Is Apple working on iRing?

The next in line for Apple’s wearable technology is likely to be an “iRing”. A new patent application filed by the company demonstrates it work on “a finger-ring-mounted touchscreen that includes a computer processor, wireless transceiver, and rechargeable power source”.

The detailed application titled, "Devices and methods for a ring computing device" and published by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday, explains an advanced ring-style wearable that uses voice, motion and touch input to control and interact with larger computing devices, Apple Insider reported. 

“The ring is worn on a first finger receives an input from a second finger, selects one of a plurality of touch events associated with the input, and wirelessly transmits a command associated with the touch event to the external electronic device”, the patent application reads.

The Cupertino company says that the use of touch-sensitive surfaces as input devices for electronic computing devices has increased significantly in recent years. However, use of existing touchpads and touch-screen displays may be “cumbersome, inconvenient, or inefficient for certain tasks and applications”. It explains this by citing a few examples:

• A user's hands may be preoccupied with another task or 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.
• Switching back-and-forth between different input modes, such as a keyboard and mouse, may be inefficient.

“A need therefore exists for a more discreet, safer, more efficient, or more ergonomic way to interact with touch pads or touch screens”, it added.

A ring computing device with a display, touch-sensitive surface and/or one or more sensors to detect the intensity of a contact with the touch-sensitive surface are provided with faster, more efficient methods and interfaces for controlling external electronic devices, thereby increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction with such devices, it explains.