{"id":682300,"date":"2026-01-08T13:37:13","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:37:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/682300\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T13:37:13","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T13:37:13","slug":"pebbles-founder-might-be-just-the-right-person-to-make-an-ai-ring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/682300\/","title":{"rendered":"Pebble’s founder might be just the right person to make an AI ring"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eric Migicovsky has been thinking a lot about friction. Specifically, he\u2019s been thinking about how too much friction in the way of using a device can put people off wearing it altogether. The founder of Pebble is here at CES 2026<\/a> with a few new devices from the company he recently started to bring back the beloved smartwatch brand, including the Pebble Round 2 and the Index 01<\/a>. That second one is a simple ring with a button on it that you push down to talk to Pebble\u2019s AI whenever you want it to help you remember something.<\/p>\n

In the sea of AI gadgets that clutter the showfloors of CES (and the current tech industry in general), the Index 01 is refreshingly simple. The prototypes I saw here in Las Vegas weren\u2019t connected to phones, so they weren\u2019t actually working. They also seemed a little unfinished, like there was still some polishing to do. But I was able to put a few on and push their buttons. I also checked out the one Migicovsky wears \u2014 more on that in a bit.<\/p>\n

I have to caveat that the rings that Migicovsky and his team had for us to try on were way too large for me. I did manage to get sized and found out I was a Pebble size 7, while my colleague Dan Cooper was determined to be a size 11. These demo rings sat loosely on my finger \u2014 and Migicovsky was particular that I wear it on my index finger and not my thumb or middle finger.<\/p>\n

I suspect that has to do with how you reach for and press the button. It\u2019s much easier to push the key if it\u2019s closer to your thumb. Since the idea of the Index 01 began as an app on the Pebble watch, Migicovsky has been working hard to figure out how best to make it easy to access. Back when it was an app, \u201cfriction points were having to use your other hand\u201d to press the screen, he said. \u201cWe also experimented with gestures and voice activation, wake words,\u201d he added. But as many of us are painfully familiar with, those triggers don\u2019t always work well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole thing that drives this ring is it being something that you can rely on. It being something that you can incorporate into your\u2026 habits,\u201d Migicovsky said. So putting a button right by your thumb not only makes sense, but might even be, in my opinion, a bit more accessible for people with, say, speech impediments or only one hand.<\/p>\n

I have to admit I initially found the Index 01\u2019s design to be a bit bulky-looking, and the rubbery button protrudes a lot more than I expected from looking at it in its glamor shots. It\u2019s like in place of a diamond or a gemstone on the ring, there\u2019s a weird little nipple that you twiddle around until you want to push it.<\/p>\n

I did find the button easy to press, if that allays any of your concerns at all. But, really, the Index\u2019s powers aren\u2019t visible. It\u2019s what happens after you push the button that matters.<\/p>\n

Using the Pebble Index 01 ring<\/p>\n

The actual demo was brief. Migicovsky prefaced things by telling me what he was about to ask, held up his hand to his mouth, pushed the button and asked me \u201cWhat\u2019s your favorite book these days?\u201d I explained I had recently been reading Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi and then Migicovsky let go of the button.<\/p>\n

After a few starts and stops due to internet woes, the companion app on his phone responded, showing a transcription of what we said, followed by an answer \u201cThat sounds like a fun read! I can create a note about the book you are reading if you\u2019d like.\u201d<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t get to ask many more questions, and I think I\u2019d need to live with an actual unit in my life to start to rely on it more. But I love the idea of a second brain or an AI assistant that\u2019s always ready for my random thoughts at the push of a button. Migicovsky said the Index 01 is water resistant, so you never have to take it off, even in the shower. So for those times when you\u2019re sudsing up and have a random stroke of inspiration about soap art, you can still tell the Index 01 to remember your Eureka moment.<\/p>\n

Migicovsky said you can also double click the button (and then hold it) to access a different side of the AI. Instead of simply remembering things you tell it, the AI can try to provide answers. Pebble\u2019s AI is powered by Claude, so the usefulness of these results is going to be dependent on that model.<\/p>\n

Depending on how you use it, Migicovsky said the Index 01 can last for years \u2014 up to three if you\u2019re not too heavy of a user. Since he doesn\u2019t want for you to have to place the ring on a charger and forget to put it back on again, the device is not rechargeable. When you\u2019re about a month away from running out of juice, the app will send you a warning and ask if you want to order a replacement. You\u2019ll also be offered the option of sending it in for recycling.<\/p>\n

That still feels a bit wasteful and potentially expensive, but Migicovsky\u2019s thinking is that if you still are using the ring enough after two years to be thinking about extending its battery life, the price might be justifiable to you.<\/p>\n

Why a Pebble AI ring instead of others?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s things like this that make me think Migicovsky (and the Pebble team) have the right approach to making an AI ring. Though the hardware is not the most advanced and there is a quaint simplicity to the software, there is a level of thought and care that feels important to any product\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

Migicovsky is quick to acknowledge that Pebble watches won\u2019t be for everyone. That if you want a health-tracking device or something with a bright, colorful screen, you should consider something else. He\u2019s even considering placing ads for other smartwatches on the website listing the new Pebble devices.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook \u2014 I\u2019m the first person to call myself out when I fail,\u201d Migicovsky wrote in a blog he posted last November. And when he spoke with Engadget, he also recognized that Pebble at one point might have tried to do too much. These days, there are other companies making smart rings that are all about tracking your sleep and fitness, and the Index 01 is not that. \u201cAnd Pebble is absolutely 100 percent not that company.\u201d Maybe with a renewed focus on a sustainable business model, Pebble actually has a chance to survive and continue making its AI ring and other devices.<\/p>\n

Nowadays, Migicovsky just wants to make gadgets that will make you smile. And when I look at a cute little nyan cat wiggling about in its lo-fi, lo-res and low-frame-rate glory on the new Pebble smartwatches, I just feel warm inside.<\/p>\n

The Index 01 is available for pre-order now<\/a> at an early bird price of $75 and will cost $100 after it starts shipping in May.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eric Migicovsky has been thinking a lot about friction. Specifically, he\u2019s been thinking about how too much friction…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":682301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3160],"tags":[46186,1685,45708,206812,10172,53,206811,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-682300","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gadgets","8":"tag-eric-migicovsky","9":"tag-gadgets","10":"tag-pebble","11":"tag-pebble-watch","12":"tag-ring","13":"tag-technology","14":"tag-the-pebble","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115859754076425319","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=682300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/682300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/682301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=682300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=682300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=682300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}