Oura CEO Says Apple Won’t Make a Smart Ring Because ‘It’s Difficult to Do’

Oura CEO Tom Hale doesn’t believe Apple plans to enter the smart ring market because an Apple-designed smart ring could hurt sales of the Apple Watch.

In an interview with CBNCHale said Apple was probably “unconvinced about the value of having a ring and a watch together,” and said the company is keeping a close eye on both Oura and Samsung, but Apple’s smart ring probably won’t happen. “It’s hard to get this product category right.”

Oura recently launched Oura Ring 4, a product that can track movement, fitness, health, stress and sleep. Oura is one of the most well-known companies in the smart ring space, first appearing with a ring in 2015.

Rumors suggest that Apple is exploring the idea of ​​a smart ring, but the company reportedly has no plans to release one at this time. in October, Bloomberg‘s Mark Gurman He said there was no ring in active development.

Apple is said to be worried about undermining sales of the Apple Watch because the smart ring will have many of the same features as the watch. Apple’s industrial team proposed a smart ring that would be a lower-cost alternative to the Apple Watch, but Apple executives were not interested.

If smart rings increase in popularity, Apple may decide to design one. Samsung in July Released Galaxy RingA device that works with Galaxy devices and tracks movement, sleep, heart rate and breathing rate, providing users with a daily sleep score and energy score.

Apple has patented ring-like devices, leading to “iRing” rumors, but Apple generally patents all kinds of products that never make it to market.