Ringly today offers a line of smart rings that combine fashion with the convenience of smart technology. Connected to your smartphone, the Ringly is able to notify you about everything from incoming calls and text messages to social media interactions thanks to four different vibration types. While it plans to ship the Ringly later this Spring, the company is already a successor that will offer more functionality.
In fact, the company is working on several new collections suitable for different activities. As CEO and founder Christina Mercando explains, much as we have different types of shoes for different purposes, we should have different wearables for different occasions.
Mercando revealed little about this future Ringly version. “Right now we’re focused on notifications, but we’re building new features that go beyond that,” she revealed while speaking at wearable design panel at SXSW Interactive. “Beyond notifications wearables get really interesting, when you think about how they react with your environment and smart home devices. We’re collecting a lot of data but it’s not that useful. If you go to a meeting it should pull the address, or when you’re bored it gives you Snapchat to look at. We need to be smarter about when we send people things, it’s about context,” she added.
Unlike most wearables currently available, the Ringly was designed with fashion in mind. “We went fashion first – we made the rings first and worried about the tech later,” Mercando explained. That’s not expected to change with this future Ringly. It will be interesting to see what they have in mind and how they pull it off.
In the meantime, the first generation Ringly can now be pre-ordered. Prices range from US$195 (about CA$250) with a black onyx or rainbow moonstone to US$260 (about CA$330) with an emerald.