Wearables get smarter
Garmin is poised to launch a new wearable in March (rumored CIRQA Smart Band or next‑gen running watch), while Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear Elite chip promises heavy on‑device AI for real‑time coaching — a direct push into smarter, fitness‑first wearables (notebookcheck.net) (techeconomy.ng).
Garmin’s CIRQA listing that briefly appeared on regional Garmin stores included part number 010‑04675‑00 and two sizes (S/M and L/XL), suggesting a screenless “smart band” form factor rather than a display‑based tracker. (the5krunner.com)) Leaked sightings and FCC filings underpin the CIRQA rumor, but timing is inconsistent: some outlets point to an end‑March reveal in the week of March 23, 2026, while product pages captured during the leak showed a 4–5 month shipping estimate pointing to May–June 2026. (notebookcheck.net)) Leaks describe CIRQA as a recovery‑focused, screenless rival to Whoop and Oura with reported sensor ambitions including ECG, skin temperature and high‑fidelity HRV, and at least one leak lists the device as “Connect+ compatible.” (smartwatchinsight.com)) Qualcomm unveiled the Snapdragon Wear Elite at MWC 2026 as a 3nm wearable platform with a dedicated Hexagon NPU that Qualcomm says can run models up to ~2 billion parameters, and it claims up to 5x single‑core CPU and 7x GPU gains versus prior Snapdragon Wear silicon. (qualcomm.com)) The Wear Elite adds a “hexa‑connectivity” suite — including 5G RedCap, satellite NB‑NTN, Bluetooth 6.0, UWB and dual‑band GNSS — and Qualcomm projects roughly 30% longer daily battery life plus up to 50% charge in about 10 minutes; partners named in coverage include Google, Motorola and Samsung. (qualcomm.com)) That combination maps onto a fitness‑first shift: Qualcomm positions on‑device AI for live coaching and low‑latency model inference while Garmin already ties advanced AI features to its paid Connect+ tier (priced $6.99/month or $69.99/year), and leaked CIRQA listings explicitly reference Connect+ compatibility. (qualcomm.com))
