Report: Apple Develops Prototype of New Fitness Tracker, Targeting Whoop

Apple is quietly entering the screenless fitness tracker market, setting its sights directly on competing with Whoop.

According to Bloomberg on September 22, citing sources familiar with the matter, Apple is developing a screenless health and fitness tracker similar to the wrist-worn device from Whoop. Apple has been exploring this category for months and is currently working on a prototype.

The plan has high-level support from Apple's executive chairman Tim Cook and Services Chief Eddy Cue, but Apple has not yet decided whether to launch the product.

The project is still in its preliminary phase, internally referred to as a “technology investigation.” If Apple proceeds, the earliest the device could debut is 2028.

The news led to an immediate market reaction. Garmin, a fitness tracker vendor, saw its share price drop as much as 2.5% intraday before recovering to close up 1.6%. Apple's shares spiked then retreated, closing at around $340.

According to sources, the prototype features a slim fabric band and an integrated computing module with sensors, with a design highly similar to Whoop's wrist-worn device.

The core distinction is the lack of a display. Apple Watch is centered around a display, combining health tracking, apps, and notifications; this new device will have a more focused approach, dedicated to gym and health data collection and tracking.

Currently, the project is still in what Apple refers to internally as the “technology investigation” phase, which means it is highly uncertain whether the product will ultimately be launched.

Behind this new project, Apple's health and wearables division is undergoing a profound transformation. Former COO Jeff Williams, who previously oversaw watch and health operations, retired at the end of last year; Stan Ng, head of Apple Watch and health product marketing, and Jay Blahnik, leader of Apple's fitness strategy, also recently left the company.

Since Eddy Cue took over Apple’s health business late last year, he has been pushing the team to learn from emerging rivals like Whoop, introducing a more focused, health-tracking-centric product philosophy into Apple’s ecosystem.

The latest Apple Watch models and redesigned Health app have begun to incorporate Whoop-like features, including advanced heart rate tracking, daily status assessment metrics, and the ability to estimate users' physiological age based on health data.

Apple’s move into screenless fitness trackers is driven by clear competitive pressures.

Though Apple remains a global leader in the smartwatch market, Whoop and smart ring manufacturer Oura are rapidly growing, each with millions of users.

Currently, the screenless fitness tracker space is seeing intense competition: Garmin has long been committed to location tracking and fitness devices; Google's Alphabet recently introduced the Fitbit Air, officially entering the screenless wearable market.

Meanwhile, Oura has recently filed for an IPO, and Whoop is currently valued at about $10 billion and considering its own listing plans.

This screenless fitness tracker is part of Apple’s broader wearable device strategy.

Members of the Apple Vision hardware team, who not only develop the Vision Pro headset but are also working on Apple’s first smart glasses and camera-equipped AirPods—both targeting a 2027 launch—are involved in the early engineering of this tracker.

Wallstreet Insights noted that Apple was previously developing an AI pin device with a camera that users could wear around their neck or attach to clothing to collect visual data for the new Siri to process, but that project has now been delayed.

For smartwatches, Apple is planning a significant product line redesign as early as the end of 2027 to break away from the incremental updates that have dominated recent years.

The Apple Watch Series 10 saw a thinner profile two years ago, but the larger Ultra model, launched four years ago, has not seen any substantial design changes since its debut.