Aina put a screen and a joystick on a $399 AI ring

Aina released a smart ring on November 5 with a screen, a joystick and a microphone. The first price is $399, and the ring includes a speaker so calls can be taken on it. TechCrunch says preorders opened that day. When that early price ends, the ring costs $499. Aina plans to start shipping in January 2027.

The company raised $5.5 million in July. It is pitching the ring as a controller for AI apps and for apps that are not built around AI. Aina's earlier product, Mirage, was a three key controller for a Mac. On a Google Meet call, those keys could turn the camera on or off, mute the mic, or leave the meeting. Founder Apoorv Shankar told TechCrunch that phones and laptop screens were designed for browsing and opening apps, and that proactive agents need a different interface.

Aina is calling the product AI ring. With the mic, the company says you can take notes, send a prompt to agents, set reminders, and dictate on a Mac through Wispr Flow or Aina's own dictation engine. The screen can show notifications from a phone, or which app you are controlling. A joystick handles navigation. Gestures can trigger actions based on what is on the Mac or phone screen. The pitch also includes music controls and smart home devices such as Apple TV.

A TechCrunch writer used a unit for a few days and described it as a smartwatch in ring form: notifications, replies, upcoming meetings, and a way to call Uber. The same account says the Apple TV remote is easier when you can find it, and that a lot of the software is still being filled in.

Other smart rings already do parts of this, including the Pebble Index 01, Sandbar Stream, Oasis and Natura. Aina is adding a screen, a joystick and a speaker on top of the mic.