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Pebble Index 01 – External memory for your brain
- ArrestedDev14 9mo agoWow this would help streamline the way I take notes in my life. Short but descriptive sets of words that I frequently am adding throughout the day to an "In Memory" note that I have in Obsidian. At the end of the day I then clear my in memory note by moving them to a more "Contextual" note and elaborate on them fully. I will be trying this at the very least and am optimistic they could figure out a better battery solution in future iterations as well. Obsidian plugin
- novoreorx 9mo agoA perfect simulation of a ring that would appear in a RPG, when the duration goes to 0, you permanently lose it.
- eptcyka 9mo agoCould we have the same functionality on the pebble watch instead, please?
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- micromacrofoot 9mo agoit's just a button and a mic, which both the watch have, so seems like it would be trivial to implement even if they don't do it officially
- 4ggr0 9mo agoalready exists, here's one example: https://apps.repebble.com/en_US/application/56205296ece6340e2f00001d?query=Voice§ion=watchapps https://apps.repebble.com/en_US/application/56205296ece6340e... or a search for 'voice': https://apps.repebble.com/en_US/search/watchapps/1?query=Voice https://apps.repebble.com/en_US/search/watchapps/1?query=Voi...
- neom 9mo ago"What kind of battery is inside? Index 01 uses silver-oxide batteries. Why can’t it be recharged? We considered this but decided not to for several reasons: You’d probably lose the charger before the battery runs out! Adding charge circuitry and including a charger would make the product larger and more expensive. You send it back to us to recycle. Wait, it’s single use? Yes. We know this sounds a bit odd, but in this particular circumstance we believe it’s the best solution to the given set of constraints. Other smart rings like Oura cost $250+ and need to be charged every few days. We didn’t want to build a device like that. Before the battery runs out, the Pebble app notifies and asks if you’d like to order another ring." Uhhh... Huh... Ok. Welp, that's a nope from me then.
- walthamstow 9mo ago> No charging: The battery lasts for up to years of average use. After the end of its life, send your ring back to us for recycling. I shared your concerns but I read this bit and I think it's all pretty reasonable if you ask me. They're open and upfront about it, and you can very quickly choose not to buy one. Who's recycling their Oura battery anyway? Probably nobody.
- jerlam 9mo agoThey didn't when my ring died, but now Oura now has a recycling program: https://support.ouraring.com/hc/en-us/articles/44414370533139-Device-Recycling-Program https://support.ouraring.com/hc/en-us/articles/4441437053313... I can't comment if it's worth the effort to send six grams worth of e-waste across the country and how much actual material can be recovered from it.
- illegalmemory 9mo agoSo in a way it is similar to Subscription ?
- fetzu 9mo agoMore like buying a 99$ “12 to 15 hour recording” pack. Also created real tangible waste, I’m failing to see how recycling a bunch (what are they expecting to sell, hundreds-of-thousands order of magnitude?) of 99$ rings after two years will be worth it (how much material, and for what worth, can they really exctract?).
- tw04 9mo agoNot sure how I feel about it being a throwaway device for $100. I get they say you can send it back to be recycled, but this feels like you’re just proactively creating e-waste. Not even an attempt to make a replaceable or chargeable battery? Also they point out oura rings need to be charged every few days, but that’s because they’re constantly chewing through battery monitoring your health stats. I’m willing to bet if they were in a constant state of deep sleep and only woken up to record short audio clips they’d also last for months at a time. I know folks around here love pebble, but this feels like a miss to me.
- SecretDreams 9mo ago> No charging: The battery lasts for up to years of average use. After the end of its life, send your ring back to us for recycling. That's a pretty long life, TBF. I appreciate your concerns, though, and do wonder if there was a better middle ground (maybe a micro sterling engine leveraging the heat gradient from my finger to ambient, ha!). People are buying Fitbit charge6 products today and those probably have an 18 shelf life and cost more.. so maybe it's not totally left field - although the charge6 isn't advertised to fail so soon lol.
- nebulous1 9mo agoThat lifespan is based on the user recording for 12 to 15 hours over those two years. It's a $100 device that can record 12 hours of audio and then you throw it away. You could expend the battery on your first day by holding down the button. Honestly I can see a niche use but this device strikes me as quite weird and I'm not sure why it isn't a button on their new watch.
- micromacrofoot 9mo agothis is a device that would potentially last years though, not months — if you're in the niche of needing something like this you're paying less than $10 a month (maybe as low as $5)... doesn't net out too terribly in exchange for not charging
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- 65 9mo agoEven if the battery lasts "years", it still seems wildly irresponsible to make this a single use device. I suspect this thing will get very few sales because it's single use.
- apparent 9mo agoThe phrase "single use" applies better to condoms than to wearables that you use every day for 500-1000 days, IMO.
- micromacrofoot 9mo agohow often do you replace your phone? in terms of weight/waste this is probably in the area of about 1/50th of one... you could wear these for ~100 years and produce the maybe the equivalent waste of 2 phones.
- walthamstow 9mo agoThis looks fantastic, I've always wanted something like it Water resistant, like how water resistant? Wearing in the shower OK? That's where I have all my best ideas!
- agildehaus 9mo ago> since it’s always with you Isn't my watch always with me? Why not use that instead of have some new device?
- franey 9mo agoIt looks to me like the big benefit is being able to use just one hand for this. I'd be more likely to use the watch, too, but this would be great for people with one arm, for example.
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- tenacious_tuna 9mo agofrom the article: > Initially, we experimented by building this as an app on Pebble, since it has a mic and I’m always wearing one. But, I realized quickly that this was suboptimal - it required me to use my other hand to press the button to start recording (lift-to-wake gestures and wake-words are too unreliable). This was tough to use while bicycling or carrying stuff.
- Daneel_ 9mo agoI’ve never had that issue with my Apple Watch. Granted, apple are a world-class developer (arguably), so their stuff might be more reliable, but I use raise-to-speak and hey siri with my watch all the time.
- matteason 9mo ago> Here’s the best part: the battery lasts for years I wonder how many years? > The battery lasts for up to years of average use. ...how many? > a battery that lasts for years How many years does the battery last? > That’s up to 2 years of usage. Ah. I guess "2" is the absolute minimum that you could describe as "years". It's a shame because it does look like an interesting proposition. It might be more compelling if it was "send your ring back to us for recycling - and we'll send you a new one". I doubt the economics would work at this price point though.
- marcosscriven 9mo agoI really don’t want to wear a battery in that form factor. Sure a phone or watch can burst into flames, but at least you’ve got a chance of dropping it or taking it off. I also don’t see the bother of talking to your wrist rather than your hand.
- jcims 9mo agoFTA >No charging: The battery lasts for up to years of average use. After the end of its life, send your ring back to us for recycling.
- pants2 9mo agoGiven it's doing nothing when not activated, I would imagine it heavily depends on how often you're using it. Still would be nice to be able to say "1,000 hours of recording" or something like that
- marcosscriven 9mo agoIt says 12-15 hours of recording in the article.
- eloisant 9mo ago> After the end of its life, send your ring back to us for recycling. this is ridiculous...
- Bolwin 9mo agoWow I was just looking for finding like this, but.. can't be recharged? It would be one thing if it had like 500 hours of recording, but this has 12-15.
- notachatbot123 9mo agoWhere did you read that? The article says 5 minutes. Which is fine because it meant to transfer directly to the phone app. And the battery is said to "lasts for up to years of average use".
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- nerdsniper 9mo agoThe article says the battery lasts for years. Is that a misleading claim? Edit FTA: > How long does the battery last? > Roughly 12 to 15 hours of recording. On average, I use it 10-20 times per day to record 3-6 second thoughts. That’s up to 2 years of usage.
- Daneel_ 9mo agoIt says two years of average use. “Two” is not “years” in my opinion. “Years” implies at least 3-5.
- ModernMech 9mo ago2 years: Couple years 3 years: Few years 4 years: Several years 5+ years: Years
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- koinedad 9mo agoTwo is definitely on the low end for “years”… really the lowest. But I did have a similar thought when I read it was only “two”
- lucb1e 9mo agoOriginal title: Meet Pebble Index 01 - External Memory For Your Brain It's a memo recorder in ring form. Neat idea that seems really obvious but somehow I haven't seen it before Edit: ah. "No charging: The battery lasts for up to years of average use. After the end of its life, send your ring back to us for recycling." Planned obsolescence
- 4ggr0 9mo agojust got my RePebble 2 Duo yesterday, wearing it right now :) was looking forward to the new device, but a voice-memo ring really isn't something i care about. oh well!
- NoraCodes 9mo agoI mean, I'll probably ditch the LLM - after all, it's open source so I can just build my own app to receive the messages - but it seems like a neat bit of kit.
- rarisma 9mo agoNo charging: The battery lasts for up to years of average use. After the end of its life, send your ring back to us for recycling. Apple hire this man.
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- swrobel 9mo agoAlways wonder why companies see suing people as a better course of action than hiring them.
- jfindper 9mo ago"Years of average use" is great until you realize that it actually means "Roughly 12 to 15 hours of recording". Not sure how long my iphone can record for, but it's probably close to that. Afterwards I get to charge my phone instead of recycle it, though. Apple, don't hire this man. Edit for the downvoters: can my iphone not record that long or something? iphones can't recharge? Just hate Apple and love e-waste rings? Enlighten me.
- pavel_lishin 9mo ago> "Years of average use" is great until you realize that it actually means "Roughly 12 to 15 hours of recording". Is that based on anything, or is that just a guess? Anyway, 12 hours' worth of 30 second recordings is a total of 1440 recordings. I guess three a day for a year does seem a little low? > Just hate Apple and love e-waste rings? Enlighten me. What e-waste? You send it in for recycling; they might just replace the battery and send you a your existing ring back.
- jfindper 9mo ago>Is that based on anything, or is that just a guess? Fancy enough, it's from the article! Right under the "How long does the battery last?" heading.
- SuperShibe 9mo agoCouldn't the same flow be achieved on a Pebble watch by utilizing something like the "double tap"-gesture Apple Watches Series 9 and upwards have? This seems like a gadget just for the sake of having another gadget...
- daveguy 9mo agoThe idea (fta) is to have activation require only the one free hand.
- SuperShibe 9mo agoyup that's what the Apple Watch double tap gesture does. On the hand wearing the watch you tap your thumb and index finger together 2 times in quick succession and the watch recognizes that unique motion pattern on your arm and does [something].
- swrobel 9mo agoThe double-tap gesture is something I was very excited about and have completely forgotten about since getting my watch. The caveats around what it takes to activate it (screen activated and facing vertically) are just so great, you wonder if anyone at Apple actually tried this and found it to be a better alternative to interacting with the screen. Their demo video actually does a perfect job of capturing just how ridiculously theatrical you have to be to get it to work: https://support.apple.com/guide/watch/use-double-tap-for-common-actions-apdabb7b275c/watchos https://support.apple.com/guide/watch/use-double-tap-for-com...
- jerlam 9mo agoI was also excited about it, until I tried it and discovered it has pretty poor usability. It's not always clear what the double tap will do. Maybe it will scroll, maybe it will clear the item you are looking at, and maybe it won't do anything.
- Daneel_ 9mo agoAbout the only thing I use it for is stopping a timer - it’s great for that.
- daveguy 9mo agoAny know if there are plans to make a new pebble watch that includes both Barometer/Compass plus Heart Rate Monitor in one device? This looks like a useful UI mode, but I'm holding out for a Pebble that doesn't require choosing between two basic (these days) watch sensors.
- asimovfan 9mo agoi am also waiting for this so i can order a pebble.
- comfydragon 9mo agoPebble Time 2 has a compass sensor and HRM. https://ericmigi.com/blog/pebble-time-2-design-reveal#final-pebble-time-2 https://ericmigi.com/blog/pebble-time-2-design-reveal#final-... Unless you specifically are after a barometer, in which case I don't think the PT2 has that.
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- starkparker 9mo agothe "tech bro independently discovers and creates an existing product" cycle is so fast that we're seeing it happen to tiktok scrolling rings now
- joombaga 9mo agoMy first concern is that this looks very difficult to remove if the battery begins to swell, as silver-oxide batteries are wont to do. Perhaps that's less likely with single use batteries.
- Daneel_ 9mo agoI thought you might find it interesting to know that it’s “wont” instead of “want”, when saying “wont to do” https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wont https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wont Also: I agree with your concern
- layer8 9mo agoShould be relatively straightforward to remove with a small wire cutter.
- stronglikedan 9mo agojust like with the samsung rings, oh wait...
- erohead 9mo agoThis is one of the reasons why we decided not to have rechargeable batteries! We saw what happened to the Samsung ring. There is no risk of swelling with Index 01
- DeathArrow 9mo ago>Hold the button, whisper your thought, and it’s sent to your phone. It’s added to your notes, set as a reminder, or saved for later review. Take the phone, open app, done.
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- ipsum2 9mo ago12-15 hours of recording is maybe 2 weeks usage for heavy users. It would've been perfect if it could connect to computers and had a rechargeable battery. Oh well, hope someone else takes inspiration and makes the same thing but can recharge.
- Jeremy1026 9mo agoThat would be a minute of recording for every 22-28 minutes. That is some seriously heavy use. Especially considering that doesn't include sleep.
- embedding-shape 9mo ago> It would've been perfect if it could connect to computers If their goal truly is "New Pebble", then surely something that could connect to a phone could connect to a computer, granted you have the available radios connected to your computer. Seems to be BT in this case. > and had a rechargeable battery Yeah, seems like a weird thing to do, but I guess trying to solve this would make the device a lot harder. Hoping at least there will be a DIY route to replace the batteries, I don't have the will to be sending back an electrical device every second month because the battery died, and then waiting for a new device to arrive in the mail. Edit: I was just about to ask if you think they'll send the replacement device before you've sent in the one that had the expired battery, but now I realize it isn't even clear if they expect us to buy a brand new device when the battery runs out, or if they provide a replacement? The former would be an absolutely bananas proposition.
- Jeremy1026 9mo agoIt's very clear that you have to buy a new one. > Before the battery runs out, the Pebble app notifies and asks if you’d like to order another ring.
- embedding-shape 9mo agoYeah, that changed my outlook to slightly above neutral to kind of disgusted if so. It's a disposable dictation ring?
- maeln 9mo agoYou can buy a rechargeable e-ring with several sensors and even a tiny screen for like 20$ on AliExpress. 75$ for a non-rechargeable, e-waste ring with just a button and a mic is insane.
- lopis 9mo ago[flagged]
- crimsoneer 9mo agobut probably not a microphone, right.
- skeledrew 9mo agoPoint is to not having to take it off at all, as next thing is going out without it and losing that convenience. Though I guess they can also invent a finger-mounted powerbank for it; I remember buying a case with an embedded powerbank for one of my earlier Android phones...
- erohead 9mo ago(Pebble founder) Happy to answer any questions you have!
- scratchyone 9mo agowhat safety measures does this have to avoid some incident (held down button, software bug, etc) draining the entire battery within a few hours, thus bricking the device?
- erohead 9mo agoIt has a hard cutoff built into the firmware at two minutes so after that point the recording stops and the ring turns off until the next button press.
- schraitle 9mo agoHow often do you get accidental clicks? Does it interfere with day-to-day activities because you're trying to avoid the button? Also, I love the idea of providing 3d models for something like this that needs to be perfectly sized
- erohead 9mo agoit happens occasionally like when you're leaning against a table at the exact right angle. but I don't think I've noticed it more than a few times.
- weldedtogether 9mo agoLove the idea as a very easily distracted individual, but the battery is keeping me on the fence. I understand how charging circuitry makes this product a non-starter, but is there any hope of the battery being replaceable?
- erohead 9mo agoIf you look at other rechargeable smart rings they're in the $250 to $300 range, plus a $10/month subscription. We didn't want to do that for a new product like this.
- nowittyusername 9mo agoThis seems like one of those devices that seems like "meh" at a glance but grows on you once you used it. In fact just the Bluetooth button feature alone is warranted a second take let alone a mic embedded in to the ring with a crazy battery life. If there's a way to hack the device and pipe the mic features to other apps I think i might get this thing. edit: never mind i just noticed 15 hours recording time with no recharging. yeah bud that's a no go.
- koinedad 9mo agoI imagine a partial rebate for the returned device to lessen the burden but this does feel like a $5 subscription just for the device. I generally like the idea. I use my Apple Watch for Siri and needing the other hand to hold Siri is not ideal. I do use “hey siri” a lot but it doesn’t always work, though pretty reliable.
- baumschubser 9mo agoI am SO close to switch to Android to buy and properly use a Pebble watch. I love the hacker attitude, the retro tech, the quirkyness. Seeing them introducing One More Thing on the other side of the spectrum, deep in big-corp, locked down, consumerist throwaway territory makes me reevaluate that. I guess they might overestimate the fanboyness of their clientele. I hope enough people find this as laughable as I do and ignore this.
- graypegg 9mo agoHmm... I sort of would've preferred it was JUST a button. I wonder if you could even make it perpetually powered by body heat + buffer battery if it's ONLY job was to emit a couple packets over BLE with some burned in ID that you save on the watch. I don't know how efficient peltier elements are going to be on such a small area, but the cold side would be attached to a big metal ring, which feels like an adequate heat sink. (Peltier elements work on heat differential right? Not an expert.) I know they mentioned that they thought of making this just a watch app, but didn't like the two-handed button press or raise to wake gesture. Why not just optimize for removing the gesture entirely? The microphone has to be better on a full size watch on your wrist vs the tiny ring further away on your finger. This hits the same nerve in me as those single-use vapes with screens, except you can't harvest the battery out of this one.
- erohead 9mo agoYou can use it just as a button - that's one of the ways you can hack it. Just hook the button up to whichever action (webhook, Tasker, etc) you'd like. Battery would last for decades just as a button.
- user_7832 9mo agoAny chance of diy, at-home battery replacements? That would definitely let me consider it. I don't mind if it's a 10 hour process to replace the battery. Just the option to have a device that lasts is great.
- ramses0 9mo agoWaterproofing, tiny batteries, yadda yadda... it's either "charge it weekly", or "recycle" every year or two (eg: $9.99/mo) Thinking through: many people in the pebble-verse (back in the day) were super-hot about wanting the voice-control stuff/microphone responses to text messages. Instead of thinking about this as a standalone "ring", think of this as a "remote button + mic" for the pebble watch. As a (former) avid biker, being able to spam: "How much longer until sunset (and how far away am I from home [and will I get home before sunset])?" and having a rough answer "on the wrist" is super useful. On the Home Assistant front, the Apple ecosystem is waaaay too universal for Siri-isms. We have 3-4 home pod's (upstairs, downstairs, kids bedroom, guest room), along with phones (car-play), and airpods. All of them can be used as "Hey Siri, set a timer, turn on/off the lights, what's the weather, etc". Looking at the HA voice controls, it's utter garbage trash (unfortunately) until The Hackers(tm) get around to fixing things up, BUUUT we're still screwed b/c HA speakers/mic's will be worse than Apple's, and HA will never come out with AirPods or CarPlay integration (and likely: Apple will never support a "non-Siri" voice connection via their microphone relationships). This ring is an incredibly interesting way to sidestep all of that! You have the ring (mic input, 2yr battery), you have the watch (text display, 1 month battery), and your phone (cellular + storage + compute, 1 day battery), all of which are nominally "every day carry" items. In the home automation world, having your star-trek communicator pin (quite literally!) on your finger at all times w/ a 2yr battery life is VERY VERY intriguing!
- maelito 9mo agoWait what ? Why can't they add a feature to the watch that is already there on the wrist and especially already bought that will start recording the thought after a hand shake (that triggers the mic) plus magic keyword ?
- inanutshellus 9mo agoThis thing seems to stand alone though? As in - I don't have to have a watch, nor, it sounds like, do I have to have my phone within pairing range when I record something. It's unlocked though, so maybe a software toggle will let you turn off the mic and just have it activate your watch's mic. This would presumably extend the battery, which seems to be a focus of discussion.
- a_wild_dandan 9mo agoSomeone will make a killing on a rechargeable version of this. The ergonomics are a good idea.
- jrm4 9mo agoFor what it's worth, I 100% perfectly solved this problem for myself MANY years ago and still use it just about every day. On Android, it's called "Blitzmail," I'm pretty sure there's an Apple equivalent. Beautifully simple app; on one touch it pops open a text box (which you can type, dictate to, also do "shares/attachments") And emails to one and only one pre-specified address, usually "yourself." From there, pick your poison. I personally have a dedicated address/account for these, and I have some bash scripts that pick them up and move them around, but I imagine for many "checking that email address periodically" would be sufficient.
- modeless 9mo agoI do exactly the same, except via a button in the quick settings panel, using Tasker, so I don't have to go to the home screen. It's incredibly useful. I hope this can be configured to make the notes emails to yourself.
- quartz 9mo agoThis specific use case is awesome-- I use an integrated AI notetaker in my self-built notes app for my thoughts and I wonder if I could connect the index to it? More broadly: Invisible wearable microphones are coming for everyone and perfect memory will follow. I'm incredibly excited about this for myself and simultaneously terrified about everyone else having it. It's coming fast enough that I'm beginning to assume in any decently sized crowd of tech folks /someone/ is recording everything.
- gegtik 9mo agoI'll be honest, after seeing a nightmare situation where a smartring battery inflated and cut off circulation to a finger, I will never ever buy a ring with a battery in it.
- Daneel_ 9mo agoI’d be interested to see a battery-less ring that uses the mechanical energy of the press to power a BLE transmitter to trigger voice input on a watch. I feel like it’s much safer, plus it has no fixed lifespan.
- skeledrew 9mo agoHow will a single press provide that much energy?
- BoredPositron 9mo agoPiezo
- skeledrew 9mo agoIt's a single press, which has to power the microphone for several seconds, and wireless connection to communicate with the sync device, even later if it isn't immediately available. In what way would piezo generate that much energy?
- Daneel_ 9mo ago> BLE transmitter to trigger voice input on a watch I suggesting triggering input on a watch, not voice recording on the ring. In my suggestion the ring would be a ‘dumb’ input device.
- skeledrew 9mo agoI see. However that misses the point of always having the function at hand, 24/7/365. There will be the off time when you remove the watch to charge it for instance, or times when it may be inconvenient to wear a watch. Your use case would be another product, likely with a different audience.
- lopis 9mo agoInstead of a stand-alone piece of e-waste, how about this: a device with the same format (a ring and an button) but the only thing it does is trigger the pebble watch to start recording a message. This way the microphone isn't needed, just the radio (and much weaker radio at that), and the battery will last exponentially longer. Then just expose the charging terminals so that we can at least hack the device with custom made external charging controllers, or buy a charger separately.
- ajolly 9mo agoThe biggest downside is I don't think you can directly connect to the pebble for that it'll have to go through the phone. One advantage of the index if it doesn't rely on your phone to be available right then
- kwanbix 9mo agoOr better yet. Use your cellphone wich most of us carry 90% of the time?
- mikestew 9mo agoThe cellphone that’s buried in my handbag? I think you missed the expressed use case (admittedly, a few paragraphs into TFA): ”Before, I would take my phone out of my pocket to jot these down, but I couldn’t always do that (eg, while bicycling). I also wanted to start using my phone less, especially in front of my kids.”
- wkat4242 9mo agoI'm sure it won't be able to handle wind noise well (it doesn't look big enough to have multiple microphones) so you'd have to stop the bicycle to make a good recording. Might as well grab the phone then.
- cxr 9mo agoYet another retort addressed directly in the post: > Raw audio playback: Very helpful if STT doesn’t work perfectly due to wind or loud background noises
- herval 9mo agoBattery decision asid, I love this dude's obsession with making unique hardware
- ibdf 9mo agoWhat's unique about this ring that has less features than other "smart" rings?
- frakkingcylons 9mo agoIf you can’t appreciate the value of less is more, this device is not for you.
- herval 9mo agoI don’t know any other smart rings that do what this one does. So not sure what you mean by “less features”
- apparent 9mo agoThe part where the battery lasts for years? Did anyone see that coming?
- kennyadam 9mo agoThe battery lasts for 12-15 hours and how long you manage to stretch that out to is up to you. The site says "On average, I use it 10-20 times per day to record 3-6 second thoughts. That’s up to 2 years of usage." So, you can use it for 30 seconds a day to get 2 years of usage. They also mention using it to control your music, the lights in your home and are assuming STT accuracy of 100% using a local model. The fallback of having to manually transcribe it from the audio recording if the STT fails is going to happen often enough that it'll get annoying. You're not going to be sending any messages to people as that will take a lot longer than 30 seconds a day. I suspect the battery will last about 3 months if you just use it how you'd think it can be used. You would need to really discipline yourself to keep to a limit of 30 seconds of use a day. I think they will need to end up adding some charging contacts to the surface once they start sending these things out into the wild or sales will be very limited. How do you know how much time you have left on the ring's battery? Do you have to keep checking the app? Why not just use your phone for notes then.
- Sporktacular 9mo agoSome harsh comments here. The idea is interesting and the miniaturisation impressive. Successful or not, it's good to see these ideas realised.
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- shnpln 9mo agoGonna give this a shot. I pre-ordered.
- dotdi 9mo agoI was typing in my CC info when I went back to read about battery life. This is meant as positive feedback: I won't be ordering a non-rechargeable device with 12 hours of recording for $100. Imagine I fall asleep with it on my finger and accidentally press the button with my head. It's recording me snore for 3 hours, and 25% battery life gone.
- apparent 9mo agoBased on the description, this doesn't seem plausible. If the button is as clicky as it sounds, it would hurt your head/hand/both to do the thing you describe.
- aljaz823 9mo agoIt doesn't matter if it's plausible or not. It's the fact that it's non-rechargeable device with 12 hours of recording...
- supern0va 9mo agoI wouldn't think about the total recording time so much as the actual usage you'll get out of it. If based on typical usage, you could get even eighteen months out of it, then you're looking at around $5/month for a device to serve this purpose for you. Is that worth it to you? Perhaps not. But plenty of us pay similar amounts of money for software subscriptions related to productivity, so it's not especially outlandish compared to paying for Standard Notes, Todoist, etc.
- afandian 9mo agoI sometimes speak into my voice recorder when I’m out for a walk and have a thought. Those voice notes can be many minutes long, and full of repetition and silence. When no one’s looking obviously. Not sure how that would work with the ring. Either lots of small similar notes. Or a dead battery.
- 9mo ago
- user_7832 9mo agoI posted it as a comment as well - but even just giving the opportunity of a diy, at-home battery replacements would be great for a lot of people. I think the disposability aspect is very counter to the kind of people who use a Pebble Steel for half a decade (or more!)
- poisonborz 9mo agoHuh, I think this is a problem that almost every HN reader solved in their life one way or other. (Not speaking of the usability of this: if voice works for you, this can still be great for you, however)
- whiskey-one 9mo agoThe concept is interesting but without charging it’s a non-starter for me. Also it’s a bit awkward and I’d prefer to use my phone or watch instead of adding a ring.
- miduil 9mo agoOne aspect about e-waste is really the size, this has by volume less than an AA-battery, which means the e-waste is pretty much within this realm. For a decently size powerbank, you could have a lifetime of those rings and probably still create less e-waste. I think it's an interesting approach, in terms of hack-ability a non-rechargable device is pretty much bad - also just imagining that any sort of software or hardware glitch could easily just permanently render the device useless is not super decent either.
- frankest 9mo agoThe only thing that matters here is how good the transcription is. You absolutely have to save the recording. You also have to enable the user to connect to their own transcription service and preserve the recording for that if yours sucks or is not trusted. People have accents. Third party transcription vendors can sell data. Do not mess this up. Enable users to add their own trusted transcription. If we want to give this to grandparents to save their stories, we can want to have the stories too. If we want it for ourselves, we have to trust it.
- skeledrew 9mo agoAlready a part of it. Recordings are saved (on the sync device) in case a transcript is a bust.
- frankest 9mo agoYes, but they mention there will be a subscription plan for their cloud-based transcription. If you want an open platform of devices - ensure users can use a range of transcription providers for quality and security.
- skeledrew 9mo agoYou have the options of using the transcription in the app, subscribing to their cloud service, or building out your own service that access the data via webhooks: > I love customizing and hacking on my devices. What could I do with Index 01? > Lots of stuff! Control things with the buttons. Route raw audio or transcribed text directly to your own app via webhook. Use MCPs (also run locally on-device! No cloud server required) to add more actions.
- frankest 9mo agoThat’s awesome! I’m sold. Now can it fit a size 3 finger?
- h14h 9mo agoI'm sold enough on this form factor to take a flyer on a pre-order. I've been hunting for ways to minimize friction when quickly capturing random thoughts and this is a novel idea that seems to go further than anything else I've tried. The lack of battery charging/replacement is a bummer, but slimness is far more critical for a ring than just about any other device so I understand the tradeoff. I've also seen stories of injuries from battery expansion in fitness rings, so if the risk of this is significantly reduced by eliminating charge cycles, I personally consider that a notable benefit. Even though, IMO, there are enough legitimate benefits to warrant this product's trade-offs, I imagine its disposable nature will ultimately make it unsuccessful. Off the cuff, it's easy to look at this as "saying the quiet part out loud" vis-a-vis planned obsolescence, and I understand why many would find that extremely off-putting.
- ajolly 9mo agoYeah I pre-ordered but for what it's worth I've already been doing this with my pebble for close to a decade but the ring lets me trigger it via a single hand
- modeless 9mo agoI don't understand why people who are probably OK with ordering Doordash once in a while are up in arms about a disposable device that weighs a couple of grams, lasts for years, and is recycled. You can easily spend more on a single Doordash meal for two people and I guarantee a few Doordash meals have more impact on the environment than this minuscule device ever could.
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- rbits 9mo agoI doubt it's about the environmental impact. I agree that the environmental impact probably isn't that bad. My biggest concern is that it's $75 USD (plus shipping, presumably), and if the company ever goes under it's now worthless because I can't get a new one. That said, if I assume that the company will last long enough, I think $75 USD is worth it even if I only get to use it for 4 years. Although if I end up building workflows around the ring, and then I have to get rid of it, that would be very annoying.
- tananaev 9mo agoIs it just a Bluetooth mic in a form of a ring? Or is there something more to this device?
- wkat4242 9mo agoYes it says it can store 5 minutes of audio
- miyoji 9mo agoI'm not sure what other people's hands are like, but mine are pretty big and I can just barely push my thumb against the part of my index finger where I would wear a ring, and doing so renders my thumb useless for any of the opposable things that I usually use my hand for. It's also extremely uncomfortable for my hand and thumb. I've managed to press buttons on my watch with my hands full, but it would literally be impossible to activate this thing with my hands full. I've worn rings, and they can rotate in place on the hand if they're not perfectly sized, and there aren't any half sizes here, so this would definitely rotate on my finger, making no guarantee that I can even reach the button without adjusting the ring with my other hand, or maybe awkwardly spinning it with my thumb until the button is in reach again. And it only lasts for 10-15 hours of recording time. And there looks to be a cloud services upsell for better STT than the open source offering on device. This seems like an early alpha version of something that might be a good idea, but as it is I can't imagine buying one.
- FlamingMoe 9mo agoI think I would use this. I am the kind of person who needs to write things down immediately when they come into my head or I will forget them. I picture wearing it on my ring finger, button down, and use my thumb to press the button, is that realistic or would it be uncomfortable that way?
- josefresco 9mo agoI.... I kinda love this. Non-rechargeable battery and all. I don't need something else to charge. I understand this is a "luxury" but seamlessly recording "thoughts" is my personal computing holy grail.
- smm11 9mo agoVoice recording on pre-smart phones was my jam forever, and this is right up my alley. But don't say "Privacy," then "data sent to your phone."
- sigmar 9mo agoModern smartphones are very private, featuring full disk encryption, sandboxed app data storage, and mandatory lock screens. Why do you think the data stored on your phone isn't private?
- numpad0 9mo agoWhy not just make the electronics removable through a topside opening to have battery replaced at a watch shop? I don't get why the "jewel" part of this has to be resin molded. Normally you do this because smart rings are made by affixing a flexible PCB with somewhat-bendable battery inside a ring and then molding the entire inner part of the ring using clear resin, but the ring part for this one appears to be just a dead ring.
- giamma 9mo agoI think the design is bad: my girlfriend would never wear it. Maybe they know already and that's why the webpage contains only picture of male hands. Given the many smartwatches on the market which can do so much more, are lightweight and some of them with acceptable battery life (Garmin, Suunto, Amazfit), a smartring is of very little interest to me. But I often struggle to understand why certain products fascinate people, so I may be totally wrong and I wish the makers best of luck.
- sippeangelo 9mo agoThe overmoulding is seriously ugly. Gold and navy blue?! Silver and medical grey? Only the black is passable.
- scratchyone 9mo agoYeah, I have to wonder what lead them to these color choices. Not sure why they wouldn't include a white option or any other good neutral colors that actually go with silver and gold. And I think the number of people willing to wear a matte black ring is quite low, especially among women.
- StrLght 9mo agoE-waste is still e-waste, no matter how small it may be. Shame.
- ibdf 9mo ago"Roughly 12 to 15 hours of recording. On average, I use it 10-20 times per day to record 3-6 second thoughts. That’s up to 2 years of usage." They really don't seem have tested the battery life, so 2 years is probably the best case scenario here. He says there's no subscription but if you need to buy one every 2 years or less, then that's the subscription. The primary reason given for not having an option to charge is just awful: "You would probably lose the charger before the battery ran out". This is seriously a device for reviewers and youtubers to hype, make a video about it, and then it's gone.
- Aurornis 9mo ago> How long does the battery last? > Roughly 12 to 15 hours of recording. On average, I use it 10-20 times per day to record 3-6 second thoughts. That’s up to 2 years of usage. I feel like I’m usually good about being able to imagine a market for different devices even when I’m not the target audience, but I’m having a hard time with this one. Having 20 different 3-second thoughts transcribed to notes that I have to process every day sounds more like added complications than problem solving. If I stretch, I can think of a few things that flashed into my mind and then I forgot again for a couple days because I wasn’t in a location to immediately pull out my phone and put it on my todo list (which takes about 10 seconds because I put a shortcut in my lock screen). However, those locations weren’t something where I could be “whispering” to a ring, either. So I don’t know. I hope repebble succeeds with everyone they’re doing, but this product feels like they went too far into the novelty end of the spectrum and neglected some of the actual usability that made the original Pebble popular. EDIT: On second thought, maybe the lack of recharging is an acknowledgement that they don’t actually expect people to use this product a lot or for very long. Maybe the target audience is people who want to have something new and unique that they can also use as a conversation starter. Once the novelty wears off maybe it doesn’t get worn much. If it does become popular with a niche audience they can release a V2 with charging.
- PunchyHamster 9mo agoI mean on one side I can see using it for to-do lists, but on other, why would I want another device in addition to smartphone and smartwatch ? Especially that talking to your smartwatch looks slightly less crazy in public than to your finger
- Tempest1981 9mo agoAu contraire, you'll look like a Secret Service agent talking into your wrist.
- willahmad 9mo agoif it lasts even 1 year with on avg 1 min audio, I think it's nice disposable device to have. Some ideas if you have an app which can be integrated to other services: * I feel sick today, notify my manager about it, probably I will stay home * schedule a task to pickup a trash * something to remember, colleague X told me he is using service A for data clean up ...
- dzink 9mo agoAs someone who is a female size 3, will "8 US ring sizes: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13" fit at all?
- piyuv 9mo ago> The battery lasts for up to years of average use. After the end of its life, send your ring back to us for recycling. This must be a joke.
- hartator 9mo agoI don’t dislike the forever battery and the value proposition, however voice memos never appealed to me? The obvious voice commands that work only half of the time, can’t voice memo in bed with your parters, in the office, or in public. That leaves very limited opportunities for this to be useful.
- cxr 9mo agoAt only ~12 hours of recording per device, this wouldn't replace other forms of notetaking where you can afford the necessary interaction cost (e.g. taking out your phone). It reduces the number of times that you're unable to take notes (due to ergonomics/physical factors or otherwise). It increases the surface area of your day where "I am able to take a note right now (because I don't have anything stopping me)" is a true statement.
- apparent 9mo ago> When your phone is in range, the recording is streamed to the Pebble app. It’s converted to text on-device, then processed by an on-device large language model (LLM) which selects an action to take (create note, add to reminders, etc). So does this mean that my lists have to be managed within the Pebble app? Or can the Pebble app interact with my Notes and Reminders apps? If I'm limited to the Pebble app's features, that would be more limiting. But I can't see how it would be able to break out and give instructions to other apps (at least beyond a preset list, via programmed Shortcuts).
- kennyadam 9mo agoActions: [...] you can also ask it to do things like ’Send a Beeper message to my wife - running late’ or answer simple questions that could be answered by searching the web. You can configure button clicks to control your music [...] play/pause or skip tracks [...] where to save your notes and reminders (I have it set to add to Notion) [...] Add your own voice actions via MCP. Or route the audio recordings directly to your own app or server!
- apparent 9mo agoYeah I saw that, but didn't know if it was Android-only (the Beeper reference made me wonder). Can anyone weigh in on what it can do, or how it does it?
- da_grift_shift 9mo agoTitle change please: "Meet Pebble Index 01 - External Memory For Your Brain" Also, >Wait, it’s single use? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
- noelrock 9mo agoI very much enjoy Eric's commitment to new and novel and imaginative hardware. Bought and am loving my Pebble 2 Duo etc - still yet to charge it once in fact! This device doesn't quite hit the mark for me, but I love the commitment to thinking about what's novel and useful, and putting a prototype out into the world. To use an Irish phrase, "more luck to them" - and hope we see many more projects from them!
- aristofun 9mo agoGoooshhh, just f.. give me a watch that a) last at least a month b) visible in a daylight Also accurate Hr activity and sleep tracking wouldn’t hurt. That’s it. Nobody gives a single bit about your fancy ai-blockhain-voodoo features. How blind are you to real demands of normal people?
- ulbu 9mo agoI wanted to use it to capture my musical ideas. They usually come unexpectedly and in bundles. There's a problem though – one of them is 0:40-1:30 min in duration; the ring wouldn't last half a year for me. I'm sure other musicians would love it as well, but are disqualified completely from the userbase. That's a shame as I think for us it would be really, really useful. (The first iteration of a musical idea usually emerges somewhat spontaneously from an emotional state, and repetition always loses some important part of it. This ring could be an always-on photocamera for these spontaneous, naturally arising states.)
- realo 9mo agoThis is a great example of use outside the box they got themselves in. The solution is simple: market this as a trigger for the pebble voice. Only thatz. Nothing else. Make the electronics as simple and cheap as possible. Sell it as an option to the watch. Less than 30$ would be ideal. Voila.
- utopcell 9mo agoI really don't see the benefit of this over, say, pixel buds.
- crimsoneer 9mo agoI really wanted pixel buds to fit this use case, but have found the experience incredibly crap. "Hey Google, let's chat live" is like some mad lottery.
- ThinkBeat 9mo agoWe have built a new device. The device is a ring with a button and a microphone. Pressing the button initiates recording of your voice captures voice via the built in microphone and saves it on your phone. I think it would take a lot of heavy software to process and index the voice notes for the claim "Meet Pebble Index 01 - External Memory For Your Brain" is honest
- MarkusWandel 9mo agoWait.. if you need to push a button and then have to get it somewhat close to your mouth to record an audio clip, why not just have a watch app? Pressing the button is still a two-hand thing. Or did I miss something?
- greysonp 9mo agoYou put the ring on your index finger (and likely have it rotated so that the button is pointing to your thumb) and then press the button using the thumb on your same hand. That allows it to be one-handed.
- proee 9mo agoI like the idea and would use it. Though I would put it in place of my wedding band, and still access it via thumb.
- allforJesse 9mo agoThis could be such a delightful upgrade for my hybrid digital/analog personal task management system. Right now I use an apple watch to capture tasks which then hackily route through a series of apps/endpoints to get to a thermal label printer, but that's just about the only thing I use the apple watch for. Having an affordable single purpose device like this could be much better -- how straightforward will it be to post transcriptions of the recorded messages to a webhook via the Index 01?
- allforJesse 9mo agoUpdate, answer is in the video at 20:30 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArxhS4SQaP0&t=1230 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArxhS4SQaP0&t=1230 Sounds like the device will natively support sending the audio or transcription to any service you like.
- otikik 9mo agoHonestly a button on the watch seems like the way to go for me.
- spike021 9mo agoI'd be curious what happens if you're the kind of person who wears a ring a bit more loosely and/or has slippery skin. That button isn't always going to be facing your thumb. Maybe you rotate it back with your thumb? Or you need to use your other hand anyway to rotate it?
- deleted 9mo ago[deleted]
- apparent 9mo agoFor me, I'd rather use my Pebble to do this. > Initially, we experimented by building this as an app on Pebble, since it has a mic and I’m always wearing one. But, I realized quickly that this was suboptimal - it required me to use my other hand to press the button to start recording (lift-to-wake gestures and wake-words are too unreliable). This was tough to use while bicycling or carrying stuff. I guess I don't bicycle or carry stuff enough for this to matter. And often when my hands are full, I have my AirPods in and can just ask Siri (and cross my fingers that she'll understand). This seems neat, but I try to keep my life as simple as possible, which means not having a ring when I can use my watch/earbuds to do the same thing about 99% of the time.
- hahamrfunnyguy 9mo agoSomething like this isn't very practical for me. I just pull out my phone and dictate or type when I need to take notes. If I can't pull out my phone, I probably have gloves on or am in a loud environment. A gesture on the watch that just starts the recorder seems a lot more practical, this ring just adds an unnecessary complication. Plus, $100 is a lot for something that they don't want you to service. I'd rather much have a lot of big programmable buttons on the watch itself and have a smaller display or a separate BLE remote with lots of buttons.
- modeless 9mo agoHmm does it actually set reminders? Or does it just take a note and you have to manually set the reminder later? I would love this if it actually could create reminders like "remind me when I get home" etc. Otherwise I'm sure I'll never go back and look at notes I took. Edit: "It’s converted to text on-device, then processed by an on-device large language model (LLM) which selects an action to take (create note, add to reminders, etc)." This is perfect!
- amatecha 9mo agoRandom note to whoever put the Pebble blog together - you don't need 2-4 megabyte images inline in the article! Since the images are limited to ~544px wide, make thumbnails of that size rather than using the original full-size image inline. They already link to the full size so you're already halfway there.
- bluerooibos 9mo agoNow this is cool. Combined with localLLMs and some nice Obsidian integration of some sort, all away from Google and other Big Tech - this is the future of tech I want to see - not some centralized bullshit from Google or Meta.
- braincat31415 9mo agoAn interesting idea, but I look at it as yet another thing to make my life more complicated than it needs to be. A pen and paper, plus a mechanical watch have served me well so far.
- Ringz 9mo agoThere are dozens of different watch batteries in various sizes available everywhere. Why not make the ring slightly larger and allow for battery replacement?
- dramm 9mo agoOh look it's a Humane AI Pin without the AI, or rechargeable battery, or ... It's an app. It's an app that will run on somebody else's platform. Putting that in a ring has so marginal benefits (you can't find a phone or computer or notepad or... to record ideas and do it better) and has so many limitations. It's a non-starter.
- agloe_dreams 9mo agoI mean, this is a textbook over-simplifaction to devalue an idea. Hell, with that logic, you could call all kinds of things a non-starter. "Why buy a watch, it just shows the time on my phone" "Why buy a car, I can just use uber" "Why buy headphones? My phone has speakers." The context of where something is changes the idea of what it is. Just become something tells the time, for example, doesn't mean it is the same thing as a watch.
- dramm 9mo agoNo it's text-book pointing out the bloody obvious. It's a voice memo app sitting in an ring with limited functionality/usefulness. You can tart that idea up however you want but it's an obvious limited value idea itself at it's core and it is exactly the type of thing that will do better as an app on somebody else' platform.
- toisanji 9mo agoThis sounds kind of cool, but I'm more worried about the e-waste. A device that is cheap, will get "recycled", and sounds cool, will get a tiny amount of use after the initial wow factor wears off or doesn't fit the needs, then gets thrown away or lost. And is this feature in the new repebble watches? I would rather have it there with a bigger battery.
- evrenesat 9mo agoI'd be willing to pay around $100 for a rechargeable version with a battery life of around 24 hours and 2–3 minutes of usage. However, a single-use battery would only be acceptable to me at a much lower price point, such as $30–$40.
- rendx 9mo agoRegulation (EU) 2023/1542 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 July 2023 concerning batteries and waste batteries Article 11 Removability and replaceability of portable batteries and LMT batteries 1. Any natural or legal person that places on the market products incorporating portable batteries shall ensure that those batteries are readily removable and replaceable by the end-user at any time during the lifetime of the product. That obligation shall only apply to entire batteries and not to individual cells or other parts included in such batteries. A portable battery shall be considered readily removable by the end-user where it can be removed from a product with the use of commercially available tools, without requiring the use of specialised tools, unless provided free of charge with the product, proprietary tools, thermal energy, or solvents to disassemble the product. Any natural or legal person that places on the market products incorporating portable batteries shall ensure that those products are accompanied with instructions and safety information on the use, removal and replacement of the batteries. Those instructions and that safety information shall be made available permanently online, on a publicly available website, in an easily understandable way for end-users. […] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A02023R1542-20250731 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A... (This is active law; there is however a grace period for products until 2027.)
- kstrauser 9mo agoWhile I sympathize with the intent of the law, this is a great example of why it's dumb. There's no possible way you could make that ring, in a reasonably ring-sized form factor, with today's manufacturing processes in such a way that an end user could replace it.
- lemming 9mo agoIf this law pushes back against the idea that it's ok to make endless tech products which are essentially future rubbish as soon as you buy them, then I think that's a good thing. Perhaps products like this just shouldn't exist until we have better ways of dealing with the remains.
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- itissid 9mo agoOh I love this. I am going to contextually switch the instructions from this to my home trained instruction fine tuned LLM for doing a multitude of things.
- itissid 9mo agoCould this record like a morse code(ish) like clicks instead of speaking? I can find a number of use cases for it: 1. Distress/Emergency makes you Unable to speak. 2. While doing vipassana meditation to record how strong the feeling attached to a thought was. 3. Repeat previous action.
- infotainment 9mo agoWow, uh, it’s kind of astounding how poorly Eric is reading the room there. A weird disposable(!) voice recorder ring seems to go against pretty much all of the “open and repairable” image that the Pebble brand has been cultivating. This product should probably have been “Core” branded and kept on a different website entirely. Its very existence seems kind of toxic to the Pebble brand, IMO.
- r0fl 9mo agoHow are there this many different comments? What is there to say other than a one time use recording product in 2026 is insane!
- lawn 9mo agoI really like a lot of this but I have to agree with the other comments that are complaining about the non-rechargable, non-replaceable battery. I would actually prefer a device that's twice as expensive but with a battery that you can charge or replace.
- eichin 9mo agoI've wanted exactly this since I first saw spider's note-recorder in the first issue of Transmetropolitan (before the fancy glasses.) Just something with exactly one button, positive confirmation that it's recording, a decent pipeline into my private infosphere, and safe to use while driving. But in 2025, the disposable aspect is a crime... and wouldn't you be able to use the body of the ring to interface with an inductive charger?
- luis_journey 9mo agoI think that this is different than the products we had before like bee. Because it's more only when you really need it and not the whole time.
- Ninjaneered 9mo agoI'd love to have a ring that incorporates Yubikey like NFC functionality, I was worried it could allow login when I didn't intend it, but the idea of a switch might work. Having a USD dongle for hardware that doesn't support NFC but can negotiate the handshake between my ring and the device could work. I'd buy a ring with just authentication, if it was rechargeable and did a few other things (pulse, sleep monitoring, etc.) even better, but the bare bones would be amazing so I could have something I wear for my authentication.
- realo 9mo agoAny Oura people reading this? That would warrant a 50$ to 75$ up sale , at least. I would buy that oura-security ring in a heartbeat.
- pedalpete 9mo agoI wonder why they added this to the finger rather than adding this capability to the watches they are already making? One handed operation is one reason, though I'd think a UX could be designed to make this an app on the watch, rather than a stand-alone device. Seems like overkill, particularly when other rings do bio-metric tracking, so is this focused on a big enough problem to want to solve?
- plaidphantom 9mo agoThey explicitly address this in the article: "Initially, we experimented by building this as an app on Pebble, since it has a mic and I’m always wearing one. But, I realized quickly that this was suboptimal - it required me to use my other hand to press the button to start recording (lift-to-wake gestures and wake-words are too unreliable). This was tough to use while bicycling or carrying stuff." This interacts directly with the Pebble App, so I would be shocked if the watches never get an equivalent app.
- websiteapi 9mo agoI wish there was a device that just recorded and transcribed all the time and sent it to my phone, with time stamps, and then you could take action on that.
- smeej 9mo agoI think I'm as interested in it from a pure "button that's always with me" perspective. I already have my original Amazfit Bip watch configured to send a "track back" signal to Snipd via Gadgetbridge to snip podcast notes while I'm driving or washing dishes or whatever. And I've configured a basic Bluetooth remote camera shutter to turn pages forward and backward in KOReader on my Onyx Boox Poke 2 Color so I can read it on a stand while riding a stationary bike under my desk. In other words, I am apparently exactly the kind of weirdo who would use the heck out of something like this!
- kristianp 9mo agoI'd be more worried that a replacement product wouldn't be available after 2 years of use. 2 years seems quite good for a small product. As a tangential question, how do people find the new pebbles? I prefer a smartwatch that lasts more than a couple of days between charges. And want one with a screen that stays on. The Fitbit Charge 3 I had never detected raising my arm.
- greenwallnorway 9mo agoI've written many variations of my own "quick, take a note!" app, and they all succumb to the same problem: I can't safely write a note when I'm in a car. Driving by myself and listening to podcasts is when I have so many thoughts I want to write down. I'll give this a serious consider.
- Wowfunhappy 9mo agoCouldn't you, like, build this into the Pebble Watch? I think I might be interested in this but I fundamentally don't want to wear a ring on my finger. (Also, I do really want an excuse to switch from my Apple Watch to a new Pebble.) The blog post says: > Initially, we experimented by building this as an app on Pebble, since it has a mic and I’m always wearing one. But, I realized quickly that this was suboptimal - it required me to use my other hand to press the button to start recording (lift-to-wake gestures and wake-words are too unreliable). This was tough to use while bicycling or carrying stuff. I don't understand how the ring makes any of this better.
- sho_hn 9mo ago> I don't understand how the ring makes any of this better. You press the button with your thumb on the same hand.
- Wowfunhappy 9mo agoOh, okay. That makes sense. I still want this on my watch though (because wearing a ring is a nonstarter for me).
- bobtheborg 9mo agoIt's one handed? The hand with the ring is the same hand that uses the thumb to hit the button?
- rbits 9mo agoYeah, hopefully they add the same functionality to the watch for people who don't want the ring. Might boost sales for the ring as well, if people use the feature on the watch a lot and really like it.
- sam1234apter 9mo agoPebble: No software subscription Also Pebble: here is the "hardware subscription" you must buy a new one every ~2 years when the battery dies.
- mikob 9mo agoWould love to have these go to my Tana or another PKM. Will that be possible or will it have to go to the Pebble app?
- chr15m 9mo agoIn the notes it says you can configure where it goes.
- chr15m 9mo agoTake my money! Literally take it, I just ordered. I have been imagining this exact device existing and now it does, yay, thank you!
- sghiassy 9mo agoI use my Apple Watch the same way
- nickreese 9mo agoThis is 80% of the reason I have an apple watch. I whisper to it for reminders, timers, calendar stuff all day.
- itomato 9mo agoNo way this made it out of internal vetting without a recharchable battery. Man, if I even suggested this over lunch with my old Sparkfun colleagues, I would have been shot down before I finished chewing my bite of open-faced turkey sandwich.
- r2_pilot 9mo agoInstead of casually dismissing the idea, perhaps they considered it and found recharging had its own engineering costs, namely the potential for a swelling battery on your finger, a long life which means you probably would lose a custom charger, and the increased size for the extra requirements.
- tills13 9mo agoOh it's not even rechargeable???? That vastly changes my opinion of this.
- ls-a 9mo agoIsn't that a spying device
- tambourine_man 9mo agoThis is competing with “Hey [voice assistant] remind me of…” or an automation you can assign to the quick action button of your phone. Open source hardware is very cool but phones have already taken most of our portable needs. It needs to be extremely compelling to justify another thing to carry, charge, update, etc.
- baby_souffle 9mo agoOh this is fantastic. Amazon made one but didn’t go beyond limited trials. I loved being able to dictate thought and tasks and even ask Alexa questions and get answers.
- liampulles 9mo agoI hope it is as open source as the new pebble watches. A button on my finger seems like it could be useful and fun to play with.
- kridsdale1 9mo agoEspecially if you tie it to a wrist mounted laser gun.
- devmor 9mo agoI was extremely excited for this until I got to the party about the battery. I have wanted something exactly like this for ages. But I wont pay you $75 for a product I can’t use anymore when the battery dies. I’d pay twice as much if I could change the battery myself, but this consumer-hostile, anti-ownership design is not something I will support.
- paweladamczuk 9mo agoDoes anyone know how open the software and hardware of this thing will be? The announcement doesn't give me a lot of hope.
- timwis 9mo agoI've been looking for a solution like this for years. I briefly had an iOS shortcut on my Apple Watch working, but an OS update broke it. Now I'm on Android and I don't even know what I'd use for it. And it's exactly for these random thoughts and reminders that otherwise nag me or I forget them. David Allen (GTD) will love this too. My only wish is that I hope it preserves the audio file, in case the transcription is wrong, so you don't lose the thought. Google Keep does this well and it's a life saver sometimes, when the transcription comes through as "Eat the cat" or something ridiculous.
- wtcactus 9mo ago"No charging: The battery lasts for up to years of average use. After the end of its life, send your ring back to us for recycling." This is terrible. This is literally e-waste. They are literally asking people to buy a product that is discardable. Besides, why not just put a dedicated button on the pebble to do exactly this? I don't even get the purpose of this device when the device they ideally want it to live with, could do exactly the same thing but much better in every way without carrying a ring around: At least in some cultures, men don't usually wear rings without a clear significance.
- ls-a 9mo agoFrom Pebble watch to inspector gadget
- thefz 9mo agoEventually going to end up in a landfill because no part is replaceable or repairable. And if the app/software support ends, it becomes an useless piece of plastic. No thanks.
- BubbleRings 9mo agoIt is not clear if using the ring requires you to wear a Pebble watch. Does it work with an Apple Watch instead? Maybe add that to your FAQ OP.
- gnoll_of_gozag 9mo agothis is a joke right? why would a ring need a whole ass microphone and a non rechargable battery like yeah dude gotta have a $100 dongle you just throw away once in a while if it's already compatible with the watch then why not just make it emit some sort of signal that turns on the watch's mic? or put the button on the watch itself?
- cromulent 9mo agoWell, it's no Java Ring. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/javaring-wearable-computer/ https://www.nngroup.com/articles/javaring-wearable-computer/
- esel2k 9mo agoPebble user here - the old ones:). I use the todo app to speak to create my shopping list before going to the store. I look into the fridge and little room to check whats needed. In the shop I tick off stuff. It is life changing? No, but one central place that is intelligent would be nice: - remind me off - add to shopping list - etc
- synergy20 9mo agoprefer rechargeable design like oura
- Tempest1981 9mo agoReading this thread on HN made me sad. Massive negativity/cynicism. Where have all the hackers gone? Those who enjoy discussing technology, or appreciate something clever. Discussion of CPUs and sensors, or miniaturization and packaging. Any other good forums where people discuss engineering and technology? Or even design and usability? (I'm not against sustainability, but long discussions on EU regulations get tiresome. Yes, I collapsed them, leaving almost nothing.)
- Aurornis 9mo agoI don’t know, I see a lot of people excited about it and many others trying hard to imagine a use case. Many comments from people saying they’re ordering one. Commenters are discussing the design and usability. Not all of that is going to be positive. If you’re looking for a positivity-only environment where no critical questioning is socially acceptable, maybe try LinkedIn or Product Hunt? There are forums where negativity is not allowed or not socially acceptable, but those forums are not good sources for actual critical thinking or discussion.
- Tempest1981 9mo agoOuch...
- voidUpdate 9mo agoMaybe I'm just weird but I have notes on my phone that I just add stuff to when I want to remember it. Random possible future project idea? Goes in the project ideas note. Something I need to buy? Goes in the shopping list note. The idea of having to tell my hand what my idea is, and by extension everyone around me, feels horrible, when I could privately just add it in and not have to worry about if text to speech actually got what I said right
- graycrow 9mo agoFor all those people complaining about it being e-waste: With such a relatively long battery life, you will probably lose/misplace the charging cable anyway, and that cable is probably more e-waste than the ring itself.
- VikingCoder 9mo agoCan I ask for a Starfleet Commbadge form factor?
- crumpled 9mo agoGiven the size of the product, you could probably 3d print a housing in that form factor that mechanically presses the button. Probably couldn't whisper to it anymore.
- Magi604 9mo agoI was thinking this would find great application at my job (Paramedic) but then I remembered that we are always always wearing protective gloves and this would likely not work as great (if at all) when completely covered like that.
- skyboo 9mo agoOr I could do the same with my smart watch?
- fersarr 9mo agoLooks very nice and I'm tempted. Can you disable Bluetooth while not in use?
- btown 9mo agoThis could be hugely popular for songwriters who want a zero-friction way to capture melodies or lyric ideas on the go! https://www.reddit.com/r/Songwriting/comments/yd8jsv/what_do_you_all_use_for_recording_ideas_and_songs/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Songwriting/comments/yd8jsv/what_do... is illustrative, as are EJAE's press comments on how she relied on voice memos for her now-quintuple-platinum melodies for K-Pop Demon Hunters.
- haritha-j 9mo agoSorry, you want to sell me a $75 dollar disposable mic with a button? When i could do the same with a phone or a watch that i already own? Just like the humane ai pin, there is no need to create a brand new hardware device to do something an app won't do. And justifying it saying "we're introducing a whole new piece of hardware to save you from the pain of clicking one extra button" isn't going to fly.
- braebo 9mo agoThere are certainly situations where finding my phone -> selecting the right app -> and clicking record is too much friction. My ADHD brain would totally get value from this.
- Feuilles_Mortes 9mo agoWhat I would really want is for this to be a hardware button that, without requiring input on the phone itself, starts and stops a recording on my iphone which uses my airpods as a mic. This would actually be super helpful in the lab, dictating notes on a protocol ("I did something weird in this step") without needing to stop to write things down (sometimes protocol is quite time-sensitive).
- gffrd 9mo agoSomething I've found is quite common: musicians / poets / writers using voice memos to quickly capture "sketches" that pop into their heads before they lose them. Often to share with collaborators. This seems like a _fantastic_ tool for that.
- mbrochh 9mo agoI wonder how did we get to this scientific age of magic and wonder and technology when people had nothing but pen & paper. Hell, for 10,000 years before that, we didn't even have pen & paper. Where did all those amazing thoughts go?? Also, I'm counting the days until the battery in one of those things bulges while someone is on an airplane... again...
- oakhaven 9mo agoThis will be really handy for dream journaling. When you just woke up and know that you'll forget the dream as soon as you open your eyes, you can click the ring and record.