Apple is developing a connected ring capable of controlling devices remotely

Apple continues to work on a mysterious connected ring. According to a patent, this accessory would make it possible to control devices remotely like a remote control. To control a terminal, it would be necessary to perform gestures with the fingers.

In September 2019, Apple filed a patent application for a “input assembly to wear on the fingers to control an electronic device”. As reported by our colleagues from Apple Insider, the United States Patent and Trademark Office finally published this patent in its database in March 2022.

The documents included in the application describe an accessory similar to a “ring”. This electronic accessory must be worn on the tip of the finger. Thanks to this tool, the wearer can remotely control “an electronic device”.

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Apple imagines a connected ring that allows you to control devices with gestures

Note that Apple does not only refer to its creation as a “ring”. The term appears only 5 times in documents submitted to the US Patent Office. As shown in the diagrams, this device is sometimes described as a thimble that slips through the fingertip. In this case, the fingertip is completely enclosed in the accessory. At this stage, it seems that Apple is not fixed on the final design of the device.

To control devices remotely, the wearer does not have to press physical buttons on the ring. Apple believes that the physical buttons on an accessory of this ilk are “ineffective” and that they “often limit the ways a user can interact to generate control signals”.

Instead of physical keys, Apple wants the user to be able to control devices remotely using finger gestures. The Cupertino company imagines in particular that a wearer traces a number in the air with his finger to control a terminal.

Voluntarily vague, Apple does not specify which devices will be controllable with the ring. It is assumed that the company develops innovative solutions, such as a connected ring, to support the release of his virtual reality headset or its Apple Glass connected glasses.

This is not the first time that Apple has filed a patent for a connected ring. In recent years, several of the brand’s patents have described connected rings capable of working in synergy with the iPhone. Pending official information, there is no indication that Apple really intends toexploit this idea of ​​a connected ring. It is not uncommon for the American group to patent technologies without ever integrating them into products, solely in order to secure its inventions.

Source: AppleInsider