‘Micro-ized’ High-Tech Yet Fashionable Jewelry Is Emerging

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Apple Inc., known for its design sophistication, elegance, and component density, set a new standard with its iPhone X; it utilizes stacked printed circuit boards (PCBs), which is a first for smartphones. But wearable technology startup Motiv Inc. was forced to innovate to fit all of the advanced features of a fitness tracker, which is typically worn on the wrist as a watch-sized device, into a fashionable ring, announced the Teardowns service of ABI Research, a market-foresight advisory firm providing strategic guidance on the most compelling transformative technologies.

The Motiv Ring, introduced late in 2017, is the smallest full-featured wearable that has been investigated by ABI Research’s Teardowns service. Despite its diminutive size, the Motiv Ring is comparable to most full-feature and large-form fitness wearables because it contains 90 discrete components, including all the necessary electronics, such as a unique flexible PCB, ARM processor, accelerometer, Bluetooth connectivity, heart-rate monitor, and a novel curved battery that is formed to the curvature of the ring and lasts up to 70 hours. Prior ring-sized devices were passive, meaning there was no battery, and had little functionality; they were restricted to basic radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking. Putting a battery and all the essential fitness tracker electronics into the durable titanium ring as stylish as Motiv’s gives this San Francisco startup a “one up” on Apple regarding component density and fashion.

“ABI’s Teardowns team was expecting to find a big, bulky ring when we decided to investigate the Motiv Ring,” said Jim Mielke, ABI’s vice president of Teardowns service. “But instead we found a very nice looking, lightweight ring that is nearly indistinguishable from any fashionable solid metal band; this is the start of the micro-ization of high-tech jewelry that is both extremely functional yet fashionable.”

ABI Research’s Teardowns reports feature ultra-high-resolution imaging, pinpoint power measurements, detailed parts list with fully costed BOMs (bill of materials), block diagrams and x-rays. ABI Research performs the highest resolution imagery in the teardown industry, providing unprecedented competitive analysis on components, cost, and chip system functionality.

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