Aina launches a $399 AI ring with a screen, joystick and mic for talking to agents

Hardware startup Aina released a smart ring on November 5 that it simply calls the AI ring. It combines a screen, a joystick, a microphone and a speaker in a single finger-worn device, pitched as an always-available controller for AI agents and the apps around them, with early pre-orders priced at $399.

The hardware reads like a smartwatch compressed into a ring. The screen shows phone notifications and which app is being controlled, the joystick handles navigation, and gesture support triggers different actions depending on what is on a Mac or phone display. A speaker allows calls to be taken on the ring itself, while the microphone handles voice input.

The pitch is that phones and laptops were built for an era of opening apps, while proactive agents need a physical control surface that is always within reach. Aina founder Apoorv Shankar told TechCrunch that this interface gap was the starting point for the design.

In use, the ring can take notes, send prompts to agents, set reminders and dictate text on a Mac through Wispr Flow or Aina's own dictation engine. It also controls music and smart-home devices such as an Apple TV. After a few days of testing, TechCrunch's reviewer described it as a smartwatch in ring format with more controls, though much of the software is still being fleshed out.

The company is not new to this problem. Aina previously built Mirage, a three-key controller that mapped buttons to whatever app was on a Mac screen, for example muting a microphone or leaving a Google Meet call. Aina raised $5.5 million in July and carried lessons from that device into the ring.

The category is getting crowded. Pebble Index 01, Sandbar Stream, Oasis and Natura already offer comparable smart rings, while OpenAI is experimenting with a keyboard form factor and Rabbit is positioning itself as a controller. Aina's differentiator is stacking a display, speaker and joystick into one device rather than specializing in a single function.

Pricing and timing are set: pre-orders opened Thursday at the $399 early-bird rate, rising to $499 once that period ends, with first shipments expected in January 2027. The real test is whether people juggling multiple agents will pay for a dedicated ring instead of reaching for the phone already in their pocket.