Apple Ring Does Not Need To Be A Thing

There’s talk about Apple making a smart fitness ring, because “wearables.” In Mark Gurman’s latest Power On, he lists reasons for it. But for all of them, a device already exists. It just lacks an Apple logo and an overly high price tag. Yet Apple’s ring would be “magical,” right? Well, Gandalf cautions against magic rings.

Why a ring?

Gurman points out reasons for a potential Apple fitness ring that you wear on your finger.

First, some people want to track fitness. That’s it. They want to avoid the extra computery stuff like notifications or app complications. An Apple Ring wouldn’t have a screen; it’d just be fitness sensors and a radio to send health tracking data to your connected phone. Simple.

Second, some folks just want a dumb-watch because such simple timepieces are classic and – wait for it – timeless. But those people may also like to track fitness somehow, so a ring could fit.

Third, a small ring means a device with less power draw, so it doesn’t need to be charged every single night. Folks could avoid the need to charge both a phone and an Apple Watch at the end of each day.

Why not a ring?

But there’s already a device that has all the above features. And it costs much less than a potential Apple Ring because it’s not made by Apple. It’s a FitBit.

The FitBit Inspire 3 costs a mere $99 and is sometimes on sale for $80. My goodness, for that price, I can buy two – one for myself, one for my wife – and still spend less than I would for one basic Apple Watch SE.

This FitBit is not a smartwatch; it’s just a fitness tracker, like a ring would be. It lasts up to ten days on a single charge, so it’s one less device that you must put on the charger every night. And you can still wear a classic watch or no watch at all.

Not only that, the FitBit has a screen so you can easily see key fitness data without pulling out your phone. A ring can’t do that. Better still, the FitBit and its companion app work on both iPhone and Android, so you can avoid being locked into Apple’s wall garden. The FitBit is also established, having been used by many over the past decade or so. You can buy it today.

Besides FitBit, there are also other simple fitness trackers available today that match most, if not all, of the potential features of an Apple smart ring. For example, my son owns a Casio digital watch that has a step tracker built in. It’s about $33 and never needs to be charged. It also has a stopwatch to track your time while exercising.

Simply put, an Apple ring does not need to be a thing. Unless you’re an Apple shareholder I suppose.