Smart ring giant denies rumors that Apple’s entry will weaken Apple Watch sales

Tom Hale, CEO of smart ring manufacturer Oura, said in a recent interview with CNBC at the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal that Apple is unlikely to enter the smart ring field despite continued market rumors.

Previously, with Samsung launching its first smart ring this year, market analysts had predicted that Apple might launch similar products in 2026. However, as a leader in the smart ring market since 2013, Oura has a negative attitude towards this prediction.

Hale explained: Apple does not believe in the value proposition of combining the ring and watch business, and they will not make any decisions that may weaken the Apple Watch business. He added that while Apple may be paying close attention to what Samsung and Oura are doing, smart rings are a very challenging product category.

Compared with smart watches, smart rings can provide users with all-day health, activity and sleep monitoring due to their advantages such as lightweight and long-lasting battery life. However, under the leadership of Apple CEO Tim Cook, the company has always focused its health technology strategy on Apple Watch and its supporting services.

It is worth noting that against the backdrop of increasingly fierce competition in the wearable device market, Oura has launched a new generation of Oura Ring4 products to continue to consolidate its market position in the field of smart rings.