Garmin CIRQA

Garmin's $199 screenless smart band (European launch mid-2026): Gen 4 Elevate optical HR sensor with an added skin-temperature layer, physical button (manual workouts, HR broadcast, alarm dismiss), vibration motor, no subscription required. Optional biceps/arm band (~€60, slow to ship). Competes with whoop-strap, Fitbit Air, Amazfit Helio, Polar Loop.

Two independent reviews, complementary verdicts:

• rob-ter-horst (scientific testing vs Polar H10 ECG + ZMax EEG): placement dominates — biceps HR score 98/100 ("great"), wrist 93 ("good", running weak at 0.89 correlation); sleep staging unexpectedly better on biceps too (deep 91% vs 81%, REM 58% vs 45% → sleep 73 vs 64). Verdict: recommended, wear it on the biceps for exercise. report
• dc-rainmaker (weeks of real-world use): unique auto exercise detection that can auto-start phone GPS per sport profile; but missed detections permanently lose training load (training-load-capture-gap), battery misses the 10-day claim (10-30%/day), unusually buggy launch, 400m intervals failed repeatedly in cold weather. Verdict: good device for anyone wanting screenless 24/7 tracking, but he keeps his Fenix. report

Shared findings: both confirm sensor-placement-effect (biceps beats wrist for workouts), both praise the button over auto-detection, both flag the biceps band's cost/availability.