Apple has explored the idea of developing new wearable devices — including a fitness ring, smart glasses and even AirPods with cameras — to broaden one of its most important business areas.
A few years ago, the Apple Inc. industrial design group presented an idea to executives on the company’s health team: a smart ring that would take health-tracking features from the Apple Watch and put them on your finger.
More recently, engineers at the company’s labs in Cupertino, California, have discussed the possibility of developing smart glasses — something similar to new products from Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. The glasses could provide audio (so users don’t have to wear AirPods) and take advantage of AI and cameras to identify things in the surrounding world. The device also could act as a stepping stone toward Apple’s long-held dream: true augmented reality spectacles that you can wear all day.
Both ideas would bolster an area that’s already become a solid business for Apple: wearable devices. The division that includes the Apple Watch and AirPods now accounts for 10% of the company’s revenue, up from less than 5% a decade ago.
Wearable devices can help the company reach new customers, boost growth and keep people even more locked into the Apple ecosystem than they already are. It seems clear that Apple wants to further expand that category, beyond the launch of the Vision Pro headset this year. But the big question is how.
For now, the ring idea is just that — an idea. The company isn’t actively developing such a device, but there are certainly people within the walls of Apple’s campus promoting the concept. The glasses, meanwhile, are in an exploratory phase known as “technology investigation” within Apple’s hardware engineering division. The company also is looking into other ideas, such as equipping AirPods with cameras.
Let’s begin with the hypothetical ring, which would be focused on heath and fitness. There are many people who buy the Apple Watch for health tracking. They want to monitor their heart rate, blood oxygen saturation, calories burned and steps taken. And there’s an overlap between that group and people who don’t necessarily want the other bells and whistles of an Apple Watch — like apps and phone calls.
There are also millions of people who don’t want an Apple Watch because they prefer traditional wristwatches or don’t like wearing one at all. Or they dread the idea of having another device that needs nightly charging.
That’s where the ring comes in. Such a device could serve as a low-cost way to gather key health data without the need to wear a full-blown watch. Samsung Electronics Co. and Oura Health Oy have both already shown this notion is feasible. Samsung is preparing to launch its first ring later this year, and Oura has turned the concept into a big enough business to be mulling an initial public offering.
Apple could tie the ring to its Health and Fitness apps and sell it is as an iPhone accessory. It won’t generate as much money as a smartwatch, but Apple can court a new type of customer (and even theoretically offer it as a subscription). Finally, an Apple ring owner would be less likely to ditch the iPhone for an Android device.
According to bloomberg.com. Source of photos: internet
