‘Apple Ring’ Could Control Other Devices like Smart Glasses
Credit: Victor Soto / Yanko Design
Toggle Dark Mode
Apple has been granted another smart ring patent, which outlines health monitoring features and the ability to control other Apple devices, including the Vision Pro and other smart glasses. The patent indicates that the ring could send data wirelessly to be displayed on Apple devices with screens.
Currently, smart rings from other companies, like the Oura Ring and Samsung’s Galaxy Ring, focus on collecting health and fitness data, providing an alternative to smartwatches like the Apple Watch or fitness bands. While Apple already holds several smart ring patents that describe using the ring to collect health and fitness data, many of them also reference using the rings as an input device for other devices.
Apple’s latest patent (shared by Patently Apple) mentions health monitoring:
If desired, a device may be operated in isolation. For example a wearable device that is operating in a stand-alone operating mode may perform health monitoring operations. Gathered health data may or may not be shared with other devices.
It also describes using the ring to control other Apple devices:
In other scenarios, the system may use one or more electronic devices to gather input from the user to control the operation of one or more electronic devices.
In this type of scenario, a user may, for example, provide input to one device that causes one or more additional devices to take particular actions. A user may, for example, provide touch input, gesture input, force input, or button press input with a first device that is used to control content that is being displayed on a display, audio that is being played with a speaker, and/or haptic output that is being generated with a haptic output device in a second device.
The patent also refers to “head-mounted devices.”
In the illustrative example, device is a head-mounted device having head-mounted device housing. Housing may have […] have the shape of a pair of glasses, goggles, a helmet, and/or other housing configured to be worn on a user’s head.
As mentioned by Patently Apple, there can be a long time between Apple coming up with an idea, applying for a patent, and eventually having the patent granted. However, as Apple’s Vision Pro proves, there may no longer be a need for a ring that can control headsets. The Cupertino firm has devised ways to control devices using a combination of eye and hand tracking, although a ring could allow the user to have more precise control.
For example, circuitry in a ring may be used to capture real-time readings on the location (e.g., the position in three dimensions), orientation (e.g., the angular orientation), and motion (e.g., the change in position as a function of time) of the ring. These activities may be used in controlling devices in the system.
The ring control idea may come in handy with the much-rumored “Apple Glasses” product, which would not have room for the cameras and sensors used in the Vision Pro headset and would benefit nicely from a ring that could offer control.
