Former Meta employees create a ring for voice notes and music control
Startup Sandbar, founded by former Meta employees, created the Stream ring, which can take notes and control music, and also helps interact with an AI assistant.
The startup Sandbar, founded by former Meta employees, created the Stream ring, which can take notes and control music, and also helps interact with an AI assistant.
Sandbar CEO Mina Fahmi has a background in human-computer interfaces. He worked at Bryan Johnson’s Kernel and later at smartglasses startup Magic Leap. Kirak Hong, Sandbar’s CTO, worked at Google before joining CTRL-Labs, where they met. CTRL-Labs was acquired by Meta in 2019, and its work eventually led to the creation of neural interfaces for the tech giant’s smart wearables, TechCrunch reports .
The ring is designed to be worn on the index finger of the working hand. It is equipped with microphones and a touch panel.
During the virtual demo, Fahmi wore the Stream ring on his index finger and recorded his thoughts by pressing and holding the touchpad. The microphone is off by default and is only activated by this gesture. It is sensitive enough to pick up and transcribe whispers in the iOS app.
The Stream app integrates an AI chatbot that communicates with the user while they record their thoughts, which can be organized into individual notes that can be edited by both the user and the AI.
Additionally, the app makes it easy to review recordings from days or weeks ago by zooming out. For added convenience, Sandbar has added a layer of personalization to make the AI assistant’s voice sound more like the user’s.
In crowded places, users can wear headphones to talk privately with the Assistant. If headphones are not available, the ring provides haptic feedback when it successfully registers a note. This allows users to silently add tasks, take notes, or check off items on a shopping list.
In addition to voice functions, the flat surface of the ring also serves as a media controller, allowing you to play, pause, switch tracks, and adjust the volume.
The company opened pre-orders for the Stream today, priced at $249 for the silver version and $299 for the gold version. It is scheduled to ship this summer.
A Pro subscription ($10 per month, first three months free for those who pre-order) will give users unlimited access to chats, notes, and early access to new features.
The company gives users full control over their data at every level, with encryption both at rest and in transit. Fahmi says Sandbar doesn’t believe in closed ecosystems and plans to support data export to apps like Notion.
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