Competing rumors differ on if the Apple Ring is dead or about to be born

Maybe it's that analysts should phone each other in the morning. Or that they shouldn't get paid for quite so much guesswork.

Previously on Apple Ring... Bloomberg says nope, it's over, the smart ring is never coming. Specifically, the claim is that sure, there are all these rumors and even patents for a smart ring, but Apple will never launch one, because it would cannibalize sales of the Apple Watch.

AppleInsider pointed out that Apple has rather famously done exactly this before when the iPhone entirely and intentionally cannibalized the once-overwhelming hit that was the iPod. And AppleInsider also pointed out that most Apple Ring rumors — and those patents — have made it seem like a companion to Apple Watch rather than a competitor.

If it sounds silly to say that Apple Ring could be an accessory to an accessory, there are appreciable health benefits. For instance, an Apple Ring could work alongside an Apple Watch to improve health measurements — just as the Oura smart ring does today.

Cue CSS Insight chief analyst Ben Wood telling CNBC that an Apple Ring could come out in 2026 as a companion device to an Apple Watch. And that it would fit in with Apple's focus on health.

"Health has become a fundamental pillar for Apple," said Wood. "In fact, I would go so far as to say, at the point that Tim Cook decides to relinquish control and he retires... I would like to think that one of his major legacies from Apple would be around personal health."

"Given how deeply and personally invested Tim Cook is in health," he continued, "I think that a ring is a very complimentary extension to Apple."

Wood specifically called out Samsung's Galaxy Ring and how it fits in with that firm's ecosystem of devices from phones to smart watches. He says, though, that Apple has key advantages over Samsung in this field.

"[Apple's] retail footprint is ideally suited to it... because rings are complex products to get to market," he said. "Apple is a brand that has a certain amount of kudos in terms of being a product that people are proud to have."

"And I think a beautifully designed ring from Apple could be one of those things that's almost a sort of status symbol," he continued.

Who's right and who's wrong about the Apple Ring

Overall, Bloomberg claims to have better sources, and with reason as writer Mark Gurman is about as accurate as they come. Plus Bloomberg is certainly better known than CCS Insight, which you just had to Google.

Yet CCS Insight's Ben Wood's argument makes more sense than the claim Apple is sitting on a ring for debatable marketing reasons. Wood doesn't appear to back up his claim of a ring coming in 2026, though.

So there you have it. Apple will release an Apple Ring, or it won't. It's Schrodinger's smart ring, alive and dead at the same time. Tune in tomorrow for the next episode of analysts' "Jeopardy."