Apple could launch a ring to rival Samsung by 2026, research firm predicts

Apple could launch a connected ring to rival Samsung by 2026, according to CCS Insight, adding to the U.S. tech giant’s focus on health.

The call is part of CCS Insight’s annual predictions report and if it came true, it would be the first new product from the Cupertino giant since the Apple Vision Pro headset launched this year.

“Health has become a fundamental pillar for Apple. In fact, I would go so far as to say, at the point that Tim Cook decides to relinquish control and he retires … I would like to think that one of his major legacies from Apple would be around personal health,” Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, told CNBC’s Beyond the Valley podcast published on Tuesday.

“Given how deeply and personally invested Tim Cook is in health, I think that a ring is a very complimentary extension to Apple,” he said, referring to Apple CEO Cook.

Wood highlighted Apple’s focus on health from products like the Apple Watch with all of its sensors to the latest AirPods Pro 2 headphones that can turn into hearing aids.

Similar to smartwatches, a smart ring is embedded with various sensors to track health metrics like heart rate.

Oura was one of the pioneers of the space, but Samsung this year launched the Galaxy Ring, bringing this style of product to a bigger audience, as it looks to make a bigger push into the health space.

The Samsung Galaxy Ring costs $399 and adds to the South Korean tech giant’s portfolio of products from smartphones to smartwatches as it looks to keep users locked into its world of devices.

Apple employs a similar strategy with its suite of products attempting to keep its already sticky customers in its ecosystem of hardware. A ring would add another product to that portfolio, Wood said.

Unlike other items of consumer electronics, rings are complicated from a retail point of view because people have different sized fingers. Samsung has various sizes and colours of rings and users receive a sample size kit before they purchase a ring.

Apple differs from Samsung in that it has a large and stylish physical retail footprint which would help any attempt to sell a ring product to customers, according to Wood.

“I also think that their retail footprint is ideally suited to it as well because rings are complex products to get to market,” Wood told CNBC.

Rings are also fashion items. Wood said that Apple’s products still have allure in the market.

“Apple is a brand that has a certain amount of kudos in terms of being a product that people are proud to have. And I think a beautifully designed ring from Apple could be one of those things that’s almost a sort of status symbol,” Wood said.