Could Apple's smart RING look like this? Patent reveals firm may be downsizing from Watch to develop jewellery with a built-in touchscreen and microphone
- Rings would be worn on the index finger and be controlled with the thumb
- The ring could have a touchpad or a touchscreen, and may give haptic feedback - vibrations - to alert a wearer to notifications
- It could also include a microphone for dictating commands using Siri
It could control your TV and phone, and even know what you want to write.
A new patent has revealed Apple is developing a smart ring.
It can have its own touchscreen interface, and motion sensors monitor the wearer's hand movements.
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Patent drawings (pictured) have revealed how the ring could be used. It would be worn on the index finger and could easily be accessed using a thumb, leaving your other hand free to carry out tasks
Rings with a touch display would be worn on the index finger and be controlled with the thumb, according to the patent application.
As Apple describes it the ring could have a touchpad or a touchscreen, and may give haptic feedback to alert a wearer to notifications.
It could also include a microphone for dictating commands using Siri.
Here, MailOnline has mocked up what the Apple ring could one day look like. As Apple describes it, the ring could have a touchpad or a touchscreen, and could have haptic feedback to let a wearer know when something has happened, and it could include a microphone for dictating commands using Siri
Several versions of the ring are shown in the patent (pictured). In some versions Apple proposes a built-in microphone for Siri voice commands and a two force feedback motors to convey notifications
'Use of existing touchpads and touch-screen displays, however, may be cumbersome, inconvenient, or inefficient for certain tasks and applications,' the patent says.
'A user's hands may be preoccupied with another task, for example, or the user's hands and/or arms may become fatigued after holding the device in a viewing position for extended periods of time.
'The light emitted by a touchscreen may be inappropriate in certain social environments or even dangerous if it gives away the position of a threatened user.
'A need therefore exists for a more discreet, safer, more efficient, or more ergonomic way to interact with touch pads or touch screens.'
The ring may even be able to determine what you're writing by following the motion of your hand.
The Apple patent application was published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday and is titled 'Devices and Methods for a Ring Computing Device'.
It describes the ring as: 'A wearable ring device comprising: an annular member defining an aperture there through that is sized for receipt therein of a first finger of a user; a computer processor housed in the annular member; a touchscreen electrically connected to the computer processor and disposed at least partially at an outer peripheral surface of the annular member, wherein the touchscreen is configured to receive input from a second finger of the user.'
It goes on to say that it would possess a 'a wireless transceiver electrically connected to the computer processor and configured to communicate with at least one external electronic device'.
The ring could also be used to control external devices such as a computer's mouse cursor, a camera's shutter or a vehicle's entertainment and climate control system (patent images pictured)
In some versions of ring shown in the patent, Apple proposes a built-in microphone for Siri voice commands and a two force feedback motors to convey various notifications and directional information such as GPS.
The ring could also be used to control external devices such as a computer's mouse cursor, a camera's shutter or an entertainment and climate control system.
In theory, the ring could even be used as an external controller.
However, Apple files many patent applications and is frequently granted patents without those proposed products actually making it into consumers' hands.
The ring could be Apple's second foray into wearable computers following the release this year of the Apple Watch
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