Apple Developing New Fitness Tracker Aimed at Rivaling Whoop

Apple Inc. is developing a screenless health and fitness tracker similar to Whoop Inc.’s wrist-worn device, part of an effort to rethink its smartwatch lineup and add new wearable technologies.

The company has been exploring the category for several months and is now developing prototypes, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The effort has support from top executives, but Apple hasn’t decided whether to release the product, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the work is confidential.

The project remains in a preliminary phase known internally as a technology investigation. If Apple proceeds with a release, the device likely won’t debut before 2028. A spokesperson for the Cupertino, California-based company declined to comment.

Shares of Garmin Ltd., a seller of fitness bands, fell as much as 2.5% to a session low after Bloomberg reported on the plan. Apple was up about 1% at $342.29 as of 12:26 p.m. in New York trading.

The prototypes feature a thin fabric band with a sensor-equipped computing module. The absence of a screen would distinguish the device from the Apple Watch, a display-centric product that combines fitness tracking with apps, notifications and other functions.

The potential Whoop rival has drawn particular interest from Apple Executive Chairman Tim Cook and services chief Eddy Cue, the people said. The latter executive took over the company’s health efforts late last year.

Read More: Apple Explores Shaking Up Its Smartwatch for a New Era

Though Apple remains a top seller of smartwatches — especially in the US — competitors such as Whoop and smart ring maker Oura Inc. are growing quickly, with millions of users each. Their rise is prompting Apple to reconsider its approach to health and fitness tracking.

At the same time, a leadership transition is underway at Apple’s watch and health businesses. Jeff Williams, the former chief operating officer who oversaw both areas, retired at the end of last year. Stan Ng, who led marketing for the Apple Watch and health, and Jay Blahnik, who ran Apple’s fitness strategy, have also left the company.

Cue has pushed Apple’s health team to adopt features from the newer rivals, whose products offer simpler interfaces focused squarely on fitness and health tracking. The Apple Watch serves a broader range of purposes.

Apple has already begun incorporating Whoop-style features into its latest Watch and revamped Health app. Those include more advanced heart-rate tracking and metrics that assess users’ readiness for the day. And the technology can estimate a person’s biological age based on health data.

The new app also has a cleaner, easier-to-understand interface, reflecting the influence of rival offerings.

Read More: Apple’s Watch and Health Efforts Need Reboot to Rival New Wearables

Oura filed for an initial public offering this month, and Whoop — now valued at about $10 billion — has told Bloomberg News that it is considering an eventual IPO.

Alphabet Inc.’s Google has also entered the screenless wearables market with the recent launch of the Fitbit Air. Garmin, a pioneer of location-tracking and fitness devices, offers smart bands without displays as well.

Members of Apple’s Vision hardware team have participated in the new tracker’s early engineering work. That group developed the Vision Pro headset and is working on other wearables, including Apple’s first smart glasses and AirPods with cameras, both targeted for a 2027 release.

Apple has also been working on an AI pendant with a camera, though that project has been postponed. The device was conceived as something users could wear as a necklace, attach to clothing or place elsewhere on the body, gathering visual data for processing by the new Siri AI assistant.

Apple is making other efforts to weave artificial intelligence into its products. Earlier this month, the company introduced a watch that can record audio throughout the day and use AI to generate summaries of a wearer’s conversations and activities.

The company is also working on a major update to its smartwatch lineup for release as early as late 2027. This redesign would follow years of more incremental changes. Apple made its main watch thinner with the Series 10 two years ago, but the larger Ultra model has retained the same look since its debut four years ago.