Hardware startup Aina released a smart ring today that features a screen, a joystick, and a mic so that you can talk to your agents and take notes. The $399 ring has a speaker so you can take calls using it as well.
The startup, which raised $5.5 million in July, is positioning the ring as a controller of sorts for both AI and non-AI apps.
The company previously made Mirage, a three-key controller that let you invoke buttons based on the app on your Mac’s screen. For instance, if you were on a Google Meet call, you could map keys to camera on/off, mic mute/unmute, or to leave the meeting.
Aina has baked in lessons from that device to create the new ring, which it’s simply calling “AI ring.” Using its mic, you can take notes, send a prompt to agents, set reminders, and dictate notes on your Mac using Wispr Flow or the startup’s own dictation engine.
Now, there are already smart rings in the market that do similar things, like the Pebble Index 01, Sandbar Stream, Oasis, and Natura, which is probably why Aina has added more controls and functionality to stand out. Its ring comes with a speaker so that you can take calls, and there is a screen, which lets you see notifications from your phone or which apps you are controlling.
For navigation, there is a joystick, and it also supports gestures, so that it can trigger different actions based on what’s on your Mac or phone’s screen. The ring also lets you control music or even smart home devices like Apple TV.
I have used the ring for a few days, and it feels like a smartwatch in a ring format with more controls. I can get notifications and reply to them. It surfaces my meetings; I can call Uber if I want to get a ride home.
It’s easier to use Apple TV’s remote itself, but the Aina ring proved useful the couple times I couldn’t find the remote. Granted, a lot of the software and features are still being fleshed out, so it’s hard to figure out where such a device ring might sit in my daily usage, but it is squarely aimed at folks who are surrounded by digital devices and AI applications.
“Phones and laptop screens were designed for an age of browsing where you think about opening apps. For interacting with proactive agents, we need a better interface, and that is what we had in mind while designing Aina,” Apoorv Shankar, Aina’s founder, told TechCrunch over a call.
Companies are trying to cater to programmers and AI enthusiasts with specialized hardware that could help them harness different agents. This includes OpenAI’s experimental keyboard and Rabbit trying to position itself as a controller. The hope with such hardware is that enough people will have multiple agents running to invest in specific gadgets to keep tabs on them.
Aina’s ring goes on pre-order starting Thursday at early-bird pricing of $399, and the company plans to start shipping the device in January 2027. Once the early-bird period ends, the ring will cost $499.
Source: techcrunch.com
