Is Garmin set to release a rival to Whoop? Its new fitness band could be the market's most expensive
Fresh intrigue surrounds Garmin's latest unreleased fitness band
A new Garmin fitness band could become the most expensive on the market, according to a new leaked listing.
The Ukrainian retail website, Stylus Store, has listed the new Cirqa band for 22,399 UAH ($509), with a pre-sale purchase price of 19,999 UAH ($454). If these prices are confirmed by Garmin, the company's Whoop rival would become the most expensive passive tracking device on the market.
Whenever the Cirqa does launch, it will do so among a new wave of screenless fitness bands. Earlier this month, Google launched the Fitbit Air (starting at around $100), joining Whoop’s established track-record of screenless fitness trackers. Their subscription-based band model costs users between $199 and $359 per year, making them Garmin’s main competitor.
Rumours around the release of Garmin’s latest exercise band aren’t new. At the beginning of the year, regional online Garmin stores across the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and Chile launched Cirqa product pages before hastily taking them back down.
While little is known definitively about the unreleased fitness band, the temporary product pages listed two main colourways: black and French grey, coming in either small-medium or large-extra large. On the same page, shipping was estimated to begin in four to five months, meaning that the product’s release date could be as early as this month.
Garmin also applied for a US trademark in February, in which Cirqa is described as ‘nonmedical, nontherapeutic wearable devices.’ The bands use electronic sensors to monitor ‘physical and emotional stress, human alertness and performance,’ and analyse the body’s bio-signals, with particular focus on recovery. Designed for passive, 24 hour health tracking, the band will measure heart rate, sleep quality, steps and calories.
