Pebble just launched preorders for its $75 Index smart ring, marking a dramatic pivot from smartwatches to wearable memory devices. Unlike typical smart rings that track health metrics, the Index focuses solely on voice recording with a unique selling point: no charging required for two years. The device processes everything locally without cloud connectivity, targeting users frustrated with constantly dying gadgets.
Pebble is betting big on a different kind of smart ring. While the resurrected smartwatch company celebrates shipping 25,000+ Pebble 2 Time preorders, founder Eric Migicovsky is already moving to capture the next frontier: wearable memory.
The Pebble Index launched for preorder today at $75, promising something no other smart ring delivers - two years of battery life without a single charge. "I didn't want yet another gadget to charge every day," Migicovsky told WIRED, explaining the decision to use non-rechargeable silver oxide hearing aid batteries instead of traditional rechargeable tech.
This isn't your typical health-tracking ring. The Index strips away heart rate monitors, sleep tracking, and vibration motors to focus on one core function: capturing your thoughts through voice. Users press and hold a physical button while speaking into the ring's microphone, creating audio clips that sync to the Pebble app when in phone range.
The timing puts Pebble directly against Sandbar's Stream Ring, which launched with similar voice recording capabilities. But where Sandbar leans heavily on cloud AI processing and requires subscriptions, Pebble takes the opposite approach. "I'm not as interested in the AI persona," Migicovsky explained, emphasizing local processing over cloud dependency.
All speech-to-text conversion happens on-device using open source AI models. An on-device large language model then categorizes recordings as reminders, timers, or general notes. "These are your innermost thoughts," Migicovsky noted. "You don't want to send them anywhere."
The hardware reflects this privacy-first philosophy. The stainless steel ring comes in matte black, polished silver, and polished gold across eight sizes. It's water resistant with internal memory for offline storage. The microphone picks up voice clearly even in loud environments, according to Migicovsky, who's worn a prototype for three months.
Customization extends beyond basic voice recording through the open source Pebble app. Single button presses can trigger music controls or smart home routines. Double-press combinations unlock additional actions. Users can integrate with services like for task management, routing reminders and notes to their preferred platforms.
