I purchased the Cirqa as an addition to the Fenix 8. I also own the Fenix 8 but found it to be a little too bulky and uncomfortable when trying to sleep. When Garmin released the Cirqa, I immediately knew this was the device to rule all other devices and it has not disappointed. It works flawlessly within the Garmin ecosystem of devices, of which I have most of. I use Garmin devices for my whole health tracking system including the scale, BPM, HRM, and Edge for cycling and the Cirqa was a perfect fit.

I thought this indicated that it keeps track of blood pressure. It doesn't. You can manually enter it. I also dont like that it doesn't track how far you have swam. Also, I thought it would have been more rugged. I train Jui-jitsu and kick boxing. I have to tape it to my wrist so it doesn't get ripped off and the pins that hold it to the band break. Still waiting for my arm band strap 2 months later. Other than that, it is good.

This product is aptly named as it's *almost* a finished product. Nearly every attribute feels like it could've used a little more development. There are many issues that should be fixable in software/firmware, but some hardware shortcomings will need to be fixed in the next version. Hopefully Garmin will be uncharacteristically consumer-friendly with their trade-in policy for the v2. Use case: I want a screenless, fashionable device that I can wear alongside a mechanical watch or in more formal situations, which provides seamless data continuity as a backup or replacement to my other Garmin devices. Expectation: all the same features and experience of an Instinct without the screen or smartwatch features, and comparable--if not better--battery life, and stylish strap options. The bad: * Size: It's quite big. Bigger than a Whoop, much bigger than a Fitbit Air. Almost as big as an Instinct. The size itself would not be an issue if it had performance to match, but that's not the case. It also looks and feels bulkier than it is because of its shape; it's more flat than contoured with a sensor bulge so unless you have a large wrist, it will hang off both sides of your wrist like a plank. * Battery: Considering an Instinct can get almost 3 weeks with a screen and smartwatch features, I was expecting similar or better performance by removing those features. Not the case, it lasts about a week; less than a Whoop which is smaller, and a Fitbit Air which is almost half the size. In a recent unscientific comparison, at the end of the week when my Cirqa was at 2%, the Fitbit was at 24%, and the Whoop at 64%. All devices' SpO2 enabled. This might be forgivable if the sensors were top-of-the-line, or if the Cirqa was measuring something the others aren't, but I can't find anything to explain the discrepancy. * Location: the Cirqa has no GPS and requires your phone location for certain workouts and metrics (like VO2 Max). This is annoying and sacrifices one of key benefits of Garmin wearables. * Alto/Baro: the Cirqa has no Alto/Baro so it cannot measure stairs or elevation climbed. * Sensors: the Cirqa uses the older sensors. This might be satisfactory if it enabled positive tradeoffs like smaller size or better battery performance, but it's not small and has poor battery life, so the justification is unclear. * Price: it's almost as much as an Instinct without the features. It's twice as much as a Fitbit Air without any discernible advantages. * Data Handling: This is perhaps the biggest weakness which may or may not be a bug. When I take off one device and put on another, the data continuity should be seamless. However, Garmin doesn't know how to manage data, and instead of algorithmically determining how to hand off data between devices, the user is required to designate a Primary device. So if you intend to keep a Garmin watch as your primary wearable and use this as a backup for certain situations, it will not measure/log certain data such as Body Battery unless you set it as the Primary, which you wouldn't do. The good: * Appearance: the strap is much better than Whoop and subjectively sufficiently stylish (in the khaki color). However, as mentioned above, the size of the device detracts from the overall appearance and the black device is very conspicuous and not hidden sufficiently by the strap. * Fit: It's pretty comfortable most of the time, about the same as a Whoop. It can't compete with the Fitbit Air due to its size. The strap would benefit from more stretch. * Button: it has one button which wasn't expected but is actually a nice addition and a potential differentiator. However, the button only does one thing: starts or stops a preset default workout. I would like to see this button utilized better, with user-configurable settings (e.g. for a long press, or double press, etc.) * Business model: no subscription so it automatically beats Whoop. In short, I'm glad Garmin finally brought a screenless wearable to market, but so far this first version is a bit underwhelming. Hopefully some of the issues can be addressed in firmware and/or backend upgrades. If not, wait for the v2.

I bought the device to replace my apple watch ultra as i wanted to go back to using mechanical watches. Its an ok devide but some features feels like an after thought overall, i like the device, its light, the battery life is ok (most i got out of it was about 5 days but i had to disable the ongoing pulse oximeter to night only, if you keep it running all day, you wont get more than 3 days max, was honestly expecting more.) i like that you have a physical button to start an activity and you dont relay on the device just to sense what you are doing since i mostly use it for HIIT workouts every morning. the issue is that even with the sensing on, its not really working well. i was on vacation and walked about 22,000 steps a day in longs walks and hikes and it didnt register any of it! last, i did purchase an arm band as well and honestly, the switching is a real hassle. there are really tiny push pins you need to release and attach when you are switching bands, and it may take good five minutes (i have big fingers). the app is fine, i used to be a garmin user with their earlier fenix watches so i am used to it and like the setup.

I bought this to wear overnight as my Forerunner was lighting up and waking up my husband. It's easy to switch between the watch and the band and my tracking information seems complete and unchanged. I don't wear it during the day or use it for activities, so can't speak to those functions, but it is very comfortable for sleep tracking.

The device itself looks cool. I like it. The material is very good. The app, however, is just not great. The UI is ugly. I came from Whoop, and Garmin's interface is just not it. There is not much to do in there. I assume if you pay for their Connect+ subscription, that would not be the case, but I haven't tried it yet.

Fitness tracking isn't bad, but the sleep tracking is trash. It records phantom naps, tells me I went to bed and was in "deep sleep" two hours before I go to bed, and fails to capture my multiple awakenings at night. The battery life is also terrible, doesn't last 5 days. Also, I get a weird rash on the wrist I wear it on and need to switch back and forth. Very disappointed.

I wanted to get the Whoop but didn't want to pay the monthly fee. I was really excited when the Cirqa came out. I've had it a few weeks so still waiting on some of the reports to come in. The training readiness, sleep score and performance reports have been great to me identify areas I can improve my health. I feel like I'm becoming more aware of my fitness.

The Garmin Circa has been a really useful addition to my daily routine. The biggest benefit for me has been sleep tracking. Sleep was something I had not paid much attention to in the past, but having the data available has made me much more aware of my sleep patterns and how they may affect how I feel during the day. I also appreciate how lowkey it is. Most of the time, I barely notice I am wearing it, while it quietly tracks my activity and heart rate throughout the day. That makes it easy to get a better picture of my overall health and activity without having another device that constantly demands my attention.

Battery life a lot less than I thought it would be, I really hope the software gets some new updates soon, it seems there are a lot of kinks to work out. I'm giving the benefit of the doubt right now because this is a new line but I hope the software updates smooth out some of the features