The Stream surface doubles as a media controller, enabling taps, swipes, and volume control, useful when a phone isn’t accessible.

The Stream Ring is Sandbar's AI wearable note-taker designed to capture quick or quiet conversations and even stream-of-consciousness narration without typing on a phone, using an index-finger worn ring with built-in microphones and a touch panel activated by a press-and-hold gesture.

Shipping is planned for next summer, with pre-orders offering perks like early access to lab features and forthcoming security audits.

The business model blends hardware with software services, adopting a freemium approach and a separate Pro subscription for advanced organization features.

Battery life is adequate for daily use and charges via USB-C; the device is water-resistant to light rain.

Privacy and control are central: users can interrupt responses mid-sentence, and the device operates online with general knowledge but does not currently perform deep internet lookups.

The product emphasizes privacy and encryption to augment thinking and expression, drawing on founders’ experience with neural interfaces from CTRL-Labs.

Sandbar has raised $13 million from True Ventures, Upfront Ventures, and Betaworks, underscoring investor confidence in the team’s background in human–computer interfaces and prior Meta, Kernel, Magic Leap, Google, and CTRL-Labs work.

Hardware design features include an aluminum exterior, a resin interior, a glass touchpad, and touch-based interaction with weather resistance against rain and handwashing.

The wearables market is crowded, with several players and notable shifts toward AI-enabled glasses and wearable frames, making a clear, high-utility use case essential.

Reliability and battery life are a strategic focus to differentiate Stream for long-term note-taking use cases.

Data privacy and portability are key: data is encrypted in transit and at rest, with plans to export notes to apps like Notion to avoid vendor lock-in.