Suunto’s Whoop competitor – first images
Developing story, last updated 15 October 2026. This page will be updated as new evidence appears, until Suunto launches the device.
Suunto has a new heart rate band in certification, model HR264, and it looks like the brand’s answer to Whoop. For athletes, that means one more screenless band to choose from, more pressure on prices, and a contender backed by one of the better sports apps on the market.
Another band in a crowded field
A year ago the choice was mostly Whoop or nothing. Now it includes Garmin CIRQA, Polar LOOP, Amazfit Helio Strap and Fitbit Air at $99, while Huawei and Apple are both reportedly working on one. Suunto would be the next name on that list.
More entrants mean more price competition. Whoop’s first-year cost is around $400 once you count the membership, and most rivals sell the band outright with no subscription. Every new arrival makes that gap harder for Whoop to defend, and that is good news for anyone buying in the next year.
Why a Suunto band is worth waiting for
The app is what makes or breaks a screenless band, because the band itself has nothing to look at. Suunto’s app has improved hugely over the last two years, and Run 2 showed in my testing that Suunto’s current heart rate hardware is accurate. ZoneSense already turns heart rate data into training intensity that other brands ignore, and AI Coach, launched today, adds a coaching layer that a 24/7 band could feed with sleep and recovery data.
Suunto watch owners would get recovery numbers from a band that stays on overnight, while the watch is kept for training. Athletes who don’t want a watch at all would get a way into the Suunto app.
I said Suunto should do this
In January I gave Suunto a 20% chance of entering this market and wrote that it “probably should have a crack at this market”. In May the SHRM2 filing raised hopes of a band but turned out to be Smart Heart Rate Belt 2. By June I had raised Suunto to 8 out of 10 in Whoop killers, for a band under $150 with no subscription. HR264 is a separate, rechargeable optical band, which is the product I was arguing for.
What is still unknown
Suunto has not named HR264, priced it or said how long it lasts between charges. It has passed regulators in Singapore, Korea and the UAE within a fortnight, as covered in this week’s Regulatory Filing, so a launch looks months away at most. Its price and whether AI Coach is part of the deal will decide where it sits among the recovery trackers already on sale.
Quick answers
Is Suunto making a Whoop competitor?
Suunto hasn’t announced one, but certification photos of its HR264 heart rate monitor show a rechargeable optical band used for 24/7 recovery tracking.
Will the Suunto band need a subscription?
Suunto has not said. Its app is free, and AI Coach is a separate paid service, so a band could work without a subscription and offer AI Coach as an extra.
When will the Suunto band launch?
Suunto has not announced a date. Approvals in Singapore, Korea and the UAE within two weeks suggest a launch within months, but that is an estimate.
Source and original research by: the5krunner and Andre Larson at Wearable Fans
Last Updated on 15 October 2026 by tfk the5krunner
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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
Unfortunately, you forgot to credit the image source to WearableFans, and you added a nofollow attribute to our link instead of a dofollow link. That is disappointing. But anyway, thanks for the article.