It's a tale as old as tech time: a new flagship device appears on the scene, which means the device it's replacing gets a price drop, and potentially offers better value for money for the discerning gadget buyer.

For this guide, we're going to be looking specifically at the Oura Ring 4 (which launched in 2024) and the Oura Ring 5 (launched in 2026). The Oura Ring 4 is likely to see some great Amazon Prime Day deals, but should you go all in on the latest and most expensive model? Or is the older model the better investment when bought at a discount?

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

There's no doubt that both models qualify as two of the best smart rings on the market right now, but which one is right for you depends on your budget and what your priorities are. Here's how they compare.

Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4: pricing

While pricing varies as special offers come and go, the Oura Ring 5 launched for a starting price of $399 / £399 / AU$649, with some finishes costing extra at $499 / £499 / AU$799 – that's a little more expensive than the original Oura Ring 4 (note that the prices for Australia are for third-party resellers, not from Oura directly).

There's an upgraded charging case available for $99 / £99 / AU$159 for the Oura Ring 5, and then there's the monthly subscription: $5.99 / £5.99 / AU$9.99 a month or $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$109.99 a year. While a subscription isn't technically necessary to use an Oura Ring, you do need one to access the bulk of its features.

So what about Oura Ring 4 price drops? At the time of writing, the starting price is $349 / £349 if you go through the official channels, and we're seeing some good deals on the Oura Ring 4 already, which you can find below. Given that it's an older model, you're much more likely to see discounts on this smart ring on both the Oura shop and third-party retailers like Amazon.

Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4: specs and features

What you need to know first is that the Oura Ring 5 is notably slimmer than the Oura Ring 4: for the most affordable finishes, it's 6.09 mm (0.24 inches) wide and 2.28 mm (0.09 inches) thick, down from 7.9 mm (0.31 inches) and 2.8 mm (0.11 inches), which is a reduction of about 40%.

That can make a difference when it comes to comfort and day-to-day wear. The new model is lighter too, with those reduced dimensions, weighing 2 grams rather than 3.3 grams. Both models are available in a variety of ring sizes to fit your finger, though the Oura Ring 5 introduces a new sizing scheme that doesn't match its predecessor.

The Oura Ring 5 is also more scratch resistant, while both models offer the same level of waterproofing (down to a depth of 100 meters). Battery life has been improved on the new model too, with the official estimates standing at 5-8 days for the Oura Ring 4, and 6-9 days for the Oura Ring 5.

As for sensors and health tracking features, this is where the rings are mostly tied. Oura says the fifth-generation model is more accurate because of a change in the sensor layout, but the core sensor tech is the same between the two models, and the software experience through the app is the same for tracking steps, activity, heart rate, and more.

Oura Ring 5 vs Oura Ring 4: Verdict

There's clearly a lot that's new and improved in the Oura Ring 5: it's slimmer and lighter, and offers better battery life. Oura says it's also more accurate, though that's not something we've finished testing ourselves just yet. That said, the tracking capabilities, sensors, and app features are more or less identical between the models.

Where the Oura Ring 4 really has the potential to outdo the newer model is in terms of pricing. As time goes on, you're likely to see bigger and bigger discounts on the fourth-generation model — and don't forget that we awarded it our Health & Fitness Device of the Year award for 2025. It's a seriously impressive bit of kit, and if the right discount comes along during Amazon Prime Day, it'll certainly be a better-value package than the Ring 5.

Regardless, you'll need to weigh up what's most important to you for your next smart ring, and how much you're prepared to spend to get it. Both of these premium smart rings from Oura will give you years of use — so we might be talking about the Oura Ring 6 before you need to think about upgrading again.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

• TechRadar is running a live Q&A in the lead-up to our Oura Ring 5 review
• Leave a comment with what you're most interested in hearing about below
• You can ask questions all week before the Q&A closes

The Oura Ring 5 only started shipping just over a week ago, but it's already causing a stir, with early impressions mostly positive across the board — thanks to being such a substantial, visible upgrade over the previous model.

I'm currently testing what Oura claims to be "the world's smallest smart ring", and while I can't yet access every feature in the app — some require at least 30 days of continuous wear to establish personal health baselines — the ring design itself is a big step up.

It's significantly more petite than the Oura Ring 4, both in form and weight, which gives it a much better fit and makes it more comfortable to wear. While I'm still in the process of determining a final verdict on its performance, accuracy and value, I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.

Want to know if it feels noticeably different compared to the Ring 4? If you can still wear it while typing or lifting weights without it feeling bulky? Or how long the battery really lasts? Drop your question in the comment box below, and I'll get back to you.

This live Q&A will remain open until early next week, when my Oura Ring 5 review will be published. Because I won't yet have unlocked every new feature that's available, my verdict will be based on an early assessment of what I have been able to test in just over two weeks.

That's why I'm opening this testing period up to you. I want to know what your biggest questions are about what could be the best smart ring available. Of course, I'll be looking at its price, design, features, and performance to determine a final value score, but I know that won't cover everything.

There are countless questions I imagine many of you will likely have before clicking buy on a $399 / £399 / AU$649 smart ring — or $499 / £499 / AU$799 if you're considering one of the more premium finishes — so let me know what you're weighing up, and I'll try to help where I can.

What are TechRadar saying about the Oura Ring 5?

I already know from the early results of the poll above that most TechRadar readers don't want to spend the extra $50 / £50 / AU$80 that the Ring 5 costs over the Ring 4, but many of you said you would wait to see what the reviews say.

If that's you, this is your chance to get a behind-the-scenes look at the testing process. As I noted above, I haven't yet been able to explore all the new features Oura Ring 5 brings, but some of the basic features are unlocked after 10 days of wear, so I can give you early answers on whether they're actually useful.

Which brings me to another caveat, because I live in the UK, I don't have access to every new feature that Oura is currently rolling out, which means I won't be able to test the new 'Lab Uploads', 'Brain Health Study,' and 'Health Radar' at all.

That's a shame because those three features are among the most sought after, judging by the results of the above poll, which shows that the majority (40%) of TechRadar readers are most excited to try 'Health Radar: Blood Pressure Signals'.

'Brain Health Study', 'Nighttime Breathing', which is part of 'Health Radar', and 'Lab Uploads' also ranked highly among readers, raising the question of whether the Oura Ring 5 is most suited to those who live stateside.

Let me know if missing out on those new features is a deal breaker for you? I'll be considering all aspects, like these regional limitations, in my review.

• This Whoop hack matches heart rate to meeting attendees
• It can link coworkers with higher levels of stress
• The unofficial hack was made with the help of Claude Fable 5 AI

We've seen several examples of people hacking their Whoop bands before (including recently), but nothing quite on this level: one enterprising user has hooked his Whoop up to his meetings schedule on Google Calendar, and can now work out which of his coworkers raise his stress levels the most.

Developer Pankaj Tanwar posted his custom-made setup on X, and it's clearly something a lot of other people are interested in — at the time of writing there are more than 10 million views registered on the post.

We don't get too much in the way of detail about how this was done, but Tanwar says he used the Claude Fable AI model to reverse engineer his Whoop and extract the heart rate data. That was then matched up with calendar meetings, and the colleagues attending.

"I now have a leaderboard and I think about it daily," says Tanwar, who has sensibly edited his screenshot so that we can't actually see which people get his blood boiling more than others. It's a really neat idea and a great example of a hardware and software hack that produces some genuinely interesting data.

More please

Of course this isn't an exact science — heart rate can vary for all kinds of reasons, including time of day and eating and drinking routines. It's possible that it's the subjects of the meetings that are getting Tanwar's heart rate spiking, rather than the coworkers that are sitting in there with him.

Still, it's a fun experiment, and even if the Whoop isn't correctly identifying the colleagues that cause the most stress, the data can be used to manage health and well-being during the working day, in and out of meetings.

It's something I'd love to have on my own fitness tracker: the sort of insight that these AI-enhanced trackers should be giving us. Which colleague annoys me the most? What parts of my commute are the most stressful? Which TV shows calm me down?

This is also more evidence for the increasingly capable AI models that we're all getting access to. Fable 5 has only just been released to the world at large, and is already being used to produce next-level apps and tools with just a few lines of prompting — see also these alternative Fitbit apps.

• A certification listing has been spotted for a device believed to be the Garmin Cirqa
• It lists Bluetooth as the only connectivity option, suggesting this won't have Wi-Fi or GPS
• That puts it in line with rival screenless wearables

If you’ve been looking forward to the Garmin Cirqa, we’ve got some slightly disappointing but unsurprising news — it seems this screenless wearable will lack ANT+, GPS, and Wi-Fi.

This is according to a certification listing for a device believed to be the Cirqa found on the Integrated Regulatory Information System (IRIS) in Singapore, as spotted by The5kRunner (via NotebookCheck).

The listing reveals just Bluetooth for connectivity, which means the Garmin Cirqa — assuming that’s what this is — would need to be paired with a smartphone in close proximity in order to track things like distances and routes when running or cycling.

So if you prefer to work out without your phone, this rumored wearable might not be the one for you.

Putting it in line with rivals

While that’s a shame, it’s not really surprising considering that rival screenless devices like the Fitbit Air and Whoop 5.0 also lack built-in GPS.

But that means the Cirqa will probably fall in line with them, rather than rising above them. This could have been a clear differentiation that would help Garmin’s upcoming device beat its key rivals, but the brand seemingly hasn’t taken that opportunity.

Still, for those who already wear a Garmin watch, or simply like the Garmin brand but want something without a screen, the Cirqa will probably still be the obvious choice, so there’s likely to be a built-in audience for it.

We’ll probably find out exactly what the Garmin Cirqa has to offer — and whether it has any other ways of standing out — soon, with previous leaks pointing to a mid-2026 launch.

• There's now an open source app available for Whoop bands
• You can install it for free on Android and macOS
• Whoop has yet to respond, but may block access to its trackers

If you own a Whoop band or have read any of our Whoop reviews, you'll know that the premium fitness tracker comes with a monthly subscription attached. However, thanks to the efforts of an independent developer though, you can now get at your Whoop data without paying anything.

The app is open source, available for Android and macOS, and called Noop (via Android Central). You do need to do a little bit of work to get it set up (it needs to be sideloaded on Android), but instructions are provided on the GitHub page. It should work with the Whoop 4.0, Whoop 5.0, and the Whoop MG bands.

"I built it for one reason," the app creator Kabir Khalil said in a post on Reddit. "To read my own data, off a strap I own, on a machine I control, without it living in someone else's cloud. That's the whole idea."

As Whoop's own algorithms aren't available to the developer, Khalil says he's used "my own maths" based on "published methods" to come up with fitness scores and data interpretations from the raw figures that are grabbed from the tracker device.

Positive feedback

WHOOP with no subscription, no cloud, no account — it's OUT today. Fully open source, Mac + Android. from r/whoop

While the idea of a cloud-free, offline experience will appeal to many, it's the zero cost that Whoop users will be most interested in. Whoop subscriptions start at $199 / £169 / AU$299 per year, though the device itself is included in that cost.

And users seem to be keen to give this a try: "this looks awesome" one Redditor has commented, in a thread that's full of positive feedback (as well as some requests for technical help from those who are having trouble getting the app working).

We've contacted Whoop about the app and will include the company's response here if we get one, but it clearly won't be happy about users sidestepping the need for a subscription on their hardware. It's possible that future updates to the bands will lock out access for third-party apps like this one.

Noop does seem to be part of a small trend however. A similar app called Goose has also just popped up, though it's at an earlier stage in its development than Noop, and another one called Whoof has apparently been running for a little while now — so if you want an alternative Whoop app, you've now got several options.

Google Fitbit Air: One minute review

For a simple device, there’s a lot going on with the Google Fitbit Air. People feel very strongly about it, for better or for worse, and there’s been a lot of chatter and interest surrounding its release. My experience actually wearing the device has generally been very positive, with tracking accuracy comparable to that offered by my Apple Watch Ultra 3, which is pretty much the gold standard for wrist-based health tracking. Metrics relying on the tracker’s onboard heart-rate monitoring are reliable, matching the Apple Watch closely during work, rest, and exercise during my week with the Fitbit Air.

Set-and-forget trackers are clearly having a moment. Oura has released the Oura Ring 5 just one year after the Ring 4, and Whoop’s success has given rise to a number of copycats from brands looking to recreate the experience of a distraction-free screenless ‘focus band’ for a less premium price.

Google is one such copycat, but the screenless, slender form factor suits the Fitbit brand — the original Fitbit was a digital pedometer — down to the ground. It speaks to the core of what Fitbit used to be, before it became just another company churning out mediocre smartwatches running a limited proprietary operating system. Your Fitbit was always meant to be a discreet little device, and devices don’t come more discreet than the Google Fitbit Air. Weighing just 12g and using a very slender 17mm-wide band, the Fitbit Air is a lovely and (crucially) comfortable device to wear and use. It’s much more comfortable to wear during sleep than any full smartwatch I’ve ever tried (and I have tried a lot), or even the Whoop.

However, it’s hard to separate the Fitbit Air from the Google Health app, with Google’s redesign of the Fitbit app causing particular ire amongst Fitbit users. The app is a bit of a mess, and not intuitive to use, with features dotted all over the place. It feels like it’s designed to primarily function as a home for the AI Health Coach chatbot, which is very intelligent and perhaps the best in-app AI assistant I’ve tried, but it’s not the best way to operate a health app. Whoop’s balance of AI and on-page metrics is much better.

If you’re looking for a consistent screenless focus band to track different sorts of workouts like gym, sports, and yoga, alongside sleep, heart health and general wellness, you can use the Google Fitbit Air as is, paying just the up-front price, and keep your tracking simple.

Whether or not you can get onboard with the Premium option will depend on how much you like chatbots — I found its flexibility immensely helpful, but its constant chirpy summaries and insistence on hiding my data inside walls of text became annoying, so it’s a mixed bag for me. Overall, though, this is the best, most interesting Fitbit to have been released in years.

Google Fitbit Air: Price and availability

• $99.99 in the US
• £84.99 in the UK
• AU$199 in Australia

The Google Fitbit Air costs $99.99 / £84.99 / AU$199, and for that you get the tracker, a band of your choice, and a charger specific to the Google Fitbit Air — proving once again that Google seems to be allergic to making a charger that’s compatible with more than one device.

The Google Health Premium subscription, which gives you access to Google’s AI Health Coach, costs $9.99 / £7.99 / AU$14.99 a month, or $99.99 / £79.99 / AU$140 annually. Existing Google AI Pro members get it at no extra cost.

For comparison, the cheapest Apple Watch SE 3 starts at $249 / £219 / AU$399, while Whoop’s complex pricing structure begins at £169 / $199 / AU$299 per year for the lowest tier. The Google Fitbit Air’s pricing is cheap for what you get, with the Health Coach as an optional add-on rather than a mandatory subscription.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Google Fitbit Air review: Design

• Simple, screenless and elegant
• Light and comfortable
• App design is chaotic

The Google Fitbit Air’s design can be split into two components: the physical device, which is excellent, and the new Google Health app, which is a bit of a misfire.

Let’s start with the positives. The Fitbit Air comprises the tracker itself, and a wraparound band in a choice of three styles — a silicone Active band, the woven Performance Loop, or the polyurethane (pleather) Elevated Modern band. Each comes with their own color options, and a plastic clasp. On the underside of the tracker are the optical heart rate sensor, skin temperature sensor, and an accelerometer and gyroscope for counting steps.

It weighs just 12g, even with the Performance Loop strap, so it’s light and easy to wear, which is crucial for sleep tracking. I wore it on my right wrist, with a watch on my left during the day, and I didn’t feel like an obnoxious techie: unless someone looks closely, it just looks like a wristband, with the lack of a screen helping here. The Performance Loop strap that came with my review unit is the best-looking of the three options in this respect, but none of them look bad.

The tracker also has a haptic vibrate function — if you set an alarm in the app, this can be disabled with a tap on the top of the device. And that’s pretty much all the interaction you have with the sensor and band as a whole; everything else, as with one of the best smart rings or other screenless tracking options, is done via the app.

The app is where Google’s design falls down. Split into four tabs — Today, Fitness, Sleep and Health — the Google Health app features a dashboard with key metrics at the top, and insights or libraries of content below it.

But with information scattered across a quartet of tabs, it’s hard to find certain granular metrics or content you’re looking for compared to the old Fitbit app. I searched for Mindfulness content for 10 minutes before finding the five-minute meditation I was after, for example, and I often ended up starting new chats with the AI coach rather than resuming a chat from my history. It’s just not intuitive to use.

What is right in your face, for Premium users, is the AI coach, which cloaks your metrics in paragraphs of cheery text, so it takes longer to get to your information. It’s clever, and we’ll get onto its functionality in a moment, but I wish it summarized and contextualized less, and just offered more 'glanceability'.

• Design score: 3.5/5

Google Fitbit Air review: Features

• Set-and-forget tracker with a haptic alarm
• Good metrics
• AI Health Coach is a flexible macro-feature

The Fitbit Air records the usual metrics you’d expect with a modern fitness tracker, including step count, heart rate, floors climbed, sleep stages, and so forth. Fitbit’s Daily Readiness score shows you how prepared your body is for exercise, based on recent activity and sleep scores, while it also surfaces weekly cardio goals, hydration, and basic food logging. It can offer irregular heart rate rhythm notifications, which is great for potentially diagnosing atrial fibrilation, and allows you to take an ECG scan manually to monitor your heart health.

Basic tracking is all the free version gets you; there’s no workout builder, mindfulness content, way to log sickness, or any other extras beyond the numbers. It doesn’t add any special metrics for runners, such as stride or cadence, as many of the best running watches do. For some users who just want the numbers, this will be fine, with no need to subscribe to the Premium tier.

For Premium users, food logging can be done via the AI Health Coach, by taking a picture of your food. It’s very good at logging packaged food (it was bang on logging a crinkled package of chips with the message ‘log this’ as a 74kcal snack, also breaking down macros and salt content) but can struggle with plates of homemade food, although a basic description such as ‘log this lentil curry’ is enough for it to provide an estimation. The more information you can provide (weights and measures, etc), the more detailed it gets.

Those without the Health Coach can log food manually, as you can in other apps like MyFitnessPal.

The app also has access to Fitbit’s library of workout and meditation content, including individual moves, which you can use to build your own workout. Again, this is only available through the Premium subscription.

Through it all runs the AI Health Coach, which I actually found to be useful. Although there was no field to input illness as such, I typed my cold symptoms out to the Health Coach, and it remembered I was ill and adjusted its messaging and advice throughout the rest of the week based on my symptoms. I went to the gym without following one of the app’s pre-prescribed workouts, typed my sets and reps into the Coach’s ‘Ask Coach’ field, and it not only logged the workout, but suggested complementary routines to work different muscle groups for the rest of the week.

The AI Coach is a flexible ‘macro-feature’ that works well in conjunction with the rest of the app, and almost allows you to bypass the chaotic layout: you can just ask the Coach to serve you up what you need, which I’m sure was Google’s intent. Your use of the Coach will depend on your tolerance for chatbots: those who use Gemini or ChatGPT for everything will get a lot out of it, while those who loathe AI and just want numbers will likely loathe the Premium tier.

• Features score: 4/5

Google Fitbit Air review: Performance

• Performed well compared to the Apple Watch Ultra 3 in most scenarios
• Poor run estimations
• Battery life as described

As I noted when I compared the Google Fitbit Air against the Apple Watch Ultra 3, the tracker performed well during my 10K test run, at least for the metrics like heart rate and calorie count, which it can use its onboard sensors for. The metrics it uses my phone's GPS to estimate, like distance, were off significantly.

I’ve embedded the results below, but generally there was no statistically significant difference between heart rate or calorie estimations from the two devices. I'll be updating the review with confirmation of heart rate scores tested against a new Polar H10 chest strap, as my old testing unit has malfunctioned.

Previous

1 / 4

Next

Average heart rate

Google Fitbit Air

158

Apple Watch Ultra 3

161

050100150200

Average heart rate Data

Product	Value
Google Fitbit Air	158
Apple Watch Ultra 3	161

Average Pace

Google Fitbit Air

5.37

Apple Watch Ultra 3

5.47

01.534.56

Average Pace Data

Product	Value
Google Fitbit Air	5.37
Apple Watch Ultra 3	5.47

Calories burned

Google Fitbit Air

773

Apple Watch Ultra 3

750

0200400600800

Calories burned Data

Product	Value
Google Fitbit Air	773
Apple Watch Ultra 3	750

Distance

Google Fitbit Air

10.43

Apple Watch Ultra 3

10.03

03.757.511.2515

Kilometers

Distance Data

Product	Value
Google Fitbit Air	10.43
Apple Watch Ultra 3	10.03

My experience of tracking my sleep with the same two devices — I wore one on each wrist — was similar to the above, with close enough metrics but slightly different outcomes.

The Fitbit Air’s total sleep time estimation was within five minutes of the Apple Watch, and sleep stages were similar. However, while my sleep score was 90 with the Apple Watch, Fitbit registered it as only 81, citing a 10-point difference in sleep quality. However, the Google Fitbit Air’s sleep tracking has consistently registered my wake-up times during testing, successfully recording my early-hours bathroom trips and my cat jumping on my legs at 5am.

Because of the lack of a screen, GPS, and specialist metrics, regular runners won’t get a whole lot out of the Fitbit Air. Compared to my usual wealth of data from Apple or the best Garmin watches, I found it lacking, and my GPS map — imported from my phone, as the Air has no GPS of its own —- inaccurate, off by 400m compared to the Apple Watch.

Battery life is excellent, exceeding the seven days the device promised. Charging is fast, with just five minutes delivering a full day of battery life, and a full charge taking around an hour. The device is very comfortable to wear, as previously mentioned — I’ve barely needed to take it off all week.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Google Fitbit Air: Scorecard

Google Fitbit Air: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested

I wore the Google Fitbit Air for eight days straight. I ran a 10K while wearing an Apple Watch Ultra 3 and (malfunctioning) Polar H10 chest strap, and a shorter run with a Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro, as comparison testing alongside my usual workout routines. I also wore the Apple and Fitbit side-by-side during sleep. I tested its alarm, tried the features of its premium Health Coach, and used the app's workout and mindfulness content.

First reviewed: June 2026

• Samsung Galaxy Watch users are getting a completely redesigned health app with new features
• These new features include Vitals, Cardio Load and a dedicated Heart Health score
• The app is now AI-first, designed to turn Galaxy Watches into 'AI-powered health companions'

Samsung Galaxy Watch and Samsung Galaxy Ring users are going to see some big changes in the Samsung Health app. Referred to as 'a new experience' by Samsung press material, the redesigned health app includes new metrics and AI-powered summaries to break it all down for you.

Samsung says the new app 'uses AI to translate overnight and daily biometric data into personalized health guidance, helping users better understand everything from recovery and heart health to training load and overall wellbeing'.

This sounds familiar. Fitbit has recently undergone a complete AI-first redesign, too, including a name change to Google Health. It's not all been sunshine and roses, as many Fitbit users intensely dislike the forced pivot to AI, with what was Fitbit Premium now entirely revolving around its new AI Google Health Coach tool.

Samsung Health already uses AI in the background, such as using machine learning to calculate stats like your Energy Score, but this redesigned app is also shifting generative AI to the forefront. The timing of this move is likely to draw serious ire from Samsung users.

Don't panic, Samsung users

Fortunately, it's not as bad as all that, despite Samsung's similar AI-forward messaging and app redesign, so Galaxy Watch users can lower their pitchforks (for now). For one thing, Samsung hasn't introduced a paywall to Samsung Health; otherwise, there would be riots in the streets.

Second, on closer inspection, the redesign is also slightly less drastic than Google's: rather than being entirely oriented around an AI chatbot, as Google Health has chosen to do, Samsung has instead decided to use GenAI to summarize and explain your metrics, adding new ones so the user can drill down into different aspects of their health in more detail.

Existing tools such as Samsung's Sleep Score, Energy Score, and Antioxidant Index remain, and Samsung hasn't announced that it's removing any features — again, unlike Fitbit and Google, which removed features like Badges and Challenges.

I've listed all the new features below. Each of these features will get contextual AI summaries, explaining what the numbers mean and, where necessary, how to improve them.

• Vitals: Similar to Apple Health's feature, Vitals will analyze 'five key overnight bio-signals — heart rate, heart rate variability, respiratory rate, skin temperature, and blood oxygen — against their true resting baseline'. Essentially, Samsung will notify you if one or more of these metrics are abnormal, indicating you might be getting sick.
• Heart Health Score: Combining Samsung's Vascular Load metric with the Body Composition features on its watches, which can measure muscle and fat in the same way as the best smart scales. If you've got low Vascular Load and an in-range body fat percentage, your Heart Health Score is likely to be good.
• Daily Cardio Load: Accumulated strain based on recent cardiovascular exercise, like runs and cycle rides. Will contribute to your Energy Score.
• Fitness Index: A radar chart of five different metrics (Strength, Flexibility, Endurance, Cardio, Body Composition). The strangest so far: how Samsung intends to accurately measure flexibility with a Galaxy Watch remains a mystery to me. I've reached out to Samsung to clarify this.

The timing of this upgrade is certainly interesting: reports recently surfaced of a Samsung Galaxy Fit 4 that, when paired with this AI-powered Samsung Health upgrade, would make for a real Google Fitbit Air contender.

Today, smart wearables and health tracking apps are part of everyday life for millions of people in the UK. From heart rate and blood oxygen levels to continuous glucose readings and home ECGs, a growing share of the population is generating real time health data from their wrist, phone or patch.

This is more than a consumer trend: it is fundamentally changing how patients understand their own health and their awareness of what medical technology can offer. Patients no longer arrive at appointments in the dark about their health.

Rather, they present months of data to clinicians, who can then use this information to support their own decision-making.

It is important, however, to distinguish between consumer wellness wearables and regulated medical devices (such as CE- or UKCA-marked technologies) that inform diagnosis and treatment in clinical pathways supported by NICE guidance.

We see this shift towards on-the-go health tech across the industry including developers of wearable cardiac monitors, continuous glucose systems, therapeutic wearables and portable diagnostic tools.

The public taking prevention into their own hands

Wearables have not only normalized constant and convenient access to health information, but have also empowered individuals to take personal responsibility for their own health. Checking a resting heart rate or sleep pattern has become routine, often prompting earlier referral to NHS services when anomalies appear.

Fitness trackers were the catalyst, but the public is now increasingly familiar with clinically focused technologies. Their presence in pharmacies, online, and in the media has raised awareness that precise, preventative tools exist, even when not supplied through the NHS.

Patient autonomy and appetite for diagnostics

This growth in patient autonomy has direct implications for health tech adoption. A decade ago, wearing a cardiac monitor for longer than 24 hours might have deterred patients; today, many people have adapted to this change, wearing devices day and night.

Key implications of this shift for health tech adoption include:

1. Willingness to use clinical devices: Familiarity with wearables makes patients open to long-term clinical monitoring if it yields a definitive result.

2. Stronger demand for accuracy: Patients understand that a 24-hour snapshot can miss intermittent issues and are more inclined to support technologies that monitor over days or weeks, even if this requires more commitment in the short term.

3. Reduced tolerance for repeat appointments caused by inconclusive tests: Once patients realize high-quality data prevents repeated hospital visits, they naturally prefer comprehensive, first-time investigation.

Ambulatory ECG monitoring illustrates this well. Traditional 24-hour Holter monitors frequently miss intermittent arrhythmias, leading to delayed diagnoses and increased stroke risk. Modern devices monitoring for 14 days provide higher diagnostic yields and a far better patient experience.

When tariffs lag behind patient expectations

Unfortunately, we often see that NHS reimbursement structures rarely keep pace. Long-term monitoring technologies are often grouped under the same tariff codes as short-duration, less accurate options.

In ambulatory ECG, for example, extended continuous monitoring is frequently reimbursed at the same rate as a basic Holter monitor. This structurally disincentivizes providers from adopting more effective diagnostics, compelling Trusts to rely on cheaper, short-term tests that fit existing codes but result in avoidable repeat appointments.

To harness patient autonomy in support of health tech adoption, reimbursement must recognize wider system benefits - such as avoided admissions and reduced outpatient appointments - rather than focusing solely on unit cost.

Supporting bringing care closer to home

These issues are particularly relevant in the context of the Neighbourhood Health Framework and 10 Year Health Plan. Moving toward integrated neighborhood teams and prevention-focused, community-based care depends on timely insight into patient risk.

Neighborhood teams are expected to manage long term conditions closer to home, prevent avoidable non-elective admissions and reduce pressure on acute services. Virtual wards are already doing this at scale: in January 2026, more than 11,000 patients in England were being cared for on virtual wards, with around 90% of the 12,700 available ‘beds’ occupied. Patient-generated data from wearables can support this by flagging risk earlier, enabling timely intervention and safe remote follow-up.

Longer term monitoring, postal diagnostic pathways and remote review are consistent with the Framework’s aims. They can contribute to mandated success measures, including reductions in non-elective admissions and bed days, improvements in cardiovascular and diabetes outcomes, better access and fewer avoidable outpatient appointments.

However, local providers will only realize this potential if adoption and market access mechanisms are aligned. If tariffs and coding frameworks undervalue longer-term monitoring, local systems will struggle to invest in the tools that best support these objectives.

Harnessing the “wearable generation” for system change

The rise of health tracking has created a population comfortable with health data, more focused on prevention and more aware of the possibilities of health technology. Whilst this can lead to more ‘worried well’ presentations - where non‑specific alerts from consumer wearables drive anxiety and extra GP appointments - it is largely an asset for the NHS.

The answer is not to discourage engagement, but to channel it. Clear guidance on how consumer data should be interpreted, and regulated devices with proven accuracy sitting within structured pathways rather than operating in isolation, can reduce unnecessary demand while accelerating appropriate diagnosis and treatment.

If procurement and commissioning are adjusted to reflect this reality, informed patients can accelerate responsible health tech adoption. They are already willing to track their health, use monitoring devices for longer periods and engage with digital tools if this results in clearer answers and less time on waiting lists.

The task now is to ensure that adoption pathways, tariffs and neighborhood care models are designed to support this engagement and to translate prevention on the wrist into better outcomes for patients and the health system.

We feature the best telemedicine software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

• Samsung could be developing the Galaxy Fit 4 for a 2026 launch
• It won't be showcased at Galaxy Unpacked 2026, and will instead go on sale in September
• We don't know how much it will cost or what its new features are, but Samsung could give it a GPS boost

Affordable fitness trackers are rising in popularity, and Samsung could be gearing up to launch its next Galaxy Fit model — just as Google launched its budget-friendly Google Fitbit Air.

SamMobile first reported on the rumor, who claims it received information that Samsung is currently developing the next gen device in its lineup of budget wearables, which it says will launch later this year. It would mark the first Galaxy Fit device since the Galaxy Fit 3 from 2024.

The Fit 3 made our list of the best fitness trackers, and it's easy to see why:, they’re solid options for fitness novices who want a simple device with enough health monitoring tools.

The original report says the Galaxy Fit 4 is due for a September launch around the time of IFA 2026, which is set to take place from September 4-8. That said, the outlet also mentions that it’s unlikely that we’ll see the device make an appearance at Galaxy Unpacked 2026 in July, and will instead go straight to launch alongside the Galaxy Tab S12 and the Galaxy S26 FE.

Despite the launch date information, it’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what improvements Samsung plans to make with the device, but we have a hunch at what it won’t be getting.

It’s unlikely that the Galaxy Fit 4 will be able to run Wear OS like its Galaxy Watch sibling range, and will probably still run on the RTOS system like its predecessor. This is because of Samsung’s cost-cutting strategy, skipping the full power of Wear OS so it can list the device for a more affordable price, though we don’t know how much the Galaxy Fit 4 will cost just yet.

As for health tracking features, it’s unclear if there’ll be any new additions joining its roster of basic functions, but we’re confident that it’ll allow you to make the most of tools such as step, heart rate, and sleep tracking, as well as control music playback and phone notifications. It may even get some more AI-powered Samsung Health features to steal the Fitbit's lunch.

The most likely upgrade would be the addition of GPS, which the Galaxy Fit 3 doesn’t have. If Samsung gave the Galaxy Fit 4 a GPS boost, it would not only allow you to track outdoor activity more precisely, but it would also mean you can use your on-wrist device without needing to have it connected to your smartphone.

As we’ve seen with the Google Fitbit Air, basic fitness trackers seem to be all the hype at the moment. I can see why this is; why spend money on a premium smartwatch like the Apple Watch Ultra 3 if you know you don’t need all the advanced bells and whistles?

Although Samsung’s Galaxy Fit devices aren’t screenless, they still sit in the same ballpark as screenless fitness trackers due to their limited, yet sufficient health functions, adequate smartphone controls, and affordable price points.

Now that everyone’s flocking to the Fitbit Air, it creates tough competition for Samsung to really pull through with the Fit 4. However, Samsung could have the upper-hand if it chooses to bestow GPS upon the Galaxy Fit 4 — which the Fitbit Air doesn’t have.

The Google Fitbit Air is here, and early adopters are getting to grips with the new screenless fitness tracker and its AI-powered premium Google Health Coach.

I've shared my early thoughts after a few hours of testing and we've covered existing Fitbit users' disappointment and anger over some of the app changes — but how does it compare against an Apple Watch, perhaps the best-known and certainly the most commonly-spotted fitness wearable on wrists everywhere?

To find out, I went on a 10-kilometer evening run (braving the UK heatwave) with the Google Fitbit Air on one hand, and the Apple Watch Ultra 3 on the other. I was also wearing the Polar H10 heart rate monitor, intending to use it as a litmus test for accuracy, but the chest strap malfunctioned so I don't have any meaningful results to publish here.

I'm primarily looking at metrics such as heart rate and calories burned. Both wearables use optical heart rate sensors — LED lights that monitor blood flow on your wrist to estimate your heart rate. The estimation of calories burned combines your heart rate data with movement data and other metrics to calculate your energy expenditure.

As well as calories burned and average heart rate, I've included the results for average pace here too. I'm expecting the Apple Watch, with its built-in GPS, to be more accurate than the Fitbit Air, which is piggybacking off the GPS from my iPhone as it doesn't have any GPS capabilities itself.

It's also worth noting I have not linked Google Health and Apple Health at the time of writing, so these results are separate.

The results

Below are the results from my 10km run. Tap the 'next' tab on the graph to cycle through all three metrics.

Previous

1 / 4

Next

Average heart rate

Google Fitbit Air

158

Apple Watch Ultra 3

161

050100150200

Average heart rate Data

Product	Value
Google Fitbit Air	158
Apple Watch Ultra 3	161

Average Pace

Google Fitbit Air

5.37

Apple Watch Ultra 3

5.47

01.534.56

Average Pace Data

Product	Value
Google Fitbit Air	5.37
Apple Watch Ultra 3	5.47

Calories burned

Google Fitbit Air

773

Apple Watch Ultra 3

750

0200400600800

Calories burned Data

Product	Value
Google Fitbit Air	773
Apple Watch Ultra 3	750

Distance

Google Fitbit Air

10.43

Apple Watch Ultra 3

10.03

03.757.511.2515

Kilometers

Distance Data

Product	Value
Google Fitbit Air	10.43
Apple Watch Ultra 3	10.03

As you can see in the graphs above, both heart rate and calorie readings are quite close. The average heart rate for my workout was just a 3bpm difference between the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and the Google Fitbit Air. It would have been nice to have information from my chest strap to compare this as well, but I'll try this again before my full review with a different electrical heart rate monitor.

However, on previous tests the Apple Watch Ultra 3 matched the electrical heart rate monitor exactly, indicating that the Google Fitbit Air is pretty dang accurate too.

Likewise, the calorie counts on both wearables were relatively similar, with the Google Fitbit Air exceeding the Apple Watch Ultra 3's calculation by less than 25 calories. No two wearables are going to be exactly alike here, but this is close enough that I'd feel comfortable using the Google Fitbit Air day-to-day.

Average pace is a different matter. As previously mentioned, the Google Fitbit Air has no onboard GPS of its own, and although it showed a lovely map of my route obtained via my iPhone's GPS, it also overestimated my pace and thought I was a whole 10 seconds faster per kilometer than the Apple Watch did.

I know how my paces feel — it was a hot day and I had steep declines and inclines at either end of my run, so I ran slower than my usual brisk clip. I'm far more inclined to agree with Apple's assessment than the Fitbit's pace estimation here. Apple also gave me far more detail about my run, such as stride length and vertical oscillation (how bouncy I was during the run), whereas the Google Fitbit Air collects no such information. What Fitbit does surface, however, is steps taken during the workout (9,342 to be precise), which the Apple Watch Ultra 3 doesn't.

Fitbit also massively overestimated my run at 10.43km rather than 10.03km, even though it shows exactly the same map as my Apple Watch, with an identical finishing point, as you can see below in the comparison pic. Unlike 3bpm or 23kcal, over 400 meters and 10 seconds of pace are big differences.

Apple Fitness

Google Health

Analysis

In terms of the metrics relying on the onboard heart rate monitor, the $99.99 / £84.99 / AU$199 Google Fitbit Air is very accurate compared to the $799 / £749 / AU$1,399 Apple Watch Ultra 3.

I wouldn't have expected the Google Fitbit Air to be as reliable for run tracking as one of the best running watches, considering it doesn't even have GPS — as long as it's consistent for casual users, that'll be fine for most people. Anyone (like me) who cares enough to want maps, technique information like stride length, and pinpoint-accurate pace will likely gravitate towards a dedicated running watch anyway. Still, I was hoping for a smaller difference here.

The Apple Watch Ultra 3 has proven itself to be a very accurate wrist-based optical heart rate solution, so far superseded only by dedicated heart rate monitors. Based on this, I'm happy the Google Fitbit Air cleaves closely to this standard — although it's a shame I can't rely on GPS data harvested from my phone for more than a rough estimation.

• The Oura Ring 5 has a smaller design, longer battery life and higher price tag
• Six new features are coming to the Oura app, but not for all members
• You can pre-order today and have it delivered by June 4

The Oura Ring 5 is officially here, and it’s a big step up from last year's model. Oura says it has completely overhauled the design, making it 40% smaller, lighter, longer-lasting, more accurate and its most scratch-resistant ring yet.

Almost everything has been completely redesigned, allowing it to last for up to a week (we noted six days of charge in our Oura Ring 4 review), take more accurate, consistent readings thanks to a new signal architecture that uses more powerful LEDs and sensors, and be less susceptible to scratches because of a new extra-strong 'physical vapour deposition' coating.

Even the portable charging case has had a nifty upgrade; while the previous generation was buttonless, there’s a new dedicated button to make it easier to see the battery status and quickly pair with your device. On top of this, Oura is also adding 'Locate' to help you keep track of where your smart ring is, which will also be available for the Oura Ring 4.

Priced at $99 / £99 / AU$159 for the case, and $399 / £399 / AU$649 for base finishes (silver and black) and $499 / £499 / AU$799 for more premium styles (there’s a new shade of gold and deep rose on top of the usual brushed silver and ‘stealth’ options), the Oura Ring 5 is more expensive than the previous generation and rivals, like the Samsung Galaxy Ring and Amazfit Helio Ring. Although the upgraded case will cost the same as last year's model at $99 / £99 / AU$159.

Pre-orders are available now, with shipping set to start on June 4. Because the smart ring is significantly smaller than the previous generation, Oura is encouraging existing customers looking to upgrade to use their dedicated Oura Ring 5 sizing kit, as the fit may feel different at the same size.

Membership remains $5.99 / £5.99 / AU$9.99 a month ($69.99 / £69.99 / AU$109.99 a year), which is great because there are various new features rolling out to different regions and generations. Not all of these will be available at the same time, though.

Every new app feature coming to Oura Ring owners

When the new smart ring launches, Oura Ring members will get several new features, including 'Live Activity Tracking' for seeing your health metrics in real-time while working out, ‘Menopause Insights’ for assessing sleep, mood, cognition and daily functioning symptoms, and 'Hormonal Birth Control', which builds upon its existing 'Cycle Insights' dashboard by offering a "first-of-its-kind" view into how biometrics shift across hormone and hormone-free days.

The two latter features have already been introduced in the US as part of Oura's continued expansion into women’s health data, making this a great free update for all existing subscribers around the world.

On June 30, 'Lab Uploads' will also launch globally, allowing members to import their lab and blood work directly into the Oura app to help compare lab results alongside their Oura biometric data.

With even more personal health data being tracked and stored in the app, Oura has added a new security protection tool that lets you delete your stored data from a specific time window without having to cancel your entire account, which will be available to all members at launch.

Those in the US are also set to get even more new features as part of the launch. Starting today (May 28), you'll have the choice to opt into a new 'Brain Health Study' to measure how your sleep, stress and behaviour relate to your brain’s cognitive function and body’s performance. The study has been developed with Cambridge Cognition, a neuroscience technology company in the UK.

Launching at the start of June is 'Health Radar', a new always-on data collecting feature for estimated blood pressure readings and nighttime breathing that builds on 'Symptom Radar' alert system, and 'Health Records', which builds on the new 'Lab Uploads' by letting you store all your clinical reports in one place.

These updates are all part of Oura's mission to help find more 'actionable' solutions from their health insights. Oura has partnered with an on-demand care platform called Counsel Health, that connects medical AI with licensed physicians so that you can ask questions directly in the app and get personalized medical advice from licensed healthcare providers .

Last but certainly not least, members can expect GLP-1 medication self-management to come to the app as part of an expansion of its metabolic health offering. Oura says that global adoption is projected to surpass 100 million by 2030, making this a great solution for patients that have to juggle several apps for tracking dosages and biometrics.

Oura’s chief product officer, Holly Shelton, says the "Oura Ring 5 is the most significant leap in smart ring history". Looking at the new specs and features announced, this could set a new standard in smart rings as it also delivers on almost every upgrade we wanted to see for the Oura Ring 5 (the price is higher than we expected). But of course we’ll have to test it out ourselves to confirm that.

I’ve only had access to the Google Fitbit Air and the new Google Health app for a few hours, at the time of writing, and already there are some interesting things to say about one of this year's biggest contenders for the best fitness tracker crown.

While the stats and numbers you get in the free tier are a little basic, they’re roughly in line with what you’d expect from a $99.99 / £84.99 / AU$199 tracker. But it’s the premium AI health coach that’s impressed me with its ability to incorporate contextual information and change your weekly plan just by chatting to it.

The tracker is light and comfortable, it’s got some cool features even at the free tier, and Whoop (the other big player in the screenless fitness tracker space) should be worried.

While Whoop offers more detailed metrics, it’s also prohibitively expensive and doesn’t allow you to buy the fitness tracker or use it for free after purchase in any form: it entirely relies on an expensive subscription service starting at £169 / $199 / AU$299 annually, and going up from there. Cancel that subscription, and it’s just an inert hunk of plastic. You can read all about it in my Google Fitbit Air vs Whoop breakdown.

My early impression of the Google Fitbit Air and its Google Health Premium AI coaching service is that it’s designed to help beginner-to-frequently-training athletes, with simple metrics, round numbers, and a friendly interface that does a lot of its calculations behind the scenes.

Those who are already heavily invested in Whoop’s ecosystem won’t get the granularity of data they are used to, and thus might not be tempted by the lower price of the Fitbit. However, for the rest of us, I think this is going to do very well.

Design and comfort

The Google Fitbit Air weighs just 12g. It’s light, slender, and the performance loop band I’m wearing is very comfortable, although it does have a tendency to get a little… dank during a very sweaty workout, such as my first test run completed during a heatwave here in the UK.

It offers no interaction on the device at all, just a charging LED. As I said in previous pieces, it’s almost like an older pedometer-style Fitbit that clipped to your clothes, just in a modern form factor and made by Google.

I have to say, it’s very unobtrusive, being around two-thirds the width of the Whoop MG. It’s very easy to wear this in conjunction with another device or a non-smart analog watch on the other wrist. Funnily enough, that’s exactly what I’ve been doing.

Early comparison testing

I immediately incorporated the Google Fitbit Air into my smartwatch testing routine. I went on two runs with the Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro on one hand (the device I’m currently closing out on testing, which on previous runs matched very closely with the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro), a Polar H10 chest strap, and the Google Fitbit Air on the other.

Unfortunately, the usually pinpoint-accurate chest strap malfunctioned, but the average heart rate between the two wrist-based wearables was just 1bpm apart. I know the Huawei Watch Fit 5 Pro is quite accurate based on previous testing, so it’s a positive early sign, but before my full review I’ll be using a (working) chest strap to test the Google Fitbit Air.

What I was most impressed with was the Google Health Coach, the app’s flagship AI feature that encompasses everything else. After a brief chat about my goals, it set up an early plan for me, comprised of three gym sessions and two runs a week, to build muscle while maintaining baseline cardiovascular fitness.

After I completed my test runs, Google noted the extreme weather here in the UK, and mentioned it in the workout’s summary as something to take into account when viewing my metrics, as my heart rate was likely to be higher than normal. Very clever: exactly the sort of contextual information fitness trackers have been missing since their inception, pulled in automatically using location and weather data as well as fitness data.

Impressed, I tapped the ever-present blue ‘Ask Coach’ button and typed “I might swap one of my gym sessions for a long run this week. Can you update my plan?”

Hey presto: not only did it update my plan, but it also surfaced the Long Endurance Run activity profile for me to use on my next running day. I must admit, my early experiment with this AI Health Coach is a resounding success.

But at what cost?

All of this, unfortunately, comes at the expense of existing Fitbit badges and features. The app has been renamed, rebranded and redesigned overnight, with all badges and community features lost in favor of the AI-first approach.

Existing Fitbit users are not happy: on the Fitbit subreddit, one complaint thread garnered over 1,500 upvotes and over 600 comments, with users mentioning they are "beyond frustrated" at the changes and calling the app "slop", or a victim of "enshittification".

A particular target of criticism is the food logging feature, which I’ve not yet tried, but Google says "fixes are coming".

Coros has been launching sports watches and wearables for less than ten years. In that time it’s done enough good to see its name mentioned in the same sentence as the best Garmin watches, Polar and Suunto models.

Whether that’s hitting the sweet spot for price, features and performance with watches like the Coros Pace 4 or rolling out big software features, Coros is making ground on competition that has been around for much longer.

Like those brands, Coros is always looking at what’s next to ensure it remains in the sports wearable conversation for many years to come. In 2025, Coros launched the Coros Nomad, an outdoor watch that became its first to include a microphone. Since then, mics have been added to its Pace 4 and Apex 4 watches.

Microphones popping up on sports watches isn’t unique to Coros. Garmin’s Venu 2 Plus, launched in 2022, was the first Garmin watch to include one alongside a speaker. That was to enable calls over Bluetooth and to let you engage with your phone’s smart assistant, along with simple on-watch commands such as setting timers. Since then, Garmin has rolled out similar hardware to a host of its watches, such as the Garmin Fenix 8 and Forerunner ranges.

Coros has taken a different approach to giving its watches a voice. It’s not using mics to build a watch that behaves more like one of the best Apple Watches or a Wear OS smartwatch. Instead, voice pins — a feature that’s available on the Pace 4, Apex 4 and Nomad watches — allow users to record voice notes during workouts and mark where it was on a GPS map of your run. Voice pins are used to capture how you felt during the session or to remind you of the conditions for the next time you tackle that route.

“We believe voice is the future,” Coros co-founder and CEO Lewis Wu tells us. “When the era of AI comes in, a lot of the interaction between the watch or the app with consumers will change. Voice is the easiest way for the system or app to understand you. With the AI in the background, that can give you feedback. It’s like two-way communication.

“If you look at training, it’s more than pace and heart rate. Training is also about your subjective opinion, like how you feel. If I feel tired, my legs are sore or my ankle has an issue, these are all things that a coach wants to know — and now AI will know this.

“The more information consumers put into the computer, into AI, the better the system will understand you. This is why we built microphones in every single new watch going forward because we believe that's the future. If you want to get future-proof hardware or a running watch for yourself, consider those with a microphone. This is our vision.”

Using voice to shape how its watches can be better training companions isn’t the only thing on the agenda for Coros as it looks ahead. It also wants to take existing features that have been present on its watches for much longer than the voice ones and make them work better for users.

“We are committed to building a better wellness system,” says Wu. “I have to admit, our health and wellness system is not top notch. We need to get better, but the way we get better could be slightly different from other companies.” This seems to be an acknowledgment of features such as sleep monitoring, wellness checks and continuous heart rate monitoring that, in our testing experience, don’t feel as polished as other elements of the Coros ecosystem.

“We know most people want to do sports.,” says Wu. “They want to be active and healthy. The philosophy for most companies is trying to get people out to do some activity and that doing that will make them feel good.

“Most of the consumers are athletes or at least very endurance driven. Serious athletes are committed. So we thought about it another way. How do we keep consumers healthy so they can do sports? So it's not that you do sport to be healthy, but you need to be healthy to do sports. This is how we position our wellness system. To support consumers when you don't train and want to stay injury-free or stress-free.”

Huawei Band 11 Pro: One minute review

The Huawei Band 11 Pro sits right between a simple fitness tracker and a full-blown smartwatch. Released in early 2026, it goes beyond the capabilities of the standard Huawei Band 11 by featuring a more sophisticated build and an upgraded set of sensors. In comparison to many of the best fitness trackers, the Band 11 Pro feels more premium than most cheap ones that I've worn, such as the Amazfit Bip 6, but I'm far from convinced about the 'pro' label.

To give it its due, one feature inclusion that sets it apart from budget counterparts is the onboard GPS for tracking outdoor runs, cycles, and hikes, which is reason enough for the higher price tag compared to the likes of the Xiaomi Smart Band 10, which requires users to "piggyback" on a phone's GPS connection.

Despite its core focus being a simple tracker for exercise and health, the watch also includes basic smartwatch features such as notification handling, quick-reply texts, and even a remote camera control. These are handy features that help people feel connected to the world around them, but they're far from deeply integrated due to the lack of a QWERTY keyboard for the text replies, along with non-existent third-party app integration.

In terms of health tracking, Huawei looks to push the boundaries at this price point with Pulse Wave Arrhythmia Analysis for detecting irregular heart rhythms and Sleep Breathing Awareness to monitor for potential issues like sleep apnea. I wouldn't want to rely on these for perfect accuracy, but they're helpful indicators of potential health problems.

Within the broader market of the best smartwatches, the Huawei Band 11 Pro sits in the premium budget sweet spot, directly challenging rivals like the Fitbit Charge 6. While it is considerably more affordable than flagship smartwatches like the Apple Watch or Huawei's own Watch GT series, it provides nearly all the same core health and tracking features, even if they're not quite as accurate.

Huawei Band 11 Pro: Specifications

Huawei Band 11 Pro: Price and availability

• $97 USD / £69.99 UK / $139 AUS
• Very reasonably priced considering the onboard GPS feature
• Stiff competition from Fitbit, Garmin, and Amazfit

At this price, the Huawei Band 11 Pro is an absolute steal. Getting onboard GPS, an AMOLED display, and an aluminum case is almost unheard of at this price. Unfortunately, it’s not available in the US.

Comparable options include the Amazfit Bip 6 ($79.99 US / £79.90 UK) and the Fitbit Charge 6 ($159.99 / £139.99). If you’d like a cheaper alternative and are happy “piggybacking” onto your phone’s GPS, then you could go for the Xiaomi Smart Band 10 ($73.99 / £39.99).

The Band 11 Pro ships with a fluoroelastomer strap in either Black or Isle Blue finishes. If you’d prefer a braided nylon strap, you can have this in Field Green. Whichever strap you choose, the spec of the watch remains the same.

• Value score 4.5/5

Huawei Band 11 Pro: Design

• Large and bright AMOLED display
• Aluminum alloy case, which is a step up from polymer alternatives
• 5 ATM water resistance rating

The Huawei Band 11 Pro is a basic band-style design but with a more premium 'pro' aesthetic than most cheaper trackers. This is most noticeable in the upgraded 1.62-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, which is nearly 30% larger than its predecessor.

As impressive as the size is, it's actually the brightness of it which struck me first. Maxing out at 2,000 nits, it falls short of the much more expensive Apple Watch Ultra 3, but at this price the brightness is excellent; it delivered clear graphics, whether inside in a dark room or outside in full sun. The 347 PPI resolution isn't too shabby either, with text appearing sharp and icons vibrant.

From a build quality perspective, Huawei has opted for a CNC-cut aluminum alloy case which looks and feels markedly more premium than the polymer frames typically found on cheap fitness trackers. This metallic finish is complemented by a slim profile, measuring just 8.99 mm in thickness, allowing the device to sit flush against the wrist. In short, it looks the part, whether you're down the gym, out on a run, or at work.

I tested the version with the breathable fluoroelastomer strap and was surprised how comfortable it was. It’s also easily cleaned when exposed to dirt or sweat. All-day wearability, including at night, is possible due to the 25g weight (with strap), as it’s comfortable and you hardly notice it's there.

To ensure durability, the device carries a 5 ATM water resistance rating, meaning it's waterproof and able to withstand showering, swimming and even water sports.

• Design Score: 4/5

Huawei Band 11 Pro: Features

• Onboard GPS and sleep insights
• Pulse wave arrhythmia analysis
• Sleep insights and emotional wellbeing

The ‘Pro’ label is on account of a number of feature decisions that Huawei has made to elevate the user experience beyond other entry-level alternatives. This begins with built-in GPS (GNSS), which means you can leave your phone at home when going out for a run or cycle and still track your route. It can also detect when you have stopped at a traffic light or for a break and will automatically pause the workout tracking, although like other Huawei watches, you can toggle this feature on or off.

Overnight, it tracks your average sleep HRV, along with heart rate and SpO2, and lets you know when something’s outside your usual range. It also includes Sleep Breathing Awareness, which monitors breathing disruptions during sleep for insights into your nighttime breathing. A basic presentation of your sleep data is provided on the watch, but a more in-depth set of graphs, reports, and advice are viewable in the Huawei Health app.

Next up is 'Pulse Wave Arrhythmia Analysis', which identifies atrial fibrillation (AFib). It utilizes the same optical sensor technology that measures your heart rate, but applies a much higher level of data processing. The best Apple Watches also have an AFib feature, useful for determining whether your heart rate is irregular and whether you need to see a medical professional. If this is an important measurement to you, then I would go with this Huawei rather than a cheaper model.

For users who want help with monitoring their mental health, there's the Emotional Wellbeing Assistant. This provides real-time insights through its comprehensive mood and stress management system. Rather than just showing a "stress score", it uses physiological data to categorize your mood into visual states. These act as quick identifiers of what is going on inside your body.

• Features Score: 4/5

Huawei Band 11 Pro: Performance

• A very easy and enjoyable watch to use
• Sub-par GPS accuracy not surprising at this price point
• Excellent battery performance

As is the case with all Huawei watches, the user experience is a positive one. The Huawei OS interface is clearly laid out with easy-to-understand icons. Moving between features and settings is quick and responsive with little room for confusion about how to navigate around the menus. You can also choose between a list or grid view depending on your preference. The lack of a microphone means there are no voice commands, but that would be a lot to ask at this price.

There are over 100 workouts to choose from with the entire set pre-loaded onto the watch. The order of these, and whether they appear in the quick list, is easily customized. The watch can auto-detect workouts like running, which I made use of a few times when I had forgotten to set things up prior to exercising. As soon as you choose your workout, the watch searches for a GPS signal and alerts you when it’s found. You can begin the workout prior to a GPS lock, but accuracy will be compromised.

I was impressed by how quickly and easily the Band 11 Pro was able to find a GPS signal, even when I was indoors. In terms of GPS accuracy, I ran side-by-side comparisons with the Huawei Watch Ultimate 2, which performed as well as our gold standard, the Apple Watch Ultra series. Unfortunately the Band 11 Pro was left wanting with up to a 10% discrepancy on a range of tracked activities, including runs, walks, and bike rides.

As for health tracking, heart rate and SpO2 were in close range compared to the Watch Ultimate 2. Both watches also reported no abnormalities in relation to the Pulse Wave Arrhythmia Analysis, which was not only great to see from an accuracy point of view but also from a personal health perspective!

When I wore the watch at night, it successfully picked up most of my waking, but not all instances. No surprises there given the low cost of the device and limited complexity of the sensors. Despite its claims to be able to track REM, deep, and light sleep; HRV (Heart Rate Variability), and more, I would take its reports with a pinch of salt. It can give indications and provide general trends, but this isn't medical quality data. The Oura Ring 4, one of the best smart rings, is a wearable sleep-tracking gold standard (or as close as it gets) and is considerably more expensive than this slender band.

The Band 11 Pro excels when it comes to battery performance and is in fact one of its strongest selling points. Despite having a significantly brighter and larger screen than its predecessor, it manages to achieve a maximum of two weeks' use when Always-On Display (AOD) is disabled and GPS tracking is kept to a minimum, worthy of one of the best Garmin watches.

When I turned on continuous heart rate monitoring, performed sleep tracking, and carried out a few workouts per week, the battery stayed alive nearly a week, which is reasonable given that you're not going to be using this type of tracker for long-distance off-grid excursions. I found recharging to be very quick, with 0-100% achieved in a little over an hour.

• Performance score: 4/5

Huawei Band 11 Pro: Scorecard

Huawei Band 11 Pro: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested

I wore the Huawei Band 11 Pro almost non-stop for three weeks. I used it while running, cycling, walking, showering, working out, sleeping, playing with my children, texting, photographing, and daily life. I tested its GPS against the reliable Huawei Watch Ultimate and compared its specs to contemporaries in its price category.

First reviewed: May 2026

Take a read through our Oura Ring 4 review and you'll see there's a lot to like about the smart ring that launched in October 2024: we described it as being "nearly the perfect fitness tracker", while praising its battery life, tracking capabilities, and design.

However, the high score attached to that review — 4.5 stars out of 5 — doesn't mean that the Oura Ring 4 can't be improved upon, and we've got some ideas about the kind of updates that might make the rumored fifth generation model a worthwhile upgrade.

This is an increasingly competitive field as well, with rival devices such as the Samsung Galaxy Ring, another Ultrahuman smart ring and RingConn Gen 3 recently announced, and Apple widely expected to get involved in this product category too, eventually.

That's before we get on to all the other 'focus' screenless fitness trackers that discerning consumers can pick from, including the Google Fitbit Air. The Oura Ring 5 needs to build on what makes the current version such a great device.

Oura Ring 5: leaks and rumors

There's nothing official out there about the Oura Ring 5 yet, but we have an inkling that Oura is working on a new model of its smart ring. We got the company's 3rd-gen device in October 2021 and the 4th-gen wearable in October 2024, so it makes sense that we might see something new later in 2026. The team at Gadgets & Wearables notes that another Oura device has already been registered with US regulators.

While there are only so many ways that a smart ring can be designed, the Oura Ring 5 renders leaked by Android Headlines suggest that not much is going to change in terms of aesthetics — and the 5th-gen ring is apparently going to come with the same charging accessories as well.

What might be different are the colors: the same source predicts that the current Rose Gold color is going to be replaced by Deep Rose. The existing matte black, standard gold, and silver options are expected to be retained, with the silver one apparently going to be available in both a glossy and brushed option.

Other details are rather thin on the ground, though Android Headlines does say that the battery life on the Oura Ring 5 will be more or less the same as on the current model (so around six days, based on our testing). There will be improvements in sensors and health tracking, the report says, though we don't get any details.

More clues about what to expect come from Android Central, which points to patents Oura has registered for modular add-ons, GPS tracking, haptic feedback, and smart gesture support. As always with patents though, they're not always guaranteed to be turned into actual features, even if the company concerned is exploring a certain technology.

It looks as though the Oura Ring 5 will offer an evolution of what we've got with the Oura Ring 4 based on these leaks and rumors, rather than something radically different — though perhaps with some surprises still to come in terms of software, sensors, and fitness tracking capabilities.

Oura Ring 5: what we want to see

At this point it's probably too late in the development of the product to convince the Oura engineers to include features that have or haven't already been locked in, but it's still worth talking about what we'd like to see from the upcoming smart ring — if only to have a list to refer back to when it does arrive.

A slimmer design

You couldn't claim the Oura Ring 4 is bulky, exactly, but there is some room for improvement here, especially when it comes to the larger ceramic version of the wearable. The standard Oura Ring 4 is 2.88 mm thick, while the ceramic version bumps that up to 3.51 mm (and it's heavier too).

The RingConn Gen 2 is a mere 2 mm thick, while the Samsung Galaxy Ring is 2.6 mm, so it's an area where Oura is currently being beaten by its competitors.

Size and weight is so important for a wearable like this, which you're expected to have on around the clock, and Oura might be able to get the new ring fractionally smaller.

A lower price

The starting price for an Oura Ring 4 is $349 / £349 / AU$569, which doesn't compare too badly with the $399 / £399 / AU$699 you pay for the Samsung Galaxy Ring or the $299 / £269 / AU$269 starting price of the Amazfit Helio Ring. However, there's scope for Oura to go cheaper with the Ring 5, especially when you consider the compulsory subscription.

An Oura subscription isn't an optional extra: It's necessary to use your device, and will set you back $5.99 (about £4.40 / AU$8.30) a month. Realistically, Oura isn't going to do away with that steady income stream from its users, but given that commitment, it would be nice to see the up-front price of the next smart ring drop.

A silicon sleeve

The Oura Ring 4 is great for many things, but it's not ideal for activities like racket sports or weight training: the risk of damage to the device or to your own body goes up, whenever you're doing any kind of gripping or holding with your hands, and that's not something you want to have to worry about.

One of the third-party fixes for this, especially when it comes to gym work, is a silicon sleeve to wear over the Oura wearable. If one of these were to be included in the box with the Oura Ring 5, that would save on extra cost for the user (see above), and mean that the device would be more useful right away — without any accessories.

We'll have to wait and see if the team at Oura has been thinking along similar lines since the launch of the Oura Ring 4, but we'll let you know as soon as there's anything official on a new product (a product that's very likely to break into our best smart rings list).

• A big update is rolling out for Coros watches
• The headline feature is voice commands, currently in beta
• Strength training, auto laps for running, and the control center all get tweaks, along with a new photo sharing feature

Coros users are getting a lovely package of new features and other updates, starting today. Coros' May Feature Update gives Coros users, especially modern ones, a host of new features to play with, chief among them Voice Control.

Currently available only in beta, this moves Coros watches (at least, those equipped with microphones such as the Coros Pace 4 and Apex 4) to match some of the other best running watches such as the Apple Watch Ultra series, along with the best Garmin watches.

Voice Control can be used to start a workout profile on the watch, whether it's walking, trail running or even gravel biking, by pressing and holding the action button. You can also make more granular changes within those profiles, such as changing lanes during track runs, or changing the treadmill speed on a treadmill run profile. You can even 'record a catch' while fishing.

It can also be used for the usual assortment of settting reminders, activating Find My Phone, and so on. If you want to get early access to the feature, you can join the beta program here.

Our writer Michael Sawh recently interviewed Coros' CEO Lewis Wu, and while we'll be publishing the second half of that interview next week, we can reveal that the move towards voice commands is very much in line with Wu's AI-powered vision for Coros.

He said: "We believe voice is the future... "If you want to get future-proof hardware or a running watch for yourself, consider those with a microphone. This is our vision.” You can read all about Coros' AI plans in the second part of the interview, to be published next week.

What else is new?

Other updates include Custom Photo Sharing, which allow you to overlay your stats and recent training sessions with a photo of your choice before sharing it with friends or to social media. It creates a vertical overlay with stats such as speed or elevation — perfect for sharing to Instagram or Strava.

Strength Mode has received an update, allowing users to edit reps and intensity either on the watch or in the app after the session, and rep counting accuracy is reportedly improved as well.

You can now choose to set up Auto Laps when running by distance, or by position, so you can return to where you started to begin another lap. This is perfect for circular runs or hill sprints. The Control Center will also receive an update, with a new easy-access layout.

The update is available from today.

Keen to get started on your running journey? Well, you're in luck. Garmin has dropped three new contenders for our best Garmin watch list, and they're all affordably priced and brimming with running-focused features.

The Garmin Forerunner 70, 170 and 170 Music officially release on May 15. You might have pre-ordered one already, but if you're still looking, you also might be weighing up which model is right for you. Do you need the Forerunner 170 Music, or can you save money and opt for the cheaper Garmin Forerunner 70? I break down all the differences below, with a brief bit of context to explain how they compare to other Garmin watches in the range.

Note that I haven't yet had an opportunity to test the watches myself — I've looked at the statistics and feature lists from Garmin's official websites and promotional materials to put together this comparison.

Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Garmin Forerunner 170: Specifications

Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Garmin Forerunner 170: Price

The cheapest watch of the three is the Garmin Forerunner 70, replacing the aging Garmin Forerunner 55 as Garmin's entry-level running watch du jour.

As you can see in our table above, it costs $249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399, while the more feature-rich Forerunner 170 (which replaces the older Garmin Forerunner 165) starts at $299 / £259.99 / AU$479. If you want the Music capabilities, you can pay an extra $50 / £40 / AU$70 for the Forerunner 170 Music.

Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Garmin Forerunner 170: Design

All three watches have a similar design language, and there are few physical differences. There's a single gram of difference in weight between the Garmin Forerunner 70 and its 170 siblings, and all three are only available in a 42.6mm screen size.

They all have the same 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, and use the same five-button configuration as many of Garmin's other watches, such as the Garmin Fenix 8, which makes it easy to operate the watch even while wearing gloves — perfect for running in all weathers.

Embossed Forerunner logos adorn the bands for all three models, while all three are available in a variety of colors, including Black, Whitestone and two-tone models. Each has at least one unique color option too — the Forerunner 70, for example, is available in a pale-yellow Citron color.

Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Garmin Forerunner 170: Features

Here's where it gets interesting. Each watch has the usual suite of heart rate and fitness-tracking features, such as calories burned, sleep tracking, steps counted and 80 sports profiles. They also all have built-in GPS, Glonass and Galileo satellite network connectivity, to make sure the watch is accurately tracking your runs.

Each one offers Daily Suggested Workouts and personalized training plans via Garmin Coach, the service in the Garmin Connect app. Other training features include advanced metrics perfect for runners such as stride, cadence and elevation, along with Running Power — a metric you may not know about. It's a measure of how much power your body's putting out during a run, measured in mechanical watts.

Garmin works out running power using the watch's motion sensors, GPS and barometer. Using heart rate to determine your performance is considered inferior, because it measures your body's response to the run, not the power of the run itself.

All three watches have wellness features galore, such as sleep tracking, nap detection, Training Readiness and Recovery scores to better plan your training calendar around. Course Planner helps you train at the correct distances, creating routes around your neighborhood, and the Race Predictor feature estimates your time based on a course added to Garmin's database and your historic data.

There are some differences, but they aren't major. The Forerunner 170 appears to have all the training features of the 70, while adding Garmin Pay and Smart Notifications features. Smart Notifications allows you to reply to texts when you're on the move (on Android phones), manage notifications from apps and emails, and screen calls, while Garmin Pay is a virtual wallet on your wrist, and works in a similar way to Apple Pay on one of the best Apple Watches.

These appear to be the only differences, aside from the colorways, between those two watches.

The Forerunner 170 Music adds 4GB of internal memory, allowing you to store songs on your wrist. When connected to Bluetooth headphones, you can listen to music right from your watch, without using your phone as a go-between. Combined with Garmin Pay, this means you can leave your phone at home or in a bag, run while listening to music, and even buy a coffee once you're finished.

Early verdict

The Garmin Forerunner 70 is shaping up to be a pretty great training tool, and if you're not looking for a smartwatch to use for notifications and a digital wallet, this is the model for you.

If you are looking for those things, the Garmin Forerunner 170 or 170 Music is going to be the best choice for you, unless you want to go up in price and opt for a more expensive smartwatch like the Garmin Venu 4.

Last week, Google launched the Google Fitbit Air, its much-rumored screenless fitness tracker designed to be its entry into the set-and-forget 'focus wearable' market. I should say re-entry really, as the original Fitbit and Fitbit Flex bands were exactly this type of device: minimalist pucks or bands, with very limited scope for interaction, and no screens to speak of.

Right now the category of simple, screenless wearables is dominated by the likes of the best smart rings and by fitness trackers such as Whoop, which is undoubtedly the most popular of the wrist-based screenless fitness bands out there. Whoop has been in the screenless tracker game for years, and is a popular choice for serious athletes, biohackers and wellness enthusiasts alike.

But Whoop's offering isn't cheap, as you don't buy the device outright; instead you get it as part of an annual subscription to the Whoop app, with the subscription tiers increasing in price as more features are included.

While I haven't yet had any hands-on time with the Google Fitbit Air (I'm expecting a review unit very soon), we can compare the listed specs, features and subscription prices to identify which fitness tracker is right for you.

Google Fitbit Air vs Whoop: Specifications

Above is a table comparing some of the specifications of the Google Fitbit Air to the Whoop 5.0 and premium Whoop MG bands. Perhaps a good place to start here is the weight, as Google states that the Fitbit Air weighs just 12 grams with a band or five grams on its own, hence the name. The Whoop devices weigh more than double that. The Fitbit is also far better for diving, as according to Google it's water resistant up to 50 meters.

The Google Fitbit Air can last for a week, while the Whoops offer only a few days of battery life each. However, they do come with a battery pack that can slot onto the device while you wear it to charge the device, which means you can get 14 days of constant data with no need to take the device off to charge it at all. In theory, the only time you'd ever need to take your Whoop off is to change the band, should you want to.

As more expensive devices, the Whoops incorporate stainless steel into their clasps, whereas the Fitbit is all plastic.

Google Fitbit Air vs Whoop: Price & value

Where Google wins off the bat is that the Fitbit Air is relatively cheap — you can pre-order it now for $99.99 / £84.99 / AU$199. Even if you choose not to subscribe to Google Health Premium —Google's fitness service, which gives you access to its comprehensive AI Health Coach feature — after the free trial included with your Fitbit Air is over, you can still log your data using the band on the Google Health app's free tier and use it as a basic, screenless fitness tracker.

If you do choose to subscribe, you're essentially paying for the tracker again on an annual basis in order to get all the AI features and unlock advice to help you use those metrics. There's no doubt this is intended to be a core feature rather than an optional extra, but you do have the option not to subscribe. You could also pay monthly, but you end up paying around $20 US dollars more per year than an annual subscription (international pricing is TBC).

Whoop, on the other hand, requires a subscription to work at all, starting at a fairly reasonable £169 / $199 / AU$299 per year for the base Whoop One subscription, which comes with the Whoop 5.0 device but locks metrics like Stress and Whoop Age behind a paywall.

You get those (along with a nicer Whoop MG band and a wireless charger puck) with a Whoop Peak membership, which costs £229 / $239 / AU$419 per year. Then at the highest level you get the Whoop Life subscription plan, at £349 / $359 / AU$629 per year, which comes with the Whoop MG band and heart health features.

There's no doubt about it: over time, the Whoop will be pricier than the Google Fitbit Air by a significant margin. While the Google Fitbit Air is the cheaper option of the two, the breadth of the AI Coach's features might make it a better value prospect too, unless you want specific features like Whoop's Stress score, workout builder or the MG's electrocardiogram (ECG) functionality.

Google Fitbit Air vs Whoop: Features

The Fitbit Air, Whoop 5.0 and Whoop MG all pack PPG LED heart rate sensors, and all the best smartwatch features such as heart rate, step counting, calorie burn estimation, skin temperature and blood oxygen monitoring. I haven't tested the accuracy of Fitbit's sensor yet.

The key difference between the two Whoops, however, is that the Whoop MG has an advanced 'Heart Screener' sensor functionality which can be used for ECG scans, which can aid in detecting atrial fibrillation or irregular heart rate. According to Whoop, it "meets and exceeds clinical-accuracy standards".

The Fitbit Air doesn't have this functionality, but the Fitbit Charge 6 does — so if you're looking to keep an eye on your heart health, you'll need to opt for the Charge series or a more expensive Whoop MG.

The Google Fitbit Air's feature set includes a lot of the same stuff from the Fitbit app, including historic graphs of your movement and sleep data along with a Daily Readiness score, but many of the actionable insights are locked behind the Google Health Coach, the AI coaching service that comes with a Google Health Premium subscription. The Coach shows you demonstrations for different exercises, advises you on how to get better sleep, can generate meal and exercise plans, and can incorporate medical records.

Whoop also has an extensive laundry list of features to rival this. In terms of the amount of features on offer, it exceeds Google's, with all manner of scores for metrics like strain, recovery, sleep (along with actionable insights on how to reduce sleep need), Whoop Age (your body's biological age, only accessible if you subscribe to the mid-tier Peak subscription or the Life subscription), Cardiovascular Age, and lots more.

Whoop's AI coach offers useful, actionable insights too, and its workout builder is based on a comprehensive library of fitness moves that also includes demonstrations. While Google allows you to upload your medical records to the app, serious biohackers can send away for blood tests in the US via the Whoop app, to get results for biomarkers such as hormone levels and vitamin deficiencies that Whoop's AI can incorporate. New features are rolling out that will also allow you to contact licensed clinicians through the app.

However, despite Whoop having a longer list of features, I'm looking forward to spending time with Google's health-focused LLM Coach to identify the breadth of its capabilities. I'm willing to bet that the flexibility of the Coach service, together with the ability to feed it your data, will make it an excellent value proposition.

Early verdict

The Google Fitbit Air is a fairly cheap tracker that looks like a great-value proposition for those who don't want to shell out for a pricey Whoop subscription, especially as over time, it looks like the expense of a Whoop will only increase when compared to the Fitbit's cheaper subscription and one-time purchase. As a consumer, you also have the choice of whether to subscribe to the AI coach or just use the device as a tracker.

The Whoop devices do have some innovations that Fitbit doesn't have, such as that innovative charger, the metallic physical elements and a more comprehensive feature set, but during testing I'll be specifically testing the breadth of the Fitbit's AI coach, trying to see if it can replicate some of the Whoop bands' best features.

• The RingConn Gen3 is now available for pre-order
• It boasts new features including 'Vascular Health Insights, blood pressure and vibration alerts
• At present, vibration alerts are only keyed to health events and reminders, rather than phone notifications

The RingConn Gen 3 is now available for pre-order, and it boasts a range of upgrades and improvements over the RingConn Gen 2. Our reviewer called the slimmer RingConn Gen 2 Air the "perfect entry-level smart ring" and it made our best smart rings list. Clearly RingConn is already doing something right.

While the new model is slightly thicker, it's got a bunch of new features, notably Vascular Health Insights and Smart Vibration Alerts. Vascular Health Insights is RingConn's name for looking at your data longer-term, with the feature said to 'push the ring beyond simple logging and more toward long-term pattern interpretation,' according to the RingConn website. It's 'designed to help users understand broader cardiovascular trends over time'.

RingConn stresses it's turning heart health signals into actionable insight, but at the moment it's unclear how that differs to similar features from Oura and Samsung Health.

Blood pressure monitoring is also on the cards, although RingConn is carefully not framing the ring as a replacement for a blood pressure cuff, as is the case with the best Apple Watches' Hypertension feature. Instead, it's designed as advisory or an estimate only.

Haptic feedback

RingConn's Smart Vibration Alerts are interesting: it's a feature not currently used by the top smart rings like the Oura Ring 4 and the Samsung Galaxy Ring. Instead, it represents smart rings adopting an element of interactivity rather than remaining focused, quiet wearables for data collection.

However, rather than get into alerting you to phone notifications, the RingConn Gen 3's Smart Vibration Alerts are only for health events, with the press release stating that 'Gen 3 is not trying to become a noisy mini-smartwatch'.

'The vibration feature is health-first, not message-first. That keeps the ring aligned with what people actually want from this category: helpful guidance without constant distraction.' Presumably, those health events include features similar to the best smartwatches, alerting the user to unusually high or low heart rates. The vibration feature can be toggled on or off.

A solid foundation

The RingConn Gen 3 builds on the Gen 2's solid foundation, with sleep apnea detection, menstrual cycle tracking, and an improved battery life (up to 11 days with vibration on, or 14 with vibration off).

It packs all the usual measuring of wellness metrics such as stress, heart rate variability, blood oxygen, sleep tracking, steps, calories and more. Stay tuned for our full review, and you can preorder the RingConn Gen 3 here for $386 (around £285 / AU$535).

• Garmin just dropped three new watches: the Garmin Forerunner 70, 170 and 170 Music
• Designed to be 'easy to use', the watches are equipped 'with everything a runner needs to start their running journey'
• Some of Garmin's software from more expensive Forerunners makes the cut here, such as wrist-based running power and running dynamics

Our best Garmin watches list has been overdue getting a new budget entry for a while, and we're now spoiled for choice: Garmin just dropped three 'easy-to-use' running watches.

The three models — the Garmin Forerunner 70, Forerunner 170 and 170 Music — are equipped with "everything a runner needs to start their running journey," according to Susan Lyman, Garmin Vice President of Consumer Sales and Marketing.

The Garmin Forerunner 70 is the successor to Garmin's long-serving Garmin Forerunner 55 running watch, and will cost £219.99 / AU$399 (around $300). The Forerunner 170, meanwhile, will start at £259.99 / AU$479 (around $350). The 170 Music, which allows you to download music and connect headphones and which comes with 4GB of memory, costs £299.99 / AU$549 (around $400).

All three watches come with a 1.2-inch AMOLED screen and Garmin's standard Forerunner five-button configuration.

The Garmin Forerunner 70 offers up to 13 days of battery life, while the more feature-rich Forerunner 170 series both get up to 10 days of battery life in smartwatch mode. The Forerunner 170 series also adds more smartwatch features, such as Garmin Pay.

In a press release, Lyman said the "Forerunner 70 and Forerunner 170 include premium running and training features pulled in from our more advanced Forerunners, plus popular health and wellness metrics."

Those tools include Training Readiness scores, wrist-based Running Power (a popular metric to base your performance on, a measure of total effort rather than heart rate), and Running Dynamics features, which calculate stride, cadence and more. It's not clear yet whether the watches are packing the older, less accurate Elevate V4 heart rate sensors common in cheaper watches, or Garmin's newer Elevate V5 series.

The Garmin Forerunner 70 and 170 series are available to pre-order now, releasing on May 15.

A well-timed replacement

While there's plenty of entry-level and beginner-friendly language used when describing these watches, Garmin's simpler, cheaper Forerunners are still used by the best runners in the world.

As recently as April this year, the five-year-old, still-cheap Garmin Forerunner 55 was used by marathon runner Sebastian Sawe to break the two-hour time barrier at London 2026.

So, even though these watches are ideal for beginners, serious runners should be looking at them very closely too. Stay tuned for our full reviews.

My running pace isn't going to set the race world alight. And while I'm a big proponent of taking things at your own speed, I would like to improve my stats just a smidge — and a fitness tracker is how I'm going to do that. So far, I've either not tracked my runs at all, or used a phone-based app to gather information that I can look at after I've finished. Some on-wrist information, I think, would help me become more aware of my progress, and ultimately, how to improve it.

So I'm in the market for a wearable. Today's best fitness trackers and smart watches are crammed with tech and data, but I don't need something particularly advanced, and I also don't want to splash too much cash. If you're in a similar position to me, I've gathered some top options below. These are highest-rated, budget running trackers we've tested at TechRadar, any of which would fit the bill perfectly.

In the affordable smartwatch arena, the standout is the Amazfit Active 2, which is bafflingly cheap and earned a perfect five stars in our review. Of the fitness bands we've tested, the Samsung Galaxy Fit3 is the shining star (provided you don't live in the US or have an iPhone), or the efficient and beginner-friendly FitBit Inspire 3.

Read on for more options — and hit the View Details button to find out more information about each one.

On your marks...

• Google has revealed the new Google Fitbit Air, and as expected, it's a screenless fitness tracker similar to a Whoop band
• Designed as a 'set and forget' wearable just like the original FitBit, it weighs just 12g with the fabric band
• The wearable arrives at the same time as a big Fitbit redesign, with the app rebranded as 'Google Health'

After weeks of rumors and teases by Google (via NBA all-star Stephen Curry's Instagram account) Google has revealed the Google Fitbit Air, the next evolution of the best Fitbits, and it's exactly what we were expecting: a budget screenless 'set and forget' fitness tracker to undercut the likes of Whoop.

Priced at $99.99 / AU$199 (around £75), the tracker is incredibly lightweight at just 12g — without the band, it weighs only 5g.

It boasts a seven-day battery life, fast charging, and all the usual smartwatch sensor arrays for heart rate, step counting, calorie burn estimation, skin temperature and blood oxygen monitoring.

The device doesn't have GPS, differentiating it from the Fitbit Charge 6. It includes a subscription with three free months of Google Health Premium (formerly known as Fitbit Premium, but more on that in a minute), usually costing $9.99 / £7.99 / AU$15.49 per month.

So far, so expected. The Google Fitbit Air saves seven days of detailed motion data, minute by minute, and one day of workout data, syncing to the new Google Health app.

What is the Google Health app?

The Fitbit app and Fitbit Premium subscription service are being rebranded as the Google Health app in a mandatory rollout, which includes a sweeping redesign. It's not going to be a popular move for long-time Fitbit users, but we've known this was coming ever since Google made it mandatory to have a Google account to continue using Fitbit devices.

As part of this, Google Health's premium subscription is now based around the Google Health Coach, an AI health assistant based on Google Gemini. The Coach accesses all the data you allow it, from sleep and heart rate from a fitness tracker, to nutrition logging by uploading photos of your meals. It can even take into account your medical records.

Using this corpus of information, the Google Health Coach becomes a personal assistant of sorts, recommending you workout plans, sleep optimization tips, recipes, injury advice and more based on your goals and health.

The Google Fitbit Air was apparently 'designed for Google Health Coach', but unlike Whoop, you can use the fitness tracker with a free version of the app if you don't want to subscribe. You just don't get all the AI-powered advice, instead simply getting readouts, scores and graphs based on your data as you do with most fitness trackers.

Google Fitbit Air: specifications

The bands come in several styles: a woven Performance Loop Band designed for 'a flexible fit' built from recycled materials; a silicon Active Band; and the more stylish Elevated Modern Band. The Google Fitbit Air Special Edition comes with a Stephen Curry branded band designed for "peak performance and elevated style".

Analysis: undercutting Whoop and returning to classic Fitbit

When news first broke about the upcoming Fitbit Air, I wrote that Fitbit's new screenless Whoop-style tracker is a better fit for the brand than a smartwatch, because it's a return to the 'almost invisible' pedometer of 2008.

I stand by that assessment. Fitbit's always been best as an unobtrusive, reliable fitness tracker and pedometer, and despite the new app's AI smarts and Google's heavy hints that you need the Health Coach subscription to get the most from this band, this is exactly where the Google Fitbit Air sits.

Other screenless options, such as Whoop 5.0, the Polar Loop and even smart rings like the Oura Ring 4 are more expensive, making the Google Fitbit Air a cheap option for 'focus wearable' fanciers.

Vote in our Google Health poll and tell us what you think:

In 2025, both Garmin and Polar made the bold move to launch paid subscription services with AI-driven coaching features, putting a host of software features behind a paywall.

Unsurprisingly, the introduction of Garmin’s Connect+ and, to a lesser extent, Polar’s Fitness Program didn’t go down well with many existing users. In particular, Garmin users that had just spent a lot of money on a watch they assumed they’d have access to everything on offer, with few users migrating to the paid tier according to our poll.

Garmin and Polar join Oura, Whoop, Google and most other major wearables manufacturers and fitness apps in offering a paid tier full of AI-powered features. When two of the most established sports watch brands make those kinds of moves, it’s understandable to wonder if everyone else will follow suit.

Coros is a relative newcomer to this space, launching its first watch in 2018. Since then, it’s rapidly grown its presence to appear on the wrists of many runners, cyclists and endurance athletes, and features on our lists of best running watches. Coros’ companion app and features have been free to access with the purchase of a watch, and have been since day one. So would it follow in the footsteps of Garmin and others by starting to make its users pay up for extra features?

“First of all, never say never,” says Lewis Wu, co-founder and CEO at Coros.”It really depends on how things go. “We don’t have a payment subscription plan on the roadmap yet, because so far the development is good enough for us to eat that cost.

“Hopefully we’ll never need to do it. The cost of cloud services and the cost of AI will also go down in the future. So we’ll try very hard to keep it for free. We'll try to be as nice as possible for a long time!”

Wu was speaking to us at the launch of a new collaboration between Coros and Wahoo that now allows training data to be shared across devices from both brands. That includes Wahoo’s new Kickr Run treadmill to boost indoor run tracking accuracy. Again, there is no extra charge for this feature for Coros or Wahoo users.

“One thing we need to look at is, what kind of features are we going to build?,” Wu said. “The second thing is, what’s the cost of that feature? If the profit from hardware sales is able to cover it, then we’ll find a way to offer it for free. We have been building features for existing hardware for years without charging anything.”

As far as the likes of Garmin and Polar deciding to offer a subscription element to their respective software platforms, this is something Wu isn’t wholly surprised by.

“A company needs to make a profit. That’s one thing, says Wu. “That’s part of why you start a company right? Whether you’re a large company or a small startup. We want to keep our business model simple. We want to sell hardware and reinvest the profit into the back end development.

“There’s no problem for an app-only company to charge a subscription because that’s their only source of income. We’re fortunate that we have the hardware sales to support us.”

Is a screenless Coros tracker on the horizon?

Locking software features behind a paywall isn’t the only trend in the wearable space that has pulled in some of those established sports watch brands. In 2025, Polar introduced the Loop, a screen-less band clearly set on offering a subscription-free alternative to Whoop. Garmin is expected to launch its Cirqa band soon and do something similar. Google and Fitbit is set to join the screen-free party with the device likely being dubbed Fitbit Air. So is Coros cooking up something screen-free as well?

“Screen-less devices really land on understanding what kind of problem we want to solve for consumers?” explains Wu. “We’re not a company that sells tons of screen-less devices and makes tons of money from it. What we’re going to do is look at what kind of problems cannot be solved by a watch. For the most part, most problems can be solved by a watch. It’s a device you can wear 24/7. It can record your heart rate and metrics like HRV.”

This kind of problem solving is what led Coros to build and launch an arm-based heart rate monitor. To solve the problem of offering more reliable heart rate tracking across workouts compared to the performance of doing that from the wrist. It also launched the Coros Pod to provide more accurate tracking of running metrics like pace by placing motion sensors closer to your feet.

“We build a watch now and our first step is to build a very established wellness system,” explains Wu. “We’ll see if consumers are happy about it, or if it is absolutely necessary to build hardware. You look at the smart ring companies. They offer a good experience, right? Whatever decision we’re going to make, it’s going to be about solving a problem. It’s not just about another source of income because fundamentally, there's not that pressure.”

So it’s a no to a Whoop rival for now at least and crucially for Coros users, no plans to hit that subscription button any time soon as long as those watches keep shipping.

Huawei Watch GT Runner 2: One minute review

The Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 is full of innovative tweaks, making it ideal for running accuracy, and from a design perspective, it’s the best running watch I’ve tried so far in 2026. Because US customers can’t actually buy them, Huawei devices often go under the radar in many lists, which is a shame, as their hardware is stellar.

The GT Runner 2 is another smash hit. It’s light, at 10.7mm thick and just 34.5g in weight, packing a smallish 1.32-inch screen with a 3,000 nit brightness AMOLED display. That’s as bright as the Apple Watch Ultra 3. It fits nicely on my average-sized male wrist and doesn’t move about during runs. It comes in a selection of pretty cool colors and bands. I was partial to the Dawn Orange colorway, but my review unit arrived in Dusk Blue, which also looks nice.

The GPS credentials are where things get interesting. Huawei claims the GT Runner 2 outperforms the Garmin Forerunner 970 (by name) in GPS accuracy for runners, using a new dual-floating GPS antenna structure to improve accuracy. I didn’t have a Garmin Forerunner 970 to hand, but I did have something even better: the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro, perhaps Garmin’s best-ever smartwatch from a hardware perspective, and one that costs three times as much as the GT Runner 2.

On a 10.5 kilometer out-and-back run, the Fenix 8 Pro recorded 10.51km, with 797 calories burned, an average heart rate of 157 bpm, 5.39km average pace. The Huawei GT Runner 2 recorded 10.48km, a difference of 0.03km (or 30 meters) overall, with 785 calories burned, an average heart rate of 167 bpm, and 5.39km average pace. Those are very close results.

Even advanced running metrics were similar, with stride length being recorded as 1.10 meters by both watches. With very little in the way of statistically significant differences, I’m happy that the GT Runner 2 is as accurate as the very top-tier watches in the category. I’d expect nothing less from a watch used by record-breaking marathoner Eliud Kipchoge. You can see the results on the screens below.

Other wellness metrics are good, too: I’ve hyped up Huawei’s TruSense and TruSleep algorithms before as being scarily accurate, and it’s good to see the watch making use of both here. The accuracy of its sleep tracking and the watch's reduced weight made it easy to wear overnight. Marathon Mode, a little like Garmin’s Event Planner with an intelligent coach, and training plans abound on-watch, allowing you to follow programs imported from the Huawei Health app. Battery life is impressive, while features like Emotional Wellbeing that rely on self-reporting, I consider less useful.

A resounding success for design, performance, and health and fitness features, but smart stuff is more of a mixed bag, albeit through no fault of the watch’s designers. Huawei’s inability to work with either Google or Android’s ecosystem left my watch as a self-contained wellness tool rather than an integrated smart gadget in the same way the best Android watches, or best Apple Watches, are.

Huawei says the watch “runs seamlessly with iOS and Android,” but that’s not entirely true. I could see WhatsApp notifications as part of Huawei’s Message Tool, but everything has to be side-loaded from Huawei’s online AppGallery, so I couldn’t get a native WhatsApp watch app, only notifications. There’s no first-party app for Spotify either, so I had to download Petal Maps on my phone to use instead of Google or Apple Maps. As an extension of my phone, this experience is still frustrating and far from reflective of its excellent wellness credentials.

Huawei Watch GT Runner 2: Specifications

Huawei Watch GT Runner 2: Price and availability

• £349.99 in the UK / Europe
• Not available in US / AU
• Cheaper than most modern Forerunner watches

Huawei’s availability is a far greater issue than its price. Huawei telecomms devices continue to suffer from the ongoing 5G ban, which is a shame for US runners as they’re missing out on some very good hardware. For UK users, the price is pretty reasonable at £349.99, around the same price as the Apple Watch Series 11.

• Value score: 4/5

Huawei Watch GT Runner 2: Scorecard

Huawei Watch GT Runner 2: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested

I wore the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2 for a week, taking it on several runs as well as gym sessions, sleeping with it, and draining the battery down. I tested it on a 10.5 km run against the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro to determine accuracy in its metrics.

First reviewed: April 2026

• More details of the Fitbit Air have leaked
• It could launch on May 16 for $99
• Images of the wearable have already appeared

The rumors are that Google is about to launch a Whoop-rivalling, screen-free tracker called the Fitbit Air, and we have some fresh leaks around the device that point to a possible price point and three different color options.

This information comes from Droid Life, and suggests that the tracker price will come in at $99 in the US. That's roughly £73 / AU$138, though Google is unlikely to use a straight currency conversion — something like £99 would be more likely in the UK, where I am.

As for colors, there will apparently be three main options: Obsidian, Lavender, and Berry. They neatly match the colors we've seen on previous Google devices, including the recently launched Google Pixel 10a, adding more credibility to the leaks.

Those main colors are said to be accompanied by a Snow (or white) charging cable, plus a variety of band options — Performance, Active, Elevated, and Metal Mesh. More colors will reportedly be available with the bands, beyond the three mentioned above, including Fog, Moonstone (see also the Google Pixel 10 Pro), Porcelain, Silver, and Warm Gold.

The price is right?

Now the Whoop bands that Google is taking aim at here don't cost anything, but are attached to compulsory subscriptions that start at $149 for the first year, rising to $199 after that — so it's a substantial investment.

It remains to be seen if the Fitbit Air will require a subscription, but Fitbit Premium currently costs $9.99 a month or $79.99 a year. All of the current Fitbit and Google wearables can be used with or without the subscription and extra features.

As well as the leaks about the hardware, there have also been whisperings that Fitbit Premium will be rebranded as Google Health, which may come with new features of its own. Droid Life says May 16 will be the launch date, so we don't have long to wait.

Having been holding on tightly to my Fitbit Charge 6 for three years now, the Fitbit Air is perfectly suited for me — not only am I due an upgrade, I've never really seen the point of a display on a fitness tracker anyway.

I need something light and unobtrusive that I can wear around the clock (unlike my bulkier smartwatch), and this may well fit the bill.

• More leaks about the new Fitbit tracker have hit the web from 'sources familiar with the matter' via 9to5Google
• The screenless band is reportedly being referred to as the Fitbit Air
• Fitbit Premium is also reportedly being rebranded as "Google Health"

More news abounds about the upcoming screenless Fitbit fitness tracker, as teased by Steph Curry on Instagram. This time, we've got a bit more unconfirmed information on the name of the tracker, alongside a revamp of Google's Fitbit Premium subscription service.

According to 9to5Google, which cites unnamed 'sources familiar with the matter', the new Fitbit is named the Fitbit Air. Fitbit has used this moniker before with the Fitbit Aria Air (which featured on our list of best smart scales for a while) but never on a fitness tracker.

The name does make some sense: like a MacBook Air or the Ultrahuman Ring Air, it's likely to be billed as a super-light version of the base device, in this case one of the best Fitbits. It'll be all the lighter for not needed a screen or similar element of interactivity, instead cleaving closer to the pedometer Fitbits of yore.

However, just like Whoop (the current screenless fitness tracker leader), the device will interact with a paid subscription service, in this case Fitbit Premium. Except, it might not be called Fitbit Premium anymore — 9to5Google's sources state the subscription may be rebranding itself as Google Health.

Google continues its Fitbit erasure mission

After Google bought Fitbit in 2019, using the popular brand's Fitbit ecosystem to replace its middling Google Fit app, it began quietly axing models and features from its line that it saw as redundant. These include community challenges and, er, almost all smartwatch models, folding the best stuff into its own Google Pixel Watch line.

Fitbit Premium is an outstanding fitness service — our reviewer gave Fitbit Premium 4.5 stars in our review — and changing the name to Google Health wouldn't necessarily change any of the service's content or functionality, just the branding. But it would go a step towards eliminating the name of Fitbit from Google's ecosystem, strengthening its own brand.

I assume if the rumors are true and the move is successful, Google Health will be incorporated into other Google devices and services, allowing the company to remain consistent, while Fitbits will be reduced to the name of that particular line of trackers. Having 'Fitbit, powered by Google' on a Google Pixel Watch could be complicated messaging for smartwatch buyers who don't know Fitbit and Google are one and the same. If the rumors are true, Google Pixel phones and watches just arrive with Google Health and everyone will know what's up.

Whether any more features will be axed to the ire of existing Fitbit subscribers, only time will tell.

• Whoop is rolling out a new version of its Advanced Labs blood-testing program, Specialized Panels
• The program now tests up to 89 biomarkers
• Once tested, you get the results in-app, and Whoop’s AI can use it to provide better health insights

For a while now, Whoop members in the US have had the option to pay an additional fee on top of their annual subscription for Whoop’s Advanced Labs feature.

Whether you’ve got a Whoop 5.0, a Whoop MG or an old-school Whoop 4.0, you can head to the nearest lab of Whoop's testing partner, Quest Diagnostics, get a blood test for up to 59 biomarkers, and see the results in the Whoop app. Whoop can then add this data to its smorgasbord of collected sleep, heart rate, training and recovery data to provide more personalized health insights.

Whoop has now revealed the next stage of this program, Specialized Panels. For a one-time fee of $299, users can get a blood test drawn with Quest Diagnostics providing between 75 and 89 biomarkers spread across one of five ‘panels’: heart health, performance, metabolic function, women’s health and men’s health.

Just like Advanced Labs, the blood test provides information on cardiometabolic risks, vitamin deficiencies, hormones and so on. That information gets turned into "clear, actionable insights", as Whoop’s in-app AI can grab the info and use it in conjunction with all the other data your Whoop band collects. However, these Specialized Panels allow users to drill down on areas of particular concern. Whoop says "this marks a shift from broad, comprehensive testing toward more focused, goal-based insights".

Whoop is one of only a handful of health tech companies that have started incorporating blood tests. Oura, maker of the best smart rings, has a Health Panels feature covering 50 biomarkers which costs $99.

Blood testing and big tech: is there anything to worry about?

Blood tests can show all sorts of things, from levels of the stress hormone cortisol, to testosterone or estrogen levels, to hemoglobin, which helps transport oxygen to your muscles and brain. Low hemoglobin levels, for example, can cause tiredness because not enough oxygen is getting to the body parts that need it, and Whoop will factor this in when analyzing your stress, strain and recovery times.

It’s all very clever, but there’s a hidden worry to this: handing your blood over to big tech, and what companies might do with your sensitive health information.

Whoop’s Head of Healthcare Product, Alex Vannoi, told me via email that: “Specialized Panels are built on the same rigorous foundation as the rest of our platform. We use end-to-end encryption, strict access controls, and continuous monitoring to safeguard data, and only collect what’s necessary to deliver the service.

“When we work with trusted clinical partners, information is shared in a highly controlled way and used solely for its intended purpose.” Whoop also doesn’t train its AI on personally identifiable data.

Whoop works with Quest Diagnostics to draw the blood necessary to deliver these biomarkers. Quest Diagnostics’ privacy policy states that when it collects personal information such as “precise or specific geolocation, information concerning your health, and genetic information”, that info could be passed on to third parties such as “service providers, analytics, marketing, and promotional partners, and third parties for operational purposes.”

Could your blood be used for advertising? It all sounds very Cyberpunk. While blood test results could be considered ‘protected health information’ under US law (specifically the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA), the sharing process between Whoop and Quest Diagnostics, outside of a clinical setting, makes it a grayer area. Certainly Whoop seems to treat your data responsibly, but do its partners?

UPDATE: 04/16/2026

I reached out to Quest Diagnostics to ask whether Whoop user’s data could be shared with third parties for marketing purposes.

A representative for Quest Diagnostics told me that "Quest Diagnostics is a HIPAA-covered entity that performs the lab testing that WHOOP users initiate through the WHOOP application. Quest Diagnostics uses and discloses test results only in accordance with HIPAA. HIPAA restricts the use of test results for marketing and we comply with those restrictions.

"Quest Diagnostics only shares test results as permitted by HIPAA or as authorized by the patient".

• An unreleased Fitbit wearable has been spotted in the wild
• It’s been repeatedly worn in public by basketball player Steph Curry
• The device was previously teased by Curry and Google

Not everyone that’s interested in fitness trackers wants a wearable with a screen. After all, these products might be some of the best smartwatches out there, but with a high-end display thrown into the mix, they can be too bulky, too expensive, and too short on battery life for many people.

Pushing against this, there are many screenless wearables that quantify your wellbeing without the cumbersome screen. Fitbit has been teasing one such device in collaboration with basketball player Steph Curry, and now a whole treasure trove of images has leaked depicting the as-yet-unreleased product.

The pictures were unearthed by Droid Life, with the outlet saying they came across the images on Steph Curry’s social media pages. These photos depict a screenless wearable wrapped around Curry’s wrist, with what looks to be a gray woven strap with an orange border and metallic clasp.

These match earlier leaked images supposedly portraying Fitbit’s wearable, which was officially teased by Google at the start of April. That lends credence to the idea that the product spotted by Droid Life is the same as the one promoted by Google and Steph Curry a few weeks ago.

Aside from the wearable itself, Droid Life also found a Steph Curry video that shows what looks like a modified version of the Fitbit app running on a Google Pixel phone. The Fitbit app in the video is tracking a Sport activity with live data, which Droid Life doesn’t believe the current app is able to do. The implication is that this is a feature that could come to the Fitbit app in order to complement its new wearable.

Seems legit

Interestingly, Curry has been sporting this wearable publicly since at least January 2026, Droid Life claims. He has been seen with it at basketball games, at press conferences and at promotional events, which seems unusual for an unreleased product that, you would think, would be kept under lock and key until it was ready for release.

One possibility is that the parties involved want the device to be spotted in order to build up excitement ahead of its launch date. In that way, it might be an attempt to seed the product into people’s minds before the arrival of any official press campaign.

The claim that the images were discovered on official pages managed by or featuring Steph Curry gives them some weight — after all, Curry is lending his name to the project alongside Google-owned Fitbit. It’s not like Droid Life has spotted an unknown device on the wrist of some other celebrity and has guessed that they’re looking at an in-development Fitbit product.

With the device seemingly making public appearances now, it might not be long until we get official details from Fitbit, such as the product’s name and asking price. If it’s something you're interested in, you might want to keep your eyes peeled.

It's pretty much an open secret at this point that Google is making a new Fitbit fitness tracker. In a teaser video posted on Instagram, the tech giant's brand ambassador and 'performance advisor', basketball legend Steph Curry, promised that something big (or in this case, small) was coming, while wearing a conspicuous screenless wristband.

The upcoming fitness tracker could be a bit of a cash-in on the screenless wearables trend. The Whoop 5.0, the Polar Loop, and the Amazfit Helio Strap all came out last year, and it looks like a Garmin CIRQA smart band is on the horizon too.

However, I think the move makes sense for Google — it's a return to Fitbit's pre-Google acquisition philosophy and formats, and the new tracker has the potential to shoot to the top of our best Fitbits guide.

Back to where it all began

2008 was a simpler time, in which we were all excited about technology and smart gadgets without worrying about being manipulated by tech companies, or that AI was about to take our jobs.

At the 2008 TechCrunch50 conference, a small startup company debuted the FitBit, a wireless smart pedometer that clipped to your clothes, tracked your steps, monitored your sleep patterns with its gyroscopes, and uploaded your data to a server whenever you passed near the Bluetooth-connected dock. You could log in to view your stats, and add information like nutrition tracking.

Back then, TechCrunch's John Biggs said: "the device clips to almost any piece of clothing and is almost invisible", and called it "a tiny fitness gadget that I actually want". It had a very small LED screen, but no other way to interact with the device other than to log onto a computer and tinker with your data. It was a 'set and forget' wellness tracker in the purest sense.

A few years later, the Fitbit Flex popped the tracker on your wrist and the rest is history. The Fitbit Flex was similarly hands-off, with five LED lights indicating your step count as the only interactive elements of the band.

With all that cardio, no wonder Fitbit's eating itself

That minimalist design ethos didn't last. After the success of the Apple Watch, Fitbit joined every other consumer tech manufacturer in going big on interactive watch-format wearables, and in recent years Fitbit only saw moderate success with its watch-style trackers (we gave the Fitbit Versa 4 only 3/5 stars), especially after Google bought Fitbit and used the brand's best features for its excellent Pixel Watches, which ran Google's more advanced Wear OS operating system rather than Fitbit's clunkier software.

Later, Google quietly axed most Fitbit smartwatches after slowly discontinuing many community features. The Fitbit smartwatches were just superfluous to Google's plans.

However, I think the upcoming screenless tracker could represent a return to form for the brand. Similar to the Fitbit Flex, it's a smart band with very little in the way of on-wrist interaction, just passive data collection. While the phone app is obviously much more advanced than Fitbit's early desktop databases, the principle is the same: focus on your workout or sleep, forget the tracker is there, and access your information when and how you want, rather than being subject to push notifications or flashing screens.

If Google gets this right, it could mean Fitbit returns to relevance again as the best fitness tracker, and a top-tier name in a crowded market. I'm waiting for more news with great anticipation.

Have you noticed? We are entering a new era of wearables, as the screen-free tracker trend picks up the pace.

Everyone from Fitbit (an official tracker teased by Steph Curry) to Garmin (leaked information on the in-development Garmin Cirqa) has one cooking. These lifestyle wearables won’t pull your attention away with flashing notifications. And they will record your daily stats and exercise sessions while demanding no intervention at all.

While there are plenty more in-development, let's take a look at the best of the bunch out there right now. Whoop has become the best-known name in this area and is, miraculously, a decade into its existence. Some other compelling contenders have finally entered the field, though, including the Polar Loop and Amazfit Helio Strap.

Similar concept, different approach. Whoop has matured from an athlete-first wearable to a general lifestyle guide, with a highly-polished app that makes swathes of complex information easy to digest. On the other hand, the Polar Loop is a stylish and stripped-back wearable out to court those looking to get away from constant screen use. Crucially, it’s cheaper than the Whoop with no subscription fee.

And the Amazfit Helio Strap? It is by far the most affordable of the trio, being cheaper again than the Polar Loop. The design isn’t flashy, but it is not short on features. Let’s dig in further.

Price and availability

The Polar Loop and Amazfit Helio Strap are a reaction to the success of Whoop. But they’re based around a totally different kind of business model.

When you buy a Whoop you join one of three memberships, dubbed One ($149 / £169 / AU$249), Peak ($239 / £229 / AU$399) and Life ($359 / £349 / AU$599). That includes either a Whoop 4.0/5.0 or Whoop MG band, and a year’s access to the respective service plan — you pay more, you get more advanced data.

Once the year’s up, you’ll need to fork out for another year, or pay a monthly subscription depending on your desired tier: $25 for Whoop One, $30 for Peak or $40 for Whoop Life (available in “select renewal scenarios” according to Whoop).

There’s none of that nonsense with the Polar and Amazfit options. A Polar Loop costs $199, the Amazfit Helio Strap just $99.99. And there’s no obligation to pay more after that, and you can access all your core stats without a subscription. Bliss.

Of course, this being 2026 there are still premium subscriptions on offer from both Polar and Amazfit. Polar has the €9.99 euro Fitness Program (around $11.50 / £8.50 / AU$16) , but as it provides training plans it’s really a better fit for a hardcore Polar fitness watch than the Polar Loop. Amazfit offers the Zepp Aura Premium subscription, at $11.99 (around £9 / AU$17 a month) or $69.99 (around £55 / AU$100) for the year. Its focus is on sleep and wellness, and provides many soundscapes to help you get some rest. It’s neat, but not really necessary for most Helio Strap owners.

• Winner: Amazfit Helio Strap

Design

Whoop set the standard for screen-less wearable styling in 2015 with its first band, and very little has changed design-wise since then. The Amazfit and Polar wearables take a similar approach. There’s effectively a fitness tracker ‘brain’, sensor array and a Bluetooth chip attached to a fabric strap, sending information to your phone.

Whoop actually claims the Polar design is too close to its own, having sued the company on that very point. Tech brands sue each other at every possible opportunity, though, and these three are clearly not clones of one another.

Their designs also give clues as to their three personalities — after a fashion — which bleeds through into their feature list too. The Polar Loop is the least hardcore of the trio, and has the look to match. The mottled fabric finish and metal accents throughout suggest Polar thinks people care about style as well as functionality. It weighs 29g including strap. Not heavy.

Whoop’s Band 5.0 continues the series’s signature style, as pretty much the only recognisable screen-free tracker these days. It too is part-metal with a fabric strap, and weighs 29g.

While it’s the classic screen-free wearable, we are not actually massive fans of one key element, the clasp. Its grip is not all that firm, and has a habit of coming undone by itself which is very annoying. This extends to its more premium sibling the Whoop MG, which we pointed out in our Whoop MG review.

The Amazfit Helio Strap is a little different. Its almost all-plastic design brings weight down to a super-low 20g. This makes it “disappear" on the wrist while wearing it, at least from the wearer’s own perception of additional weight. And while it has the plainest basic design of the three, it’s also available in a Hyrox edition with a luminous highlighter-yellow patch up top.

All three bands have effectively fairly similar water resistance. All are OK for pool swimming, but shouldn’t be used for scuba diving or anything similar. A Whoop 5.0 is rated at IP68, and for submersion at up to 10m depth. Polar rates the Loop at WR30, for “bathing and swimming” but not snorkelling or diving. The Amazfit Helio Strap has a 5ATM rating, which is the norm these days for all but the toughest wearables. It’s a case of three different standards that end up in the same place: you don’t have to take these wearables off to shower, or when at the swimming pool.

• Winner: Tie

Features

The Helio Strap’s sporty design is the best clue as to what the Amazfit wearable is about. It’s positioned as the most fitness--driven of the three bands in the way the companion Zepp app presents data has more of a focus on workouts versus rest and recovery. It uses an Amazfit-created stat called Biocharge, which offsets exertion against sleep and rest quality.

The wearable’s image is that of a tool for busy folks who might realistically be at risk of overtraining if they don’t watch their training load. But it will also do the job as an all-round lighter fitness tracker.

Despite Amazfit’s Zepp Aura Premium being all about wellness and relaxation, there’s less sense of long-term holistic health tracking here. You do get a VO2 Max reading, which is handy for long-term fitness tracking. But the impression the software gives is more of a classic exercise-first fitness tracker, just without the display.

It does have a couple of neat extras not always seen in these screenless wearables, though. The Amazfit Helio Strap has a vibrate motor, for timers, alarms and “find my device” emergencies. It can also live-share its heart rate data with other devices that support the feature, which is useful.

Deeper insight is all part of the Whoop pitch, and part of why it claims to be worth a chunky paid ongoing subscription.

Subscribe to the mid-tier Peak Whoop membership or above and you get stats like your Whoop Age, as well as the Strain score supplied across all three of Whoop’s plans. There’s menstrual cycling tracking too, made possible using a skin temperature sensor.

Or to go all-out, the Life membership adds blood pressure observations and ECG, although this involves using a completely different Whoop MG wearable (it looks similar, admittedly). With that plan you end up paying an awful lot for stats some more conventional wearables do as standard, though, such as the best Garmin watches.

The Polar experience is a bit less focused than that of Whoop or Amazfit. In the Polar Flow app you see “cards” based on your recent activity, and of key stats the band has recorded.

There are zero extras here, though. The Polar Loop won’t share its heart rate readings, and doesn’t have a vibration motor. There’s no skin temperature sensor either, which rules out features like menstrual cycle tracking.

• Winner: Whoop

Performance

The Polar Loop, Amazfit Helio Strap and Whoop 5.0 may come across as part of a newly-popular category, but their sensor hardware is just like that of other wearables. All the stats rely on an optical heart rate sensor (which uses LEDs to estimate heart rate from information taken from your wrist) , motion sensors to determine movement and estimate step count, and for the WHOOP Band 5.0, a skin temperature sensor.

I compared the results of these screen-less trackers with one of the better Garmin watches out there, the Garmin Venu 4, which uses Garmin’s latest Elevate V5 heart rate sensor. We’ve tested this against top-of-the-range watches including the Apple Watch Ultra 3, as well as a Polar H10 chest strap, to determine accuracy, and have no qualms about the validity of the Garmin’s readings.

The results for heart rate tracking were commendably similar between the Garmin and the three other wearables we’re testing against. When peak heart rate results for automatically-tracked with the Amazfit Helio Strap and Polar Loop were typically within 2bpm of those of the Garmin Venu 4. And with early 2026 firmware, there were no obvious classic optical heart rate issues such as the first few minutes of a workout having entirely inaccurate readings, which often happens when the wearable struggles to tell the difference between your heart rate and run cadence.

Even in a static bike class (which can be tricky for bands), the Garmin, Amazfit and Polar wearables all recorded the same 167bpm maximum heart rate score. It’s a reassuring result.

When you use these screen-less wearables, though, it becomes pretty clear we’re not meant to obsess over heart rate date in too much fine detail. After all, for the most part it’s going to be down to the software when any specific activity ends, which will impact average heart rate stats across a session.

What about Whoop? We’ve had a bit more of a mixed experience with the Whoop bands, and the top-tier Whoop MG in particular had a few issues.

We find Whoop competitive with its peers for general heart rate accuracy during workouts and excellent for recovery tracking, but we did have a few issues with its ECG readings. Namely, it would often fail to register a recording. And unlike a watch with a screen, you don’t get that immediate feedback as to why this is the case

The core appeal for Whoop fans is the Strain score, though, and that doesn’t rely on ECG but the basics of the HR tracking. This is where Whoop wins, on generating cogent and actionable advice in the app that feels useful, right down to its in-app workout builder.

It tries fairly hard to insinuate its way into your life, though. You’ll be nagged to go to bed at the right time, and to put the band back on if you take it off, through phone notifications. Is that what you want? Our original reviewer wasn’t quite so sure.

Amazfit’s Zepp app is solid, but ultimately feels a bit more like standard fitness tracker fare than Whoop, leaning on Biocharge, Sleep and Exertion stats alongside familiar numbers including steps, VO2 max and your exertion load. It has a very sporty flavour, which may appeal to some.

Polar we had some more issues with. The Flow app feels less intuitive than either the Amazfit or Whoop apps, bombarding you with graphs rather than a slick interface full of helpful context. And over the months of testing we’ve had a few different issues.

Initially, pairing and sync’ing were intermittently clunky and/or problematic. More recently we’ve experienced issues with the Android app crashing completely when you try to look into a specific exercise session entry. There have been a few too many issues and irritations for what is one of the longest-standing names in fitness wearables.

And battery life? Here things are a bit more consistent. Whoop says the Band 5.0 can last up to 14 days, and with fairly intense use we got around nine days from it. Polar claims eight days for the Loop, and we got a week out of a charge. Amazfit was bang on the money with its 10-day claim too.

While Whoop was the furthest from its battery life claims, it’s also important to remember you can have more of an interactive participation with a Whoop (at its higher tiers) thank to the ECG support, which is a manual process. Whoop also allows you to charge it without taking it off your wrist via the charging puck.

• Winner: Whoop

Verdict

Is the screen-free life for you? Polar, Whoop and Amazfit can all provide their own take on the trend. And all deliver a largely fuss-free experience, with automatic activity logging and long battery life.

There are some other points to note, though. We’re not persuaded Whoop’s highest tier is necessarily worth it for many. It’s just a lot to pay, an an ongoing subscription, particularly when we had a few issues with collecting readings.

Polar’s key issue is in the software, which doesn’t have the slickness or information coherence of the other two — at least as of March 2026.

That leaves us with the Amazfit Helio Strap, the cheapest of the bunch, and perhaps the easiest to recommend if you want to try out the screen-free wearables life. No subscription, solid HR accuracy and an app that while a bit fitness and athlete-focused for some, doesn’t demand too much from you.

• Google appears to be building a screenless Fitbit-style tracker
• The reveal came as Google's 'performance advisor' Steph Curry posted on Instagram
• The tease video featured Curry wearing a screenless wristband

Google is jumping on the same trend as Polar and Amazfit in making what we're referring to as a 'Whoop clone': a screenless fitness tracker.

A screenless Fitbit (perhaps a version of one of Google's best Fitbits without the AMOLED screen) has been raised before, but we finally have proof beyond sketchy leaks. The band appears in an official Google tease video featuring all the usual Google iconography, posted by Google's very own 'performance advisor' — basketball legend Steph Curry, in a paid partnership capacity. So it's legit.

Curry can be seen wearing the band, with his voiceover stating, "I'm excited about what this is going to mean for the world, for health and wellness. It's the first of its kind in a way. I won't spoil it, you kinda have to see it for yourself."

The video doesn't address the band directly, but you can see him wearing an orange wristband with a metal clasp, very prominently, in the footage. No release date or other information is given other than 'coming soon'.

If Google's already releasing official videos about the device, 'soon' presumably means 'later this month' rather than a date later in the summer, the timeframe when Google typically shows off new Pixel devices.

Watch the video below:

Analysis: The latest Whoop clone

Google's new Fitbit (if it is indeed a Fitbit, rather than a Pixel Band or something) is entering the screenless wearable category in good company. Once dominated by the premium subscription-oriented Whoop, screenless tracking has grown to include the Polar Loop and Amazfit Helio Strap.

Even Garmin is throwing its hat in the ring with the long-rumored Garmin Cirqa band. Never mind the screenless options in the best smart rings from the likes of Oura and Samsung.

It's safe to say these 'focus' wearables are having a real moment. Whoop just raised a titanic amount in investor funding, as the company is now worth $10 billion according to TechCrunch.

• Pixel Watch users are reporting errors in the Fitbit app following latest update
• These include inaccuracies with steps and calorie count, as well as mileage
• Neither Google nor Fitbit has addressed the problems

Update: Fitbit replied to us and has confirmed that the issues have since been fixed, providing the following statement:

"We’ve fixed the issue where some Pixel Watch users were seeing overcounted steps and calories. Please be aware that previously recorded data will remain unchanged, as this update applies to new activity only. If you’re still experiencing this issue, please restart your Pixel Watch".

Original story continues.

Has the Fitbit app on your Pixel Watch been playing up for you recently? Don’t fret, you’re not alone, because it turns out that other users have been experiencing similar errors.

Users online have been flagging issues with step count, calorie tracking, and other fitness metrics, claiming that the readings don’t match their real-time activity. These issues have become more common since Google rolled out the latest Pixel Watch update a few weeks ago.

At first, a handful of health tracking issues were reported, such as the skin temperature tool, but the issue has persisted, and now more users are flagging wider data tracking problems with Fitbit’s most popular features — the main one being step count. In a Reddit post, Pixel Watch owners claim that their step counts are more than doubling the actual amount of daily steps they’re taking, with one user saying they took 14,000 steps just by sitting at a desk.

The author of the post revealed that the advice they received from Google support was to conduct a factory reset for their watch, and while other users have claimed that this can work, the issues resume as soon as they sync their watch back to their phone. Another user shared that when they raised it with the Google support team, it disregarded the issues altogether.

Step count issues are just the start, however, and it’s also led to mileage and calorie inaccuracies — one user flagged that, though their step count seemed normal, their calorie count doubled despite not having exercised. These errors are more than just a simple app bug; they interfere with your tracking goals and affect the performance of metrics that are designed to alert to changes in your regime.

When it comes to features like SpO2 readings and skin temperature, these metrics help you to identify trends and shifts in your health, so they depend on consistency. Inaccurate and inconsistent step count readings mean that they won't reflect the reality of how much you're moving, therefore will present false skin temperature and blood oxygen levels as a result.

As it stands, neither Google nor Fitbit has commented on these problems, addressed how they have arisen, or how they're working towards resolving them. So just like you, we're also waiting in uncertainty until both companies find a solution, but we’ve reached out for a comment and will update this story when we know more.

• A major Garmin launch is rumored for next week
• We think it could be the screenless Cirqa smart band
• Another possibility is a new Forerunner watch

The best Garmin watches are some of the leading wearables currently on the market, and it seems Garmin might be adding to its portfolio of devices before March 2026 is over if the latest rumor is to be believed.

This is a rumor that's quite difficult to pin down the sources for, but it seems to be from well-known tipster the5krunner with input from DC Rainmaker and via Notebookcheck — and the rumor is that there's "some goodness" on the way from Garmin next week.

Another unnamed source has told the5krunner that there's a "significant drop" coming from Garmin in the very near future, backing up the idea that we're about to see something new from the company. Next week is the last full week of March of course, giving Garmin a window of several days to get its new product out.

So what actually is it going to be? Nothing is certain yet, but most indications suggest we're going to get the Cirqa smart band that leaked earlier this year, a screenless fitness tracker ready to take on Whoop directly.

Multiple possibilities

The Cirqa briefly popped up on Garmin's website in January, but the listing didn't tell us too much: two sizes, two colors (black and gray), and shipping in 4-5 months (which at that time would line up with May or June).

However, it's not hard to imagine what Garmin may come up with, if it's following the template laid down by Whoop (and other competitors such as Polar): a lightweight but intelligent tracker with no display, that feeds all of your health and fitness stats back to the companion app on your phone.

While this is likely to be what we see next week though, it's not the only possibility. A tip over on Reddit suggests the Cirqa is coming later in the year, between April and June. It's not clear if this is referring to when the device will be unveiled or when it will actually ship to customers — and those dates may not be the same, of course.

Other rumors floating around this week suggest we may see a new Forerunner smartwatch or even swimming goggles from Garmin, but if we had to make a prediction at this stage, it's the Cirqa smart band that seems the most probable launch.

I've been running regularly for several years (since reluctantly hanging up my soccer boots), generally hitting the trails around me every other day. And while I've kitted myself out with some of the best running shoes to enhance that experience, I've never fully embraced a running watch.

Instead, I have relied on my phone to track my runs, using the Strava app. I don't need to track my runs, but I do enjoy the stats – I find competing against myself is a big motivator.

And why not use my phone instead of splashing out for one of the best running watches? My Pixel 8 Pro is multiple-purpose device with those tracking skills, after all.

Recently, however, I decided to give a fitness tracker another go over a longer period than before – choosing the new Coros Apex 4, which I am also reviewing for TechRadar.

Could the Apex 4 change my mind about running watches? I've been using it regularly for over a month now as my primary fitness tracker, and here are five things I've learned.

1. I've been properly enjoying the outdoors

I have a full-time screen job, and I'm a father of three young ones, which means I get very little time to myself (besides the refuge of a peaceful toilet break). So, besides simply keeping myself fit, going out for a run is my 'me time' and helps keep me grounded.

I've found that swapping my phone for a running watch has enabled me to properly switch off in a way that I wasn't before. When I go out for a run with my phone, I'm still connected to all those tasks and distractions. Leaving it behind has been truly freeing.

I wrote about this sort of experience as a photographer – taking just my camera and leaving my phone behind to properly enjoy photo walks in my local area – and the same applies here with running. And it's also why I prefer a running watch over a smartwatch which can, unhelpfully in this context, keep me connected.

I'm getting outdoors and all the running stats that help keep me focused, while giving myself a break from the tech that otherwise devours my time.

2. I wish it had this one feature

You might have twigged already that I'm TechRadar's Cameras Editor, which means I have a big interest in photography.

One thing I like about taking my phone for running is that I also have a camera with me. Sometimes I'll be out on a frosty, misty morning in my local woodland and the conditions are amazing for photos.

Or maybe I'm exploring somewhere new – going out for a run is a great way to do that – and naturally the photographer in me is buzzing with photo possibilities of that unfamiliar place or culture.

If I leave my phone behind (and I hardly want to pack a proper camera for running), I miss out on the photography side of being outdoors. I love combining running and photography – I've found superb viewpoints and compositions to return to with my proper camera gear for landscape photography.

If I could add one feature to a running watch, it would be a built-in camera. Sure, I wouldn't expect much of its quality realistically, but it sure would be a nice to pack a fitness tool and camera in one.

3. It's the ideal choice for regular routes

Contrasting the previous point – if I'm running a regular route, on a regular day, with regular weather, outside of what's the best time for outdoor photography, I'm simply not going to be taking pictures as it's less about exploration and more about perspiration. It's pure running, I'm on autopilot, and I really don't need my phone.

I've been running more than usual recently, and increasingly doing the same routes. I don't need the camera, but I still want to track my progress and keep myself motivated.

And it's for this reason that I've never been happier using a running watch. I'm missing my phone less and less, and enjoying the environment around me more and more. The running watch has truly enabled me to switch off and hit my local routes with new passion.

The Apex 4 is also able to store routes and maps for me to follow, which also makes it a great option for entirely new or deviations to my usual routes. That said, I personally prefer discovering new trails for myself, even if that does mean getting a little lost from time to time.

4. I can track a range of activities

Most running watches, including the Coros Apex 4, can track multiple types of activities besides running. The same can be said of my phone and the Strava app, but there are plenty of activities that I really can't use my phone for.

I said I hung up my soccer boots. That's true in a competitive sense, but I still play a little casually and I'm not taking my phone onto the pitch, but I can a running watch.

I also try to get a swim in most weeks. Again, I'm not taking my phone into the water, but it's a different story with a running watch. I can get my stats for running, soccer, swimming, road cycling and more, and that's why I am increasingly relying on the Apex 4. I feel a triathlon beckoning.

5. My phone is surprisingly accurate

It wasn't my intention to take a deep dive into the accuracy of the tech, and how reliable the stats are on my phone versus a running watch. However, since I had both, I was keen to see how seriously I could take the data accrued using my phone to track my runs these last years.

Coros has built a solid reputation among seasoned athletes for data accuracy, and so I was trusting its numbers and hoping that my phone's came close.

So, I recorded several hilly runs over mixed terrain with both the Coros Apex 4 and my Pixel 8 Pro logged through the Strava app, to see how they compared. No flats, varied stride length and spanning between 6 and 13 km – these were proper tests.

The short answer, is that I can, thankfully, trust my phone. The data was consistent across both devices. Distance, elevation gain and pace are the main stats I wanted to check, and they were identical in every case, to the the meter / second.

I'm getting a whole other set of stats with the running watch, mind you; time spent in each zone (exertion levels), heart rate, average power and more.

Notes on the Coros Apex 4

Ahead of my in-depth review, some brief observations on the (larger) 46mm version of the Coros Apex 4:

Its battery life is incredible. Coros says it lasts 65 hours in All-Systems GNSS mode, and 24 days in daily use. The reality? Those numbers are conservative – after a month using the Apex 4 recording activities for an average of 30 minutes per day, I still had around 10% juice remaining. (Battery life in the 42mm version is around 30% less, according to Coros.)

It's build quality is superb, while the touch function of the screen works happily even when wet for swimming. I like the UI variety available in the app, too, especially the traditional watch face.

A personal note, and one that no doubt applies to all running watches – the design is primarily for left-wristed users, which is less ideal for me becuase I have always put a watch on my right wrist. I know I'm in the minority, but the button placement is a little fiddly. Still, I've never had an issue that there are no cameras designed for left-handed people(!), and it's still easy enough to adjust and operate the device.

Final word

I'll still take my phone with me for various runs, especially in new locations. But it's for the range of activities and the regular grind of running where a running watch, in this case the excellent Coros Apex 4, will become an essential accessory. I just can't believe it has taken me this long to adopt one.

• Germany's Federal Network Agency investigated suspicious listings of tech products, including smartwatches
• Many of these products are advertising glucose monitoring features
• There is no reliable non-invasive way of monitoring glucose, and some watches were found to simply estimate or make up readings

As well as extensively testing the best smartwatches, we also occasionally test the worst products out there as well. A few years ago, I tried out the cheapest fitness tracker I could find against a Garmin Forerunner 955 Solar, and got predictably dodgy results. After testing a few more of these brandless also-rans, I concluded that generally, they weren't very good.

However, some people are still clearly buying them, as the likes of Amazon and Temu are swarmed with listings like "Advanced GLUOOSE Reading Smartwatch 24/7 Heart Rate Blood Oxygen 1.9'' HD Portable Fitness Activity Tracker for Outdoor Sports".

Unfortunately, any poor recipients of watches like these are going to be swindled, as no smartwatch can accurately measure blood glucose levels – or even 'gluoose' as the listing above spells it – with LEDs alone. Continuous glucose monitors like Abbott's Lingo, which involves an invasive needle attached to a Bluetooth-enabled chip, are the only commercially available smart tech able to accurately do so.

The Federal Network Agency, a German regulatory body, investigated a lot of online listings in 2025 and found serious flaws in 7.7 million different products, and smartwatches were the worst offenders. Spotted via NotebookCheck, these flaws ranged from missing CE markings to listing features like blood glucose monitoring, which were actually "simulated" – as in, the device was not actually reading the user's blood glucose at all, merely looking like it was.

One such smartwatch that made these claims, the Kospet iHeal 6, was actually taken off the market in 2024, but still sold in German territories, after the ruling to remove it was made.

Smartwatches provide information about your health, but not legally protected health information, and as such their features aren't subject to legislation such as HIPAA in the US, or required to be classed as fit for use in a medical setting. Most serious smartwatch manufacturers such as Apple seek US FDA approval for features such as hypertension detection.

If you're just looking to flood the market with cheap smartwatch clones, however, no such stringent legislation need apply. Simply make an app that looks like it's doing what it's actually supposed to be doing, and bang the device on Amazon for $50 / £40 / AU$65 or less.

When I reviewed the cheap Viido fitness tracker against the Garmin watch in the link above, everything was wrong, from its step count and heart rate tracker being wildly swingy, to its app looking like a dodgy piece of malware. These devices aren't reliable and there's no point buying them.

If platforms like Amazon won't halt their sale, it's up to us to be diligent, responsible consumers and do a bit of research before pulling the trigger. Might I direct you to our best cheap smartwatches guide, to start?

• Whoop bands require an annual payment plan
• Older models still offer a year's free subscription
• Some users are making big savings via the loophole

There's no doubt that Whoop makes some of the best fitness trackers around, but they also come with a mandatory subscription cost – starting at £169 / $199 / AU$299 per year. Now it seems some enterprising Whoop users have found a way around that annual fee.

As per Reddit (via Lifehacker), the key to the trick is that when you buy a Whoop band, you get a year's subscription for free. With the older Whoop 4.0 band now available at a discount at some retailers, there are potentially some big savings to be had.

In the case of this Redditor (and several others), they were able to pick up four Whoop 4.0 bands for $39 each at T.J. Maxx. When these trackers paired with a user account already linked to a Whoop 5.0 band, a 12-month subscription gets added to the account.

Not only that, but the extra year that's added is for the Peak subscription plan, normally £229 / $239 / AU$419 per year (back when the Whoop 4.0 launched in 2021, there was only one subscription tier to choose from).

Buyer beware

Took advantage! Whoop 4.0 $39.00 from r/whoop

In theory, this is a substantial saving for Whoop users – it's a year's subscription for a fraction of the price. However, the fun might already be over, as it seems unlikely that Whoop will keep allowing users to do this indefinitely.

This isn't going to work with a Whoop band bought second-hand or given to you by someone else either: it needs a tracker in a new, unopened box, and one that comes with a year's free subscription that hasn't been claimed.

It's also worth considering the e-waste this workaround can cause: Whoop bands being picked up for their subscription and then presumably gathering dust in a drawer and eventually being thrown away. Those bands could have gone to people who would actually have used them instead.

If you can find an older Whoop band at a discount and you've already registered one of the newer models, it's a trick you can try to extend your subscription – though there's no guarantees it will work, even if Reddit posters have found success with it.

• Fitbit co-founders are launching new fitness tracker Luffu, which shifts from Fitbit's individual health monitoring to tracking for the whole family
• It uses AI 'in the background' to gather health information from connected devices and platforms, as well as giving updates on health changes and answers to your questions
• While it could be a life-saver for caretakers of children and aging adults, there are concerns over the possible added stress it could spark

Two years on from parting ways with Google, Fitbit co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman have stepped into a new era of fitness tracking with their new startup Luffu – which shifts the focus from individual to family health monitoring.

Deemed as an "intelligent family care system", Luffu aims to help families proactively monitor their health and fitness levels from one place, all while quietly using AI "in the background" to gather your family’s medical information from connected devices and services such as Apple Health and Fitbit. It can also be used to input information manually using voice prompts, text, and photos, and allows users to ask questions for family members’ specific needs.

In a press release, co-founder Park went into detail about what influenced him to start Luffu, sharing "I was caring for my parents from across the country, trying to piece together my mom's health care across various portals and providers, with a language barrier that made it hard to get complete, timely context from her about doctor visits.”

Luffu, which will expand from its software startup into hardware in the future, aims to not only help users manage the health of their children, but also their aging parents if they’re primary caretakers. Even pets are included. That said, it will offer more than just a place for you to view the health status of each connected family member.

Though that’s Luffu's main aim, the overall experience will come in different forms. As well as logging your health by accepting voice prompts, photos, and more, its AI model acts as a ‘guardian’ and will watch out for any health changes, alerting you once it’s become familiar with each member’s health patterns.

Additionally, its co-founders say it will serve as an easy Q&A model that allows you to use simple language to ask questions about individual health statuses – which can all be shared directly with family members.

At the moment Luffu is in a stage of private testing, but you can join the waitlist on the Luffu website. However, in light of Park and Friedman’s ambitious new venture, we have our reservations.

“I can also see Luffu adding to that stress”

If there’s anyone who could lead family-wide fitness tracking, it’s the co-founders of Fitbit and on paper, Luffu could ease a lot of pressure for those with caring responsibilities for children and elderly family members – but there are a few gaps in the system.

As a veteran with ample experience with the best fitness trackers, our Senior Fitness and Wellness Editor, Matt Evans, is in two minds about Luffu. Here’s what he thinks about the new fitness tracking service:

"After the Fitbit founders left Google a couple of years ago, their new venture is a surprising one; a health platform focused on family caregivers rather than individual fitness fans.

"I can certainly see this working for some, especially for those juggling young kids and ageing relatives. In the press release, Luffu uses the term 'family CEO', and the app aims to lighten some of that invisible cognitive load, reducing the stress and burnout that comes with it. Interacting with wearables features like Fall Detection, medication reminders and so on could certainly lead to more effective household management.

"However, I can also see Luffu adding to that stress in some cases, as constant streams of information about your loved ones might lead to obsessive checking and encouraging that kind of 'helicopter' parenting and family management, a bit like constantly refreshing social media feeds. Careful implementation of these tools are needed, otherwise the stress of 'cyberchondria' will only add to a caregiver's mental load.”

The Apple Watch may not have changed all that much in the last decade and change, at least from a design and hardware point of view, but the watchOS platform that powers it has undergone several major reinventions over its life cycle, usually to better match Apple’s ever-changing software design languages on its other devices.

Whether you’re using the Apple Watch to track your calories, triage your notifications, or maybe even call or message someone while your phone is on charge, watchOS is a core tenet of many users’ lives now – but it’s not always good news.

In the last 10 years that I’ve been using an Apple Watch, I’m still surprised by how some apps simply don’t take advantage of some of watchOS's best features.

Don’t skip the Dock view

I should preface this by saying I’m not naming and shaming apps here. Some developers are flying entirely solo, others have big teams, and each has its own challenges in that regard. Still, when I first began using an otherwise excellent fitness app on my Apple Watch, I was flabbergasted when it simply displayed an app version number when opening the Dock icon, with no other way to navigate except to go back to the app list and open the full version of the app. It was the kind of frustrating pain point that leads to uninstallation.

I assumed it was a bug, and then months and months later, it persisted. It’s gone now, thankfully (although not before I’d drafted this very article), but it got me thinking about the disparity between some apps on the Apple Watch.

Many do a great job of being almost as useful on your watch as they are on your phone. Spotify, for example, does a solid job of jumping between your watch and phone, along with smart TVs, games consoles, tablets, PCs, Macs, and much more. It makes sense that the user experience is just as slick on-watch as it is anywhere else.

Still, others leave plenty to be desired. Missing Dock widgets are a nuisance, although perhaps not too unexpected since Apple likes to change how the Dock is accessed, but it’s certainly a concern just how many apps aren’t very easy to reach or use when you need them. This is key when you’re poking at your wrist because your phone is out of reach.

Out of sync

Another major issue is syncing, although I’m fairly certain this is an Apple issue. My fitness app of choice (yes, the one that just displayed a back-end app version number for months) now has a very functional UI on the Apple Watch that allows me to log reps and adjust weights without reaching for my phone.

Still, sometimes I’m sat and using my phone anyway, so it’s frustrating to see the sync between the two get a little confused. For example, I might crank a weight from 20kg to 25kg on my watch, only for it to revert back on the iPhone app, or vice versa when I switch devices the other way.

When you just want things to work with minimal fuss so you can finish your set and get home, it adds up when you’re constantly deleting weights to re-add them.

More egregious is audio downloading, which I am certain is Apple’s own doing. Whether it’s podcasts or music (both through third-party apps), I find my Apple Watch almost always needs to be reset, to be be able to download audio from apps like Pocket Casts or Spotify to play without a phone.

An excellent citizen

My favorite watchOS app, though? Strava. Credit where it’s due, the orange running app is absolutely fantastic.

It makes great use of the dock, lets you instantly switch settings while running so you don’t have to take your eye off the route for more than a second or two, and the communication between phone and watch is seamless, so you can access all your routes and metrics from either device in moments.

Simply put, it's good at the basics and it's easy to use. I’ve taken to using it much more than other apps because it’s a great citizen on the Apple Watch, especially with all the recent revamps – and I wonder how many other fitness apps would see more success if they could say the same.

Inconsistent syncing, and a lack of general consensus over what to do with the dock, are all things holding third party apps back. The Apple Watch is a device millions of us use every day, but these small issues are ones that can mount up.

Apple is keen for developers to get on board with new features every time WWDC comes around, but there are other, longstanding features of the Apple Watch I’d love to see addressed in the coming months. The most-used Apple Watch apps are the ones that get the basics right.

This week, we watched Alex Honnold free solo Taipei 101 on Netflix while terrible commentary played over the top, and Samsung teased its next major phone launch.

To catch up on all of this and more, we've rounded up the top seven most important tech news stories of the week here for you, with links to the full stories too.

When you're all caught up, you should also check out the 7 new movies and TV shows to watch this weekend.

7. Netflix proved it hasn’t figured out live events

This week, the world of streaming treated us to Bridgerton Season 4, Wonder Man, and Shrinking Season 3, among others, but the livestream sports event of the year also aired: Skyscraper Live, and fans were quick to let their anger be known at the end result.

It featured Alex Honnold, of Free Solo fame, and his attempt to free solo (climbing alone, without ropes or safety equipment) Taipei 101, which was, at one point, the tallest building in the world. The climb was a feat of human ability if nothing else, but the commentary – which was filled with nerves, and often spoke over Alex – was not well received.

Some declared the show “The worst live sports production I’ve ever seen in my life,” though one of the hosts has since come out to address fans’ frustrations.

• Read more: Here’s why viewers couldn’t get past Skyscraper Live’s 'insufferable' commentary

6. Xreal’s glasses got a 3D upgrade

Xreal’s smart glasses are impressive entertainment specs that’ll show your favorite shows, games, and movies on a giant virtual screen – provided they’re connected to a compatible device. Now, they can make that content 3D too.

That’s thanks to Real 3D, which just debuted on Xreal’s One and One Pro glasses, and it’s an incredible tool that works on any device or content, as all processing is handled on the glasses.

Admittedly, it’s a work in progress, but it just made some of the world’s best smart glasses even better – and made Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s comment about AI someday letting us “jump into” any video feel less far-fetched.

• Read more: XR glasses have had one major issue, and Xreal just solved it with a free update

5. We played Resident Evil 9

We have over four hours of Resident Evil Requiem under our belt, and now we’re confident that it’s on track to be the finest entry in the long-running survival horror series.

The return of Leon Kennedy had us worried, though. How can you create a sense of fear when your star is a one-man infected-slaying army? You pair him with a much less combat-capable partner.

Leon’s segments are like a New Game Plus run of the Resident Evil 4 Remake on steroids: you’re an ultra-powerful killing machine; meanwhile, new protagonist Grace’s sections are intended to deliver the serious scares. They're set in wonderfully intricate environments expertly built for tense exploration, desperate resource scavenging, and scrappy fights that always have you on the back foot.

• Read more: A sublime blend of masterful combat and hair-raising horror

4. OpenAI admitted to screwing up

ChatGPT’s most avid users are quick to air their frustrations when OpenAI messes up an update, and now CEO Sam Altman has conceded the company “screwed up” with ChatGPT 5.2.

The criticisms centered on the AI providing overly technical, complicated responses to questions, rather than the easy-to-digest answers AI users typically hope to receive.

“We did decide, and I think for good reason, to put most of our effort in 5.2 into making it super good at intelligence, reasoning, coding, engineering, that kind of thing,” Altman revealed. “And we have limited bandwidth here, and sometimes we focus on one thing and neglect another.”

Hopefully, OpenAI can learn from this error, however, and better manage which aspects of its vision it has to sacrifice as it pumps out successive iterations of its chatbot.

Speaking of making sacrifices, OpenAI also teased this week that it’s time to finally retire GPT-4o, and yet again, fans are furious.

• Read more: Sam Altman admits OpenAI ‘screwed up’ the writing quality on ChatGPT 5.2

3. Apple finally gave us a new AirTag

The original AirTag launched back in 2021 and quickly garnered an unwanted reputation as a stalking accessory. With those issues now largely sorted, Apple has launched a more powerful sequel with a better range and louder speakers.

A new Bluetooth chip lets you find the new AirTag from 1.5x farther away than with the previous version. That new speaker also means it’s 50% louder, which is handy if you’re trying to find keys that are buried deep inside a sofa.

While it isn’t exactly a bargain, the new AirTag keeps the same $29 / £29 / AU$49 price as the original.

• Read the full story: Apple's next-generation AirTags promise better range and a louder voice — maybe this is how I never lose anything again

2. Garmin leaked its Whoop alternative

The same week, Whoop blasted the Australian Open for its “ridiculous” decision to force tennis stars to remove its tracker, and following our testing a slew of fitness band alternatives, it appears Garmin’s own Whoop alternative just leaked.

Normally, we’d ignore leaks here until they’re confirmed launches, but the spoiler was shared by none other than Garmin itself.

Eagle-eyed Garmin fans were able to screenshot the page before it disappeared, cluing us into the 'Garmin Cirqa smart band,' which could be released in around '4–5 months,' which would be May or June based on shipping details.

Crucially, we didn’t get a price for the band, but even so, Whoop has some competition on the way.

• Read more: Garmin might finally be launching its Whoop competitor

1. Samsung teased the S26 Ultra’s biggest upgrade

Flagship smartphones have struggled to deliver dazzling new features in recent years, but the forthcoming Galaxy S26 Ultra appears to has bucked that trend. This week, Samsung teased the flagship phone’s new ‘privacy display’, which it calls ‘a new front line for privacy’.

What makes this display tech so interesting is that it lets you hide parts of your screen – like a private message – from onlookers while keeping it visible to you. The OLED screen apparently does this by emitting light in specific directions. We’re yet to see the tech in person, but if it lives up to the hype, it could be the most useful smartphone upgrade we’ve seen for a while.

• Read the full story: The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s privacy display could be the biggest upgrade in years – here’s how it works

• Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were ordered to remove their Whoop bands at the Australian Open
• Whoop CEO Will Ahmed spoke out on the issue, branding the situation 'ridiculous'
• A Whoop spokesperson also got in touch with TechRadar, reaffirming its stance that 'blocking access to personal health data does not protect sport'

Whoops are some of the very best (albeit most expensive) fitness trackers around, especially from a recovery point of view. Designed to aid and inform data-driven training techniques, Whoop bands are used by all kinds of top athletes the world over – including top tennis stars like current world no.1 women's player Aryna Sabalenka and current world no.1 men's player Carlos Alcaraz.

Whoop hit the headlines during the ongoing Australian Open, when Alcaraz was forced by an umpire to remove his Whoop, worn under a wristband, during his fourth-round match against Tommy Paul. Similarly, Sabalenka was also asked to remove her fitness tracker before a match, while men's player Jannik Sinner was also asked to remove his tracker.

“The reason why I was wearing that on court, because we received the email that we got approval from the ITF to wear this device. I didn't know that grand slams didn't come to conclusion,” Sabalenka told the press after her win over Iva Jovic. "It's just for tracking my health." Sabalenka, coincidentally, is an ambassador for Whoop, so there may be an as-yet unpublicized commercial element to the controversy.

Whoop's CEO Will Ahmed posted the video of Alcaraz being asked to take his tracker off on social media, commenting: "Ridiculous. Whoop is approved by the International Tennis Federation for in-match wear and poses no safety risk.

"Let the athletes measure their body. Data is not steroids!"

Whoop's official position

I reached out to Whoop to see what the company had to say. A spokesperson replied with the following statement:

“WHOOP believes athletes have a fundamental right to understand their own performance and health – including during competition at events like the Australian Open. WHOOP is approved by the International Tennis Federation for in-match wear and poses no safety, fairness, or competitive risk.

"Blocking access to personal health data does not protect sport. WHOOP will continue to stand with athletes and our members to defend their right to their data.”

Data's role in athletics

Today's athletes understand far more about their bodies than they did 20, or even 10 years ago. Beyond using stopwatches and pedometers, we now have devices like the best smartwatches and fitness trackers that can generate accurate strain and recovery information. Athletes now have far more information to go on, helping them understand how and when to push their limits.

I can understand the temptation to wear a Whoop during matches, not just during prep, for the athlete's team to understand their expended effort during, and recovery process after, every match. There's no question the increase in data collection affects athletes on and off the court.

However, if Whoop has been cleared to be worn on the court by the International Tennis Federation, there's a clear disconnect between that ruling and the ban on fitness trackers at the Australian Open this year.

Whoop also seems to be operating within commercial rules too. The Australian Open website also lists player sponsorship rules: "At the Australian Open, players are allowed up to two commercial (non-manufacturer) logos on their clothing, each no larger than three square inches.

"Manufacturer logos are treated separately and are allowed in additional positions (such as the shirt front, back or collar) but must remain small. Shorts and skirts may carry limited manufacturer branding, while compression garments have their own narrow allowances."

Whoop's tiny logo seems unlikely to breach these legislations. It could be argued the design itself is pretty iconic, but there's been a recent rise in Whoop clones such as the Polar Loop and Amazfit Helio Strap.

• Garmin's next device may well be the Cirqa smart band
• That's according to screenshots taken by Reddit users of a leak on Garmin's website
• The new device is reportedly set to ship in '4–5 months'

Garmin's next product may well have just leaked, and it's not a sequel to anything on our best Garmin watches list, a cycling computer, an InReach messaging device, or any of the other hardware the company is famous for – instead, it could be the brand's long-rumored, screenless fitness tracker.

Spotted via Android Authority, eagle-eyed Redditors caught the appearance of a device called the 'Garmin Cirqa smart band' on Garmin's own website, and screenshotted it before it disappeared. The screenshot, embedded in the Reddit comment below, revealed that the band could be released in around '4–5 months', which would be May or June.

It lists two sizes and two colors, Black and French Gray, although what's conspicuously missing is pricing information.

Comment from r/Garmin

Leaker site The5KRunner also followed up with a screenshot of some information indexed by Google before it vanished. This confirms that the band is designed to fit on the wrist, along with some grainy placeholder thumbnail imagery and a few sizing details.

It's quite clear from both of these screenshots that we've got a Whoop competitor on our hands. We previously thought the Garmin Index Sleep Monitor might have been it before its release last year, but that particular screenless tracker ended up being an armband designed for wearing in bed.

Whoop, there it is

We've heard rumblings for a while that Garmin is working on something to rival the Whoop MG and Whoop 5.0. It's a simple design concept – a fabric band stretched over an optical heart rate monitor that passively records workout and recovery metrics, rather than being designed to be interacted with like a smartwatch – but one that's seen a surge in popularity over the last few months.

The Polar Loop and Amazfit Helio Strap have recently been released, with the Luna Band and Speediance Strap to come this year. It's no surprise then that Garmin might finally be throwing its hat in this ring – now it's a proven concept outside of Whoop, and this feels like the right moment.

Unfortunately, Whoop isn't likely to be happy about the competition. Our sister site Tom's Guide reported that Whoop attempted to sue Polar over its Polar Loop band, citing intellectual property infringement, so it'll be interesting to see how the company reacts to Garmin getting in on the screenless-tracker action.

When people talk Garmin, it’s usually about one thing – the best running watches. And sure, that’s the bit most of us see. You buy a Forerunner or a Fenix, sync it to the Connect app, and then spend the next few years being a bit too smug about battery life, especially when your friends complain about their Apple Watches dying after a day.

But when I was invited to Garmin’s HQ in Olathe, Kansas for a media tour to coincide with the surprise launch of the new Forerunner series last year, I was excited to see behind the scenes. As a smartwatch enthusiast, it was like a golden ticket straight out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I’ll admit, I was expecting the usual checklist of activities a trip like this brings: product demos, a few executive chats, and a polite tour of a shiny office. And while there was still plenty of that, what I didn’t expect was just how much of Garmin’s wider operations I'd be privy to, including the unglamorous, behind-the-scenes bits most runners don’t even know exist.

And while not every part of the tour delivered the juicy, headline-grabbing stuff journalists always hope for, it did offer some genuinely surprising insight into a brand that builds expensive things – and they're built to last, unlike most smart technology, not just to the next upgrade cycle. Here are three of my biggest takeaways from the trip.

1. Garmin tests all its watches in-house to breaking point

The highlight of the tour for me wasn’t a shiny new watch reveal, it was the testing labs. Not because they’re glamorous (they’re really not), but because they explain why Garmin owners tend to have the same device for ages.

It was quite amusing to hear how Garmin actually want their devices to break in these labs. But the point is, it really helps them understand why failures happen, so they can fix them before a product goes to market.

The guide explained that the whole point of this kind of testing is to get ahead of potential “field failures” as early as possible in development, then keep rerunning tests as the design matures. They would much rather a prototype to fall apart in a lab than for a retail unit to die halfway through a user's triathlon, which makes complete sense.

The variety of tests happening in those labs was also quite impressive. I was shown specially-made chambers for cold, heat, humidity and UV-style weathering, designed to accelerate the kind of slow damage that normally manifests after months of sun, sweat and winter runs.

There are also salt fog chambers for corrosion, including one that cycles exposure to mimic real-world conditions, and chemical testing for the stuff people actually get on wearables, such as artificial sweat, sunscreen, and even nastier things like fuel and transmission fluid.

Then there’s the physical abuse the wearables undergo. Drop testing is a given, but Garmin uses rigs that can orient a device so it lands exactly on a specific point (like a button) over and over, with high-speed footage so they can watch what fails in slow motion.

Cycle tests make up a big part of the testing, too, where parts get actuated thousands of times – like straps stretching repeatedly, buttons being hammered, or mechanisms being worked until something gives. It’s not just about whether it can survive a fall, but if it can survive being used how a normal person would, repeatedly, over months, years, and maybe even decades.

I wasn't allowed to take photos in this area, annoyingly (but understandably), but what I will say is that experiencing it left a stronger impression than any product slide deck did that entire trip. It’s also the sort of thing that makes Garmin’s, err, premium pricing a bit easier to swallow. You might still wince at the cost, but at least you can see where some of that money is going.

2. Garmin's enormous warehouse is basically a super-advanced robot motorway

If the test lab is where Garmin proves its products’ durability, the company’s warehouse is where it showcases scale. This area was unbelievably huge but it wasn’t just its size that surprised me, it was seeing everything that happens here.

It’s definitely not the sexy side of tech, but I got to see how the company ensures you get your watch quickly, handles returns efficiently, and how much (or little) waste gets created along the way.

The warehouse operation is perhaps the most impressive, since it’s absolutely packed with automation, employing towering machines and robots that shuttle products around so that staff aren’t constantly trekking up and down endless aisles or stairs.

The guide here explained that the warehouse robots follow set routes, drive underneath a mobile storage rack, lock into its base and lift it slightly, then carry the whole rack to wherever it’s needed, all directed by tablet requests from staff and cutting out a ton of pointless walking.

The most oddly satisfying bit, though, was the packaging line. There’s a machine that measures the height of what’s in a box, scores the cardboard, folds it down, glues it, and basically trims the packaging to fit.

That doesn’t sound like a big deal until you remember that shipping is based on size as well as weight. When stacked together, those small savings in space really add up, meaning Garmin is saving emissions by not paying to send a load of air, resulting in fewer trips.

All this automation and efficiency is highly advanced, and might explain where some of those high asking prices are going.

3. Garmin's aviation roots mean reliability is its cornerstone

So here’s the part I really didn’t expect – just how much of Garmin’s DNA is ingrained in other industries like aviation, not just fitness, and how that feeds into our fitness watches.

On the tour, Garmin's ties to aviation were flaunted as one of its foundational areas – something the early team was apparently deeply rooted in. And they spoke about it with the kind of pride you normally hear when brands talk about their “hero” product category, and not just some side business-to-business side hustle.

They walked me through the sort of systems Garmin builds into aircraft, from big cockpit displays, sensors, GPS, comms, even connectivity for keeping databases up to date, so pilots aren’t manually fussing with backgrounds while in the air.

There was also a lot of emphasis on flight control tech such as autopilot systems and safety features, including a one-button emergency function that can take over, communicate, pick a landing location and bring the aircraft down safely if something goes wrong.

They even took us up in the air in some of their planes (yes, they have their own hangar) to show us how it all worked, which wasn’t terrifying in the slightest…

Obviously, this is all worlds away from a Forerunner buzzing your wrist because you’ve drifted out of the Zone 2 heart rate zone, but it does explain that Garmin is obsessed with reliability in situations where failure isn’t just annoying, it’s dangerous. Whether you're in the air or out in the wilderness, tech needs to be reliable. And this – for me – helps reframe the conversation around how expensive Garmin devices can be.

I now see Garmin as not just a brand that just makes good-quality wearables, but one that builds serious navigation and control systems, and then brings some of that mindset and engineering culture into its consumer gadgets.

All of the above made the campus feel less like a running watch HQ and more like a weirdly broad tech empire with fitness, outdoors, aviation, marine, and automotive all under one roof, which, I must admit, gave me some serious Apple HQ vibes.

I flew there thinking I was covering a sports watch launch and came away with a totally different perspective on the brand. That the reason Garmin kit feels so dependable isn’t just the watches themselves, it’s the fact it’s a capable engineering company built around building complicated navigational tech extremely well.

So, if you’re about to buy your next Garmin, it's probably worth remembering these three things: the watches are tested in genuinely brutal ways; the logistics operation is far more advanced than most people realise; and the company’s serious engineering roots run much deeper than fitness.

That doesn’t mean Garmin is perfect, but its devices not only stands the test of time, but they also tend to make day-to-day training feel smoother and more reliable, which is the sort of thing that’s hard to give up once you’re used to it.

While cold plunges were once reserved for elite athletes pushing their game to its absolute limit, now they're fast becoming a staple part of a healthy lifestyle for many people. This is the result of a realisation that the cold can help us in more ways than one.

Research has found that the cold can help physical health with improvements in circulation, immune system performance and muscle recovery. It can also contribute to better mental health and – perhaps as a part of that – improved sleep, measurable with our list of the best sleep trackers.

All that from a few minutes dunked into cold water sounds like a very fair deal. Granted it does mean getting into very cold water, which can take a little getting used to. One of our writers uses the James Bond shower method, starting the water warm and turning it cold, but if you have a cold plunge or wild swim spot available, going straight in can work too.

According to Machado et al. (2016) in Sports Medicine, temperatures need to be 11–15°C and submersion times should be for 11–15 minutes, to get the best results on soreness both short term and long term. A good number set to help recall the goal then: 11-15 for both ranges.

That method in mind, here are the reasons its worth bearing that cold for that long.

1. They can reduce muscle soreness, in a specific way

Fast recoveries are one of the main reasons for cold plunges, and how they came about as a post-workout treatment. That's why footballers were often sent straight to an ice bath after training, so they could keep going the next day and the day after, injury free.

The cold helps blood vessels to constrict, reducing blood flow to muscles and limiting inflammation in the short term.

Then, when you warm back up, circulation increases again, which may help clear metabolic waste products linked to soreness. This is ideal for after endurance events or high-volume training. However, studies have shown that taking a cold plunge immediately after strength training is less helpful if you want to build muscle.

2. Cold exposure can improve mood and mental resilience

Cold plunges are also being used more as a way to build mental resilience. Taking a dip in the sea or a swim in a cold lake can help mood, thanks to the release of chemicals like norepinephrine and dopamine, which are involved in alertness, motivation and mood regulation.

Some small but intriguing studies suggest regular cold exposure may reduce symptoms of low mood and anxiety, possibly by training the nervous system to tolerate stress more effectively.

So, over time, this repeated exposure may improve stress resilience, helping people feel calmer and more capable when faced with everyday challenges.

3. It may boost circulation and cardiovascular efficiency

Cold exposure reportedly trains your blood vessels to constrict and dilate more efficiently, which can help circulation and improve the cardiovascular system.

Using this in conjunction with hot saunas can help to boost this stretching and tightening of the blood vessels for the best cardiovascular outcome.

It's worth noting that this is looked at as a cardio support rather than a replacement for cardiovascular exercise. Also, this does require regular and repeated practise in order to get the effects that could be constituted as cardio and circulation improvements.

4. Cold plunges may support immune function

While the science here is still growing, cold plunges have long been associated with improve immune support. Some studies have shown cold plunges can increase white blood cell activity as well as improve the body's inflammatory response.

So, to be clear, this won't boost the immune system necessarily. Rather, these plunges can potentially reduce chronic low-grade inflammation while improving the body’s ability to respond to stressors.

Those who practice regular cold treatments do report fewer minor illnesses, adding weight to this idea, and some studies report that immune system response improves "to a slight extent". Controlled cold stress appears, therefore, to help train the immune system to work more efficiently. A bit.

5. They can improve sleep, when timed correctly

A cold plunge certainly is stimulating in and right after the experience, yet it can help sleep. While that nervous system activation in the moment is helpful, there is also a rebound as the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in to offer the rest and digest response.

Also, cold plunges can influence core body temperature regulation. Since a natural drop in core temperature is part of the sleep process, cold exposure earlier in the day may help reinforce healthy circadian rhythms. So, getting the timing right is key here. Too late and you may be kept up. Morning or early afternoon sessions are more likely to support better sleep later on.

The verdict

Cold plunges are not a fix-it-all cure but rather a helpful training tool. When used sensibly, they can help to reduce soreness, support mental resilience, improve circulation and potentially even enhance sleep and immune regulation.

But while the mental effects of cold plunges are strong, with advocates citing them as an addictive way to ward off depression, energize and banish low mood with adrenaline, physical effects seem relatively minor in isolation, according to science. Add them to the routine and see how you get on, but they're certainly no replacement to exercise, eating right and sleeping well.

It's been another busy week for tech news – but then again, when is it ever not? The good news is that you don't have to spend hours catching up, because we've covered everything in one place.

The big stories took in everything from Spotify to ChatGPT to Netflix, but it was developments in the OLED TV world that really caught our eye, as Sony, TCL, and LG all made major announcements.

Best of all, the trio might not just revolutionize the already best-of-the-best displays, but also their cheaper models.

How? Well, you'll have to scroll down to find out, so may we suggest you do that now and get up to speed. Enjoy.

7. Whoop clones have thrown us for a loop

It's been a while coming, but we've finally published our reviews of two screenless, fabric-covered fitness trackers – subscription-less rivals to the Whoop 5.0 and Whoop MG bands, which we rated as technically excellent but far too expensive.

The Polar Loop was solid in heart-rate tracking, but a letdown with its confusing software choices. The Amazfit Helio Strap was a different matter, though: cheaper than Whoop and Polar, and very good, both in terms of the hardware's capabilities and the app's quality. We duly added it to our best fitness trackers list.

The reviews come at an interesting time, as CES 2026 showcased the next wave of Whoop clones from Luna and Speediance. It looks set to be a crowded category.

• Read more: Amazfit Helio Strap review
• Read more: Polar Loop review

6. Spotify dropped a flawed playlist tool

Following a successful trial run in New Zealand, Spotify is bringing Prompted Playlists – a new playlist-creating tool that puts you in control of the algorithm – to the US and Canada.

Building on Spotify's AI playlist tool, which launched in April 2024, Prompted Playlists takes a similar approach but gives you full control over where you steer the algorithm. In its news blog, Spotify puts it quite simply: “You’re not just asking for music, you’re shaping how Spotify goes about discovering it for you.”

The biggest difference with Prompted Playlists is that you can amend them to update daily or weekly, just like Discover Weekly, but you can tailor them to a far greater degree. After spending some time with it, we can see it becoming one of Spotify’s most intelligent features, and it will be even more powerful once its infancy issues are resolved.

• Read more: I’ve been trying out Spotify’s new Prompted Playlist tool

5. OLED TVs fought back

OLEDs have long been revered as the go-to premium TV tech, but the ‘new’ brighter and cheaper kid on the block – mini-LED – is threatening to eat its lunch.

At least, that was until LG clapped back with its OLED SE, which promises a 120Hz refresh rate, as well as 1,000 nits of brightness, which is far more than the 668 nits we measured on the affordable LG B5 – so the LG B6 could be a real affordability winner if it boasts this tech.

LG Display told FlatPanelsHD that it will make OLED SE panels in five sizes to begin with: 48 inches, 55 inches, 65 inches, 77 inches, and 83 inches, and we’re excited to see how it’ll use these panels in the coming year.

• Read more: The OLED TV vs mini-LED battle is about to really heat up

4. Netflix got a universal boost

Despite Netflix initially teasing that it would get Universal’s live-action flicks exclusively on its platform starting in 2027, it seems the deal has started a lot earlier than we expected.

According to Netflix, “We can confirm that the live-action film pay-1b licensing deal is starting earlier than announced, with the first film being Megan 2.0.”

It’s not clear when exactly other films will follow, but this is certainly another trophy for Netflix to add to its cabinet.

• Read more: Netflix is adding live-action Universal movies to its back catalog

3. We tried Sony’s clip-style buds

The audio titan that is Sony debuted new clip-style open earbuds with its new LinkBuds Clip; we’ve tried them, and unfortunately, this might be a rare miss for the headphones experts.

The fit felt at times looser than we’d want; the lack of deep bass meant music lacked its full resonance or a thumping, punchy beat, and even the treble struggled.

Based on our initial tests, we’d expect these earbuds to cost about half their $229 / £180 / AU$329.95 price, which is definitely disappointing given Sony's track record.

• Read more: I tried Sony’s first clip-on open earbuds

2. Sony and TCL teamed up

Sticking with Sony, the brand just announced that its TVs will now be made in a “joint venture” with TCL, suggesting a major shift for how its displays are developed, designed, and manufactured.

Interestingly, TCL will own 51% of this new joint project, giving it a majority share. It’s worth noting that this might simply be due to Chinese rules that limit foreign ownership in joint ventures to 49% – TCL is a Chinese electronics company, while Sony is headquartered in Japan.

Exactly what this means for us is yet to be seen, but it might mean Sony pivots away from OLED as TCL avoids the tech completely, and perhaps instead focuses on improved mid-range and budget options using TCL’s impressively cost-effective manufacturing.

• Read more: Sony’s future TVs could be made by a new ‘joint venture’

1. ChatGPT got ads

Despite its CEO once calling ads a “last resort” for its business, OpenAI has announced that advertisements are coming to ChatGPT for free and ChatGPT Go-tier users.

The news dropped very late last week, so we couldn’t include it in ICYMI then, so we’ve rolled it into this week's, as the announcement represents a massive pivot for OpenAI.

As part of the reveal, OpenAI shared some examples of how ads might work, such as a sponsored grocery list appearing below the answer to a dinner-related question.

This obviously raises big questions about how trustworthy responses are – for example, with the dinner plan, did the AI recommend those meals because it knew it would fit better with a sponsorship? There’s a lot we frankly don’t know, and we expect this won’t be the last advertisements we see in AI chatbots – even if Google promises Gemini ads aren’t in the works.

• Read more: ChatGPT now has ads

My Garmin watch has recently been getting into hot water, and I mean that literally. I'm wearing the Garmin Venu 4 pretty much all the time these days, including on runs, in the gym, in the sea and in the shower.

Unfortunately, this has given rise to an unexpected problem. Four times now, I've noticed in the shower that I've been on an unintentional phone call, usually to my Dad, who's first in my contacts list on my watch. This is caused by the cascading water in the shower activating the watch's touchscreen, but it's very odd that it reacts the same way each time.

I love my Garmin Venu 4. I think it's a great watch, and the ability to use the built-in microphone to set timers and issue other simple commands via the onboard voice assistant is great. Likewise, Garmin's touchscreens have improved in recent years to become almost as snappy and responsive as Apple's. But that combination means my family have been unintentionally earwigging on me singing in the shower.

You may have experienced the same thing with your Garmin, as most of the best Garmin watches now offer touchscreens in addition to the usual button controls. Whereas when you start an activity such as swimming, the watch automatically enters a Touch Lock mode, simply showering requires manual tinkering.

How to set up a Touch Lock short cut

Depending on which Garmin watch you own, there are several ways you can set up a shortcut to Touch Lock your Garmin watch.

I own a Garmin Venu 4, and while it does have two buttons, many other Garmin watches have five, which allow you to set up several 'hot key' shortcut options. The two-button Venu series doesn't have those.

Instead, by holding down the UP/MENU button, you can summon a selection of settings-based controls such as Find My Phone, Do Not Disturb, and Power Off.

Scrolling down, you'll see an Edit bar. Tap that, then Add, then scroll down the list until you come to the yellow Touch Lock button. Hit the green + sign next to it.

After that, you'll be able to hold the UP/MENU button to summon your list of shortcuts, and simply tap Touch Lock to activate it before you hop in the shower, safe in the knowledge no-one can hear you sing.

How to set up a hot key

If you've got a watch with five buttons, such as the Garmin Fenix 8 or the Garmin Forerunner 570, you can set up a shortcut via hot keys.

In your settings, select System > Hot Keys, and choose the combination of buttons you want to use in order to instantly turn the Touch Lock setting on and off.

Amazfit Helio Strap: One minute review

The Amazfit Helio Strap is a good lower-cost alternative to a Whoop band or even some of the best fitness trackers like Fitbit, as long as you enter with the right expectations. The hardware itself is substantially cheaper, and no subscription is required for day-to-day use of a Helio Strap.

In return, you get all-day health and fitness tracking, with more of a focus on active forms of exercise than some lifestyle wearables. Amazfit doesn’t provide quite as explicit training readiness insights as a Whoop band, but with stats that focus on your training load and overall condition, it doesn’t take a degree in sports science to join the dots for yourself and get most of the benefits.

This is a less upmarket band than some of the competition. Its central part is plastic, with no metal parts, but this is a win for comfort as it further lowers weight.

Amazfit Helio Strap: Specifications

Amazfit Helio Strap: Price and availability

• It costs $99.99 / £99.00 / $179.00AU
• Less than the Polar Loop
• Much less than the ongoing Whoop subscription

Despite having less tech inside than a more traditional fitness tracking wearable, the pricing of these screenless wearables (other than the Whoop MG) is less aggressive than some other categories. It’s because they’re a lifestyle buy as much as anything

The Amazfit Helio Strap is one of the better-priced options, though. It costs $99.99 / £99.00 / $179.00AU, far less than a Whoop band or the Polar Loop.

There’s no need for an ongoing subscription here either, although one is of course offered. It’s called Aura (not to be confused with Oura). This adds an AI-based wellness advisor and lots of audio-based relaxation content, costing $69.99 (around £52 / AU$100) a year, although during testing we were offered a year’s worth for £19.99. There’s a 14-day free trial too.

• Value score: 4/5

Amazfit Helio Strap: Design

• Screen-free
• Does not feel premium, no metal
• Extremely light – set and forget

The Amazfit Helio Strap is a screen-free wearable, and an exceptionally light one. It weighs just 20g, strap included. You can thank the relatively low-frills style of the central unit for this, which is just a puck of plastic. All you see when wearing the Hello Strap is the fabric of the strap itself, which hooks up to the tracker’s block using traditional watch fastenings. Amazfit also offers an arm strap, should you prefer to wear it off the wrist.

I have at times had to check whether the watch was actually still attached, which is just not something that happens with the GPS running watches I tend to wear daily. There is one important caveat to note on the design, though; the Amazfit Helio Strap is not as slimline as you might guess. It sticks out a way from your wrist and its sides don’t fully hug its surface either. In person it’s thicker than the Coros Pace 4 watch I was using at the same time, which is at odds with the vibe most of these screenless wearables try to give out.

That said, Amazfit doesn’t sell the Helio Strap as a casual step and sleep tracker. It apparently has the keener exerciser in mind, as you can see from the Hyrox-themed strap attached here. Hyrox and Amazfit have entered a partnership (Amazfit is now the official timekeeper for the event), but the standard version of the strap is plain two-tone dark grey.

This watch isn’t a friend to those tight-fit long-sleeved base layers that hug the wrist, but actually wearing the Hello Strap has been an entirely discomfort-free experience. Of course, you will still need to make the strap reasonably tight for the most accurate heart rate results so the little sensor mount on the back will leave an imprint in your wrist. It comes with the territory.

Amazfit rates the watch’s water resistance at 5ATM, so you won’t have to take it off too often. The official guidance is the Helio Strap is “suitable for splashes, snow, showering, swimming” but shouldn’t be worn in the sauna or for a “hot shower” as the steam can damage the internal seals.

• Design score: 4/5

Amazfit Helio Strap: Features

• Relatively slight on features
• Transmit HR data to gym machines and fitness watches
• Set up to 10 haptic alarms

Wearables like the Amazfit Hello Strap are not out to wow us with their expansive feature lists (after all, they’re designed not to be interacted with) but it does do more than you might guess.

It has a temperature sensor, for example, used to check for variations from the norm overnight. Such a change could be an indicator of illness. You can set up to 10 alarms too, which use the Helio Strap’s vibration motor to alert you. It’s not a massively powerful buzz, though, so you might not want to rely on it to wake you up for work each day.

A little unusual for a screenless wearable, Amazfit also stresses its active fitness tracking skills. You can manually start a specific tracked exercise in the app on your phone, and the Helio Strap can also be set to automatically detect workouts and log them as such. When you start a tracked session in the app, the Helio Strap can transmit live heart rate data to another device. Some more advanced gym machines support this, as do cycling computers and some fitness watches. It uses Bluetooth for this, not ANT+, which was the classic technology of heart rate chest straps.

What else is there to note? The Hello Strap uses a tiny little charge puck that connects to a pair of metal contacts on the back. Easy to lose, but also easy to transport in a pocket.

• Features score: 4/5

Amazfit Helio Strap: Performance

• Battery life as described
• Solid heart rate accuracy
• Plenty of metrics provided in-app

Low upkeep is one of the best parts of the Amazfit Hello Strap. Despite weighing next-to-nothing, Amazfit still says it delivers “up to 10 days” of battery life. And that is entirely consistent with our experience. After using it for a week, the Helio Strap had 35% charge left. While two-week battery watches with screens are common enough, they weigh a lot more than the Helio Strap.

A lot of this wearable’s metrics rely on heart rate data. The Hello Strap’s is mostly solid with some small issues that may not dull its appeal too much, especially at this price point. Throughout the day, passive tracking is decent and there are no wild spikes as you walk around your home or office. This can happen when a tracker takes any sign of walking as a suggestion your HR is likely rising fast.

You don’t manually start tracked activities on the watch, but when comparing the results of long runs on the Helio Strap with those of a chest strap, though, the Amazfit Hello Strap occasionally overestimates heart rate by around 10bpm. Not a hugely meaningful difference to most, and certainly good enough for an indication of heart rate zones, but still not quite as accurate as the best Apple Watches. Amazfit does talk about the Helio Strap as a wearable to pair with another fitness watch, to fill in stat gaps throughout the day and night, and during other workouts the results were (relatively) bang-on accurate. But there’s definitely scope for tracking accuracy to improve in a firmware update.

As for tracking steps, the Amazon Helio Strap recorded slightly lower counts over a five day period, apart from one day when they were almost identical just 3000 steps apart. Over the five day period the Helio Strap recorded 94% of the steps of the Garmin Forerunner 970. It’s also worth noting the Garmin was worn on my dominant arm (the Helio Strap was not) so that could have a part to play here.

Sleep tracking performance is solid. A couple of nights during testing I wore the Amazfit Helio Strap alongside three other wearables to see how great the disparities would be: the Garmin Forerunner 970, Polar Loop and Coros Pace 4. All four of these watches failed to pick up on any of the moment you briefly wake up and wonder why the alarm clock reads 4:55am. But those times you actually have to get up to go to the toilet? It picks them up. The Amazfit Helio Strap also did consistently note a change in sleep state and heart rate during those missed moments of wakefulness, though – the next best thing.

It’s also important not to underrate the quality of the Amazfit Helio Strap app. It’s Zepp, shared with other Amazfit wearables. And its layout is kinda great for the purposes of a wearable like this. On the front page you get a handy summary of stats you likely want to see daily, with a traffic light system too show which (if any) are a bit dodgy. These include resting heart rate, sleep duration, Skin temperature, exertion load and more.

This layout returns in a separate Sleep tab, where we get stats like heart rate variability, Deep Sleep duration and skin temperature, again with the traffic light system.

Amazfit also goes big on a concept called BioCharge, which is an estimation of your overall energy level. The one missing next step is what you get with Whoop, where such data – and other bits – are used to more explicitly tell you whether you should work out on a specific day or not. And the paid-for Aura subscription is more about wellness and relaxation that that kind of athlete-focused experience.

• Performance score: 4/5

Amazfit Helio Strap: Scorecard

Amazfit Helio Strap: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

First reviewed: January 2026

Polar Loop: One minute review

The Polar Loop is, on the surface, what a lot of folks want. It’s a lifestyle-friendly wearable like the popular Whoop MG, but one that doesn’t come with a mandatory monthly subscription.

It’s screen-free, with a lightweight body and fabric strap for maxed-out comfort. Polar has kept the Loop simple, offering a limited set of features rather than trying to cram in lots of extras. It tracks your sleep, your steps and has a crack at recognising and logging activity sessions — runs, walks and so on. This part is patchy, but the Polar Loop was never going to be that big a hit as a one of the best fitness tracker with the hardcore exerciser crowd anyway.

The Polar Loop’s issues are largely software-based. You have to get on with the Polar app to make the Loop fun to use, and its interface and presentation of data could really do with a rethink. This is planned for the future, but for now, this isn’t quite the Whoop-killer you may be hoping for. It’s shown up on that front by the cheaper Amazfit Helio Strap.

As is, what you get is a decent screen less tracker, but one that may be better later into its lifespan – after a software update, at least.

Polar Loop: Specifications

Polar Loop: Price and Availability

• $199 in the US
• £149.50 in the UK
• AU$299 in Australia

The Polar Loop launched in early September 2025 as a subscription-free alternative to the Whoop band. This is a little over a year since the launch of the Polar 360, a business-oriented wellness wearable that’s ultimately pretty similar to this consumer version. It costs $199 in the US, £149.50 in the UK and AU$299 in Australia.

While there are no explicit ongoing costs, there is a totally optional subscription called Polar Fitness Program, which works out an adaptive training plan for you. This costs 9.99 Euro a month after a free trial. This is far better value than the Whoop, which doesn’t sell you the device at all – just an expensive subscription. But for a fitness tracker that doesn’t actually do a lot, it’s still quite highly-priced.

• Value score: 3.5/5

Polar Loop: Design

• Screenless
• Steel accents
• Comfortable stretchy bands

The Polar Loop is similar enough to the Whoop band that Whoop has sued Polar claiming the company nicked its design. However, what this really boils down to is a couple of conventions already seen across the screenless wearables landscape.

Polar uses a fabric strap that weaves, buckle-like, over the wearable’s main unit. It covers where the screen would be in a normal watch. The Loop uses a velcro-style fastener and is clearly designed to look like a lifestyle wearable over a hardcore fitness gadget. While much of the core brick is plastic, the top and outer parts are brushed bronze-shade steel. It’s there to provide a touch of class.

These screen-free wearables are intended to be the kind of gadget you set and forget, at least until the battery runs out. The Polar Loop weighs 29g, strap included, light enough not to pick up any real momentum as you swing your arms unlike a watch like the Apple Watch Ultra, which weighs close to 60g. But you are still gong to see those familiar skin indents when you occasionally take the watch off, pressing its contours into your wrist.

Is it comfy? Sure, these slightly stretchy fabric bands are ace for comfort. But I’ve found the Amazfit Helio Band slightly easier to forget I’m wearing, no doubt because it’s even lighter: just 20g.

The Polar Loop has no buttons and no LED status indicator. You can’t interact with it if you try. There’s not even a vibration motor: it’s about as stripped-back as Polar could make it. Water resistance is rated at WR30, which in other wearables is often seen as not enough for safe swimming, while Polar says the Loop is fine for “bathing and swimming” under the ISO22810 standard, just not diving or snorkelling.

• Design score: 4/5

Polar Loop: Features

• No subscription
• Very little interaction
• Precision Prime heart rate sensor from 2018

One of the core appeals of the Polar Loop is, of course, that there is no mandatory subscription. There is a paid part of the app, though.

It’s called Polar Fitness Program, which costs around $11 a month (9.99 Euro). This launched in April 2025, provides tailored workout plans. It would work much better when paired with Polar’s more conventional fitness watches, like the Polar Grit X2, than a Loop.

The Polar Loop’s own feature set is very stripped-back. You can’t, for example, make the watch broadcast its heart rate data to be used by another device. There’s no altimeter, so counting of steps climbed is not recorded. You cannot use the Polar Loop as an alarm as there’s no vibration motor. When the Polar Loop is running low on battery you’ll simply get an incessant reminder to charge on your phone. You know the funny bit? Polar actually released a tracker called the Loop 2 in 2015 that did have vibration, and a half-hidden screen made up of 85 LEDs.

Neither that band nor the Polar Loop records blood oxygenation data either, despite the heart rate array making use of green, red and orange LEDs. Polar calls this its Precision Prime array, and it has been around for absolutely ages. A similar design was found in 2018’s Polar Vantage V. That’s a lifetime ago in tech terms, but the basics still work well.

• Features score: 2.5/5

Polar Loop: Performance

• 8 days of battery life
• Some activity tracking errors
• HR data testing similar to Garmin Elevate V5 sensor

Despite the lack of a screen, Polar says the Loop lasts eight days, which is actually a bit less than some of its watches with displays. This is basically on the money. You can expect it to last around a week. With no GPS or screen, there should be little variation in how long it lasts based on your activity level.

Like any wearable, the Polar Loop is heavily reliant on its heart rate sensor for any data beyond your steps. This wearable has a pretty good one, despite using older hardware. While this is not a replacement for a full-on runner’s watch due to its lack of GPS, its HR data during runs is pretty similar to that of a Garmin Forerunner 970 (one of the best Garmin watches) and its Elevate V5 sensor, wore concurrently during most of my testing.

The Polar Loop doesn’t tend to mess up the start of workouts, or show unexpected major HR spikes during the work day when you do little more than potter about. There was one unexpected spike during a tracked run, but in general the results are solid here.

By default, the Polar Loop will record basic stats 24/7, and then automatically log any slightly extended stretches it believes you’re exercising. Go for a 12-minute walk? You can expect to see that pop up in the Polar app. It’s not entirely flawless, though; during one run, the Loop only clocked half of the hour-and-change workout, seemingly stopping during a brief break, only to fail to register the second half. The durations of some sessions are off too, although you can always take a more active approach to tracking: in the Polar phone app, you can manually start a tracked session, select the Loop, and use it as the source for HR data.

That aside, the Polar Loop has a good stab at recording your daily steps. And it of course tracks sleep, too, estimating your time spent in the light, deep and REM sleep zones, and records interruptions. The Polar Loop is more sensitive to these than another wearable’s full-on wakeful moments detection, so you may well see your sleep records peppered with these tiny interruption blips.

The lead stats Polar wants you to focus on are sleep duration, sleep solidity and regeneration — basically how much that sleep is getting your body back where it needs to be. However, there’s also an ANS Charge (autonomous nervous system charge) section in which you can check out breathing rate and heart rate variability.

All the basic data is here, and it’s sound enough. The Polar Loop’s biggest issue is the phone app isn’t really all that enjoyable to use, may look dated to some and doesn’t really direct the user that well as to what they should focus on.

The app’s home screen is Diary, which acts like a feed of your day, showing recent auto-tracked exercises, your step count and so on, in semi-chronological order. This is not as effective as the software in Amazfit’s rival Helio Strap app, which is more intuitive and has a handy traffic light-style system to alert you to any stats that may be out of the ordinary.

Screen-free wearables are massively reliant on their apps for the overall quality of experience. And Polar’s could do with some work. It’s just not that inviting a space to hang out in. Polar does plan to fully revamp the app in future, but right now we can only work with that we have.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

Polar Loop: Scorecard

Polar Loop: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

First reviewed: December 2025

Dreame began life as a robot vacuum brand, before going on to add other air-focused appliances like manual vacuums and hair dryers to its roster. It's only been around since 2017/18, but in that time it has established itself as a major player in these markets – it features prominently in both my best cordless vacuum and best robot vacuum rankings.

So I was excited to see what Dreame would be showcasing at CES 2026. I was expecting a new robot vacuum, perhaps some innovative air purifiers. What I was not expecting was for Dreame to announce its entry into literally every corner of the home. I'm not exaggerating – if you can think of a home appliance, Dreame now has one in its lineup.

It has a TV, soundbars, a projector, a surround sound speaker setup. There's a Dreame action camera, smart rings, smart glasses and a smartwatch. It has smart lights in all shapes and sizes. It has security cameras, smart locks and motion sensors.

There are fridges, a dishwasher, a microwave and a selection of ovens. There are air fryers, coffee machines, and a stand mixer. It has a washing machine, tumble dryer, and steamer. There's a chainsaw and a hedge trimmer, electric toothbrushes, razors, IPL machines and an LED face mask.

It's still at prototype stage, but there was even a car sitting incongruously on the Dreame stand.

The vision, according to the press release, is to evolve from "a standalone smart device brand to a comprehensive provider of connected lifestyles with an ecosystem now covering the home, garden, outdoors, and on the move". The tagline it's going with is "All dreams in one Dreame", which makes no sense at all.

Too far, too soon?

I've tested a number of Dreame gadgets, and have almost always been impressed, but I'm wary of this latest expansion. It all just seems too fast and too wide-reaching for it to have been done with the required care and expertise. The difficulty I've had in getting any information about the individual products I was most interested in hasn't reassured me any further.

Previously, Dreame's category expansions have made sense. There's crossover between the mechanics of a vacuum cleaner and a hair dryer, for instance. I can see how a brand that knows its way around a robot vacuum could also make a great lawnbot.

But I'm struggling to see how those skills might translate into coffee machines or TVs – both categories that are highly specific, and which require specialist knowledge and skills to excel in. The same goes for things like smartwatches and action cameras.

Of course, I haven't tested any of the new gadgets yet – I've only seen them displayed and demoed, which isn't a reliable way to judge any product. The proof will be in the testing, and I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

Garmin sports watches have seen me through many years of running. My first was a chunky but functional Garmin Forerunner 35, which saw me through my first foray into 'serious' training, through to a Garmin Fenix 7S, which was frankly much more watch than I needed.

My love of the brand's watches didn't last forever though. Worried by a prolonged server outage, and feeling jaded by the launch of Garmin Connect+ (which sneakily put LiveTrack text alerts for runners behind a paywall – but not ones for cyclists), I decided that my next device would be from Polar.

The switch was easy, and I was already familiar with the interface and the Polar Flow app from my time as TechRadar's fitness editor many years ago. Everything went perfectly smoothly – until it didn't.

The problem was a heart rate monitor. I've owned a chest strap heart rate monitor for several years, and find it particularly useful for interval training on a spin bike, where a wrist-based monitor isn't as quick to respond as I'd like, and can be affected by me gripping the handlebars. Having a reading from the chest strap fed straight to the bike's screen via ANT+ is quick, convenient, and makes it easy to see how my efforts are impacting my heart rate in as timely a manner as possible.

The problem is the strap itself. If you wear a bra to exercise, as I do, you have to position the heart rate monitor somewhere below the bra's bottom band, meaning it's sitting awkwardly around your ribs. Even if it doesn't slip down (which it might), it's not a particularly comfortable arrangement.

I was therefore very pleased when, a few years ago, Garmin released the HRM-Fit – a heart rate monitor that snaps directly onto your bra's band. No more worrying about a second strip of elastic sliding down mid-workout. It's a brilliant idea, and one I've not seen copied by any of the other major fitness tech brands to date.

Sure, there are HRMs that get around this problem by strapping around your arm rather than your chest (eg the Polar Verity Sense), but these use the same tech as the monitor in a watch and are therefore subject to the same limitations

My Polar watch supports sensors via ANT+ and Bluetooth, so I put the HRM-Fit on my Christmas wish list. Santa kindly obliged, and I quickly connected the two, excited to take the new duo on their maiden run on Boxing Day.

Running smoothly?

With the HRM-Fit clipped comfortably into place and wrapped up against the British weather, I stepped outside, hit the start button, took a few paces and... nothing. Not only could I see no heart rate on my watch, there was no pace or distance visible either. I cancelled the workout and began again, making sure to wait until the watch had established a firm GPS link before hitting 'start'. Again, nothing.

Starting to get cold, I decided to go ahead and start running anyway, making up a rough 5km route along my home town's empty footpaths.

When I got home, the workout showed no speed or distance in the Polar Flow app, though the route had been tracked somehow, and even appeared plotted on a map when synced with Strava. Most strange.

A quick search online suggested that it might be a temporary GPS hiccup with the watch, but that seemed like a strange coincidence considering the only factor that had changed that day was the new heart rate monitor. Then I found it. Apparently several Garmin heart rate monitors, including but not limited to the HRM-Fit, misidentify themselves as foot-pods when connected to Polar watches.

Comment from r/Polarfitness

The watch is therefore expecting data like cadence and stride length, not heart rate, and to make a long story short, everything gets very messed up. There's no fix for the problem; the devices are simply incompatible. Bother.

It was then a choice – keep either the heart rate monitor or the watch, and stick the other on eBay. I decided I valued the comfort of the Garmin HRM-Fit more than my (possibly somewhat childish) urge to stick it to Garmin for bringing out a paid tier to a previously free-to-use app.

After a lot of research (I used to review sports watches as part of my job, but that was several years ago) I opted for a Garmin Lily 2 Active. It's the company's smallest sports watch with on-board GPS (I've never been a great fan of connected GPS that piggybacks off your phone), and unlike the standard Garmin Lily 2, it supports accessories via ANT+ and Bluetooth.

Its feature set is much leaner than the Polar, or even my previous Garmin, but that's fine for me. I've never actually used maps on a watch unless I'm writing a review, so their absence isn't an issue, and I don't miss a color screen. As long as it allows me to sync a plan from TrainingPeaks and nags me when I'm outside the appropriate heart rate range, it's all good.

The Lily 2 Active's tiny size means it's also comfortable enough to wear at night, so I'm actually tracking my sleep without feeling like I have a brick strapped around my wrist. It has everything I need and absolutely no more, and that's fine.

The moral of the story is clearly that if you're planning on picking up a new sensor or accessory, make sure you search for the names of both products together to find out whether they're truly compatible – even if the specs suggest that they should be.

• Speediance, maker of AI-powered connected fitness equipment, has debuted the Speediance Strap
• It's a screenless wearable designed to support 'data-driven training'
• There's no indication of pricing yet, but it will launch this year as part of a Kickstarter

Speediance isn't a name many fitness-tracker fans will be familiar with at first, as the company is best known for making AI-powered connected fitness equipment like the Gym Monster 2 cable strength trainer. Well, now it's come to CES with a fitness tracker, and there's no denying that it looks familiar.

Yes, it looks just like a Whoop. Running practically unopposed in the 'best fitness tracker without a screen' space for so long, Whoop was joined by the also similar-looking Polar Loop last year. Now, at CES, it's fighting for space both with the Luna Band and the all-new Speediance Strap.

Speediance hasn't released many details about the Strap just yet, other than it's a product prototype and will be subject to a Kickstarter launch later this year. There's no word on price (I reached out to a Speediance representative, who confirmed as much) but we do know that it'll have a base price, with an optional premium subscription for AI features, rather than an all-subscription model like Whoop.

Speediance said in a press release that "core activity and recovery data is available at no additional cost, with optional Wellness+ access providing advanced AI planning and long-term insights". So far, so depressingly standard for the wellness industry these days (I'd love to own a device without an ongoing subscription paywall, please).

We also know that the device will offer data-driven daily readiness scores like the best Fitbits and best Garmin watches, and it'll "monitor physiological responses related to stress and core body temperature" so will have one eye on recovery as well as training.

It's taken longer than I expected, but minimalist fitness trackers are having a moment again, between these Whoop dupes and the best smart rings. It seems a theme is emerging: while I don't think specialist running watches will ever be replaced, more people are looking for focused, multi-disciplined training and turning away from on-wrist notifications.