Whoop MG assessment: an enormous whoop for a small crowd

The tragedy of a distinct segment product is that if it sees any success, two issues will occur. First, rivals massive and small will copy its concepts. Then, to fight that existential menace and appease buyers, there’ll be an enchantment to the bigger mass market. A handful of area of interest merchandise survive the transition to the mainstream. Most don’t. (See: Nest, Mirror, VSCO, Vine, Birchbox, and so on.) It’s a story as previous as merchandise, and the place we presently discover Whoop.

Whoop is a health tracker, however it differs in a number of key methods. It doesn’t have a display screen, focuses closely on sleep and restoration from bodily pressure, and notoriously depends on a subscription mannequin. Just a few years in the past, it had a viral advertising marketing campaign and have become a well-liked tracker amongst health club rats, out of doors fanatics, and even elite athletes like Michael Phelps and LeBron James.

However in 2025, this stuff that used to distinguish Whoop are not distinctive. Good rings can accomplish most of what Whoop does in a a lot smaller and extra reasonably priced kind issue. Extra wearables have since launched subscriptions, they usually’re considerably cheaper than the $30 monthly that Whoop had been charging.

So it’s unsurprising Whoop got here in scorching with new messaging for its Whoop 5.0 and MG launch. The technique made sense on paper — add in better performance, enhance {hardware} to drive upgrades, and diversify the enterprise mannequin with broader subscription tiers. However after two months of testing and one PR kerfuffle, Whoop’s pivot isn’t hitting fairly proper.

Contemporary paint, similar basis

Whoop upgraded the {hardware}, and listed here are the cliffs notes:

These are good updates. However in follow, no matter I preferred or disliked concerning the Whoop 4.0 carried over to this one. The fiddly buckle to safe the band nonetheless annoys the crap out of me — to the purpose I dread taking it on and off for showers. Not less than altering straps remains to be simple, and in case you purchase Whoop’s clothes line, the tracker is straightforward to put on in varied methods. My principal gripe is that my Whoop 4.0 straps don’t work with the Whoop 5.0 or MG. When you upcycle your Whoop 4.0 by Whoop’s program, you may get a $50 credit score for equipment. Sadly, that’s value simply one of Whoop’s least expensive cloth bands. This appears like a kick within the tooth, particularly contemplating the early backlash when Whoop customers felt betrayed that upgrades to the brand new {hardware} wouldn’t be free regardless of earlier guarantees. The corporate ultimately backpedaled, however it’s not the perfect look.

I can’t say I observed a change in processing energy, other than fast and easy app syncing. I observed the improved battery life essentially the most. In two months of testing, I’ve solely charged thrice — and solely as soon as as a result of the battery was dying. The opposite two occasions had been prime ups in order that I might journey worry-free with out the charger. (When you thought it was simple to lose earlier than, it’s even smaller now.)

That’s all there may be to say concerning the {hardware}. Software program is one other story.

The app redesign was a lot wanted, although I think it’ll nonetheless be overwhelming to newcomers given the sheer quantity of knowledge. The house tab now provides some fast knowledge tidbits up prime, alongside along with your three principal scores for sleep, restoration, and pressure. There’s a Each day Outlook powered by Whoop Coach, an AI-powered chatbot that summarizes metrics like sleep length, exercise, and coronary heart charge. It additionally offers recommendation on learn how to hit your objectives, which you set throughout onboarding, and suggests three exercises. (I discovered Whoop’s AI summaries to be okay for fundamental data, however its “insights” had been usually underwhelming in usefulness.)

Whoop’s nonetheless a very good sleep and restoration tracker, with some overly difficult charts that you just ultimately get used to. For exercises, it focuses on how a lot a given exercise strains your physique. Whereas you may get GPS maps (supplied you carry a cellphone) or observe energy units, it zeroes in on coronary heart charge, so different metrics really feel extra like an afterthought. I’d be irked if this had been my solely exercise tracker — an issue I had with Whoop 4.0, too.

In any other case, Whoop introduced a number of new well being options. When you’ve got the MG, for instance, now you can take FDA-cleared EKGs and obtain notifications for irregular coronary heart rhythms for atrial fibrillation. It’s easy. I attempted it, received a traditional sinus rhythm, and haven’t been notified that I present any indicators of aFib. There’s a beta for blood stress insights, which doesn’t require FDA clearance because it’s a wellness function and requires calibration utilizing an precise blood stress cuff. This, too, has been commonplace for this sort of function. Identical for menstrual well being monitoring. In the meantime, the experimental Whoop Superior Labs, which might have customers ship in blood checks for assessment by clinicians, will not be but obtainable.

The brand new Healthspan function is essentially the most notable addition. It collates 9 knowledge factors to check the way you’re growing old physiologically in comparison with your chronological age. On paper, I get why it’s right here. Different corporations, comparable to Oura and Samsung, have additionally dabbled with growing old and longevity metrics.

The short and soiled is that Healthspan measures your sleep consistency, how lengthy you slept, how lengthy you spend in numerous cardio depth zones, how lengthy you spend energy coaching, what number of steps you’re taking, VO2 Max, resting coronary heart charge, and lean physique mass to provide you two new metrics: Whoop Age and Tempo of Getting old. It takes three weeks to generate, with weekly updates thereafter.

Whoop says I’m growing old like ice cream that’s been ignored in a single day. Particularly, that I’m 4.5 years older than my precise age — although my Tempo of Getting old usually hovers between 0.7 to 1.0x my age. The mathematics ain’t mathing. Whoop’s definition of growing old is somewhat slim and closely weights bodily exercise and sleep whereas discounting diet. Broadly talking, a number of elements play into the way you age — together with genetics, surroundings, certain proteins, way of life, and so on. All Whoop can do is measure some biometrics associated to a fraction of one facet — way of life — and stick it in a proprietary algorithm. Which may sound scientific, however it’s by no means going to color a completely correct image of the way you’re growing old.

Take my studying. My Whoop Age was generated after a very traumatic month of disrupted sleep and irregular coaching. It isn’t reflective of how I’m growing old, and it’ll take a very long time for this metric to replicate my precise state. I perceive that corporations try so as to add extra insights from the treasure trove of knowledge they’ve amassed. Getting old and longevity are already complicated, culturally delicate subjects. We don’t want so as to add one other layer of quantification to that.

Lastly, I’ve to deal with Whoop’s revamped subscription mannequin. As an alternative of dividing subscriptions by time-based commitments (e.g., 12-month versus 24-month), it’s now damaged down into three tiers primarily based on value and options. There’s the entry-level Whoop One tier at $199 yearly, Whoop Peak at $239, and the premium Whoop Life at $359. The One tier will get you the bottom Whoop 5.0 {hardware}, a wired charging pack, and essentially the most fundamental health monitoring knowledge Whoop presents, plus AI teaching. The Peak tier provides the Healthspan metric, stress monitoring, a wi-fi charger, and the Well being Monitor dashboard. Life will get you all that, plus the Whoop MG {hardware}, which allows EKGs and blood stress insights.

The apparent purpose for the change is to enchantment to extra individuals. Everybody’s uninterested in subs, however paying $20–30 a month beneath Whoop’s previous mannequin is prohibitively costly. My suggestion is that most individuals don’t want greater than the One tier to get what Whoop is finest at.

However once more, everyone seems to be uninterested in subscriptions, particularly within the health house. Garmin, a longtime holdout, angered followers after it lately added a paid tier tied to new AI options. Oura acquired backlash after including a subscription with its Gen 3 ring. Fitbit has considerably reversed course, making previously paywalled features free again. You possibly can’t peruse Strava’s subreddit with out seeing its most loyal customers gripe about whether or not the subscription has ever been value it. The widespread theme is that individuals don’t need to pay further if it’s not an clearly good worth. Between Whoop’s improve kerfuffle and what else is on the market, it doesn’t really feel like a barely cheaper subscription tier equals a all of the sudden extra accessible product.

This is similar product with a number of extra bells and whistles — however none you can’t already discover elsewhere. The space Whoop units don’t reinvent the wheel, and the most affordable tier isn’t magically so reasonably priced that taking the leap from one thing extra acquainted feels secure. Finally, it’s nonetheless a distinct segment product. That doesn’t should be a foul factor.