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Garmin is a popular name in the fitness and wellbeing world. And now it’s officially announced its first screen-free smart band: the cirqa. The new wearable is designed to help users monitor their health, fitness and recovery, without the distractions of a traditional smartwatch.
Following the rise of screen-free trackers such as Whoop, the Garmin cirqa takes a more discreet approach to everyday health tracking, focusing on detailed insights rather than notifications and apps on your wrist.
Unlike some competitors, Garmin’s latest wearable doesn’t require a subscription. When you buy the device, you have instant access to its health and fitness features through the Garmin Connect app, at no extra cost.
It’s been designed to be worn day and night, and tracks everything from sleep and recovery to workouts and daily activity. Its lightweight fabric band can be worn on the wrist or upper arm (with the purchase of an armband), depending on which you find more comfortable.
The smart band will be available to purchase from July 24, retailing at $199.99. I got my hands on the Garmin cirqa ahead of its launch, and have already put it through its paces in a workout class, a night’s sleep and commute. My in-depth review is coming soon but, for now, here are my first impressions.
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Design
The Garmin cirqa comes in two sizes (small/medium and large/extra-large) and four colors (black, navy, grey, mauve). The fabric band is interchangeable, and Garmin sells the band separately in other colors, including olive green and light blue. It can be worn on the wrist or, with the purchase of an accessory band ($49.99, Garmin.com), on the upper arm.
The tracking device sits beneath the wristband, and there’s one on-device button you can press to track an activity or turn off an alarm. There is automatic activity tracking, but more on that later.
My wrists are small, and my Garmin forerunner 255 can feel a bit chunky — I often find it uncomfortable to wear overnight. I opted for the small/medium in the cirqa, and it looks sleek, is easy to adjust (thanks to the addition of Velcro) and feels comfortable enough to wear overnight.
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Setup
As there’s no screen to aid in setting up the watch, you’ll need the latest version of the Garmin Connect app installed on your smartphone. The whole process is very easy, as the Connect app walks you through each stage.
If you have another Garmin smartwatch, you don’t need to get rid of it just yet. You can have both watches installed in the Connect app, but you’ll need to select one as your primary device.
When the Garmin product team presented the watch to a room full of fitness journalists and influencers, there were understandably concerns about being able to use Garmin’s more specialist sports tracking watches alongside the cirqa. Garmin reassured us that both could be used, and advised wearing your fitness watch during your workout and taking it off afterwards, leaving the cirqa to track metrics such as steps and stress throughout the rest of the day. I’m rarely seen without my Garmin forerunner 255 on my wrist, so I’ll be putting this to the test to see how easy it is to switch between the two.
Fitness tracking
The Garmin cirqa tracks metrics you’ll find across many other fitness trackers, including heart rate, stress, sleep, body battery, pulse ox and more. It also offers fitness features such as training readiness, training status and VO2 max insights through the Garmin Connect app.
One thing I’ve found that’s missing in my forerunner is automatic activity tracking. For example, if you start a run or cycle, the watch should detect this activity automatically, without you having to set it up. I was pleased to see that this has been incorporated into the cirqa.
When you set up the watch, you’re asked to select your main fitness activities. In theory, it should recognize your workouts and improve its recognition as you confirm or edit activities in the Connect app post-workout. My fitness routine includes a mix of running, strength training, yoga and walking, so I’m intrigued to see how accurate this is.
There is also the option to manually start an activity by pressing the button on the device — this will either track as a timed activity or a specific activity you program on the app, such as strength training or running. The latter option is useful if you tend to stick to one type of workout. I put this to the test in a cardio class, and it was easy to see when the tracking started (the cirqa vibrated and flashed green) and finished (the device vibrated and flashed red). Straight after, I was able to see my heart rate, training effect, calories burned, estimated sweat loss, intensity minutes and more in the Connect app.
Garmin says the cirqa should give you up to 10 days of battery and, unlike many of its competitors, there’s no subscription required to access activity insights. However, with a Garmin Connect+ subscription ($6.99 a month), you’ll get access to extra features such as coaching guidance, real-time live activity insights, and more.
Sleep tracking
Another new feature is personalized sleep coaching. After a night’s sleep, the device recommended how much sleep I needed the following night and approximately when to go to bed to get the optimal amount of rest. After three weeks of wear, I should have more insight into my internal circadian rhythm.
The smart wake alarm can be set to a range, so it vibrates gently to wake you up gradually. I set this to 5.30am to 6am, but it didn’t start until 6am, so this didn’t work quite as well as I had hoped.
Is the Garmin cirqa worth it?
So far, I’ve been impressed by how comfortable the cirqa feels and the range of metrics on offer. But will I make the switch from my forerunner to the cirqa as my primary tracking device? First, I’ll need to see how it fares with a range of different workouts and the detailed insights it offers after wearing it for a few weeks. Watch this space for my full, in-depth review.
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