No screen, more tracking: Why screenless fitness bands are making comeback
From Fitbit Air to Garmin’s Cirqa, screen-free fitness bands are growing even as the wider wearable market shrinks – and Apple may be watching closely
Screenless fitness trackers are gaining traction as Google, Garmin and Amazfit enter a category led by Whoop (Image: Gogle Fitbit Air)
Harsh ShivamNew Delhi6 min read Last Updated : Aug 14 2026 | 4:04 PM IST
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Screenless fitness wearables are making a comeback, with Google, Garmin and Amazfit among the companies betting on devices that track health and fitness without putting a display on the wrist. Bloomberg has reported that Apple is also exploring a screenless wearable as part of a broader rethink of its Watch lineup.
The timing is telling. Global wearable band shipments dropped 2 per cent year-on-year in Q2 2026, per market tracker Omdia. Screenless devices, however, accounted for more than 15 per cent of shipments in the basic band category, which Omdia calls a distinct growth area within an otherwise declining segment.
A separate report from Smart Analytics Global, cited by news platform Android Headlines, found the non-display band market grew 122 per cent year-on-year in Q2 CY 2026. Whoop leads with a 54 per cent share, followed by Amazfit (21 per cent), Polar (14 per cent) and Fitbit (9 per cent). The category is projected to hit 6 million units in 2026 and 8.8 million by 2027.
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From Fitbit Flex to Whoop, screenless never really disappeared
A fitness wearable without a screen isn’t a new idea.
Fitbit’s Flex, launched in 2013, had indicator lights instead of a display — activity and sleep data lived in the companion app. But the market went the other way. Displays became the selling point, as notifications, calls, apps, music and GPS piled on. The basic band got squeezed between affordable smart bands and increasingly capable smartwatches.
Screenless found its second wind through Whoop. The company built its product around continuous tracking rather than the smartwatch playbook. The absence of a screen was deliberate, with the wearable designed to collect physiological data continuously while the smartphone app handled the analysis.
Whoop initially built much of its identity around professional and elite sports. Athletes like Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James and Michael Phelps were seen wearing them, while it partnered with professional sports teams including Scuderia Ferrari HP Formula One team.
That positioning mattered — it turned the screenless band from “stripped-down tracker” into a performance and recovery tool. A Whoop band was never meant to show the time or a notification. It was built to collect data around the clock, with the app carrying sleep, recovery, strain and training insights. That gave the format a fresh identity just as everything else on the wrist was becoming a mini smartphone.
ALSO READ: Not just iPhone, Apple explores major upgrades for Watch series too: Report
Google, Garmin and Amazfit are betting on less hardware
Google’s Fitbit Air is perhaps the clearest indication that the screenless format is moving back towards the mainstream. The device, launched globally in May, weighs 12g with its band and has no display. Instead, health information is accessed through the Google Health app.
Google’s own positioning is telling. The company said that the Fitbit Air is aimed at people who find conventional smartwatches too heavy, expensive or distracting. The company is effectively separating the sensing hardware from the screen, leaving the phone to handle the visualisation and analysis.
Amazfit took a similar route earlier. The company launched the Helio Strap in June 2025 as its first screen-free fitness, recovery and sleep tracker. The device continuously monitors heart rate, sleep and other health metrics and works with the Zepp app rather than providing information on a display.
Garmin has now entered the category as well. Its Cirqa Smart Band has no screen, supports 24/7 health monitoring and automatic activity detection, and offers up to 10 days of battery life. Garmin also positions it as a tracker that works without a subscription, with data available through the Garmin Connect app.
That makes the current crop of screenless devices considerably different from the early fitness bands. The hardware may look simple, but the sensing capabilities and software behind them are much more sophisticated.
The wearable market is splitting in two
Omdia’s Jason Low described the market as having two clear winners: minimalist, screenless trackers that can be worn continuously and feature-rich sports watches designed around accuracy and advanced training data. Basic watches and mid-tier smartwatches, by comparison, are being squeezed.
This distinction matters.
Screenless trackers are not necessarily reviving the smart band market. They are creating a different segment within it. The product is no longer being sold primarily as a cheaper alternative to a smartwatch. Instead, it is being positioned around continuous monitoring, comfort, battery life and reduced interaction with the device itself.
Why remove the screen now?
The obvious question is why consumers would deliberately give up one of the most useful parts of a smartwatch.
One answer is that the screen is also the part of a smartwatch that demands attention. A wrist notification turns a fitness tracker into another interruption. It also drains more power and sets an expectation that the device should do more than just monitor health.
Take the screen away, and the relationship changes. The band stays on through workouts, work and sleep; the phone becomes where you actually check in on the data.
Battery life backs this up. Fitbit Air claims up to seven days, Garmin’s Cirqa up to 10. Garmin’s Index Sleep Monitor — a screenless band worn on the upper arm — claims up to seven nights.
No display also makes it easier to design for sleep and continuous wear, which matters more as health tracking shifts from single workouts to longer-term signals: sleep, recovery, HRV, stress.
Omdia’s research on smart rings backs this up too — 43 per cent of respondents in a 2025 survey didn’t own a wearable band at all, citing discomfort with all-day or overnight wear and frequent charging as the main barriers. Smart rings prove the same point: a wearable doesn’t need to act like a mini smartphone to earn its place on your body.
Apple may be watching the shift
According to Bloomberg, Appleis exploring devices without displays as part of a broader rethink of the Apple Watch lineup. The company is also considering different screen sizes and shapes, products at higher and lower price points, and even a round Watch design. None of these concepts has been finalised and the more radical designs are not close to launch, according to the report.
What matters isn’t whether Apple ships a screenless wearable — it’s why the idea is even on the table. Apple already dominates smartwatches: Counterpoint puts its Q1 CY 2026 global share at 21 per cent, up 21 per cent year-on-year. But the category itself is expanding past the conventional smartwatch. Smart rings are growing, Whoop has built a screenless subscription business, and Google, Garmin and Amazfit are all now shipping their own screenless bands.
Topics :fitness wearablesfitness bandFitbit
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First Published: Aug 14 2026 | 3:55 PMIST
