Sandbar

The ring has a private microphone that picks up speech clearly even in loud places, a glass touchpad for hold, tap and swipe gestures, built-in silent haptics, an aluminium-and-resin body and a custom curved battery for all-day use. The user simply presses, speaks and releases; the microphone only listens while the touchpad is pressed and a tap interrupts, which is how the company positions Stream as faster and more private than speaking to earbuds or a phone, with no wake words, lock screens or always-on microphones. The same gestures resume music or podcasts, change volume and skip tracks.

Software features include notes, reminders, to-dos and lists, voice chat with web search and memory, and universal speech-to-text dictation across any app that moves between iOS and Mac. Stream works with or without earbuds: without them it replies through notifications and haptics, and with earbuds or a speaker it can talk ideas through and recall notes. It is available on iOS, can save a limited number of interactions offline, and encrypts personal data at rest and in transit, with revenue coming from products rather than personal data.

Sandbar's business model is direct-to-consumer hardware sold through its online store on a pre-order basis, shipping in batches, with core note-taking, music control and a weekly dictation allowance free and an optional data plan for unlimited dictation, voice chat and memory. It competes in the wearable AI and voice-interface market against smart rings, earbuds and AI assistants on phones.