Apple iRing: Company looks set to develop the ultimate in remote controls

It may just possibly be the ring to rule them all. Having moved from computers, to music players, to phones and, most recently, watches, Apple now looks set to develop the ultimate in remote controls – the iRing.

Possible prototype of the Apple iRing

The company applied for a patent for a “smart-ring” design in April 2014 which was published by the US Patent and Trademark Office on Thursday (October 1).

The patent application has very little detail on the technologies which might be employed to make it work. But it does describe a device that is designed to be worn on the index finger and comprising of a microphone for voice commands, a finger-ring mounted tiny touch screen and a sensor for writing or character recognition.

A patent filing has revealed that Apple has looked into the development of a wearable designed to be worn on a finger, featuring a small screen

The rechargeable ring is intended to work wirelessly in conjunction with a host of other devices, be it a smartphone, light dimmer switch, or dishwasher. It can be used to control the TV, activate connected lighting and heating within a home or a car and even act as a replacement for a computer mouse – all without the user having to move from the sofa.

The iRing can work with various smart devices, including replacing this second generation Apple Remote, released in October 2009

Although Apple’s iRing is, as yet, still on the drawing board, it raises the possibility of taking the first steps to creating the self-writing pen imagined by JK Rowling in Harry Potter. The iRing, its designers hope, will be able to follow the movement of the hand to determine what the user is writing – and able to replicate it.

In the patent registered in the US, Apple said,

“The ring computing device can be carried unobtrusively for periods of time by the user and used when the user requires.”

(All images - credit: Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licence)