In recent years, professional athletes such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Phelps, and LeBron James have helped popularize a niche within the wearable market.
During training sessions and post-game interviews, they are often seen wearing minimalist wristbands that look more like jewelry than gadgets. These screenless devices sometimes feature Italian leather, precious metals, or elastic knit straps—an aesthetic far from the tech-heavy look of smartwatches.
Despite lacking a display, they promise professional-grade recovery advice.
The concept of a screenless wristband has since gained global traction. The trend aligns with IDC data showing global wrist-worn device shipments down 1.4% in 2024, with adult smartwatch sales dipping slightly in the US and India amid economic uncertainty, market saturation, and limited innovation.
Meanwhile, Whoop, the category leader, has seen its valuation climb from USD 1.2 billion in 2020 to about USD 3.7 billion in 2025. Media reports suggest annual revenue has surpassed USD 260 million, with users in 56 countries. One investor told 36Kr that Whoop’s 2025 revenue could exceed USD 500 million.
According to 36Kr, Whoop manufactures its products in Shenzhen at a unit cost below RMB 100 (USD 14).
From recording to recommending
Whoop’s story began with founder Will Ahmed’s frustration as captain of Harvard University’s squash team. He and his teammates often overtrained because they couldn’t accurately assess their physical condition.
In 2012, Ahmed co-founded Whoop with fellow Harvard alumni to solve that problem. Their mission was clear: wearables shouldn’t just record what users have done, they should also tell them what to do next.
That distinction defines Whoop’s advantage. Traditional smartwatches serve as recorders of data, while Whoop acts as an interpreter. The focus of wrist-worn technology has shifted from data collection to actionable insight.
Today, most smartwatches continue to chase feature consolidation, combining communication, entertainment, and payment functions with health tracking. Larger displays have become standard, showing metrics like heart rate and sleep duration. Yet data remains just that—data. Users are left to interpret it themselves.
Screenless wristbands take the opposite approach. By removing the display, they are lighter and more comfortable, stripping away nonessential functions to focus purely on health monitoring and decision support. They position themselves as professional tools rather than general-purpose gadgets.
Whoop, for instance, centers its R&D on three key physiological metrics: sleep, strain, and recovery. Related indicators include heart rate, blood oxygen, stress, menstrual cycle, maximum oxygen intake, and even biological aging.
Other screenless rivals apply similar rigor. The Polar Loop filters out casual activity by requiring workouts to meet specific duration and intensity thresholds, such as maintaining heart rate above 50% of one’s reserve for at least ten minutes. Amazfit’s Helio Strap features its proprietary BioCharge system, which gives users a personalized “energy score.”
More importantly, these devices don’t just display raw data. They translate it into insights.
On Whoop’s app, users don’t simply see metrics like heart rate variability (HRV). They receive recommendations. If HRV drops, for instance, the app may suggest rest or light activity to prevent overtraining. Its Healthspan feature delivers daily guidance across sleep, strain, and recovery to help users build healthier routines.
This ability to turn complex biological signals into practical guidance is the screenless wristband’s defining strength. In this new phase of competition, insight quality matters more than hardware specs.
Hardware sales, or service subscriptions?
That distinction in positioning also shapes business models.
As the segment pioneer, Whoop disrupted industry norms in 2018 by dropping upfront hardware pricing and adopting a subscription-only model.
Instead of buying the device outright, users subscribe for full access. Whoop offers three annual plans priced at USD 199, 239, and 359, targeting casual health users, fitness enthusiasts, and professional athletes, respectively.
This shift from one-time sales to recurring subscriptions deepens the relationship between company and user, emphasizing Whoop’s service-driven identity.
Amazon data suggests the model works. Between May and June this year, Whoop’s flagship bundle, which includes the device plus a 12-month subscription, sold for around USD 359, generating over USD 2.4 million in monthly sales.
Polar, by contrast, has stuck to a traditional model. Its Polar Loop wristband retails for USD 199 as a one-time purchase with no subscription fees, appealing to consumers wary of ongoing costs. That strategy positions Polar as Whoop’s most direct challenger.
Regardless of pricing approach, the essence of the business remains the same: professional data analysis. Marketing efforts reflect that focus: narrow, targeted, and credibility-driven.
Polar leverages its decades of experience in sports science. Amazfit has partnered with Hyrox, the indoor fitness race brand, for co-branded campaigns. Whoop continues to invest heavily in athlete endorsements and performance content, cementing its image as elite gear.
As the category originator, Whoop also maintains deep ties with major sports organizations, including the NFL Players Association, PGA, and LPGA. Notably, it became the first wearable approved for use in official MLB games.
The company also turns athletes into investors. In 2024, Cristiano Ronaldo joined as both global ambassador and investor. Previous backers include Phelps, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant, all of whom actively promote the brand.
So far, Whoop holds a clear first-mover advantage with strong user loyalty, while newcomers like Amazfit and Polar are still building traction. Still, as more fans follow celebrity endorsements into the category, many may opt for cheaper, if less precise, alternatives.
Even so, screenless wristbands are unlikely to replace fully featured smartwatches anytime soon. But Whoop’s success, and the pursuit by Amazfit and Polar, illustrates a broader startup truth: instead of going big and broad, it pays to go small and deep, with a highly personalized touch. After all, the global middle class will never run out of people willing to pay for performance.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Ou Xue for 36Kr.