Apple's smart ring plans + essential wearable tech news
PLUS: Skin pigmentation law suits and FDA glucose warnings for wearables
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Apple to launch smart ring…or is it?
Apple could be about to jump into the smart ring market, according to a new report from ETNews.
The Korean publication quoted an insider as saying:
“Apple has consistently released smart ring-related patents for several years, so advanced development for commercialization appears to be imminent.”
Apple has been filing ring patents for the best part of 10 years, and we’ve been following its progress closely. It was granted a new patent in November 2023, and clearly has significant interest in the segment.
Reading the ETNews report, it’s unclear how much knowledge its source has. It’s not made clear whether this is someone with insider knowledge of the supply chain, or just putting two and two together, in terms of Apple’s patent portfolio output.
So we’re not putting too much credence into this report.
While smart rings are exploding in popularity they are niche – so it feels unlikely Apple would jump in at this stage. That said, there’s nothing more niche than wearing a snorkel in the workplace – and Apple has gone there, so anything is possible.
Apple hydration tracking could be on the way
Perhaps paving the way for its smart ring – or a super-charged Watch – Apple has patented some nifty hydration tracking tech.
On Monday we’ll be doing a deep dive into the patent, including comments from those already building hydration-tracking wearables.
Patently Apple (who spotted the filing) suggests that the sensor could be configured to measure from two different points, with this data then turned into an estimated sweat rate metric.
"When Apple Watch is used to track an exercise session, the device may calculate and present a first estimated sweat rate over a first interval of time corresponding to the exercise session. This may provide a user with information about the average sweat rate or total fluid loss throughout the exercise session," the report reads.
Look out for Monday’s PULSE for a deep dive into the state of wearable hydration tracking and where Apple fits in.
Skin pigmentation in the spotlight
If the patent wars around blood oxygen tracking weren’t causing enough chaos in the wearables industry, a new storm could be about to hit.
The FDA has been carrying out hearings on the accuracy of SpO2 sensors on users with dark skin tones – and now a physician in the U.S. is suing 12 different companies for not ensuring blood oxygen monitors are accurate across demographics.
The problem is, surprisingly, the FDA has not required the technology to be proven across skin tones to be approved.
The issue came to a head during the COVID pandemic, where scores of seriously ill patients, all with darker skin tones, presented in hospitals with low blood oxygen levels despite having used a SpO2 monitor to check their levels.
The issue is called “occult hypoxia” — a situation when a patient’s pulse oximeter reads in the healthy range, but their actual blood oxygen levels are dangerously low.
Researchers found that this happened to black patients nearly three times as often as it did to white patients.
The lawsuit is focused on medical devices sold through the likes of CVS and Walgreens, and not consumer wearables, which do not generally get FDA clearance for SpO2 detection, and state that they are not used for medical purposes.
However, it rightly puts the issue of skin pigmentation and accuracy in the spotlight. And if wearables are serious about becoming health devices, questions should be asked about their performance across demographics.
We’ll be following this story closely.
FDA issues blood glucose wearables warning
The FDA has moved to warn the public against using wearables that claim to measure blood glucose.
In a safety communication issued on 21 Feb, the FDA wrote:
“The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers, patients, caregivers, and health care providers of risks related to using smartwatches or smart rings that claim to measure blood glucose levels (blood sugar) without piercing the skin.”
“The FDA has not authorized, cleared, or approved any smartwatch or smart ring that is intended to measure or estimate blood glucose values on its own,” the statement continued.
There has been a small subsection of apps and services claiming to be able to measure blood pressure non-invasively – and there are plenty to be found on Amazon, as you can see from the image above, which took me one Google search to find.
While these implementations are not designed for medical use – aka those with insulin or dietary requirements – there’s nothing to stop people from taking the readings literally and medicating themselves – with potentially fatal results.
Even in a less life-threatening example, incorrect readings could lead to changes in eating habits that could be detrimental to health.
Low blood sugar readings could lead to pre-diabetics not adopting healthier choices, for example.
Some fun user data from Oura
Smart ring giant Oura has put together some fun user data from the Super Bowl – which shows user heart rate data throughout the game.
It shows average user data in Kansas City, San Fransico, and generally for the US.
It shows heart rates jumping 4.2 beats per minute on average when Travis Kelce made that big catch toward the end of the game.
However, as analyst Ben Wood wrote, (H/T Ben) it does serve as a reminder that user data is held in the cloud for analysis.
Alter DNA-based fitness system launches
An interesting new launch is Alter, an AI-powered smart mirror and connected wearable that uses DNA testing to track your health.
Users take a DNA swab which returns hyper-personalized insights into your genetic predisposition to 13 metrics including exercise responsiveness, stress, anxiety resilience, inflammation risk, carb, fat, and protein responsiveness, weight management, mental decline, chronotype, motivation level, and bone density.
The Alter Signal wearable then tracks readiness and workout intensity (supposedly based on this DNA data), while the smart mirror aspect feeds back AI-based form corrections and guided workouts. The system will also recommend non-workout recoveries such as sound baths.
It sounds like an insanely ambitious ecosystem, which will have its work cut out cutting through. We’ve seen some high-profile smart mirror systems fall by the wayside recently, including from Lululemon.
The idea of pairing wearable insights with DNA data certainly piques our interest – but how much useful information that can glean, beyond being a simple gimmick, remains to be seen.
Garmin launches Forerunner 165
After spending the last year or so replacing every memory-in-pixel running watch in sight, Garmin is now filling a much-needed gap at the budget end of its collection with the launch of the Forerunner 165 (and Forerunner 165 Music).
The big draw here is the AMOLED display. The 165 arrives as an entirely new watch line - and the cheapest way to get a Forerunner with the fancier display tech on your wrist (though you can get it on a Venu Sq. 2 for less). It also boasts a handful of runner-focused features, and we found GPS and heart rate monitoring to be very accurate in our in-depth test.
We’re still expecting a Forerunner 65 to land at some point during 2024 to replace the aging Forerunner 55, but, for now, at least those seeking a more affordable running watch from Garmin have another choice to pick from.
Read our full Garmin Forerunner 165 review.
OnePlus confirms imminent Watch 2 launch
There have been plenty of leaks - and a couple of trademark, drip-fed hints from OnePlus itself - but we now have official confirmation that the company’s next smartwatch will arrive at MWC 2024 in Barcelona.
The company claims it will offer 100-hour battery life in its standard smartwatch mode. If rumours are true and it also runs Wear OS, this could certainly be one to watch.
It’s been a long time coming, too. OnePlus president and COO Kinder Liu said the company took a “reflective pause” following the launch of the OnePlus Watch 1 back in 2021 - one we panned in our 2.5/5-star review at the time.
“It’s a nice looking and well-built device for the money, but it’s not something we can recommend in good faith. As a fitness device, it’s poor, and it has a feature set weaker than many budget smartwatches,” our reviewer James Stables said.
Here’s hoping for a strong return for 2024.