A new startup—Sandbar—has launched the Stream Ring, an AI-powered smart ring that takes a completely different approach to the burgeoning form factor.
While the market—dominated by Oura—has thus far been defined by sleep, health, and wellness tracking, the Stream Ring is instead a dedicated device designed for a single purpose: capturing your thoughts and harnessing AI to organize them.
The core concept is to provide a seamless way to record your inner monologue—users simply wear the ring and whisper their thoughts into it.
The ring itself doesn’t record or save audio; instead, it transcribes voice notes into text, which is then organized and saved in the companion Stream app for later review.
How the Stream Ring works
The hardware is built around this specific interaction—and there’s no health or fitness tracking to speak of here. Instead, it features a flat edge with a capacitive sensor; you tap and hold the sensor to record your thoughts, and a simple tap will immediately cut off the AI assistant if it responds.
This design is meant to be discreet enough to use even in crowded places, while it’s also waterproof and doubles as a media controller for pausing or playing music.
Sandbar says the ring works via a blend of on-device, phone, and cloud processing, using multiple large language models to handle tasks. The AI assistant also responds with a voice that mimics your own, adding a personal (if slightly uncanny) layer to the experience.
A concept to watch
The Stream Ring is an intriguing diversion from the current trend we’re seeing in smart rings.
Ultimately, it’s a bet that some users want a device that functions as a productivity and journaling tool rather than a biometric health tracker. Whether that’s an idea that people respond to remains to be seen, of course.
For now, the ring is available for pre-order in silver or gold, with each purchase including a three-month subscription to Stream Pro for unlimited notes and chats.
