Despite the Apple Watch only being released in Ireland at the end of September, it would appear that the giant tech companies are already moving on to the next thing.

Smart rings - and smart jewelry in general - has been kicking around on Kickstarter for a while now, but it's only recently that the big players have been getting properly involved.

Earlier this month, Samsung applied for a patent that would allow their version of smart ring to control certain functionality on future smartphones, tablets or any kind of smart TV, and earlier this week officially won the right to that patent.

Apple also applied for a specific smart ring patent in October this year, with early outlines of the product's potential look sprouting up online.

image via Apple Insider

Similarly, Microsoft have openly discussed the future of smart rings, at some future stage wanting your entire technological life to be controllable from the device on your finger.

As wearable technology continues to develop into a smaller and smaller size, the conversation about smart rings and smart jewelry continues to grow.

While none of these patent ideas may hit the market for years yet, is there really a need for something as potentially superfluous as a smart ring? Apparently, yes.

Depsite Apple refusing to declare the official sales numbers of the Apple Watch, tech sales researchers Canalys have stated that in excess of seven million Apple Watches have been shipped since its launch in April this year.