Garmin’s CIRQA has been kicking around in rumour format for some time. The screenless wearable fitness band has since become official, with South African pricing and a launch date emerging via the company’s local website.
If you want one of the fabric-covered bands, they’ll set you back R4,500. You’ll also have to wait until 28 July to order one. At least that’s not far off. Plus, it’s after payday. But is it worth buying one?
Full CIRQA
That depends. Are you all about the training and less about pausing to check your heart rate? If so, then the CIRQA is probably for you. The band tracks extensive heart metrics, including abnormal patterns. It’ll also monitor training readiness, stress, a swathe of sleep data, hydration, skin temperature, and, if you’re of the female persuasion, ovulation estimates. There are more metrics, many of which are possible with pricier Garmin brands, but then you’ll have a distracting screen on your wrist.
The company’s sports modes are (mostly) present. Plus, there’s one we’re not used to seeing: gaming measurements. That stands alongside running, swimming, snowboarding, and a bunch of others.
Generally we’d delve into internal specs, but it seems there isn’t much to see here. Usually, the powerful stuff is designed to run a screen. That’s absent here, so there’s less need for it. Just Garmin’s connected app. And the GPS unit in your smartphone, because Garmin has opted to leave that bit out of the CIRQA band. It’ll still perform that tracking — you’ve just got to supply your own tracking device.
Still, as cool as it might be to buy one at launch, it may be worth waiting a little. The CIRQA, at launch, locked some functions (like live heart-rate viewing) behind a Garmin Connect+ app subscription. There’s an update on the way that’ll reverse that, but it’ll take some time to arrive. The update won’t make everything subscription-free. You’ll still need a monthly subscription to access various monthly exercise plans, for instance. Knowing Garmin, though, they’re probably worth the money.
