Garmin's cashing in on the screenless Whoop-style smart band trend with its upcoming CIRQA — here's the proof

• CIRQA, a new trademark from Garmin, has been spotted on the US Patent and Trademark Office website
• The name is the same as the screenless smart band leaked earlier this year, more proof of its existence
• Garmin follows Fitbit, Amazfit and Polar in encroaching on Whoop's screenless smart band turf

Garmin CIRQA. Get ready to hear that name a lot, even though it's not technically going to be a new entry into our best Garmin watches guide. Instead, it's a screenless smart band designed for performance without distraction, just like the Whoop 5.0, Amazfit Helio Strap and Polar Loop.

We already knew it was coming in some form: in January, the CIRQA smart band leaked on Garmin's own website, showing the band in two sizes and two colors, Black and French Gray, although there was no pricing information present in the leak.

Now, Gadgets & Wearables first spotted the trademark for CIRQA on the US Patent and Trademark Office website, dated February 25. This is a good indication that Garmin is gearing up to launch the CIRQA later this year.

It's category is listed as (deep breath) "wearable devices and instruments to be placed on the human body, namely, electronic sensors and monitors for measuring and analyzing the body’s physical parameters and other physiological data, bio-signals, and bodily behavior, and for measuring and analyzing recovery from physical and emotional stress, human alertness level, and performance, all for non-medical and non-therapeutic purposes".

Below, you can see a screenshot of the trademark office listing that I took by searching the USTPO database for the serial number listed in the G&W article, 99670310.

‘I wish they’d hurry up and release it’

Users on the GarminWatches subreddit are getting impatient, while deriding Garmin's silence and the amount of leaks it's had over this band.

One commenter said: "everybody is talking about it except Garmin", while another bemoaned: "it's not even some new type of wearable, it's just a screenless wristband. They're making such a huge fuss about it. I wish they'd just hurry up and release it already."

I think this is going to be a great new device — but one aspect of the CIRQA does concern me. Whoop uses its bands as little more than data collection tools to fuel its subscription-based app, which is where the real money is. Fitbit's upcoming Steph Curry-teased band will likely do the same with Fitbit Premium.

Does a screenless band mean Garmin is going to push more Garmin Connect features behind its subscription-based Connect+ paywall? We know how users feel about the premium Garmin tier, but I'd be surprised if the band didn't come with at least one or two new features you'll have to pay monthly or yearly to access via Connect+.

The best Garmin watches for all budgets

➡️ Read our full guide to the best Garmin watches
1. Best overall:
Garmin Venu 4
2. Best premium:
Garmin Fenix 8
3. Best budget:
Garmin Vivoactive 6

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button!

And of course, you can also follow TechRadar on YouTube and TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too