Apple is working on its own entry into the smart ring market, report claims

The Apple Watch is currently the only wearable that Apple makes, and while it also happens to be the world's most popular smartwatch that isn't where Apple intends to stop. With talk of the global smart ring market exploding in the coming years, a new report claims that Apple is ready to get involved with its own entry - the wearable that we'll all call the Apple Ring until told otherwise.

The Apple Ring will likely go up against competing products from the current market leader, Oura, as well as Samsung and others. Samsung teased the Galaxy Ring last month and is set to officially unveil it later this year. Now, an ET News report claims that Apple is set to join the fold and has already been applying for patents that relate to such a device.

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Citing Business Research Insight, the ET News report claims that the smart ring market is set to increase from $20 million last year to a huge $197 million by 2031. With such a figure in mind, it's perhaps unsurprising that Apple is eyeing a slice of the pie.

Current smart rings do much the same as Apple Watches in terms of health and activity monitoring. With heart rate sensors and blood oxygen monitors built in, rings like the Oura Ring can also track sleep and even stress based on the information its sensors collect. Their close proximity to the skin makes rings perfectly suited to this kind of data gathering, too.

There's no word yet on when something like the Apple Ring could ship but it's unlikely the company will want to be too late to a market that is set to balloon by 2031.