Stream is An AI-Powered Smart Ring To Record Your Thoughts

Two former Meta employees, Mina Fahmi (Sandbar CEO) and Kirak Hong (Sandbar CTO), have launched a startup, Sandbar. They have introduced a smart ring called Stream. The company is calling it “a mouse for voice” since it can take notes, interact with an AI assistant, and even control music. It’s designed to be worn on your index finger.

Stream’s companion app features an AI chatbot

The Sandbar Stream smart ring features a microphone and touchpad that, when pressed and held, lets you record your thoughts. The microphone is off by default and will only activate with the touchpad gesture. The microphone is apparently sensitive enough to pick up whispers and transcribe them in the companion iOS app.

Stream’s companion app features an AI chatbot that’ll have conversations with you as you record your thoughts. The app allows you to organize these into separate notes that either you or the AI can edit. You can pinch to zoom out in the app to review your previous thoughts.

The smart ring doubles as a media controller

There’s a personalization layer that makes the assistant’s voice somewhat similar to the user’s. You can continue to converse with the assistant even in crowded spaces by wearing headphones. Without the headphones, the wearable provides haptic feedback when it successfully registers a note.

The Stream smart ring’s surface doubles as a media controller, where you can play, pause, skip tracks, and adjust volumes. There’s a $10 per month Pro subscription that offers unlimited chats, notes, and early access to new features. The company’s CEO notes that users have full control over their data at any tier, with encryption. It even wants to support data exports to apps like Notion.

Price, availability

The Sandbar Stream smart ring will set you back $249 for the silver version and $299 for the gold. The pre-orders will open today, with a three-month Pro subscription bonus. The shipments of the smart ring are expected to begin next summer. The smart ring will be available in sizes 5-13.

Sandbar has raised $13 million in funding from True Ventures, Upfront Ventures, and Betaworks. The company doesn’t want Stream to be just an assistant or a companion. Instead, it wants it to be an interface to express ideas while maintaining full control.