Casio’s first smart ring has innovative features like a stopwatch and flashing alarm.
Created to help commemorate the 50th anniversary of Casio getting into the digital watch business, the (un)snappily named CRW-001-1JR will initially be available in Japan in December for around $130.
Although the tiny watch’s case is just shy of being an inch in size, Casio has managed to squeeze in a retro six-segment LCD screen that can display hours, minutes, and seconds. The ring also includes three functional buttons that can control additional features like displaying the date or the time in a different time zone, and a stopwatch.
The ring watch’s screen even has a light, and an alarm function that will flash the display instead of playing an audible sound. It’s powered by a single battery that Casio says will keep the waterproof watch running for about two years but is also easily replaceable when it does die.
So, it's not really a smart ring. It's just a tiny watch that you can wear on your finger, rather than your wrist. It's a cute idea, but hardly groundbreaking. But for $130, Casio will probably sell a bucket-load.
The best bit is probably how it's made. To accurately recreate the design and intricate details of the larger digital watches the ring is based on, Casio says the wearable is manufactured as a single piece using a metal injection molding process that starts with powdered metal. As a result, the CRW-001-1JR is permanently one size: US size 10.5. If your fingers are smaller than that, Casio includes a couple of spacers to improve the fit. If your fingers are larger than that, you’ll need to find some other way to check the time. Maybe your normal watch? Or, if you're under 30, your phone.
For their 75th anniversary, maybe Casio will release a tiny calculator ring watch.