for health and fitness, smart glasses, and upgraded AirPods with built-in cameras and more sensors, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

samsung galaxy ring

Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Ring

Below, we recap what Gurman shared about these devices in his Power On newsletter today.

Smart Ring

A few years ago, Apple's industrial design team presented the idea of a "smart ring" focused on health and fitness features to executives on the company's health team, according to Gurman. However, he said Apple is not actively developing the finger-worn device at this time, so it is unclear if it will ever be released.

Gurman said the ring could be a lower-cost alternative to the Apple Watch that could sync health and fitness data with a paired iPhone. It would compete with products like the Oura Ring and Samsung's upcoming Galaxy Ring.

Smart Glasses

It has long been rumored that Apple eventually hopes to release advanced AR glasses based on its Vision Pro headset. In the meantime, Gurman said the company has considered developing a "less ambitious" pair of smart glasses that would compete with the likes of Meta's Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and Amazon's Echo Frames.

Apple has discussed creating glasses that would serve as an "AirPods replacement," with built-in speakers, cameras, health sensors, and AI capabilities, according to Gurman. The glasses are in a "technology investigation" stage within Apple's hardware engineering division, he said, so it sounds like a release is still far off.

AirPods With Cameras

Apple engineers last year started exploring how to fit low-resolution camera sensors into AirPods, according to Gurman. If ever released, he believes these AirPods could offer AI features that "assist people in their daily routines."

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Top Rated Comments

rorschach Avatar
12 months ago

AirPods With Cameras
Nah, what we really need is EarSight

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Score: 51 Votes (Like | Disagree)
a m u n Avatar
12 months ago
Apple Ring Pro Max:





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Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)
madebybela Avatar
12 months ago

They really have no idea about the future do they
no one wants to face the reality that we've already hit peak everything. but shareholders want to see infinite growth still so everyone's trying to sell literal junk under the guise of "innovation"
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Kylo83 Avatar
12 months ago
They really have no idea about the future do they
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Account25476 Avatar
12 months ago
Notification synchronization across devices is still unavailable in the mail app.
Maybe they could invest a couple of hours trying to figure out how to fix it before releasing so complex product like a smart ring.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
sdf Avatar
12 months ago

They really have no idea about the future do they
It takes some experimentation to invent it, yes.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)