If we told you there was a new product called the Stream Ring, you’d probably have visions of folks with improbably dyed hair making flabbergasted faces in thumbnails. It’s not really like that, though. The new smart ring, a product from a company called Sandbar, is another take on others we’ve seen, but it puts a few fresh functions on your finger.
Step into the Stream Ring
Sandbar is made up of veterans of a neural interface company that was absorbed (for money) by Meta some time back, so you know there are some decent tech brains behind the Stream Ring. Unlike devices like the Galaxy Ring, it’s not about fitness and body tracking. Instead, it’s about talking. To yourself. More or less.
There are two major functions: making notes by pressing down on the button that activates the Stream Ring’s internal microphone, or having conversations with an in-built AI that uses something called Inner Voice. This is a customised version of the AI’s voice “designed to feel a bit like talking with yourself.” The first time someone uses their voice with the product, Inner Voice modifies to sound more like the user.
The Stream app embodies the AI the Ring hosts and also acts as the place where your dictated notes are turned into… actual notes. There’s a subscription version of the app, called Stream Pro, that will cost roughly R180/m but free users get unlimited notes and unlimited chats with the AI. Why pay? Sandbar reckons the monthly payment supplies “unlimited interactions and early features.” It could be worth it. Who knows?
The smart ring can also be used to control music on a smartphone, with a variety of gestures on the device itself. It can pair with headphones, in case you don’t want folks to hear the Stream app chatting about your queries as you wander through the park, but this isn’t essential. It’ll work just fine without Bluetooth buds.
Sandbar’s Stream Ring is currently up for pre-order, with iOS being the only supported platform at launch. Securing a ring will cost R4,400 ($250) for the silver version and a stately R5,250 ($300) for the wearable tech in gold. It’s slated for launch in the US in 2026, but there are usually ways to move things from there to here. It’s called air travel. Perhaps you’ve heard of it? The customs agents who will wonder what this thing is certainly have.
