I always seem to get my best ideas at the worst possible moments – usually when I'm lying in bed awake at night or I’m in the shower. Neither is exactly friendly to jotting down a note. I’ve tried to solve this problem with every recording gadget under the sun, including the Plaud handheld Voice Recorder ($135.15, usually $159.00), the Fieldy wearable ($149.00), and even the Bee app on my Apple Watch. But none of them were fast enough for those fleeting, half-awake ideas. By the time I launched the app or pressed record, whatever brilliant thought I had was gone.
So when I saw Core Devices' Pebble Index 01 – a stainless-steel smart ring with a built-in mic and a single physical button designed solely for capturing quick voice notes, I was intrigued. According to the company, you just press and hold the button, whisper your idea, and the ring securely sends it to your phone for transcription, reminders, or saving to your notes app. The whole point is to make capturing thoughts a reflex, not a process. And for someone like me, who’s perpetually convinced I’ll remember something later (and then absolutely won’t), the simplicity really resonates.
A Recorder That’s Always With You
The form factor is what makes the Index 01 compelling. Unlike clip-on recorders or smartwatch apps, a ring is always there and easy to access, even if you’re lying in bed or stepping out of the shower. The design is water-resistant and discreet, about the size of a small wedding band. It’s not the most attractive ring, with its rubbery button, but I could see wearing it most of the time without thinking about it.
A few practical touches stand out:
- Years-long battery life with no charging required. Pebble uses a silver-oxide battery that lasts up to two years of typical use.
- On-ring storage. It can store up to five minutes of recordings locally when your phone is out of range and sync later.
- Local, private processing. Everything is transcribed and handled on your phone using open-source software, so your random 2 AM ideas aren’t heading to the cloud unless you specifically opt in to cloud backups in the future.
- iPhone and Android compatible. Pebble claims it works on both platforms, including iOS, which is notoriously difficult for third-party accessories.
Not Trying to Be AI “Everything”
I appreciate what the Index 01 doesn’t try to do. It’s not an always-listening AI companion, like Fieldy. It’s not a smart ring trying to compete with Oura for health tracking. It doesn’t talk back, vibrate, or distract you. Pebble is very clear that the Index 01 is fundamentally “a device that helps you remember things” – nothing more.
Read more: The Circular Ring 2 Can Take an ECG to Detect Heart Conditions
The Price and Release Timeline
Here’s the part that gave me pause: The Index 01 is $75 on preorder on the Pebble site, going up to $99 after it begins shipping worldwide in March 2026. For a single-purpose audio recorder, that’s not nothing.
But honestly, I’m just relieved it doesn’t come with a subscription, especially since many recording tools now hide their full functionality behind a monthly fee. For something designed to capture seconds-long ideas, the last thing I want is another recurring bill.
Read more: Plaud Note Pro Is a Smarter Way to Capture Meetings
The Bottom Line
For someone like me who regularly loses thoughts in the moment, the Index 01 hits a sweet spot. It’s small, water-resistant, fast, and focused – and that’s exactly what I need at 2 AM when a story idea hits or mid-shampoo when I suddenly remember what I forgot to put on my grocery list. I’ve tried plenty of voice recorders, and none have truly solved the “I need to record this immediately” problem. A ring just might.
[Image credit: Core Devices]
