Bandai just opened Japan preorders for the Tamagotchi ring, a working color LCD pet you wear on a finger. Specifically, the 39th main-series device is 28mm long. That is about 56 percent of the 1996 original. Premium Bandai takes orders now. Then the company ships units in February 2027.
Each of the three colorways costs 7,700 yen including tax, about $49. However, Bandai has not named a US shop date. The press release also lists the Premium Bandai product page. Meanwhile the official PV lists the Japan preorder window from August 27 through October 6, 2026.
How Bandai packed a color screen into 28mm
Color Tamagotchis used to grow, not shrink. The 2008 Tamagotchi Plus Color needed alkaline cells. As a result the shell stretched to 68mm long and 29mm deep. That was 137 percent of the first egg. Bandai spent two years reversing that bulk.
The ring uses 64 parts: 52 electronic pieces and 12 plastic bits. By comparison, Tamagotchi Paradise uses 116. In addition, a new charging structure cuts interior space. Bandai shortened the USB connector’s protection circuit as well. Therefore the company calls this the smallest color LCD Tamagotchi it has shipped. The screen measures point 56 inches, the tiniest in the line.
Official press art puts the ring beside the original 50mm egg and the 68mm color model. The scale claim is not a marketing sketch. It is a hardware comparison Bandai labeled as nearly life size.
The egg shape, color screen, and three front buttons remain. However those front buttons are decoration. Side buttons handle every input instead. A dedicated charger case is also a first for the series. Drop the ring in and keep playing while it charges. Bandai spent 30 years of Tamagotchi tooling to make that cradle fit.
It is a ring, not a bag charm
Bandai still sells the idea of a pet that stays with you. The 1996 model clipped to a bag on a ball chain. Then 2021’s Tamagotchi Smart moved the egg to a wrist. Similarly, the ring goes further. Kids and adults can wear it on a finger. Bandai says the essential play value of staying together and caring for it has not changed.
Players still raise a creature. The 30th-anniversary roster packs 30 familiar characters from the original, Connection, and color eras. Likewise, care unlocks a secret character. Official stills show three shells: pearlescent pink-white, gold with a blue band, and silver with a black band. The press names Mametchi and Kuchipatchi from 1996. Memetchi arrives from the Connection years. Lovelitchi comes from the color era.
Japan orders only, for now
Orders run through Premium Bandai in Japan. Bandai has not confirmed a US or Europe listing. Import shops will likely mark the 7,700 yen price up. The tax-excluded list is 7,000 yen. Shoppers pick among three SKUs on the Premium Bandai product page. The original Tamagotchi launched on November 23, 1996. This ring is the first finger-worn care device in that line. No runtime figure is in the press note. Still, the toy sits in the same curiosity lane as Casio’s CRW-H001 ring watch. That watch also put a tiny screen off the wrist.
It is also a 30th-birthday stunt, not a fitness tracker. Unlike Google’s Fitbit Air Pokemon Sleep wearable, this ring does not log your night. It only asks for feeding and care on a point-56-inch pet. That is the joke. Bandai spent two years making the joke actually work. The company wants Tamagotchi to last 50 or 100 years as a shared IP. This ring is the 30-year proof of that pitch.
Finally, treat February 2027 as a Japan delivery window, not a global launch. Specs, colors, and the preorder window can still change. The company says the press details are current as of August 27, 2026.
