Skip to main content

Talk to the hand: Vring wants to put Siri on your finger

Voice control apps like Siri and Google Now have not lived up to their promises of convenience. But what if Siri was in your jewelry? Today, Whynot Tech is launching the Kickstarter campaign for Vring, “the first smart ring to focus on voice control.” Keeping with the recent trend of marrying high fashion with high tech innovations, the ring “enables users to search the Internet, find their phone, and remotely control household appliances without having to hold their phone.” Essentially, everything you can tell your phone, you can tell Vring instead, and it’ll transmit your commands via Bluetooth to connected devices. So leave your phone at home — just wear a Vring. That’s the idea, anyway.


In keeping with the irony of many 21st-century technological advances, Vring was developed with the hopes of separating people from their mobile devices … by keeping them more connected with a different device. Wearing a ring may be less taxing than carrying around an iPhone or an Android, but at the end of the day, the level of connectivity remains pretty consistent — at least, when it comes to tasks like taking notes, surfing the Web, playing music, or even finding your lost phone.

“The average person spends 90 minutes on their cell phone every day. We developed Vring to give people more freedom to experience life and spend time with family and friends,” said Canner Tang, founder of Whynot Tech. “Our goal is to make life easier, and homes smarter by using the latest advancements in voice-recognition technology.”

Vring says it uses Google speech recognition to perform searches, and you can follow a verbal search with a word like “apps,” “images,” or “maps” to better specify what you hope to find or do things like dim a smart light after you turn it on. It’s also compatible with Chromecast.

The Vring is a certainly a unique product, both in terms of its form and its function. Available either as a ring or as a wristband, the wearable is lightweight, waterproof, and “instinctively responds to touch and voice.” With an aluminum frame, the accessory is available in three colors — a silver, dark grey, and gold that are reminiscent of Apple’s iPhone color palettes. As part of the Super Early Bird support level on Kickstarter, you can own your very own Vring for $109.

We look forward to learning how Vring connects to your phone and other apps. For now, we still have big questions about how it connects, uses voice, and the kind of battery life it gets, though the site says it could be as much as 2-3 days per charge, or 300 voice commands. It’s also huge, for a ring, though slightly more practical as a wristband.

Vring is another neat Kickstarter idea, but use caution before you back it. There are a lot of neat smart rings vying for your finger, but none have proven their worth yet.

Editors' Recommendations

Lulu Chang
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Fascinated by the effects of technology on human interaction, Lulu believes that if her parents can use your new app…
The best Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 screen protectors
Person holding skateboard while wearing the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4.

A new, sleek design and digital bezel help the Galaxy Watch 4 stand out in the crowd and set it apart from the traditional style of the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic. Whether you've picked up a 40mm model with a 1.2-inch Super AMOLED screen or opted for more screen real estate with the 44mm model, that stand-out design needs protecting from scratches and knocks. That means it's time for our picks of the best Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 screen protectors, with something to suit all budgets.

These screen protectors will all fit the 40mm or 44mm models of the Galaxy Watch 4. If you've got a Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 Classic, these won't fit.
Spigen Glas.tR EZ Fit Screen Protector

Read more
How to remove watch links from the strap on your new watch
how to remove watch links fossil q explorist

There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all smartwatch. If your wrists are on the smaller size, then you may find that your new smartwatch is dangling from your wrist and sliding up your forearm. No need to worry — it's a common problem. Chances are there are at least one too many chain links on the strap, but adjusting a metal-link smartwatch band isn't as difficult as you might think — and doesn't usually require a trip to the jewelers.

We'll take you through everything you need to know and the tools you'll need handy to remove links from your smartwatch so it fits snugly on your wrist.

Read more
Best Cyber Monday Deals 2022: Laptops, TVs, AirPods, and more
Best Cyber Monday Deals 2022

Cyber Week is here! With some truly epic deals out there, this is the best time of year to buy a new tech gadget. If you slept through the Black Friday sales, then the Cyber Monday sales, you better grab what you need during this week of slowly diminishing deals. From tablets to air fryers, laptops to smartwatches, we've rounded up the best Cyber Monday deals across a range of categories, and you'll find them all below.
Cyber Monday sales: Quick links

Amazon: Huge discounts on laptops, Echo devices, and tablets
Best Buy: Your destination for sales on super-sized TVs
Dell: Unbeatable discounts on gaming laptops, monitors, and more
Gamestop: Cheap video games, console accessories and monitors
HP: Gaming PCs, laptops, monitors, and printers from $129
Kohl's: Home decor, clothing and kitchen appliance steals
Lowe’s: Up to 60% off appliances like refrigerators and decor
Staples: Save big on laptops, home office hardware and supplies
Target: Tons of cheap kitchen appliances and stocking-fillers
Walmart: Great for laptops, and is restocking PS5 and Xbox Series X

Read more