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I have 10 fingers, but I don’t have enough patience for multiple smart rings. Even so, it’s very similar to that Smart glassesthe wearable technology industry is flooded with rings. Most of them require exotic chargers, and some have subscriptions. Pebble founder Eric Migicovksy continues his business Pebble watch reissue With the Pebble Index 01, a sub-$100 audio recording loop that doesn’t need to be charged at all, because the built-in battery is irreplaceable.
Strange model? Yeah, also kind of fascinating. “Send it back to us for recycling,” says Migicowski about what to do with the indicator after its expected two-year battery life has been exhausted. At this point, you will have to buy another. It’s a subscription or rental of a different kind.
The index is also very simple. There is a single silicone button on top of the stainless steel ring, which plays audio recordings. Loop stores 5 minutes of audio without needing to sync, but then offloads the voice memos to Pebble’s iOS/Android app to convert them to text using an open source speech-to-text tool. The ring is waterproof, but not swimproof.
Migicowski told me that nothing in the Pebble Index uses AI subscription services. Instead, voice memos are stored locally on the Pebble app, but can be synced with other services in theory — Migicovsky proudly promises that the indicator’s functions and services, like Pebble clocks, are hackable. You can find a way to remap this ring button to do other things, via Anthropic open source Model context protocol standard.
The Pebble indicator can work with Pebble watches, although it also works on its own.
Migicowski imagines that for most people, the ring will be a simple way to quickly record reminders and thoughts. What I’m wondering is, does the world need another wearable device for memory recording? Many already exist, incl In the form of rings. My own memory needs are handled with a simple note in the Apple Notes app, most of the time. It’s not fancy, but it works.
The Pebble indicator also lacks any other features. It has no indicator lights, vibration, or other sensors. There are no loop comments when recording starts or stops, but written message notifications appear via the phone app or on Pebble watches. It can be used as a ring-worn method to display voice requests, such as asking about the weather, for example.
The Pebble Index won’t arrive until next March, but it can be pre-ordered for $75 (which will increase to $99 at some point in the future).
I like the idea of not charging the smart ring, but I’m not keen on purchasing an item that can’t be serviced myself. The two-year battery life depends on the recording time: the loop lasts for “12-14 hours” of audio recording, which doesn’t sound like a lot. Then again, what would I record on my memory loop? i don’t know yet. Contact me again next year, or at CES in January, when I expect to get a closer look.