Garmin targets Whoop subscription model with $199.99 CIRQA band

Garmin has entered the screenless wearable market with the CIRQA Smart Band, a $199.99 device that tracks health metrics without charging a recurring subscription. The launch is a direct strike at rivals like Whoop and Google’s screenless Fitbit Air, which both tie their core features to ongoing membership fees.

The absence of a mandatory paywall is the device’s central commercial argument. Whoop, which built this corner of the market, folds its hardware into a mandatory membership costing between $199 and $359 annually. Garmin instead prices the CIRQA at a flat upfront rate, offering an optional Connect+ tier at $6.99 a month or $69.99 a year only for users wanting deeper analysis.

The timing poses a tangible risk to Whoop’s financial narrative. The company has spent the past year raising capital at a valuation north of $10bn and is edging toward a public listing. A well-established hardware competitor undermining the subscription revenue model that underpins that valuation arrives at a delicate moment for the incumbent.

Physically, the CIRQA relies on Garmin’s Elevate heart-rate sensor and skips a display entirely, utilizing a single side button and a woven fabric strap sold in seven colours. It tracks sleep stages, respiration, heart-rate variability, and blood oxygen, bundling the data into a sleep score and Garmin’s Body Battery metric. Battery life is rated at up to 10 days, sitting between the week-long figure of the Fitbit Air and the roughly fortnight-long charge claimed by Whoop’s latest band.

Rather than pitching the band purely as a standalone gadget, Garmin is framing it as an ecosystem play. “With its discreet design and the trusted health and fitness tracking tools Garmin is known for, this smart band complements our lineup of popular smartwatches,” said Susan Lyman, the company’s vice-president of consumer sales and marketing. Data syncs across the broader Garmin network, including Edge cycling computers, positioning the CIRQA as a lightweight companion for days when users do not want to wear a bulkier watch.

The screenless category is becoming increasingly crowded. Alongside Whoop and Google, incumbents like Oura and Polar are competing for the same health-focused buyer. By applying its hardware reputation to a no-fee model, Garmin is betting that consumers will reject ongoing charges for basic biometric tracking, a calculation that could reshape the economics of the wearable sector.