(Image credit: Future)
As someone with the attention span of a goldfish, I’m all for the screenless health tracker trend. Being able to keep track of all of my health and fitness goals without the buzz of notifications on my wrist is a must, and I’ve been wearing Garmin’s new $199 Cirqa for the past three weeks to do just that.You can read my colleague Dan’s full Garmin Cirqa review here, but below, I look at how well I think the Cirqa compares to the Google Fitbit Air or the Oura Ring 5. Here are three things I like, and three things I wish Garmin had done differently.3 things I likePart of Garmin’s ecosystem A screenless tracker is only as good as its app, and I really love the Garmin Connect experience. Sure, it’s not perfect (I still find it confusing that Garmin hides a lot of its tracking in the ‘more’ tab — that’s why we’re here, Garmin!), but having used it for years, it’s familiar, and it gives you an awful lot of data.It’s also handy if you already have a Garmin device, as you can sync the Cirqa and still keep track of scores like Body Battery and sleep, even if you’re not wearing your main device.Garmin has made it, and will continue to make it, super easy to connect more than one device to the Connect app. Plus, compared to the Fitbit Air, you don’t really need to pay for Garmin Connect to get all of your data.I personally think one of the most impressive elements of the Fitbit Air is the Gemini-powered health coach, which really is one of the best I’ve tested, but this feature will cost you $9.99 a month. The Oura Ring 5 also has an excellent app, but comes with an ongoing subscription fee of $5.99 per month.The physical button One thing that sets the Cirqa apart from the Fitbit Air or the Oura Ring 5 is the physical button on its side. At the launch event in London, Garmin said this design decision came back to Garmin’s DNA — Garmin knows its users don’t want to miss a minute of health tracking, and this includes the seconds it can take for a tracker to auto-detect your workout.Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.This button is automatically set up to start and stop a ‘timed activity’, but you can customize which workout type it starts in the app.
