• 2 min read
Garmin Cirqa arrives July 24 for $200
Garmin’s screenless Cirqa Smart Band launches July 24 for $200, with 10-day battery life and core health tracking without a required subscription.
Image: CNET
Garmin is jumping into the growing market for screenless health wearables with the Cirqa Smart Band, a wrist- or upper-arm tracker that goes on sale July 24 for $200. The device had already surfaced earlier this year through an accidental product-page leak in January, followed by a trademark filing spotted three months later.
According to Garmin, Cirqa uses underside light sensors to track heart rate, skin temperature, stress, blood oxygen, energy, sleep, steps, calories, training readiness, and recovery. Sleep features include a sleep score, sleep coach, breathing variation data, nap tracking, and circadian rhythm alignment. For workouts, the band can automatically detect activity or let users pick from more than 80 workout types in the Garmin Connect app. With a compatible iPhone or Android phone, users can also enable GPS-based distance and pace tracking. The device is rated for water use down to 50 meters.
Garmin is also adding menstrual cycle tracking, pregnancy logging for symptoms, due date, and baby movement, plus support for syncing skin temperature data with the Natural Cycles birth control app for fertility insights.
Subscription and battery life
Garmin is positioning Cirqa against rivals that lock more features behind recurring fees. The company says the core health and fitness insights in Garmin Connect are available with no subscription required.
“We believe customers should get the full value of their device from day one, which is why Cirqa includes access to the health and fitness insights available through Garmin Connect with no subscription required.”
Some extras still require Garmin Connect Plus, priced at $7 per month or $70 per year. That includes wheelchair mode, AI insights, meditation, nutrition, and Garmin Coach training plans.
Recommended reading
Samsung Unpacked starts July 22 at 9AM ET
Cirqa is rated for 10 days of battery life and can take up to 90 minutes to charge, according to the owner’s manual. Garmin also told CNET:
“Privacy is important to Garmin, and we do not sell personal data to anyone.”
Colors, sizes, and accessories
The ComfortFit fabric wristband comes in black, blue, gray, and mauve, with small-medium and large-XL sizing. The S-M version fits wrists from 120 to 200 millimeters and weighs 20.7 grams with the sensing module attached; the L-XL fits 145 to 240 mm wrists and weighs 21.2 grams. Extra band colors including light green, light blue, and dark green cost $50.
An upper-arm band is sold separately for $60. The S-M size fits upper arms from 200 to 320 mm, while L-XL fits 280 to 450 mm. The box includes the wristband and a USB-C charging cable.
Gadgets Editor
Eli is obsessed with the tangible future. He reviews phones, wearables, and everything with a battery. Known for his rigorous testing protocols and unabashed teardowns, Eli has broken more review units than he cares to admit, all in the name of discovering the truth about durability and repairability.
via CNET
