Finally! Whoop is adding Steps tracking to its wearables after almost a decade

(Image credit: Becca Caddy)

Popular fitness tracker Whoop is finally adding Steps tracking to its line of wearables after almost a decade, a remarkable about-face and a feature users have been clamoring for.

The company announced the move this week, revealing that Steps will allow Whoop users to track daily steps, set movement goals, and view trends over time.

Since its launch in 2015, Whoop has purposefully eschewed step tracking, the company noting "it was considered a less precise measure of overall health."

Steps finally arrive on Whoop

Whoop Strap 3.0 — (Image credit: Becca Caddy)

Whoop says Steps, available now to all Whoop members, will track movement automatically, displaying a step count in the My Dashboard section of the home page on the app. Users will also get weekly, monthly, and twice-yearly trends, as well as notifications for records.

Taking to X, CEO Will Ahmed revealed why he changed his mind on Steps are he "spent a decade bashing the metric."

Beyond research linking step counts to improved health, he said that "members really wanted it" and that "I got tired of hearing that people would wear another device in addition to Whoop solely to get Steps, which is a lousy member experience."

Ahmed further added that Whoop's Strain metric, a measurement of cardiovascular and muscular exertion, would not be affected by the addition of Steps, adding "We can measure Steps AND Strain. It doesn’t need to be an OR. Members who want it can use it, others can remove it."

Steps is available now to all Whoop members as a beta, with updates on the way in the coming months.

Stephen Warwick is TechRadar's Fitness & Wearables writer with nearly a decade of experience covering technology, including five years as the News Editor of iMore. He's a keen fitness enthusiast and is never far from the local gym, Apple Watch at the ready, to record his latest workout. Stephen has experience writing about every facet of technology including products, services, hardware, and software. He's covered breaking news and developing stories regarding supply chains, patents and litigation, competition, politics and lobbying, the environment, and more. He's conducted interviews with industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. Outside of work, he's a massive tech and history buff with a passion for Rome Total War, reading, and music.