Pebble just announced the Index 01, a smart ring for recording thoughts. It's a little ring with a built-in microphone and that's about it. The Index 01 is almost anti-tech in its simplicity. There's no needless AI component shoehorned in, aside from speech-to-text. It's a ring with a microphone that you whisper ideas into and I want one.

Here's how it works. You get an idea while walking down the street, so you quietly whisper it into the ring. The ring sends the idea to a notes app or saves it for later review. Pebble founder Eric Migicovsky calls this an "external memory" for the brain, but I call it a nice way to avoid having to dig the phone out of a pocket or bag just to utter something like "pizza, but for cats."

The ring doesn't record unless a button is pushed, so it won't be listening in on private conversations, and it doesn't require a paid subscription of any kind. It's on the smaller side, about the size of a wedding band, and is water-resistant.

The battery also lasts for "years" and never needs to be charged. The ring is designed to be worn at all times, so users develop the muscle memory of holding down the little button when they have something to share. See what I mean? I want one, and I've quite literally never worn a ring in my life.

Pebble

Migicovsky says this is an open source product and that Pebble is "leaving the side door open for folks to customize." He envisions people will integrate AI voice agents and that the ring will eventually work with stuff like ChatGPT, Beeper, Google and other services.

The Pebble Index 01 works with iPhone and Android and is available for preorder right now. It costs $75 during this preorder period, but the price jacks up to $99 when shipments start going out in March.

This is just the latest product by Migicovsky and Pebble. The company unveiled the Core 2 Duo and the Core Time 2 smartwatches earlier this year.

Looking to switch music streaming platforms for no real reason? Apple Music is holding one heck of a sale right now. You can get three months of use for just $1. There are some caveats, as this is only for new users on the individual plan. Students and family plans don't count for this.

Also, this has to be redeemed on iPhone, iPad or Mac. When you click the link it'll open up the Apple Music app, so click it from an Apple product to get the deal. Finally, it auto-renews after 90 days at $11 per month. Make sure to cancel ahead of time if you aren't enjoying the service.

As for Apple Music, it's one of the best music streaming platforms out there and certainly a perfect choice for those already tied to the Apple ecosystem. It lets you import your own files, which is great for anyone still hanging on to an iTunes library. Otherwise, it offers streaming access to millions upon millions songs like all the rest. It does, however, include some live radio stations staffed by actual people, which is cool.

The app works with Android devices, but it's really designed for Apple products. We also found the spatial audio to sound unnatural at times, but that's partly a limitation of the tech.

Check out our coverage of the best streaming deals for more discounts, and follow @EngadgetDeals on X for the latest tech deals and buying advice.

Meta is reportedly planning steep cuts to its metaverse division, according to Bloomberg. This is happening just a few years after the company changed its name from Facebook to reflect its renewed interest in that same metaverse.

Bloomberg notes that the metaverse department could get hit with significant budget cuts in the near future, with layoffs potentially occurring early next year. The budget cuts could go as high as 30 percent and will likely impact the virtual worlds product Meta Horizon Worlds and the Quest virtual reality headset. The publication did note that this isn't a done deal just yet.

Company insiders say this is all part of Meta's annual budget planning for 2026 and that the cuts were discussed at a series of meetings at CEO Mark Zuckerberg's compound in Hawaii. The metaverse team was reportedly asked for deeper-than-average cuts because the technology hasn't exactly taken the world by storm.

As a matter of fact, the whole metaverse idea has been a dud with investors, who see it as a drain on resources. Consumers aren't exactly keen on the idea either, even if they still buy VR headsets and traditional games. It's one thing to throw on a headset to shoot bad guys for 20 minutes but it's a whole other thing to, well, wander around a fake Abercrombie & Fitch for hours looking to spend real money on fake clothing for an avatar.

The report does suggest that Zuckerberg still believes that people will one day spend the majority of their time in virtual worlds, but these cuts signal that he understands that this idea is still years or decades away from fruition. The metaverse sits within a company division called Reality Labs that has lost more than $70 billion since 2021. Zuckerberg has also largely refrained from mentioning the metaverse in public and in earnings calls.

So what will Meta be spending money on instead? It's reportedly focused on further developing large AI models and chatbots, in addition to hardware products linked to AI experiences like those Ray-Ban smart display glasses.