Summary created by Smart Answers AI
In summary:
- Tech Advisor reports that Garmin’s upcoming Cirqa screenless fitness tracker may cost £378/$507, making it five times more expensive than the Google Fitbit Air at £84.99/$99.99.
- This high pricing places the Cirqa in smartwatch territory despite lacking a screen, potentially competing against Apple Watch Series 11 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 with more features.
- The steep price could disadvantage Garmin against affordable alternatives like Fitbit Air and subscription-based Whoop Strap, raising questions about market competitiveness.
Rumours for the unreleased Garmin Cirqa continue to build, but according to one leak, there’s a chance that the screenless fitness tracker might come with a much higher asking price than expected.
Ukrainian retailer Stylus Store currently has a product page set up for the Garmin Cirqa, listing an eye-wateringly high price of 22,399 UAH, which roughly converts to £378/$507. There is a pre-order offer at 19,999 UAH (around £337/$452), but even so, it’s a lot.
While it’s better to take this information with a grain of salt for the time being, if the Cirqa does end up carrying a similar price at the point of sale, then it’ll be around five times more expensive than Google’s new Fitbit Air, a key screenless band tracker rival priced at a budget-friendly £84.99/$99.99.
A potential concept for what the Garmin Cirqa might look like is shown above, via Stylus Store.
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
It’s difficult to say at this point in time whether or not this price will be way off the mark, given that Garmin has devices in the affordable, mid-range and premium sectors of the market, so it all depends on where Garmin is looking to place the Cirqa within its wider array of products.
Perhaps Stylus Store simply posted the wrong details, either by mistake or for a bit of viral attention.
Even if Garmin bestows the Cirqa with plenty of high-end sensors to give it a technical edge against the competition, having too high an asking price is likely to put it at a disadvantage compared to what it’s going up against.
A string of competitors
The recently unveiled Fitbit Air has capitalised on the idea of being a more affordable alternative to the Whoop Strap, priced at £84.99/$99.99, and with plenty of features available without the need to ever fork out for the additional Google Health Premium subscription.
By comparison, Whoop’s subscription is non-negotiable and starts at £169/$199 per year, but it has the benefit of being proven as an effective device in its field. After all, the Whoop Strap has become the go-to fitness tracker for professional athletes, and the accompanying app is now chock-full of metrics and stats, so there is a sense that users who properly engage with the device on a daily basis are getting good value for money.
Fitbit Air and the Whoop Strap 4.0
Thomas Deehan / Foundry
Given Garmin’s reluctance to lean too hard on its Connect+ subscription following the backlash from long-time fans, it’s more likely that the Cirqa will follow the Fitbit Air’s mantra of including most features in the unit at no additional cost but even so, a substantial entry-level cost will also see the Cirqa end up in smartwatch territory, which is not what you want for a device that has no screen or smart functionality whatsoever.
For context, the Apple Watch Series 11 costs £399/$399 and the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 is even less at £319/$349.99. If the Garmin Cirqa is looking to ship as a premium device, then it’ll need a killer feature or five to justify the price.
Source: NotebookCheck
