Garmin launched the Cirqa, its first screenless band, at $199.99 and marketed it hard as the Whoop alternative that needs no subscription. Buyers then found that watching your heart rate live during a workout required Connect+ at $6.99 a month. After the complaints, Garmin says a free update will hand the feature back.
Lifehacker's read is that the reversal is the smaller story: a company that leans on being subscription-free, and then puts a basic real-time readout behind a subscription anyway, has told you where it expects the money to come from. Garmin has separately explained that the Cirqa uses an older heart rate sensor than its watches, and Tom's Guide has since tested that sensor against a chest strap, which matters because sleep tracking, body battery and training readiness all hang off it.