Wearables go invisible with the launch of Whoop 4.0

Date:
Thu, 09 Sep 2021 13:21:52 +0000

Description:
Favoured by sports pros, Whoop launches a major upgrade to its fitness tracker, and a new range of smart clothing.

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Whoop 4.0 has landed but while there are a lot of fitness trackers on the market, Whoop's range of fitness trackers do things a little differently.

Whoop's trackers are small, unobtrusive and dont have a screen or any
buttons: it's purely a data-gatherer. They're currently targeted at people
who are very serious about their fitness. And they offer unique features such as measuring how well youre recovering from your activity and how much strain you can handle.

Also, you dont actually buy the device, but get it free as part of a broader monthly subscription service.

You may never have heard of Whoop but rest assured: its big business, with billions of dollars of venture capital behind it which means people at your gym or sports club will doubtless soon be talking about it, if theyre not already. And so the fact that Whoop's just had a big update, from 3.0 to 4.0, is worth paying attention to. Find the best cheap fitness trackers These are the best running watches Take a look at the best smartwatches Making Whoop invisible

Firstly, Whoop is offering a new range of wearable clothing. The new tracker (of which, more below) can be easily removed from its band and inserted
neatly into specially made compression shirts, shorts, leggings, sports bras and boxer briefs, with built-in pockets.

It then captures data from your torso, waist, or calf. (Apparently, the
device will know which body part its connected to at any time.) And this is
no mere gimmick, but central to the way Whoop wants to develop its brand.

Weve long felt that wearable technology should be cool or invisible, said
Will Ahmed, Whoops chief executive. Those are the only two paradigms we want to develop on. In terms of cool, its an area weve focused on a lot historically, making it something that you can dress up or dress down. But invisible is, How do we make it disappear? (Image credit: Whoop)

We reckon this could be a game-changer for Whoop. After all, the thing about tech is that once a product achieves a certain level of functionality, copyists rush into the market and steal your customers from under you. But if you can make your products "cool", thats much harder to steal.

And bear in mind that if Whoop clothing is a hit, itll be worn by the most serious athletes at your club or gym, not to mention famous and influential stars on the world stage. (Image credit: Whoop)

Appropriately enough, Whoops launch was packed with sporting celebrities singing its praises, including Olympians Michael Phelps, Nelly Korda, Gabby Thomas, and Tom Daley. And this could be key to expanding the brand beyond
its current core audience.

In other words, for anyone wanting to keep up with their team-mates or
friends at the gym, a time may well come when peer pressure becomes Whoops biggest marketing asset. Whoop's new 4.0 fitness tracker

Before we can declare Whoops new clothing range a success, though, people
must choose to buy it. That doesnt apply, however, to the main attraction of their launch: the new Whoop 4.0 tracker, because anyone with six months or more left on their subscription is going to get one automatically.

When we reviewed the Whoop 3.0 back in May, we felt it did a great job of serving the fitness fanatic. But Whoop clearly hasnt been resting on its laurels, as the improvements in 4.0 are numerous and significant. (Image credit: Whoop)

Most notably, its 33% smaller in size than the 3.0. Its new battery pack is waterproof, and allows you to identify the existing charge with a double tap (while providing the same five days' charge as before). And theres a new fast link system that lets you change out your bands, quickly and easily.

Data gathering, the core of Whoops offering, has also got a major boost. Specifically, theres a new sensor, which now gone from two LEDs to five in total (three green, one red, and one infared), which means its going to
gather more accurate heart rate measurements.

Theres a new pulse oximeter, too, to calculate blood oxygen levels (SPO2),
and a skin temperature sensor.

This increased and improved data is accompanied by more features to make practical use from it. So Whoop has introduced a new Sleep coach with haptic alerts that wake you up through gentle vibrations at the optimal time, based on your sleep needs and cycles.

It's also added a new 'Health Monitor' dashboard, which compiles your live heart rate, skin temperature, blood oxygen, resting heart rate, and heart
rate variability in one easy-to-read screen. Where next for Whoop?

So what's the big picture behind all of this? Essentially, this brand is laser-focused on a core audience of sports obsessives, and pro and semi-pro athletes. And with the Whoop 4.0 tracker's new capabilities and features,
it's basically doubling down on this strategy.

While there's plenty here to delight people who are serious about their
sports and fitness, there's nothing really here for the casual crowd. So you might wonder, how it can grow as a company?

(Image credit: Whoop)

We'd suggest there are several avenues open to Whoop. Firstly, the world is a big place, and it's likely that there are many natural Whoop subscribers who just don't know about it yet, or haven't yet been tempted to subscribe.

Secondly, and more cynically, Whoop could just gradually raise its prices: once people have made Whoop part of their sports or fitness routine, they'll find it a tough habit to break.

Finally, there's the possibility that Whoop's smart clothing might become a high fashion item, favoured by celebrities of all stripes. That really would broaden Whoop's appeal, and potentially allow them to charge silly prices.

Far-fetched? Well, just think back to the time when only athletes spent big money on expensive trainers. Exactly. Liven up your run with the best running headphones




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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/wearables-go-invisible-with-the-launch-of-whoop -40/


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