After two years, the long-awaited Orii Smart Ring from Origami Labs is finally available for purchase.
The Orii first debuted on Kickstarter back in 2017 with a goal of $30,000. It raised 11 times that original amount, raising $333,619 from 2,082 backers. The Orii was originally intended to be a faster way to check messages and to untether people from their mobile devices, but the functionality has since evolved to include much more than that.
The Orii Smart Ring works by utilizing bone conduction technology. You might have heard of headphones that operate on the same basis. Bone conduction headphones work by directly vibrating the bones of the ear and bypassing the outer and middle ears, meaning the sound cannot be heard by anyone except the wearer. In theory, the Orii Smart Ring works on the same principle, but passes sound through the finger bone.