Smart ring could be Google’s next hardware product

Nov 16, 2020 10:47 GMT  ·  By

Google is always looking into all sorts of new products, if a recent discovery is anything to go by, then the company could explore its hardware portfolio with a completely new device.

It’s a smart ring that would allow users to take selfies using an integrated camera.

A patent application spotted by Protocol provides us with a closer look at how Google sees such a device right now, with the documents revealing that the ring would be more or less a small computer that could just stay on your finger.

“Wearable electronic devices having a selfie camera are described herein. The wearable electronic devices include a body defining an aperture that is sized and shaped to receive a finger of a user,” the abstract section of the patent reads.

Just a patent for now

“The wearable electronic device also includes a processor housed in the body, an input device arranged on an outer surface of the body and communicatively coupled to the processor to receive an input from a second finger of the user, an optical sensor to capture an image in response to the input from the second finger of the user, a transmitter communicatively coupled to the processor to transmit the image to an external electronic device, and optionally a power source communicatively coupled to the processor and the transmitter to provide power to at least the processor and the transmitter.”

Interestingly, Google has actually filed for the patent in May 2019, but the application was granted on November 10, 2020.

Of course, a patent application is by no means the living confirmation that a new device is being worked on, but on the other hand, it’s an indication as to what new products companies out there might be planning to develop. And at this point, Google is exploring projects that could take everybody by surprise, it seems.