WHY THIS MATTERS IN BRIEF

As our devices morph into wearables and other formats, and become smaller, we’re going to have to start thinking beyond the screen and embrace new ways of using them.

Last year I heard about a company called Sgnl, a wristwatch company that had figured a way to tap into a relatively new technology called “Bone Conduction” that allowed their watches to subtly vibrate a users wrist in order to send sound through their finger bones and into the bones of their ear where it was turned into sound the user could hear, and while it worked, according to reports, it wasn’t very clear or loud.

Now though a company called Orii has baked the same technology into a ring so the vibrations have a shorter distance to travel and the result? Clearer, louder sound, and the upshot of all of this is that now you can make your childhood fantasies come to life – with one big difference. Put Orii’s ring on your finger and make that pretend telephone with your fingers that you used to do as a kid, and that difference? Well, you Orii now let’s you make and receive real calls using just your fingers.

Awesome.

In addition to working for phone calls and private conversations with your voice assistant of choice, Orii has an iOS and Android app that allows you to customise your notifications, which will flash an LED light on the ring.

Slated to ship next month Orii’s new ring, which is priced at $119, has an estimated talk time of just under an hour, with a standby of over 45 hours, and is splash proof, and as other companies, including Amazon and Sony also pick up on Bone Conduction technology, for everything from headphones to Bluetooth headsets, it’s unlikely that this is the last time we’re going to hear about the tech. For example, think of the tech perfected and built into a smart tattoo, a screen that’s built into the fabric of your clothes, or some other wearable device, and all of a sudden there could be some interesting applications, but as for me, well ring ring. Gotta go, my finger’s calling.