Apple could launch smart ring by 2026 – analyst

Apple could launch a connected ring by 2026, according to Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight. Such a product would add to the company’s product portfolio, alongside Apple Watch and AirPods, that’s offers health-focused features.
Arjun Kharpal for CNBC:
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“Health has become a fundamental pillar for Apple. In fact, I would go so far as to say, at the point that Tim Cook decides to relinquish control and he retires … I would like to think that one of his major legacies from Apple would be around personal health,” Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, told CNBC’s Beyond the Valley podcast published on Tuesday.
“Given how deeply and personally invested Tim Cook is in health, I think that a ring is a very complimentary extension to Apple,” he said, referring to Apple CEO Cook.
Wood highlighted Apple’s focus on health from products like the Apple Watch with all of its sensors to the latest AirPods Pro 2 headphones that can turn into hearing aids.
Similar to smartwatches, a smart ring is embedded with various sensors to track health metrics like heart rate…
“I also think that their retail footprint is ideally suited to it as well because rings are complex products to get to market,” Wood told CNBC.
“Apple is a brand that has a certain amount of kudos in terms of being a product that people are proud to have. And I think a beautifully designed ring from Apple could be one of those things that’s almost a sort of status symbol,” Wood said.

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MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote in July:
Smart rings in their current incarnations, and for the foreseeable future, are just too limited to be interesting or, even, really useful.

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