Garmin built its reputation on GPS precision and rugged sport watches tailored for committed endurance athletes and off-grid adventures. But the company’s latest move isn’t about adding another feature-laden flagship to its big-screened Fenix or Forerunner smartwatch lineup — it’s a deliberate step into a category it has largely watched from the sidelines.
The newly revealed Garmin Cirqa Smart Band is a screenless fitness tracker, and at $199.99 with no subscription required to at least access the band’s core features, it arrives as an interesting challenge to the business models that define Whoop and, to a lesser extent, Google’s new Fitbit Air.
That’s not nothing. Garmin has posted strong quarterly results on the back of premium wearable demand, which gives it both the confidence and the runway to wade into a new segment without betting the company on it.
Similar capabilities, different pricing
The hardware specs aren’t really the full story here, but they’re solid.
The Cirqa tracks sleep, heart rate, stress, so-called Body Battery energy levels and daily activity — core health metrics that closely align with those of Whoop and other modern devices.
Users can manually trigger tracking for more than 80 activities — running, yoga and beyond — either through the Garmin Connect app or by tapping the side button to launch a single preset favorite.
The band itself is fabric, comes in four colors — Black, French Gray, Captain Blue and Mauve — with Citron Gray, Dark Olive and French Blue available as separately sold accessory bands and swaps out easily if you want a different look or need a replacement.
Battery life is rated at up to 10 days, which puts it well ahead of most smartwatches, though roughly on par with the Whoop 5.0’s claimed 14-day battery. The device is slim enough to wear around the clock without much notice.
