A recent trademark from Garmin has revealed more information about the brand’s long-rumoured rival to the Whoop Strap, seemingly titled the Garmin Cirqa.
Spotted by Gadgets & Wearables, the trademark, which was filed in February but went unnoticed until now, holds a detailed explanation of what the Garmin Cirqa is intended for, leaving very little doubt as to how the device will integrate into Garmin’s existing ecosystem. The filing reads as follows:
“Wearable devices and instruments to be placed on the human body, namely electronic sensors and monitors for measuring and analysing the body’s physical parameters and other physiological datam bio-signals, and bodily behaviour, and for measuring and analysing recovery from physical and emotional stress, human alertness level, and performance, all for non-medical and non-therapeutic purposes; electronic devices and instruments for storing, sending, transmitting, and receiving instructions and data relating to the foregoing; and parts of and fittings for all the aforesaid goods”
In order to allow for more leeway in a product’s final construction, trademarks tend to be a bit more general in their wording, but this filing is very specific in terms of what the Garmin Cirqa is intended for – and I’m very excited about it.
With no mention of workout tracking, it’s clear that the Cirqa is designed specifically with recovery in mind, which paints a clearer picture of how the device could be seen as an accessory worth having for those who currently use a Garmin watch.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
When, not if
The one thing missing from this filing is any hint towards a concrete release date, but the fact that it exists at all means that the wait for the Garmin Cirqa will be coming to an end in the near future. It was hotly tipped to arrive in March, but that didn’t happen.
As G&W notes, even though the trademark itself still needs to be verified and agreed upon, there is more than enough precedent in the tech world for a launch to take place while all of the legalities are moving forward in the background.
As someone who currently uses the Garmin Venu X1 alongside a Whoop Strap 4.0, I cannot wait to see what the Garmin Cirqa brings to the table, not least because the idea of having my workout and recovery stats in one single app is very appealing.
Even though the Cirqa seems to mimic the screen-less design that’s been popularised by Whoop, its biggest competitor is likely to be Fitbit’s recently unveiled wearable band. While there’s little known about the device just yet, the word on the street points towards customers being able to use Fitbit’s band without the need for a subscription, which isn’t possible with Whoop.
Not only will the Cirqa have to tempt potential buyers away from Fitbit and Whoop, but it’ll also have competition in the recently leaked Oura Ring 5. The Oura Ring 4 currently sits in our list of the best smart rings, all of which are great alternatives to wearable bands as they’re more discreet.