There are a lot of options out there when it comes to fitness and health tracking wearables. But the one that pops up on pretty much every list is WHOOP. The device is simple without a screen, easy to use, and delivers impressive results when it comes to tracking and data.
The only caveat that some people tend to bring up is that WHOOP requires a subscription, and that can get pretty costly. The basic plan costs $199/year, while the most expensive plan comes in at $359/year. Now, this is just a part of this device, but it looks like someone’s trying to change that.
If this something worth exploring?
Android Authority reported on a new open-source project called Goose that aims to utilize your WHOOP and get data from it, making it possible to use without paying any kind of subscription. It’s still very early stages, but with the right development, there’s a chance at some point that this could become a real alternative.
However, there are still a lot of hoops to get through and a lot of improvements that need to be made in order to even make it a public product. Furthermore, it’s only available for iOS and only works with the WHOOP 5.0 for now. With that said, the right people behind it, and this could be something we’re talking more about in the next few months.
Of course, the other side of the coin is that you should just pay WHOOP for their service because it’s what you’re looking for in a device. More recently, Google introduced its own WHOOP competitor, the Fitbit Air, that doesn’t heavily rely on a subscription model. You get plenty of basic data tracking for free, and you can also purchase a premium plan to get more features.
For the most part, it looks like a worthy competitor. We spent some time with it and loved it. We won’t have the full picture until we put it through its paces, but the first 24 hours with it were very promising. So, if you don’t like the idea of paying for a WHOOP subscription, this alternative might be a good way to go.
