Yet another Whoop rival could be on the cards. Weeks after Garmin accidentally revealed it was launching a Whoop competitor of its own in the form of the Garmin Cirqa, it now appears Google’s Fitbit is about to launch a screen-free fitness tracker as well.
In a promo video shared by NBA legend and Google’s performance advisor Steph Curry, the basketball player can be seen wearing an orange screenless wristband with a metal clasp, very similar in look to the Whoop.
While we don’t get a good look at the device or its specs, Google says that it’s coming soon. “I'm excited about what this is going to mean for the world, for health and wellness,” Curry says in a voiceover. “It's the first of its kind in a way. I won't spoil it, you kinda have to see it for yourself.”
Now, we don’t know whether this is going to be a Pixel device or a Fitbit band, but whatever it is, it’s just one of several screen-free trackers announced in the past year, building on the smart ring craze brought about by Oura, Samsung and Ultrahuman.
This isn’t the first time Fitbit’s made a screen-free fitness tracker. In 2013, before the company was acquired by Google, it launched the Fitbit Flex, a device with no display. The Fitbit Flex had five LED lights, with each one lighting up as you got closer to your goal progress.
The Fitbit Flex was later superseded by the Fitbit Flex 2 in 2016, bringing onboard coloured LED lights to show incoming call alerts, as well as fitness progress. The first swim-proof Fitbit, it could also automatically track workouts. The Fitbit Flex line was discontinued in 2019 and replaced with the Fitbit Aspire, a budget-friendly tracker with a screen.
But it seems like screen-free wearables are about to make a comeback. With Garmin set to launch its Whoop rival in the coming months and now Google too, the future of health and wellenss tracking could be distraction-free.
Best Fitbit deals
Fitbit inspire 3
Want an affordable exercise companion? The Fitbit inspire 3 features in fitness writer Zoe Griffin’s round-up of the best fitness trackers. “It can track 20 different sports, as well as step count, heart rate and calories from the wrist,” she says in her review. “My favourite feature is the smart wake technology which is unique to this fitness tracker. It means the tracker vibrated to wake me up during a light-sleep stage rather than a deep one, up to 30 minutes before my actual alarm was set. It meant I woke up feeling super refreshed and alert”.
Right now, you can save 31 per cent on the wearable at Amazon.
Buy now £59, Amazon.co.uk
