You’ve already seen the press leaks (and the subsequent smart ring details). Now it’s official, and Stuff has had a first hands-on look at the Garmin CIRQA smart band.
The newest addition to the Garmin family focuses on health, activity, and recovery using tech for holistic health without the distraction of a screen on your wrist.
In celebration of Women’s Month, the one and only female on the Stuff team was invited to join other women at The One Flow Yoga and Wellness Social Club in Cape Town for the Garmin CIRQA smart band women’s wellness launch. The plan? Try out a little movement and hot yoga whilst giving the smart band something to track. With support for 80+ activities, a yoga/fascia release session seemed like a reasonable place to start.
We had a head start
We were lucky enough to receive the band a week before the launch, which meant we already had six days of health insights in the bank, or perhaps more accurately, sitting inside the Garmin Connect app.
Unlike Garmin’s familiar smartwatches, CIRQA is screenless. That means Garmin Connect is an essential part of the experience, as the place where you dig into the data collected by the band. The app is free, and you’ll need it to pair the CIRQA with your phone and access your insights.
Setting ours up was simple. We already had Garmin Connect installed, so it was simply a matter of opening the app, searching for the CIRQA band, and pairing it. It took us all of ten seconds to get everything hooked up.
The band can be worn on the wrist or, with the appropriate strap, on the non-dominant bicep. A wrist strap comes with the device, while the bicep strap (R1,100) is an optional extra accessory.
Impressionist
The band is comfortable and stylish. You could wear it alongside a normal watch, preferably on the other wrist. Ours arrived in Mauve; however, it is available in four different colours: French Grey, Captain Blue, Black, and Mauve. All these shades derive from this season’s catwalk colour trends, we were told.
The band is equipped with Garmin’s Gen 4 sensor. The company has since launched a Gen 5 device that offers ECG insights. The Gen 4 sensor helps the band remain lighter, sleeker, and screenless. It certainly seems accurate, for the few days we’ve been wearing it, but it’ll take more time for a final assessment. The lack of a display will certainly take some getting used to, however.
We will be putting it through its paces over the next few weeks, so watch this space. Six days of usage is hardly enough time to review a health and recovery wearable. We’ve got it on, and it’s busy collecting data. Garmin’s event involved a hot sauna session, which has given us even more to think about.
Priced at R4,500 in SA, Garmin’s newest seems like a reasonably priced fitness device without the noise.
