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Pebble’s new wearable wants you to rethink what a ‘smart ring’ is supposed to do
IT & Tech

Pebble’s new wearable wants you to rethink what a ‘smart ring’ is supposed to do

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TL; DR

  • Pebble’s new Index 01 ring is a finger-mounted voice recorder.
  • The Index 01 records voice notes to a paired smartphone and can also do things like set reminders and control music playback.
  • The new ring can be pre-ordered today for $75. Units will ship in March.
Following yesterday’s teaser, legendary smart wearable maker Pebble has announced its latest device – and it’s not what I expected. Today the company introduces the Pebble Index 01, the first-ever ring-shaped device. But this isn’t an Oura competitor: the Index 01 is tailored for a number of specific use cases, and it’s priced to move at a lower pre-order cost of just $75.

Unlike typical smart rings, the Index number 01 does not track activity or sleep. The company describes it as a “memory device,” primarily designed to record voice notes into the Pebble Companion app on your phone. Recordings are processed and stored locally by default and no subscription is required to use the ring, although “an optional cloud service” allows for better quality online backups and speech-to-text.
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The external hardware of the Index 01 consists of a stainless steel ring with a silicone button. Pressing and holding the button activates voice recording, which continues as long as the button is pressed. Once you release the button, your voice input will be sent to the Pebble app. You can use the Index 01 to take notes this way, but you can also use the ring’s microphone to send voice commands to your phone to set reminders or create tasks. Local LLMs running in the Pebble app determine what type of action your entry should trigger. After each entry, you will receive a notification on your phone describing the action that was performed.

pebble index 01 Lifestyle Shopping bag black Large

Pebble emphasizes that the Index 01 is not always recording, and it is not intended to manually record long, uninterrupted stretches of audio. Recording is only active while the ring’s button is held down, and the ring itself has enough storage for about five minutes of recording. That storage is automatically cleared when the recordings are transferred to your paired phone, meaning you won’t often run into storage limitations.

The call button can also be configured to do other things, like control music playback on your phone or activate Home Assistant commands. Pebble also says it’s working to enable use of the ring button as a camera shutter remote control for your phone.

Also unlike conventional smart rings: the Pebble Index 01 is not rechargeable. Instead, it has a non-user-replaceable battery that the company says should last several years with normal use (i.e. taking several short voice recordings every day). Once the battery is empty, you can return the ring to Pebble for recycling.

pebble Index 01 colors together

The Index 01 is not an entirely new idea. Sandbanka company founded by ex-Meta employees, announced its voice recording Stream Ring in November. The rechargeable Stream Ring is available for pre-order now, but that ring comes with a USB-C charging dock and costs $249. Price is a key benefit of Pebble’s take on the formula, with the Index 01 costing $75 during the pre-order period before dropping to $99 in general availability.

Pre-orders for the Pebble Index 01 start today. The ring is available in black, gold and silver, in full sizes 6 through 13. Pebble says 3D printer files will be available to allow users to try out mockups in different sizes, in addition to a more conventional ring sizing kit. The rings will ship in March 2026.

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