The Natural Cycles App Now Includes a Smartband for Temperature and Fertility Tracking.
Tracking your menstrual cycle symptoms can be a surprisingly effective way to determine your chances of pregnancy. One of the best indicators for tracking is body temperature, which can be measured by wearable devices. The Natural Cycles app already works with the Apple Watch or Oura Ring, but now the company is launching its own smart bracelet.
As I noted in my CES fitness trends roundup , smartbands are all the rage right now. Whoop used to be the only major manufacturer of screenless bands, but now we have Amazfit , Polar , and perhaps Luna and Speediance coming soon. Garmin has a sleep tracking band . And now this band from Natural Cycles uses the same form factor for the simpler task of temperature tracking.
What does Natural Cycles do?
Natural Cycles is a subscription app ($149.99 per year) that uses temperature to determine the current stage of your menstrual cycle. The concept is similar to other menstrual cycle tracking apps, but the temperature data makes it a fertility-determining method, unlike the outdated “rhythm method,” which was highly error-prone.
The temperature tracking feature isn’t unique to this app; I remember using the same idea years ago when I was trying to conceive. I’d wake up at the same time every morning and take my temperature first thing in the morning with a thermometer that was more accurate than standard pharmacy thermometers. I’d then record the temperature readings on a graph, and when my temperature rose by about half a degree (and stayed there), I could pinpoint the day I was most likely to ovulate.
Wearables automatically track temperature data, as you may have noticed if you wear an Oura ring or other wearable with a temperature sensor. Natural Cycles already partners with Oura and the Apple Watch . Whoop, meanwhile, can track temperature with its own wristband and provide ovulation estimates .
Natural Cycles previously offered a Bluetooth-enabled thermometer ($39.99) for those without an Oura ring or Apple Watch. Now, they’re introducing their own purple wearable bracelet for $129.99.
However, most users will get it for less. Natural Cycles includes the bracelet free with an annual subscription of $149.99, and current subscribers can add the bracelet to their existing subscription for 25% off, bringing the price down to $97.49. The company describes these offers as limited-time offers. Anyone who adds the bracelet to a monthly subscription will pay the full $129.99.
Natural Cycles is a subscription service, like Whoop, so after the first year of use, you’ll still have to pay for renewal. The device appears to be designed only for nighttime temperature measurements, so wearing it during the day isn’t necessary. The downside is that it doesn’t collect activity or other data, so it’s not a replacement for a fitness tracker.
If you want the most affordable device that does everything, consider the Apple Watch Series 8 ( $178 refurbished ) or newer models, or the Apple Watch SE 3 ($239.99)—both models have a temperature sensor and can work with Natural Cycles, but both are more expensive than the Natural Cycles subscription itself.