Apple · Google · Samsung · Wired
Part of the sell-in of new-breed wearables is that they're, in some ways
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OLED screens are near-ubiquitous even in health trackers; hardcore running wearables let you communicate with AI assistants.
Key facts
- Today there’s the Garmin Cirqa, Google Fitbit Air, Polar Loop, the Amazfit Helio Strap, and the Whoop series, the original pioneer of this category
- While, like many, the reporter fell for the sub-Tamagotchi little cartoon faces of the 2012 Fitbit Zip’s screen, it—like a Fitbit Air —wasn't something you were meant to pay attention to more than a couple
- The most interesting factor isn't that bands like the Fitbit Air exist now, but why this is all happening now, in 2026
- The reporter has reviewed wearables since they went mainstream the first time around with the early waves of Fitbits from 2009 and onward
Summary
There’s a new kind of gadget on shelves, designed for you to ignore it 99 percent of the time—it only needs attention when its battery is low. They have been exploding of late and are only set to grab more attention in the coming months, with the promise of demanding less of your attention once you buy one. Today there’s the Garmin Cirqa, Google Fitbit Air, Polar Loop, the Amazfit Helio Strap, and the Whoop series, the original pioneer of this category. The reporter has reviewed wearables since they went mainstream the first time around with the early waves of Fitbits from 2009 and onward. Over the last few years, though, the reporter has spent most days referring to a Garmin, Samsung, Fitbit, Coros—the list goes on—dozens or hundreds of times a day. Part of the sell-in of new-breed wearables is that they're, in some ways, the antithesis of what other watches have grown into.