Garmin announced the Cirqa Smart Band Tuesday, a screenless health and fitness tracker that the company is positioning as its answer to Whoop and the growing category of subscription-based recovery bands.
The Cirqa goes on sale July 24 at $199.99 with no recurring subscription fee required, which is the headline detail that separates it from Whoop's membership model.
The pitch is simple: all of Garmin's health tracking without a screen demanding your attention. The Cirqa monitors continuous heart rate, stress, respiration, sleep, blood oxygen, skin temperature and VO2 max, and tracks more than 80 activities, but displays all that data in the Garmin Connect app rather than on the wrist.
The band itself has one physical button and an LED for status. It weighs just over 20 grams and can be worn on the wrist or upper arm depending on the activity. Battery life is up to 10 days between USB-C charges.
One notable spec: the Cirqa uses Garmin's Elevate Gen 4 optical heart rate sensor rather than the newer Gen 5 found on the Index Sleep Monitor, which means no ECG at launch, a trade-off at this price point that reviewers have already flagged.
There is also no onboard GPS, so outdoor activity tracking uses your phone's location.
The Cirqa comes in four colors with swappable fabric ComfortFit bands. It lives entirely in the Garmin Connect ecosystem, meaning existing Garmin watch owners can use it as a companion device to keep collecting data on days and nights when they'd rather not wear a watch.