An application for a design patent reveals that Samsung is not only working on a smart ring, but that development is already well underway.
The patent application, filed in December of last year with the Korean Intellectual Property Office, shows a ring design with a volume rocker, buttons for answering a call, and possibly some kind of card slot. In the ring itself there seems to be one or more sensors for monitoring the wearer's heart rate and perhaps other biosignals.
It's worth pointing out the potential a ring like this holds for Samsung's Gear VR, as tracking hand movement would be a welcome addition to the interface of the headset. Still, the patent application published today only addresses design, not functionality — so we can only guess what use cases Samsung has in mind for such a ring.
As always, we leave you with the remark that, despite this patent showing a smart ring in an advanced stage of development, there is no telling if and when Samsung will bring such a product to the market.
