Whoop takes aim at Fitbit with big free upgrade that's coming soon

The fitness tracking war is heating up. Fitbit has just announced the launch of its new Air wearable, the first device from the firm to ditch a display and offer a more simplistic way to monitor health. The Air will go on sale next month and include features such as activity monitoring, sleep tracking, along with sensors that can keep an eye on heart rate and even blood oxygen levels.

It comes in a range of styles and costs just £84.99. This is a seismic shift from Fitbit, and could be a way for it to battle back against a rival that continues to gain serious traction.

WHOOP first launched all the way back in 2015 with its products offering daily health tracking without the need for a display.

These wearables already check heart rate, stress levels and sleep patterns, but now they are about to get more advanced.

WHOOP has just announced the release of a new suite of health and AI-driven enhancements, which the company says is "a major step forward in its evolution into an intelligent health platform."

Changes coming to these bands include My Memory, a new feature allowing members to shape and manage the WHOOP AI experience by adding personal context, goals, and lifestyle factors.

The concept basically makes Whoop’s recommendations feel a little less generic and more helpful with how people actually live.

Proactive Check-Ins are coming which will deliver timely recommendations based on real-world factors like travel, training load, or upcoming events.

So, if the band know the user has a long-haul flight coming it will help prioritise things such as recovery before boarding. Training loads will also be adjusted automatically ahead of a big event and without asking the app for advice.

A redesigned WHOOP Journal is also being launched, which the firm says will enable members to log habits, supplements, and life events via voice or text, with WHOOP AI surfacing new behavioural patterns and trends over time.

Other changes include ongoing improvements to the heart rate algorithm and the addition of Strength Trainer trends and personal records, as well as a better activity tracking experience. Plus, there will be deeper integrations with applications already being used to train and connect with the community.

“WHOOP is a membership, and we take that seriously,” said Ed Baker, Chief Product Officer of WHOOP. “We’re always asking how we can deliver more value to our members, and these upcoming features are some of the most meaningful we’ve ever built, from bringing clinician support directly into the app to advancing our AI coaching to be more personal and actionable than ever.”

It's worth noting that these features will be added for free but those using WHOOP bands do have to pay a yearly fee.