The Samsung Galaxy Ring is expected to fully launch at the upcoming Unpacked event on July 10, but it could soon have serious new rivals for the title of best smart ring, including a Fitbit smart ring, according to a recently granted patent. .
Fitbit may no longer be the wearable giant it was a few years ago, but the prospect of a Fitbit smart ring seems like an obvious winner for both the Google-owned company and its loyal fans. As Gadgets & Wearables discovered, some detailed patents published on June 4 suggest it's now potentially up for grabs.
The patent, titled “Ring for Optically Measuring Biometric Data,” is a 20-page document that describes a “ring-shaped wearable device for detecting biometric data with a light source and a photodetector.” Fitbit's original patent application was first filed in June 2021, but now the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted it “granted” status.
The illustrations (below) show a classic smart ring design similar to the Samsung Galaxy Ring and Oura Ring, although there are variations that include “an elastic element that brings the two halves of the ring together.” The patent further adds that “other closure mechanisms are contemplated.”
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What exactly would this smart ring do? As expected, the focus would be on fitness and sleep tracking. The text and illustrations of the patent contain several mentions of SpO2 monitoring, meaning the Fitbit ring could detect blood oxygen saturation. This is useful for understanding how your body handles particular workouts and is also something the Samsung Galaxy Ring will offer.
Like the Galaxy Ring, the Fitbit ring would also pair with an external app (most likely the Fitbit app) via Bluetooth or NFC. From there, you could theoretically see sleep data and also potentially receive feedback from Fitbit's AI coach, which is coming to Android “later this year.”
What are the chances of a Fitbit smart ring?
As always, we need to be careful when looking at patents, as many never come to fruition and there's no guarantee we'll ever see a Fitbit smart ring. However, this has already moved on to the approval stage and despite Fitbit's many problems since it was acquired by Google, the concept would make a lot of sense.
Clearly, Google still sees potential in the Fitbit brand, as we saw with the recent launch of the Fitbit Ace LTE. The kids' smartwatch is certainly expensive, but it has been built from the ground up to encourage younger people to exercise, with built-in games and a motivational rewards system.
That doesn't necessarily mean we'll also see a Fitbit smart ring anytime soon, but there's no doubt that smart rings have now taken over from fitness trackers on wearables in 2024, and even smart earrings are in the works. The Fitbit brand is still hugely popular, too, from the days it pioneered fitness trackers, and this patent suggests it could one day repeat the trick with smart rings.
Fitbit is no stranger to wearable jewelry either, and will launch the Fitbit Luxe in 2021 with a gold-tone stainless steel link bracelet from designer Gorjana. So while Fitbit's first patent application for a smart ring came back in 2019, this latest update means we're a little more hopeful that we might finally see a real one, giving us a great alternative to the Oura ring and Samsung. Galaxy ring.
