| Manufacturer | Garmin |
|---|---|
| Type | Screenless health and fitness band |
| Series | CIRQA |
| Released | 24 July 2026 (announced 21 July 2026) |
| Price at launch | $199.99 / £179.99 / €199.99 |
| Predecessor | Garmin Index Sleep Monitor (June 2025) |
| Sizes | Wrist bands: S/M fits 120mm to 200mm, L/XL fits 145mm to 240mm. Upper arm bands: S/M fits 200mm to 320mm, L/XL fits 280mm to 450mm. |
| Colours | Black, Captain Blue, French Grey, Mauve |
| Part numbers | Eight SKUs: 010-04675-00 to -03 in S/M, and -10 to -13 in L/XL. Model number AA5192. |
Specifications and features as at launch.
Expert opinion | What the CIRQA does not have | Specifications | Features | Controls and status LED | Garmin Connect+ requirements | Activity profiles | Further reading
Expert opinion
Garmin describes the optical sensor as a new Gen 4 with skin temperature, a variant this site labels Gen 4.1. The Index Sleep Monitor shipped in June 2025 with the Elevate Gen 5, so the CIRQA sits a generation behind on the sensor that everything else depends on, which is a disappointment at this price. Garmin says it chose Gen 4 to keep the module thin, an explanation that does not survive contact with its own Index Sleep Monitor. That does not stop the CIRQA being useful to existing Garmin owners who want to keep collecting data, sleep metrics in particular, on the nights and days when they would rather not wear a watch. Garmin sells upper arm bands alongside the wrist straps, which makes the CIRQA a direct substitute for the Index Sleep Monitor rather than a companion to it.
Garmin has set the price at $199.99 with no compulsory subscription. That sits far above the Fitbit Air and below the running cost of a Whoop membership. The pricing indicates a device sold to people already inside the Garmin ecosystem rather than one built to win new customers, although buyers who want a cheap route into Garmin’s sport-focused metrics for the first time will find this the least expensive entry point. Some of them would otherwise have bought a Whoop. Whoop retains the better wearing experience and the better-looking hardware, and charges a subscription for it.
Listen to the discussion
Garmin CIRQA Smart Band
Screenless health and fitness band (no subscription required)
+other retailersWhat the CIRQA does not have
The Index Sleep Monitor is worn on the upper arm and tracks sleep only. The CIRQA is worn on the wrist or the upper arm, with the wear position set in Garmin Connect, and it adds all-day tracking and a full training feature set. Garmin describes its sensor as a new Gen 4 with skin temperature, where the Index Sleep Monitor carries the Elevate Gen 5. Garmin’s specification sheet omits the following.
- No screen. All data is read in the Garmin Connect app.
- No onboard GNSS. Distance and pace during outdoor activities come from connected GPS through a paired phone.
- No barometric altimeter, compass or gyroscope.
- No ECG.
- No EDA sensor. Garmin lists only the optical heart rate sensor, Pulse Ox and an accelerometer, and stress is derived from heart rate variability. Pre-launch coverage expected an EDA sensor for stress, and it remains possible that the hardware carries one that Garmin has not enabled.
- No Wi-Fi. Connectivity is Bluetooth Low Energy and ANT+ only.
- No NFC, so no Garmin Pay.
- No music storage or playback control.
- No multisport profile.
- No open water swimming. Pool swimming only, despite the 5 ATM rating.
Specifications
| Physical | |
|---|---|
| Display | None |
| Module size | 27 x 47 x 9 mm |
| Sizes | S/M, 120mm to 200mm wrist circumference. L/XL, 145mm to 240mm. |
| Weight | Module 14.8g. S/M complete 20.7g (band 5.9g). L/XL complete 21.2g (band 6.4g). |
| Case material | Fibre-reinforced polymer |
| Strap material | Woven nylon, stretchy, ComfortFit bands |
| Quick release | Yes. 14mm quick release pins with a 24mm wide strap. Garmin states the module is not compatible with third-party bands. |
| Band dimensions | Wrist: 24.5 x 2.4 x 0.2 cm in S/M, 28.5 x 2.4 x 0.2 cm in L/XL. Upper arm: 36.0 x 2.4 x 0.2 cm in S/M, 50.0 x 2.4 x 0.2 cm in L/XL. |
| Accessory bands | Wrist bands at £44.99, or $49.99 in the United States, in seven colours: Black, French Grey, Mauve, Captain Blue, Citron Grey, Dark Olive and French Blue, each in S/M and L/XL. The upper arm band is black only, at £49.99 or $59.99, in both S/M and L/XL. |
| Cleaning | The band is machine washable with the module removed, on a gentle cycle at up to 40C. The module must not be washed. |
| Water rating | Swim, 5 ATM |
| Wear position | Wrist or upper arm. A profile-level default is set during onboarding, alongside the sleep window, and can then be overridden per activity in Garmin Connect. |
| Sensors and positioning | |
| Optical heart rate | Elevate Gen 4 with skin temperature sensing (the5krunner shorthand: Gen 4.1) |
| Pulse Ox | Yes, optionally all-day and during sleep. Off by default, and enabling it reduces battery life. |
| Accelerometer | Yes |
| Skin temperature | Yes, during sleep |
| Altimeter, compass, gyroscope | None |
| Positioning | Connected GPS through a paired smartphone. No onboard GNSS. |
| Connectivity and storage | |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) and ANT+ |
| Heart rate broadcast | Yes, over both ANT+ and Bluetooth Low Energy, to any third-party device or app as well as to paired Garmin devices |
| Phone compatibility | iPhone, Android |
| Memory | 128 MB |
| Wi-Fi, NFC, music | None |
| Wireless frequency | 2400 to 2483.5 MHz at under 13 dBm |
| USB file access | Yes. The module connects to a computer in MTP or Garmin mode once File Access Over USB is enabled, allowing activity files to be transferred without the app. macOS requires Garmin Express. |
| Security updates | Guaranteed until at least 21 July 2028 |
| Battery | |
| Battery life | Up to 10 days. Enabling Pulse Ox reduces this, and Garmin has not published a figure for it. |
| Battery saver | Yes. Garmin’s owner’s manual states that Battery Saver reduces LED brightness and disables heart rate, start activity, auto activity detection and pulse oximeter. Enabling it therefore stops the band collecting most of what it is bought for. |
| Other battery drains | Garmin states that both all-day Pulse Ox and heart rate broadcasting decrease battery life. No figure is given for either. |
| Battery alerts | Low battery vibrates the band and flashes the LED red. A full charge vibrates the band and flashes the LED green. Both are set in Garmin Connect. A notification also arrives on the paired phone when the band needs charging. |
| Battery type | Lithium ion |
| Charging | Garmin proprietary plug charger onto four-pin contacts, not USB-C. A full charge takes up to 90 minutes. |
| Operating temperature | -20C to 60C. Charging is permitted from 0C to 45C. |
Features
Garmin groups the CIRQA feature set into health, sleep and fitness. The metrics themselves are explained at Garmin features.
Health
- Wrist-based heart rate, sampled every second, with high and low heart rate alerts. Garmin’s manual states these alerts fire only after at least ten minutes of inactivity, and do not fire during the configured sleep window. Disabling the heart rate monitor also disables VO2 max, sleep tracking, intensity minutes, all-day stress and Pulse Ox.
- Resting heart rate and respiration rate
- Pulse Ox blood oxygen saturation, awake or asleep
- Body Battery energy monitoring
- All-day stress tracking
- Health status, which flags movement away from a personal baseline
- Women’s health tracking, including menstrual cycle, pregnancy and past ovulation estimates
- Natural Cycles compatibility through skin temperature data, requiring a Natural Cycles subscription
- Skin temperature
- Hydration and lifestyle logging, covering caffeine and alcohol intake
- Meditation and breathwork, with guided sessions requiring Garmin Connect+
- Jet lag adviser
- Fitness age
Sleep
- Sleep score and sleep stage breakdown
- Sleep coach
- Sleep alignment against circadian rhythm, plus sleep consistency
- Nap detection
- Breathing variations during sleep, which require Pulse Ox to be enabled
- Skin temperature and breathing variations both need around three days to establish a baseline
- HRV status, measured overnight against a three-week personal baseline
- Smart wake alarm, which vibrates within the 30 minutes before the set time and never delays past it. A Quiet Start option begins the vibration softly and builds.
Fitness
- Automatic activity detection, editable in Garmin Connect. Setup asks for up to ten favourite activities, which the classifier uses to narrow what it looks for.
- Manual activity tracking across 80 or more activities, started from the on-device button or from Garmin Connect
- Training readiness and training status
- VO2 max, running only, and unavailable in wheelchair mode. It requires a timed brisk walk or run of at least 15 minutes.
- Training load, training load focus, load ratio and training effect, aerobic and anaerobic
- Workout benefit and recovery time
- Heart rate zones, percentage of maximum heart rate, percentage of heart rate reserve, automatic maximum heart rate detection and heart rate calories
- Auto Lap, with manual lap restricted to Garmin Connect+ live activities
- Respiration rate during exercise
- Primary benefit labels, unified training status and auto goal
- Steps, calories, distance and intensity minutes
- Automatic rep counting, set per activity, with a Workouts Only option that limits counting to guided workouts. Garmin advises wearing the band with the button facing the hand for accuracy.
- Wheelchair mode, tracking daily pushes with weight shift alerts. Garmin recommends wrist wear rather than upper arm for this mode, and VO2 max is unavailable while it is on.
- Connected GPS speed, distance, pace and cadence
- LiveTrack location sharing
- TrueUp and Physio TrueUp
Controls and status LED
The band has one button and one multi-colour LED, and no display, so every on-device interaction runs through those two components.
- Pairing is triggered by a single press of the on-device button, indicated by a magenta LED
- Activities start three ways: automatic detection, the on-device button, or Garmin Connect
- The button records a timed activity by default and can be assigned a specific profile, with phone GPS enabled per activity
- Wear position is set per activity, and Garmin advises the button faces the hand for accurate strength rep counting
- Find My Band shows the band’s location on a map and makes it vibrate
- A double tap reports battery status on the LED, and a power saver mode can be enabled
- Goal, hourly movement, bedtime and sleep score alerts vibrate the band
Button functions
| Press when idle | Starts the favourite activity set in Garmin Connect. The LED flashes green and the band vibrates. |
|---|---|
| Press during an activity | Stops the activity. The LED flashes red until the activity is saved, resumed or discarded in Garmin Connect. |
| Press three times, or hold six seconds | Enters pairing mode |
| Hold three seconds | Toggles heart rate broadcasting, where Device Control is enabled |
| Press or hold during an alarm | A press snoozes the alarm. A hold stops it. |
| Press during Find My Band | Stops the locate vibration |
Activities cannot be paused from the button. Pausing is available only in Garmin Connect.
Status LED
| Flashing purple | Pairing mode, for about 15 minutes, or indefinitely if the band has never been paired |
|---|---|
| Flashing green during an activity | Recording |
| Solid green during an activity | Paused |
| Flashing red during an activity | Stopped, awaiting save, resume or discard |
| Flashing orange | Broadcasting heart rate. Garmin’s manual describes this LED as orange in its status table and as yellow in the broadcasting instructions. |
| Flashing white | Paired module starting or rebooting |
| Flashing all colours | Unpaired module starting |
| Alternating green and orange | Software update in progress |
| Flashing red | Pairing failed, or an error requiring a reset |
| Alternating green, yellow and red | Factory reset in progress |
With Battery Status enabled in Garmin Connect, a double tap on the module reports charge by colour: solid green for full, flashing green while charging, solid orange for low and solid red for critically low.
Garmin Connect+ requirements
Garmin markets the CIRQA as requiring no subscription, and the health, sleep and training metrics above are included in the purchase price. The specification sheet gates the following behind a Garmin Connect+ plan.
- Guided breathwork, with unguided meditation available without a subscription
- Live activity, covering guided workouts and real-time heart rate graphs. Garmin announced on 23 July 2026 that a Garmin Connect Mobile update in the coming days will make live heart rate visible during a workout without a subscription.
- Manual lap, available in live activity only
- Garmin Coach strength plans and the Garmin fitness coach
- Cardio, strength, HIIT, yoga and Pilates workouts
- Workouts for wheelchair users
- Nutrition tracking in Garmin Connect
- Garmin Active Intelligence
Activity profiles
| Running | Running, Outdoor Track Running, Trail Running, Obstacle Racing, Treadmill Running, Indoor Track Running |
|---|---|
| Cycling | Biking, Road Biking, Mountain Biking, Gravel Biking, Bike Commuting, Bike Touring, eBiking, eMountain Biking, Indoor Biking, BMX, Handcycle, Handcycle Indoor |
| Swimming | Pool Swimming |
| Gym and fitness | Strength, HIIT, Cardio, Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing, Indoor Rowing, Jump Roping, Pilates, Yoga, Mobility, Indoor Walking, Treadmill Walking, Indoor Climbing, Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts |
| Outdoor | Walking, Hiking, Bouldering, Mountaineering, Horseback Riding, Golfing (basic support), Disc Golf, Archery, Inline Skating |
| Other | Winter sports: Skiing, Snowboarding, XC Classic Skiing, XC Skate Skiing, Ice Skating, Snowshoeing. Water sports: Stand Up Paddleboarding, Rowing, Kayaking, Fishing, Boating, Snorkelling. Team sports: Basketball, Volleyball, Field Hockey, Ice Hockey, Football/Soccer, American Football, Lacrosse, Rugby, Ultimate Disc, Cricket, Softball, Baseball, Gaming. Racket sports: Tennis, Pickleball, Badminton, Squash, Table Tennis, Padel, Platform Tennis, Racquetball. Other: Meditation, Breathwork, Dance Fitness, Other |
The CIRQA has no multisport profile.
Garmin CIRQA Smart Band
Screenless health and fitness band (no subscription required)
+other retailersFurther reading
- Garmin CIRQA full review: accuracy tested across six sessions
- Garmin CIRQA launch coverage
- Garmin CIRQA owner’s manual
- Garmin watch specifications
- Whoop
- Release Radar
Related watches
The predecessor is the Garmin Index Sleep Monitor, worn on the upper arm, tracking sleep only, and carrying the Elevate Gen 5 sensor. The first thoughts and specifications cover it in detail.
Also consider the Google Fitbit Air, the screenless band that undercuts the CIRQA substantially and reports to the Fitbit app rather than Garmin Connect. The Fitbit Air review covers what the lower price costs you.
