AirPods 3 und Watch 11 statt Smart-Ring

After the announcements made by Apple during its September 9 event, we were shown why Apple may not only have canceled any rumored smart ring, but also, should one eventually arrive, how it’ll go far beyond what we’re used to seeing from Oura, RingConn, and Ultrahuman.

In-ear, not on finger

Basic health tracking is already covered

Smart rings are a convenient, low-impact way to measure and track health and wellness. They’re never about in-depth analysis, aren’t suited to hardcore fitness training, and those that push high-end functionality rarely deliver.

It’s why the Oura Ring is so successful. It doesn’t try to be something it’s not, it doesn’t promise functionality we struggle to even find on a smartwatch, and instead positions itself as a lifestyle product, not a medical one or a product for budding triathletes.

Apple’s latest wearables are its unusual approach to filling that segment.

The new functionality in the AirPods 3 closely replicates what a basic smart ring can do.

The earbuds have a heart rate sensor, accelerometers, and a gyroscope with the ability to track 50 different workout types, arguably more than the initial run of smart rings were capable of measuring.

The AirPods 3’s activity tracking contributes to meeting daily Move goals, too, making them motivational without being too intrusive or intense.

What’s more, and perhaps critically, they integrate with Apple Fitness+, measuring the same metrics normally collected by an Apple Watch during workouts.

The AirPods represent a cheaper, multi-function alternative pipeline into Apple’s subscription home workout service.

Apple has also made the AirPods 3 more wearable through the newly engineered shape for improved comfort, and with the enhanced Transparency mode when holding conversations with others.

The AirPods 3 come surprisingly close to being a smart ring, just worn in your ears and not on your finger.

Apple Watch updates

Sleep and health

The Apple Watch Series 11 isn’t a huge update over the Series 10, but there are some important advancements that help prove Apple isn’t in the midst of smart ring development.

The most important is the increase to 24 hours of battery life, which makes it more convenient to wear the smartwatch to track all-day activity and sleep overnight, plus faster charging to give a convenient eight hours — more than enough for most of us to track a night’s sleep — use in just 15 minutes.

AirPods aren’t designed for sleep tracking, but the Apple Watch neatly fills that space through the longer battery life and fast charging.

Apple knows it, and the introduction of a Sleep Score underlines how it’s encouraging people to wear the Apple Watch more of the time.

Sleep tracking is a huge smart ring benefit, and while a smartwatch will never be as convenient as a smart ring to track it, now the Apple Watch at least provides key metrics when you do.

The new Workout Buddy feature works with the Apple Watch and AirPods, delivering AI-generated insights and motivation in real-time during workouts.

Finally, to get the Hypertension alerts, you have to wear the Apple Watch for long periods of time.

Apple Health’s integration with the iPhone has rarely been pushed as a feature, and this is the first time we’re seeing Apple’s wearables being brought together with shared functionality and feature synergy. A smart ring seems pointless at the moment.

Why bother with a smart ring?

At least, not yet

Through the Apple Watch and the AirPods 3, worn either together, separately, or at different times of the day, Apple is closely replicating the features we commonly see on a smart ring.

From sleep monitoring and step tracking to general fitness tracking and a selection of more in-depth health features, should you want them, it has used two existing product types we’re already familiar with to deliver a very similar experience.

Samsung leaped into smart rings with the Galaxy Ring, but its silence around the product since its launch a year ago indicates it perhaps hasn’t been the success it may have wanted.

The Galaxy Ring is a decent product, but it’s not up there with the Oura Ring 4, and Samsung may have jumped in too early and overestimated mainstream appeal.

Apple isn’t about to make the same mistake and has instead given people the majority of the functionality in two well-known, easily understood existing products.

I’m not saying Apple will never launch a smart ring, but it seems unlikely it’ll make one that just repackages what the AirPods 3 and the Apple Watch Series 11 can do already.

Recent patents filed by Apple show it has far grander plans for such a product, including touch and gesture controls. If one ever arrives, it’ll be a very different product from the ones we see now.

Two products, not one

In-ear and on-wrist wins, for now

In late 2024, Apple industry watcher Mark Gurman said Apple wasn’t planning to launch a smart ring, although it may still steal away Apple Watch sales.

This, if you’ll forgive the pun, still rings true today, but the latest developments show Apple isn’t blind to what may make a smart ring appealing to people.

The smaller, more durable, more comfortable AirPods 3 are more discreet than ever and with greater functionality, which may give them all the fitness tracking ability some people who may glance at an expensive smart ring really need.

Pair it with the Apple Watch, and you’ll have even more functionality, all without an ongoing subscription or the need to try on and get used to wearing a piece of technology on your finger.

If Apple really did have plans for a “regular” smart ring, I can’t see it ever becoming a reality now.