Pebble's Index 01 is the anti-smart ring that only does one job and people will love it

Pebble’s new Index 01 ring stands apart from the booming smart ring category.

While Oura and co. race to add biometrics, sensors and AI coaching, Pebble, in classic Pebble fashion, has stripped everything back to a single purpose.

The company began life as one of the first breakout smartwatch brands, founded by Eric Migicovsky and made famous through record-breaking Kickstarter campaigns.

It shut down in 2016 after Fitbit acquired its assets, but Migicovsky later regained the Pebble name and revived the brand under Core Devices.

Pebble's latest device, the Index 01, does not measure your sleep or your recovery, it does not estimate your HRV, and it does not turn your day into graphs.

Instead, the Index 01 houses a button, a microphone, a Bluetooth chip, a sliver of memory and a long-life silver-oxide hearing-aid battery that cannot be recharged but lasts for years.

When you press the button with your thumb, the ring begins recording. Easy.

When your phone is in range, it hands the audio over to the Pebble app, which converts speech to text locally using open-source models and quietly files it into your notes, reminders or calendar.

There is no ambient listening, no wake word and no subscription service keeping it alive.

The quiet rebellion beneath the design

In a year dominated by AI wearables that promise to understand your life better than you do, Index 01 almost feels like a protest.

It purposely avoids ambient recording. It keeps all processing on your phone. It refuses to charge, opting instead for a long-life hearing-aid battery.

It does not talk back. It does not vibrate. It does not pretend to be your friend. You press, you speak, and that is the end of the interaction.

There are small conveniences built in. If your phone is out of range, the ring stores up to five minutes of audio and syncs later.

You can replay raw audio if the transcription misses a word. You can configure single and double clicks to trigger music controls or route notes into Notion or smart home apps.

After the recording lands on your Pebble watch, you can check it on your wrist. If you enjoy tinkering, you can go further.

Pebble exposes everything in open source and encourages people to build automations, add actions and run local models.

Pricing begins at $75 (~£56 / AU$113 / €64) for pre-orders, rising to $99 (~£74 / AU$149 / €85) when shipping starts in March next year.

It comes in polished silver, polished gold and matte black across eight ring sizes.

After the battery expires, you post the ring back for recycling, and Pebble replaces it.

Find out more about the Index 01 ring at Pebble.