Garmin CIRQA: app changes hint the band may not be wrist-worn

Garmin Rumors has reported a further set of changes in the Garmin Connect app that prepare it for a device with no screen. The changes sit alongside the screenless code reported here yesterday, and the most interesting of them suggests CIRQA may not be worn only on the wrist.

Connect’s setup wording now references where a device is worn, including a question about which wrist it is on. It is a stretch to read the setup wording itself as evidence that Garmin will support placements beyond the wrist. The stronger case for that does not come from this data at all. It comes from obvious use and from market logic. Placement affects optical heart rate quality, sleep tracking and motion detection, and a screenless band gives Garmin more freedom to move the sensor off the wrist than a watch ever could. Whoop already sells its sensor in several placements, including garments that hold it against the body, and Garmin knows both that and the revenue opportunity that comes with it. If CIRQA follows that approach, the app will probably need the wear location set manually, since inferring it automatically is difficult.

A second change is more concrete. Connect is being prepared to let users start a workout in the app, choose which device records it, and send workouts to a device. This matters because it is direct evidence for something this site argued from inference earlier this week. A screenless band has no buttons and no display, so the controls move to the phone. Garmin already does this for Connect Plus strength workouts recorded with a chest strap, and the new code extends the same idea.

Connect will also prompt users to wear a device long enough to unlock certain metrics, with new guidance covering Body Battery, sleep, skin temperature and Training Readiness. A watch can show this kind of prompt on the wrist. A screenless band cannot, so the app does it instead.

Finally, Connect adds clearer messaging for when a device loses connection and needs to be reconnected. On a screenless product, the app may be the only place where a user discovers that something is wrong, which places greater weight on the app to explain the device’s status. This is a slightly odd message, as CIRQA will have to be a caching device and not need a permanent app connection. Periodic connection will be required in normal use, however, and the other bands carry similar messages in their apps, for example, pointing out that data is hours out of date or that a firmware update is required.

None of these names is CIRQA, but the changes emerging, including those today, show a consistent picture. Garmin Connect is being built to do the jobs a screen would normally do. The screenless evidence found yesterday described the foundation. These changes describe a small part of the experience built on top of it.

Last Updated on 21 May 2026 by the5krunner

the5krunner

tfk is the founder and author of the5krunner, an independent endurance sports technology publication. With 20 years of hands-on testing of GPS watches and wearables, and competing in triathlons at an international age-group level, tfk provides in-depth expert analysis of fitness technology for serious athletes and endurance sport competitors. ID