Remote on Your Finger
Samsung Electronics and Apple are set to compete in a new arena this time – the smart ring market.
According to sources in the information and communication technology (ICT) industry on July 10, Samsung Electronics filed a trademark application for the Galaxy Circle with the Korean Intellectual Property Office on July 3 and is awaiting its registration. The Galaxy Circle was registered with a product classification that includes smart rings along with smart watches, smartphones, and wearable computers.
While a trademark application does not necessarily lead to a product launch, analysts say that Samsung is preparing a ring-shaped product as it has recently filed a series of similar trademark applications. Previously, Samsung registered the Galaxy Ring as a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in February of this year.
“Samsung Health is evolving into a hub that connects innovative Galaxy technologies with user health,” said a digital health representative at Samsung Electronics’ Mobile Experience (MX) Division at a press conference in May. “We are comprehensively checking product lines for devices for sleep detection from smart watches to a wide range of other wearable devices such as earbuds and rings.”
Apple is also knocking on the door of the smart ring market with a steady stream of Apple Watch-related patents filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The U.S. tech giant recently filed a patent with the USPTO for a skin-to-skin contact detection system assumed to be the Apple Ring.
The Apple Ring may serve as a remote control for interaction with other Apple devices like the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, experts say. It would be a simple remote control device on a finger.
The patent filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office features an OLED display as well as technology that can measure heart rates, blood oxygen saturation, blood pressure, and more. This leads more experts to guess that the device will have healthcare features just like the Galaxy Ring.