Garmin’s new screen-free fitness tracker doesn’t require a subscription
Garmin has released the Cirqa, a screen-free fitness tracker that monitors health metrics like heart rate and blood oxygen without requiring a subscription. The device is designed to minimize distractions and offers up to 10 days of battery life.
Why it matters
It represents a shift in the wearable market toward subscription-free hardware, challenging the business models of competitors like Whoop and Fitbit.
Garmin announced a new smart band today designed to track “advanced fitness and wellness features” without a screen to eliminate distractions and push its battery life to up to 10 days between charges. Similar to competing products like the Whoop 5.0 and Google’s recently announced Fitbit Air, the Cirqa uses a combination of heart rate, blood oxygen, skin temperature, and motion sensors to monitor your health and activities around the clock, but without any subscription fees.
The Garmin Cirqa is available now through the company’s online store for $99.99 and comes with an adjustable fabric strap in several different colors that can be worn on the wrist or as an armband. Google’s Fitbit Air is $99 with an optional $99/year annual Google Health Premium subscription that unlocks advanced features, while Whoop’s latest hardware is only available with subscriptions that start at $199/year.
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