Oura's CEO suggested that Apple would not make a smart ring that competes with the best smart rings, assuming Apple would undercut Apple Watch sales. He further suggested that “it's hard to do this product category right.”

Tom Hale, interviewed by CNBC, believed that Apple's upper management would “not be convinced of the value of having a ring and a watch together” and explained that “they're probably watching Samsung and keeping an eye on us.”

Oura has been developing smart rings since 2013 and recently announced its latest wearable, the Oura Ring 4. The company had not been followed by a major tech brand in the smart ring space until Samsung introduced the Galaxy Ring earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Apple has continually moved forward to improve the fitness and sleep reliability of the Apple Watch. in watchOS 11, Apple introduced Vitals, which is essentially the iOS Health app on your wrist. wearing the Apple Watch on a daily basis and continuously, you can see how different markers (activity, sleep, heart rate, etc.) are affecting your health. This is similar to what Oura offers in its Readiness score.

It is understandable that Apple does not want to compromise this. Furthermore, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman made the exact same argument in last month's Power On newsletter.

“Apple is not actively developing the ring and has no plans to launch it,” he writes. 'Because it would get in the way of the Apple Watch.'

However, rumors persist that Apple is investigating the possibility of launching a smart ring. Allegedly, Apple even sent a survey to its employees in September warning them of the existence of the Smart Ring.

So will there be an Apple Ring in the near future or not? Tim Cook may be the only one who knows the answer to that question, but we will continue to monitor the rumor mill for any new Apple Ring leaks, just in case.