Garmin is preparing a screenless sports band. It will take on Whoop and the new Fitbit Air, here's what we know about it

The segment of screenless bands, which has been dominated by the Whoop brand for several years, is transforming before our eyes into one of the most interesting battles in the entire wearables market. A few days ago, Google also jumped in with the newly introduced Fitbit Air, and within a few weeks, Garmin should follow with its Cirqa model. After long months of leaks and silent confirmations from the manufacturer, a fresh retail listing has now appeared, revealing not only the final design but also the price. This is a very unpleasant surprise.

Latest leak mentions unpleasantly high price

The latest, but also most interesting, leak comes from the Ukrainian store Stylus Store, where a product page for the Garmin Cirqa band appeared, including a rendered photo. On it, we see a simple black textile strap and a compact sensor unit with a visible Garmin logo. As for the final design, the manufacturer did not choose the path of a hidden module under the strap (like Fitbit Air), but left the brand in full display on the top side. However, we cannot confirm whether the image is real or, for example, generated by artificial intelligence.

However, the real surprise comes with the price. Stylus Store lists a standard price of 22,399 hryvnias (approximately 10,600 CZK converted), and for pre-order, 19,999 hryvnias (about 9,500 CZK converted). For context — that’s roughly five times the price of Fitbit Air, which starts at 99.99 dollars in the USA (2,100 CZK converted). The only more expensive competitor on the market remains Whoop MG, but there you pay an annual subscription, not for the hardware itself.

It’s fair to add that a certain caution is always warranted with e-shop leaks. The price may be just a placeholder, and specifications are typically incomplete. If the price were correct, Garmin would certainly have to justify it.

What we know about Cirqa from earlier leaks

The Cirqa story began in January 2026, when the product pages for the band accidentally appeared on several regional Garmin websites (specifically in Brazil, Mexico, the USA, and Canada). The pages were quickly taken down, but they managed to reveal that the band would arrive in two sizes (S/M for wrist circumference 120–200 mm and L/XL for 145–240 mm) and two color variants, Black and French Gray. They also mentioned that availability was “in 4–5 months,” which points to May or June 2026 – the window we are currently in.

In February, the company subsequently filed a trademark application with the US USPTO. Trademark serial number 99670310 describes Cirqa as a wearable device for measuring physiological data, biosignals, and body behavior, also serving to evaluate recovery from “physical and emotional stress, alertness levels, and performance” – all for non-medical and non-therapeutic purposes. In short, it is precisely the type of device that Whoop or Fitbit Air is.

In April, the FCC certification in the US was added to the series of leaks, whose analysis indicated that it would be a band with optical heart rate sensing and no integrated display. In short, Cirqa will not deviate from what we know about screenless trackers ~ although Garmin will likely draw the specific list of sports modes and algorithms from its long-standing experience with running and outdoor watches.

What is still missing is official information about battery life, water resistance, the specific set of sensors, or whether any of the health metrics will be locked behind a premium Garmin Connect+ subscription. The company maintains a standard diplomatic stance on all leaks – a spokesperson for The Independent only stated that Garmin does not provide any comments on product launch plans in advance.

Garmin Cirqa vs. Fitbit Air: an unequal price battle

If Cirqa and Fitbit Air are to compete for the same audience, we must return to a simple question: what will the customer be paying extra for with Garmin? According to the leak, Cirqa is expected to cost around 509 dollars (10,700 CZK), while Fitbit Air starts at 99.99 dollars (approximately 2,100 CZK) plus an optional 9.99 dollars per month for Google Health Premium. Even if you paid for a continuous annual subscription with Google, you would reach about 220 dollars — and still be at half the cost of the Garmin itself.

Hardware-wise, however, the two devices should not differ much. Fitbit Air measures 34.9 × 17 × 8.3 mm, weighs only 5.2 grams without the strap, and has 5 ATM water resistance (50 m). Its sensor equipment includes an optical heart rate monitor, accelerometer, gyroscope, red and infrared SpO2 sensor, and skin temperature sensor. It measures heart rate variability, respiratory rate, resting heart rate, supports atrial fibrillation (AFib) detection, sleep stage tracking, and Cardio Load metrics and readiness score — precisely what Whoop built its reputation on. It lasts about a week on a single charge and synchronizes via Bluetooth 5.0.

Garmin is preparing a screenless sports band. It will take on Whoop and the new Fitbit Air, here's what we know about it Adam Kurfürst News Adam Kurfürst News

For Garmin Cirqa, virtually nothing has been officially confirmed yet, but given the price and Garmin’s stated ambitions, a wider set of sports profiles, more sophisticated algorithms for running and cycling, and integration into the proven Garmin Connect application can be expected. Battery life will be a key question — Garmin historically boasts extremely long battery lives, and if Cirqa could manage similar values to Whoop 5.0 (around 14 days), it would gain a serious advantage over Fitbit Air.

But yes, the price difference is huge. While Google positions Fitbit Air as a mass-market product with a low entry barrier and relegates smart extensions behind a Google Health Premium subscription with a Gemini-based coach, Garmin apparently targets a narrow group of enthusiasts willing to pay extra for its ecosystem. Strategically, this only makes sense if Cirqa truly has some exclusive feature or measurement accuracy that cheaper bands cannot match.

Who will Cirqa make sense for?

If the 509-dollar price is confirmed, Cirqa will make sense essentially only for existing users of the Garmin Connect ecosystem — that is, people who already own Forerunner, Fenix, or Venu series watches and want to add an unobtrusive band for sleep and recovery tracking without having to switch to a competing Whoop. For this group, Cirqa can be an ideal complement that connects to an already proven application and metrics.

Conversely, it is currently very difficult to definitively say whether Cirqa will make sense for average users. We have practically no information about the band’s features, so we cannot effectively justify a potentially high price. Also, the question of subscription remains open and could significantly influence the overall perception of the product. While Garmin historically kept most features within the one-time price of its watches, the launch of the Connect+ service signals a shift. If Cirqa were to lock some key analytical features behind a monthly fee, the overall price difference against Fitbit Air would dramatically increase even further.

Would you buy the Garmin Cirqa for 509 dollars, or would you prefer the Fitbit Air for a fifth of the price?

Sources: Notebookcheck, Android Authority, TechRadar, Forbes, The Independent