14 DAY TRIAL // The tech world seems to have been taken by storm by wearables. Smartwaches, bands
and fitness trackers are all over the news and customers’ attention has been grabbed.
But if you don’t like being mainstream and your enthusiasm lies with finer products, we’d like to re-direct your attention towards an odd wearable category, made up of smart rings. In theory these devices should be worn wrapped around your finger. Once mounted, they should be giving the wearer the capacity to control smart devices around the house, make phone and much more.
We have been telling you about such products and some of you might remember Fin or Ring. On paper these devices might sound great, but there’s a caveat – none of them have been manufactured yet. This, however doesn’t stop the creators of these concepts to promise these devices will be able to serve you in every way.
According to theme, these magical gadgets reminiscent of Lords of the Rings can do everything from sending an email to a friend or controlling your TV, all by virtue of a finger waggle in the air.
But at this moment, there’s no physical ring that can actually be tested. To illustrate this point is John McLear, designer of the crowdfunded NFC ring, one of the few ring devices that actually saw the light of day. He asked a few crucial questions on Ring’s Kickstarter comments section, but oddly enough they were never answered.
“Please can you post a real picture of the ring (not a render)? What material is the ring? If it’s plastic, what grade? What certification do you have ensure the ring material won’t damage the skin of the wearer? What is the link to your public Bluetooth ratification certificate?”
But suppose, the smart Ring manages to go into mass production and starts selling. Can you imagine life with the product? You wake up and you put it on, you have to wash your hands to take it off, put it back on.
You take a shower you have to take it off, then put it back on. Basically you’d need to keep it from anything involving moist, so that means you’ll be taking off and putting it back on a lot of times. Hence the probability of you losing it is quite high.
Then consider its size. The smart rings will certainly be a lot larger than normal jewelry. That means wearers might have trouble comfortably holding hands, writing or fiddling with food in the kitchen. That’s a lot of annoyance for a device marketed as making your life easier.
Sure the Ring comes with some futuristic features, like the ability to write messages in the air. But bottom line is you will still need to get to your phone to select the contacts and add an extra level of customization.
Add to this, the creepiness factor. Not many people would appreciate the sight of you bizarrely gesticulating through the air and you’ll certainly raise a few eyebrows.
And soon, we might not even need a device such as the smart ring at all. For example, a home where users can speak, gesture and control devices is already being built in Austin Texas. With no middle man involved.