Feed: Engadget is a web magazine with obsessive daily coverage of everything new in gadgets and consumer electronics
Feed Link: https://www.engadget.com/
---

Title: A Fitbit Ring would make so much sense

Date: Wed, 20 Aug 2025 16:30:55 +0000
Link: https://www.engadget.com/wearables/a-fitbit-r...

Ever since Samsung introduced the Galaxy Ring, IΓÇÖve wanted Google to make a
smart ring. I initially imagined it would be a Pixel Ring ΓÇö something that
would fit into the existing wearable portfolio that includes the Pixel Watch
and Pixel Buds. But at a recent roundtable with the heads of GoogleΓÇÖs
Health, Fitbit and Wearables businesses, I was presented a more compelling
possibility. When CNNΓÇÖs Lisa Eadicicco asked the question on everyoneΓÇÖs
mind about whether Google would expand its wearable product portfolio with
other types of gadgets, the answer surprised me.

After first giving an expected ΓÇ£nothing to share as yetΓÇ¥ response,
Sandeep Waraich, the senior director of product management for Google
Wearables, pointed towards the Fitbit family. ΓÇ£We see thereΓÇÖs a big
opportunity with a discrete device that lasts very long [and] has a simple
experience thatΓÇÖs very focused on health and fitness.ΓÇ¥

Waraich continued by saying ΓÇ£today, Fitbit has a pretty robust portfolio
but it has not been refreshed for a while, so thatΓÇÖs where we see
opportunity and we have been deeply thinking about bringing the right
experiences.ΓÇ¥ He did not reveal much more upon further pushing, but one
thing became clear to me. If Google were to make a smart ring, it would be
part of the Fitbit family.

That makes a lot of sense, if you consider the activity trackers that Fitbit
is synonymous with. They are fairly basic wristworn devices that do little
more than count your steps, track your heart rate and occasionally vibrate to
tell you to look at your phone. You could say theyΓÇÖre unsophisticated, but
theyΓÇÖre also simple and serve very specific purposes. Plus, they last
forever ΓÇö clocking between days and weeks on a charge.

As someone who loathes wearing any device to bed, IΓÇÖm frustrated at the
lack of options available to me for sleep-tracking. Bed sensors donΓÇÖt seem
to get very accurate data, while bedside radar or motion detectors (like the
Nest Hub or AmazonΓÇÖs retired Halo RIse) have been largely abandoned by
their makers. A smart ring, like the Galaxy Ring or Oura, are effective and
comfortable solutions.

The thing is, a lot of my digital data is housed in Google services. IΓÇÖm a
Gmail girl, and I pay quite a lot every month for a generous amount of Drive
storage. A Google-powered sleep tracker appeals to my data hoarder
tendencies.

Throw in the fact that Fitbit has long led the way in accurate and
sophisticated sleep and activity tracking, and a Fitbit RingΓÇÖs potential
grows significantly.

Of course, thereΓÇÖs always the risk that, should Google make a smart ring,
it might give up on the product after a few years, rendering my data or
device useless. Just look at the Google graveyard. I will say that Waraich
and his colleagues seem to see a future where people have multiple devices
that serve various, specific purposes. A smartwatch and smart ring could both
coexist as useful accessories that feed into a personΓÇÖs main device, which
these days is usually a smartphone. In addition to those gadgets, people
likely also own laptops, TVs and tablets ΓÇö screens of all sizes.

In response to a follow-up question on the topic of a multi-device lifestyle,
GoogleΓÇÖs general manager of Health and Home Rishi Chandra said ΓÇ£ThereΓÇÖs
no doubt we need to maximize the devices you already have.ΓÇ¥ But he added
ΓÇ£thereΓÇÖs no doubt in my mind thereΓÇÖs going to be new form factors that
will exist.ΓÇ¥ He cautioned, though, that ΓÇ£itΓÇÖs too early to have
conviction,ΓÇ¥ stating that currently the team is in the ΓÇ£experimentation
phase.ΓÇ¥

ΓÇ£We are experimenting,ΓÇ¥ Chandra said. What comes out of that
experimentation and what sticks around ultimately depends on developments in
the industry that no one can assuredly predict. I do think, though, that
given the companyΓÇÖs expertise in simple, straightforward activity trackers,
a Fitbit Ring would not be too much of a stretch. Plus, the fact that the
Oura Ring is now in its fourth generation and that it and the Galaxy Ring
have proven to be worthwhile devices show that there is a market for this
category.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at
https://www.engadget.com/wearables/a-fitbit-r...
163055386.html?src=rss

---
VRSS v2.1.180528