A New Garmin Update Brings This Popular Feature for Free to Your Cirqa Wristband.
This week, Garmin released Cirqa , its first screenless smartband, priced at $199.99 . From the outset, Garmin positioned Cirqa as a subscription-free alternative to Whoop . However, this “no subscription” promise has already come under fire.
In the first few days after Cirqa’s long-awaited launch, users began expressing concern that some basic training features required a Garmin Connect+ subscription , specifically real-time heart rate display. Fortunately, Garmin has already responded to the complaints, confirming that an update should fix this issue within the next few days. Here’s what we know so far.
Garmin will release updates for Cirqa in the next few days.
During testing this week, it turned out that viewing your current heart rate during a workout requires a $6.99/month Garmin Connect+ subscription. Without a subscription, you’ll only see your average heart rate after completing a workout, not the real-time readings, which are extremely helpful during the workout itself.
Others noted that this change appears to be a direct response to the backlash Cirqa received in the first days after its market launch. When I contacted Garmin for comment, a company representative responded: “We will be adding real-time heart rate monitoring during workouts in the next version of the Garmin Connect mobile app. This free feature will be available in the next few days to customers using the Cirqa smartband.”
However, it’s important to note that not all features are available without a subscription. Garmin Connect locks a whole range of advanced features behind a paid subscription, from Garmin Coach (which can create personalized training plans) to nutrition tracking, meditation, and breathing exercises.
To Garmin’s credit, the change of heart rate was swift. However, Cirqa’s entire marketing strategy is built on the premise that it doesn’t require a monthly fee, so locking something as fundamental as real-time heart rate data behind Connect+ would have always looked bad. It’s worth noting that competing screenless trackers, such as the Polar Loop and Amazfit Helio Strap, also offer this feature for free.
What does this mean for you?
The main problem here is Garmin’s (and other fitness trackers’) ominous tendency to impose paywalls on content. This week, after the outcry over the lack of a real-time heart rate feature, many Cirqa users instinctively interpreted a possible software bug as a corporate stunt. Garmin has been steadily adding more features to Connect+ over the past couple of years, and each time this happens, long-time users brace themselves for the next essential feature to disappear behind this fee.
I asked a company representative directly whether the “free subscription” promises might change in the future. With the usual caveats that the company won’t discuss any future development plans, Garmin stated that it has no plans to suddenly discontinue features that are currently free. Any future paid tier will be optional, with new features available through a subscription, and non-existent features hidden behind a paywall. None of this has been confirmed, but it’s a fairly predictable pattern for future paywalls, so I’ll be keeping an eye on it.