I have 10 fingers, but not enough patience for multiple smart rings. Even so, much like with smart glasses, the wearable tech industry is getting flooded with rings. Most need weird chargers, and some have subscriptions. Pebble founder Eric Migicovksy is following up his Pebble watch re-release with the Pebble Index 01, a voice-recording sub-$100 ring that doesn’t need to be charged at all, because the built-in battery can’t be replaced.

A strange model? Yes, and also kind of fascinating. «Send it back to us for recycling,» Migicovsky says of what to do with the Index after its expected two-year battery life is exhausted. At that point, you’d then have to buy another. It’s a subscription or rental of a different sort.

The Index is extremely simple, too. There’s one silicone button on top of a stainless steel ring, which triggers voice recordings. The ring stores 5 minutes of audio without needing to sync, but then offloads voice memos to Pebble’s iOS/Android app to transcribe into text using an open-source speech-to-text tool. The ring’s water-resistant, but not swim-proof.

Nothing in the Pebble Index uses subscription AI services, Migicovsky tells me. Instead, the voice memos are stored locally on the Pebble app, but can be synced up with other services theoretically — Migicovsky proudly promises that, much like Pebble watches, the Index’s functions and services are hackable. You could find a way to reassign that ring button to do other things, via Anthropic’s open-sourced model context protocol standard.

Migicovsky imagines that for most people, the ring would be a simple way to quickly record reminders and thoughts. What I’m wondering is, does the world need another memory-recording wearable? Plenty already exist, including ones in ring form. And my own memory needs get handled by a simple jot into Apple’s Notes app, most of the time. It’s not fancy, but it works.

The Pebble Index also lacks any other features. It has no indicator lights, no vibration and no other sensors. There’s no on-ring feedback when a recording starts or stops, but transcribed message notifications pop on via the phone app, or on Pebble watches. It could be used as a ring-worn way to bring up voice requests like asking for the weather, for example.

The Pebble Index doesn’t arrive until next March, but it can be preordered for $75 (which will increase to $99 at some future date).

I like the idea of not charging a smart ring, but I’m not wild about buying an item that can’t be serviced myself. And the two-year battery life depends on recording time: The ring lasts for «12-14 hours» of audio recording, which doesn’t sound like a lot. Then again, what would I be recording on my memory ring? I don’t know yet. Check back with me next year, or at CES in January, when I expect to get a close-up look.