AI and hardware startup Natura have launched a new smart ring priced at $99, Interface, designed for the AI era of agents. Users only need to press their finger once to have AI agents complete tasks, record thoughts, and get things done without having to pick up their phones. Although AI is the core of Interface, this ring also comes with health tracking features, capable of monitoring heart rate, HRV, sleep, and activity indicators, among others.
This startup was founded by Carlo Edoardo Ferraris, who previously established a technology accessories company called Rolling Square. Ferraris stated that after years of developing consumer electronics hardware, he gradually became convinced that the rapidly growing AI industry needed a new way of interaction, one where people could make requests to AI just as they would to others.
The concept of Interface is to help people spend less time staring at their phones while completing daily tasks, and to handle things in a faster and more natural way. When the product is launched, it will integrate with a variety of AI proxies and applications, including Meta's Muse, Instinct, Grokbot, Claude, ChatGPT, and so on.
The company expects to open reservations next month, with shipping scheduled for December or January.
This smart ring is not Natura's first product. Previously, the company launched HumanPods, a pair of headphones that support AI, aimed at allowing users to interact with AI agents. However, Natura believes that with the latest advancements in voice technology, the company needs a new design for its products.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Ferraris said, "Over time, we've come to realize that you really want to be able to access your agents 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You don't want there to be even one hour in a day when you can't use them. And the ring form is perfect for this, because it's essentially an extension of you. You can take it while bathing; you can take it while sleeping. You'll never take it off."
The company stated that the use scenarios for this product are virtually unlimited. For example, while you are running, you can have the ring start tracking your workout; upon waking up in the morning, you can ask it about your daily schedule; if you realize during a shower that your shampoo has run out, you can ask the ring to place a new order for you; and if you are about to fall asleep while watching TV, you can ask it to turn off the TV and set an alarm for the next morning. After using it to record a meeting, you can also have it send the discussion notes to your colleagues.
The proxy's response can be delivered through the connected headphones, iPhone Live Activity, or the NatureOS application.
In addition, users who rely on multiple AI proxies and applications can also specify which one should handle a particular task. For example, they can have Claude write code, Instinct reserve a dining spot, and Grokbot handle other tasks.
In addition to controlling the AI agent, users can also control their own devices, including computers. Ferraris says that he believes that in the end, most of the tasks people perform on computers will be completed through the AI agent. He envisions that this ring will eventually replace many tasks that currently require a screen, such as filling out forms, sending messages in applications, searching for files, drafting presentations, etc. Users will only need to make simple voice requests to the AI agent.
Ferraris said, "In the end, the main interface between users and technology will be the ring. So this won't happen immediately, because even today not everyone has a personal agent, but I believe that in the end, everyone will have one. In the first phase, we expect it to be mainly targeted at those who already have personal agents, which are mostly people in the tech industry. But in the end, I think within about a year, almost everyone will have a personal agent."
Although the initial listing price of this ring is $99, Natura plans to increase the price in the future. For now, the company hopes to get the device into the hands of users first, accumulate usage, and create demand before raising the price. After a initial free period of 3 to 6 months, Natura plans to charge a monthly subscription fee of $9.
The company stated that the manufacturing cost of this ring is similar to that of products such as Oura Ring and Samsung Galaxy Ring, as they use many of the same components. However, Natura plans to set a lower price for its own rings initially in order to lower the entry barrier and promote adoption.
In terms of health tracking, this ring can monitor heart rate, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, different sleep stages, daily activity levels and steps taken, as well as skin temperature over a period of time.
The company claims that this ring can last for 6 to 12 days on a full charge, depending on the usage conditions, and it takes 100 minutes to fully charge it.
The smart ring market is already filled with products that focus on health, such as Oura, Ultrahuman, and RingConn. There are also products that lean more towards AI like Pebble and Vocci. However, Ferraris believes that Interface stands out by combining both aspects.
Ferraris said, "The ring we are about to launch is distinctly different from any other ring on the market today. Not only have we combined high-quality health tracking with other components that support proxy communication, meeting recording, and external memory, but we have also achieved an exceptionally long battery life, which is crucial for this type of product. Moreover, its size is extremely small. From a hardware perspective, this product is very different from anything else available on the market."
