Garmin CIRQA brings screen-free health tracking with no subscription
Garmin has officially launched the CIRQA, a screenless health and fitness band that skips the display, skips the monthly fee, and undercuts the pricier smartwatches in its own catalog. It costs $199.99 (around ₱12,300) and goes on sale on July 24, Garmin Rumors reports. The CIRQA is clearly aimed at the same buyers who consider a Whoop band, but without Whoop's mandatory subscription.
A band with no screen and one button
The CIRQA has no display at all. You get one physical button, a fabric ComfortFit strap on quick-release pins, and a fiber-reinforced polymer case measuring 27 x 47 x 9 mm. The whole unit weighs roughly 20 grams with the strap. Because there is no screen to power, Garmin rates battery life at up to 10 days per charge, as Gizmochina details.
It comes in two strap sizes (S/M and L/XL) and several colors — Black and French Gray are among the options, though the exact color names vary slightly between regions. Optional replacement bands cost $49.99 (around ₱3,100) each. The band is rated 5 ATM, so it can handle swimming and showers.
What the CIRQA tracks
Without a screen, all your data lives in the Garmin Connect app. The band uses Garmin's Elevate Gen 4 optical heart-rate sensor plus a Pulse Ox (blood-oxygen) sensor and an accelerometer to track:
- Continuous heart rate and heart-rate variability (HRV)
- Sleep stages, plus automatic nap detection
- Stress, respiration (breathing rate), and skin temperature
- Body Battery energy monitoring
- Women's health and menstrual-cycle tracking
It supports more than 80 activities such as running, cycling, and yoga. There is no built-in GPS — instead it uses Connected GPS, meaning it borrows your phone's location for outdoor distance and pace. That keeps the band small and cheap, but you need your phone nearby for accurate route tracking.
No subscription required — but Connect+ adds more
The headline is that CIRQA's core health and fitness metrics are free, with no subscription needed. That is a direct shot at Whoop, whose hardware is tied to a paid membership. Garmin's optional Connect+ plan — $6.99 a month (around ₱430) or $69.99 a year (around ₱4,300) — unlocks extras like guided workouts, live activity stats, Garmin Coach training plans, and nutrition tracking. But you can use the band fully without ever paying again after purchase.
What it means for Philippine buyers
As of publication, Garmin has not announced a Philippine price or a local release date for the CIRQA. Garmin gear is sold here through authorized resellers and official stores, so a local launch is plausible, but the $199.99 sticker is a US figure — the eventual Philippine SRP will depend on taxes and distributor pricing, so treat the roughly ₱12,300 conversion as a guide, not a local price.
For Filipino users weighing fitness trackers, the CIRQA's no-subscription promise is the real draw. Many buyers here are wary of recurring fees, and a screen-free band that just logs sleep, heart rate, and workouts for a one-time price fits that mindset. It also slots below Garmin's watches, joining a growing wave of wearables launching locally, such as the Infinix GTWATCH 5 Pro. Anyone who wants on-wrist notifications or maps should look at a full smartwatch instead — the CIRQA is built for people who want quiet, long-lasting tracking without a screen.
