If your Fitbit is getting a little long in the tooth and you fancy upgrading to a newer fitness tracker from a different company, you might want to consider two new wearables from Whoop.
The US firm has just launched the Whoop 5.0 and Whoop MG, sequels to the cult favourite Whoop 4.0, a screenless device that clips into a strap and is designed to be worn on the wrist 24/7.
Unlike Fitbits and other trackers that prefer steps and calories, Whoop focuses on collecting health data to inform you about strain and recovery, two metrics that you will rely on if you work out frequently and want to know if you should rest that day or go for it at the gym.
Without a screen, the Whoop 4.0 proved less distracting to buyers compared to an Apple Watch, and the band’s popularity was helped thanks to marketing campaigns featuring Rory McIlroy, Virgil Van Dijk and Cristiano Ronaldo, who is an investor in the company.
The new Whoop 5.0 is seven percent smaller than the 4.0 and is designed in the same way as a small plastic nub with sensors that sit against your skin. Whoops sells many different straps that you can use to switch up your look, and the small device can also be worn in Whoop’s apparel such as bras and shorts, as well as bicep straps.
The 5.0 keeps all the current features from the 4.0 but boosts battery life to 14 days, a marked improvement over the four to five on the old model, and adds a new Healthspan tool in the app for iPhone or Android that Whoop says offers “insights and guidance on how your daily habits impact your long-term health”, and is a “new way to quantify your physiological age and slow your Pace of Aging”.
The Whoop MG is identical to the Whoop 5.0 but adds an electrocardiogram (ECG) sensor – the ‘MG’ stands for ‘medical grade’ – so you can check your heart health on demand and even share the data with your doctor. This has been cleared for use in the UK, as is required.
“The Heart Screener detects signs of Atrial Fibrillation (Afib), a leading cause of stroke, and provides Irregular Heart Rhythm Notifications (IHRN) for greater peace of mind,” said Whoop.
Other new features that both bands have, and a Whoop spokesperson confirmed to Express.co.uk will also work on the older Whoop 4.0, are blood pressure insights, women’s hormonal insights, an update to improve sleep tracking, access to optional features not yet released via Whoop Advanced Labs, as well as improved fitness tracking.
No Whoop bands have built-in GPS, so they are not the best option if you want to track your run routes. Instead, the device builds up a view of your strain and maps out data related to your heart rate variability, skin temperature and other metrics.
I’ve used Whoop 4.0 for about two years and have found the insights genuinely useful. The app is more accurate at telling me if I am ready to exercise compared to Fitbit’s Daily Readiness score, and I like that it is not a distracting piece of tech. No screen equals no notifications.
The big catch for Whoop is the price. You can’t buy just the tracker, instead having to opt for an annual subscription. With the new release, Whoop has split these subscriptions into three pricing tiers, as described by the firm below:
WHOOP One: Professional-grade fitness insights at our best price at £169 per year
WHOOP Peak: Advanced health, fitness and longevity insights designed to help you perform at your peak, longer. Priced at £229 per year
WHOOP Life: The most powerful WHOOP ever, delivering medical-grade health and performance insights. Priced at £349 per year
You can only buy the Whoop MG on the pricey Life tier. £349 per year is a heck of a subscription fee. You could just buy an Apple Watch instead for that price, with no ongoing fees.
It makes the Whoop 5.0 and MG very interesting devices as they offer a very different approach to most wearables. You just have to really enjoy the data and insights to commit to those subscription prices. Current Whoop 4.0 customers can pay £49 to upgrade to the Whoop 5.0 hardware, or £79 to get the MG, plus any difference in annual billing.
You can purchase a Whoop device and subscription from Whoop’s website.