Nearly a decade after Pebble’s nascent smartwatch empire crumbled, the brand is staging a comeback with new wearables. The Pebble Core Duo 2 and Core Time 2 are a natural evolution of the company’s low-power smartwatch designs, but its next wearable is something different. The Index 01 is a ring, but you probably shouldn’t call it a smart ring. The Index does just one thing—capture voice notes—but the firm says it does that one thing extremely well.
Most of today’s smart rings offer users the ability to track health stats, along with various minor smartphone integrations. With all the sensors and data collection, these devices can cost as much as a smartwatch and require frequent charging. The Index 01 doesn’t do any of that. It contains a Bluetooth radio, a microphone, a hearing aid battery, and a physical button. You press the button, record your note, and that’s it. The company says the Index 01 will run for years on a charge and will cost just $75 during the preorder period. After that, it will go up to $99.
Core Devices, the new home of Pebble, says the Index is designed to be worn on your index finger (get it?), where you can easily mash the device’s button with your thumb. Unlike recording notes with a phone or smartwatch, you don’t need both hands to create voice notes with the Index.
The ring’s lone physical control is tactile, ensuring you’ll know when it’s activated and recording. When you’re done talking, just release the button. If that button is not depressed, the ring won’t record audio for any reason. The company apparently worked to ensure this process is 100 percent reliable—it only does one thing, so it really has to do it well.
Credit: Core Devices The ring is designed to be worn on the index finger so the button can be pressed with your thumb. The ring is designed to be worn on the index finger so the button can be pressed with your thumb. Credit: Core Devices
A smart ring usually needs to be recharged every few days, but you will never recharge the Index. The idea is that since you never have to take it off to charge, using the Index 01 “becomes muscle memory.” The integrated battery will power the device for 12–14 total hours of recording. The designers estimate that to be roughly two years of usage if you record 10 to 20 short voice notes per day. And what happens when the battery runs out? You just send the ring back to be recycled.