Apple, known for its design sophistication, elegance, and component density, set a new standard with its iPhone X; it utilizes stacked printed circuit boards (PCBs), which is a first for smartphones.
But wearable technology startup Motiv was forced to innovate to fit all of the advanced features of a fitness tracker, which is typically worn on the wrist as a watch-sized device, into a fashionable ring, according to analyst firm ABI Research.
The Motiv Ring, introduced late in 2017, is the smallest full-featured wearable that has been investigated by ABI Research?s Teardowns service.
Despite its diminutive size, the Motiv Ring is comparable to most full-feature and large-form fitness wearables because it contains 90 discrete components, including all the necessary electronics, such as a unique flexible PCB, ARM processor, accelerometer, Bluetooth connectivity, heart-rate monitor, and a novel curved battery that is formed to the curvature of the ring and lasts up to 70 hours.
Prior ring-sized devices were passive, meaning there was no battery, and had little functionality; they were restricted to basic radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking.
ABI said putting a battery and all the essential fitness tracker electronics into the durable titanium ring as stylish as Motiv?s gives this San Francisco startup a ?one up? on Apple regarding component density and fashion.
“ABI’s Teardowns team was expecting to find a big, bulky ring when we decided to investigate the Motiv Ring,” said Jim Mielke, ABI’s vice president of Teardowns service.
“But instead we found a very nice looking, lightweight ring that is nearly indistinguishable from any fashionable solid metal band; this is the start of the micro-ization of high-tech jewelry that is both extremely functional yet fashionable.”