I wore a Whoop 4.0 for two weeks
Here are the five things I learnt in the process
Let me say from the outset, I was hugely optimistic about the Whoop 4.0.
Like many others do when considering a new wearable, I watched copious amounts of YouTube videos, read reviews, and researched the hell out of the device, before pulling the trigger.
In fact, such was the delay in shipping times when I initially ordered the 4.0, I initially began my journey with Whoop, using an ‘as-new’ second-hand 3.0 picked up from eBay.
Upon the device arriving, a brief signup process entailed and with my bank details added, I was finally ready to go.
My first impressions on the 3.0 were interesting.
This is a device with no screen at all, so the companion app is essential to the experience. I found the hardware to be great, minimal, not intrusive and pleasantly fits under a shirt sleeve. It was also very comfortable.
The 3.0 precedes the new 4.0 and as such lacks some of the features found on the newer device.
It’s essentially a heart rate sensor, powered by an intelligent algorithm. One of the fundamental USP’s to Whoop devices when compared with a Fitbit however, is that there is no step counting here.
Instead, whilst wearing the device throughout the day and during sleep, Whoop begins to develop a picture and framework of your fitness metrics and base rates.
Whoop automatically tracks your sleep and a range of workouts. It will also monitor your exertion throughout the day in order to provide you with a ‘Strain Score’. This is Whoop lingo for how hard you have pushed your body. Alongside your sleep data, Whoop will use these metrics to provide wearers with a ‘Recovery Score’ which is to say, how ready your body is to tackle the day ahead.
The Whoop app also has a cool feature within it called ‘Health Monitor’.
This is a sexy looking quick glance at your respiratory rate, resting heart rate and HRV. Whoop 4.0 takes things a step further, and also measures blood oxygen and skin temperature in addition. Whoop will also tell you if you your metrics are not aligned with your typical base rates each morning, since the data is measured predominately during sleep.
I mentioned that I started this experiment with a Whoop 3.0. However, when the Whoop 4.0 finally arrived in the mail I switched up the bands right away. It’s a little smaller, though noticeably a touch taller and less easily under a sleeve.
I found the band of the 4.0 to be even more comfortable to wear. I wouldn’t go as far to say that the hardware is overly comfortable, in fact i developed a pretty sore burn mark whilst wearing the Whoop. Forums suggest this is through not washing the area underneath, I can promise I shower twice a day and this still occurred to me so jury’s out.
My main observations in trying the Whoop were.
No screen, no problem
Sometimes it’s nice to not have the distraction of a screen and the notifications that can often come with it. I wore the Whoop 4.0 on my right wrist with my every day watch on the other. It was a pleasant combination and the Whoop feels more like jewellery than a wearable sometimes.
Auto-tracking is questionable
On more than a few occasions whilst wearing the Whoop 4.0, I discovered it really struggled at times to understand what activity I was doing. To give an example, if I was doing some resistance training and then jumped on the treadmill 45 minutes later, Whoop couldn’t suitable differentiate. This became frustrating pretty quickly.
Subscriptions suck
Whoop has decided to embark upon an increasingly familiar subscription model for their pricing. Sure, with a six month subscription you can take the view that it will work out there about’s what you might pay for a competing wearable. But what happens after that period?
Beyond that, if you upgrade an Apple Watch you can be sure that you will be able to offset some of that cost by selling or trading in your current Apple Watch. This just isn’t an option with Whoop in the same way, and I find the subscription model incredibly annoying.
Potential
Whoop definitely has the potential to carve out a real niche for itself within the market. That said, much of the USP is now being executed very similarly by companies such as Garmin & Fitbit. I can see Whoop taking a more fashion conscious approach to wearables and maybe they will also build upon their all out data driven angle.
Apple Watch is still king
Wow did I miss the Apple Watch. Despite wearing the Apple Watch on and off since it’s launch, it’s only when it’s not strapped to your wrist, do you actually begin to appreciate just how useful a device it has become for many. Not only does is look great, but an Apple Watch is so reliable in ways that, I am afraid other wearables just aren't.
Whoop is a company that, despite it’s recent influx of investment funds, is still fairly new to the wearable industry. I found myself cutting the device slack when it let me down at times, and almost cheering it on knowingly, because I can appreciate just how hard it is to create a device and app of this magnitude.
