Pebble's founder might be just the right person to make an AI ring

Eric Migicovsky has been thinking a lot about friction. Specifically, he’s been thinking about how too much friction in the way of using a device can put people off wearing it altogether. The founder of Pebble is here at CES 2026 with a few new devices from the company he recently started to bring back the beloved smartwatch brand, including the Pebble Round 2 and the Index 01. That second one is a simple ring with a button on it that you push down to talk to Pebble’s AI whenever you want it to help you remember something.

In the sea of AI gadgets that clutter the showfloors of CES (and the current tech industry in general), the Index 01 is refreshingly simple. The prototypes I saw here in Las Vegas weren’t connected to phones, so they weren’t actually working. They also seemed a little unfinished, like there was still some polishing to do. But I was able to put a few on and push their buttons. I also checked out the one Migicovsky wears — more on that in a bit.

I have to caveat that the rings that Migicovsky and his team had for us to try on were way too large for me. I did manage to get sized and found out I was a Pebble size 7, while my colleague Dan Cooper was determined to be a size 11. These demo rings sat loosely on my finger — and Migicovsky was particular that I wear it on my index finger and not my thumb or middle finger.

I suspect that has to do with how you reach for and press the button. It’s much easier to push the key if it’s closer to your thumb. Since the idea of the Index 01 began as an app on the Pebble watch, Migicovsky has been working hard to figure out how best to make it easy to access. Back when it was an app, “friction points were having to use your other hand” to press the screen, he said. “We also experimented with gestures and voice activation, wake words,” he added. But as many of us are painfully familiar with, those triggers don’t always work well.

“The whole thing that drives this ring is it being something that you can rely on. It being something that you can incorporate into your… habits,” Migicovsky said. So putting a button right by your thumb not only makes sense, but might even be, in my opinion, a bit more accessible for people with, say, speech impediments or only one hand.

I have to admit I initially found the Index 01’s design to be a bit bulky-looking, and the rubbery button protrudes a lot more than I expected from looking at it in its glamor shots. It’s like in place of a diamond or a gemstone on the ring, there’s a weird little nipple that you twiddle around until you want to push it.

I did find the button easy to press, if that allays any of your concerns at all. But, really, the Index’s powers aren’t visible. It’s what happens after you push the button that matters.

Using the Pebble Index 01 ring

The actual demo was brief. Migicovsky prefaced things by telling me what he was about to ask, held up his hand to his mouth, pushed the button and asked me “What’s your favorite book these days?” I explained I had recently been reading Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi and then Migicovsky let go of the button.

After a few starts and stops due to internet woes, the companion app on his phone responded, showing a transcription of what we said, followed by an answer “That sounds like a fun read! I can create a note about the book you are reading if you’d like.”

I didn’t get to ask many more questions, and I think I’d need to live with an actual unit in my life to start to rely on it more. But I love the idea of a second brain or an AI assistant that’s always ready for my random thoughts at the push of a button. Migicovsky said the Index 01 is water resistant, so you never have to take it off, even in the shower. So for those times when you’re sudsing up and have a random stroke of inspiration about soap art, you can still tell the Index 01 to remember your Eureka moment.

Depending on how you use it, Migicovsky said the Index 01 can last for years — up to three if you’re not too heavy of a user. Since he doesn’t want for you to have to place the ring on a charger and forget to put it back on again, the device is not rechargeable. When you’re about a month away from running out of juice, the app will send you a warning and ask if you want to order a replacement. You’ll also be offered the option of sending it in for recycling.

That still feels a bit wasteful and potentially expensive, but Migicovsky’s thinking is that if you still are using the ring enough after two years to be thinking about extending its battery life, the price might be justifiable to you.

Why a Pebble AI ring instead of others?

It’s things like this that make me think Migicovsky (and the Pebble team) have the right approach to making an AI ring. Though the hardware is not the most advanced and there is a quaint simplicity to the software, there is a level of thought and care that feels important to any product’s success.

Migicovsky is quick to acknowledge that Pebble watches won’t be for everyone. That if you want a health-tracking device or something with a bright, colorful screen, you should consider something else. He’s even considering placing ads for other smartwatches on the website listing the new Pebble devices.

“Look — I’m the first person to call myself out when I fail,” Migicovsky wrote in a blog he posted last November. And when he spoke with Engadget, he also recognized that Pebble at one point might have tried to do too much. These days, there are other companies making smart rings that are all about tracking your sleep and fitness, and the Index 01 is not that. “And Pebble is absolutely 100 percent not that company.” Maybe with a renewed focus on a sustainable business model, Pebble actually has a chance to survive and continue making its AI ring and other devices.

Nowadays, Migicovsky just wants to make gadgets that will make you smile. And when I look at a cute little nyan cat wiggling about in its lo-fi, lo-res and low-frame-rate glory on the new Pebble smartwatches, I just feel warm inside.

The Index 01 is available for pre-order now at an early bird price of $75 and will cost $100 after it starts shipping in May.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/wearables/pebbles-founder-might-be-just-the-right-person-to-make-an-ai-ring-170104222.html?src=rss