I’ve been wearing the Garmin Cirqa for 3 weeks: Here are 3 things I like, and 3 things I’d change

For three weeks, I've been donning Garmin's new screenless fitness tracker, the Cirqa. Here's a rundown of what I liked and what I'd change about it.

Three things I liked:

1. A screenless tracker is only as good as its app, and I found the Garmin Connect experience to be really enjoyable. While it has its quirks, I'm familiar with it and it provides a wealth of data. Plus, if you already own a Garmin device, syncing the Cirqa is seamless and you can still track data like Body Battery and sleep.

2. The physical button on the side of the Cirqa is a standout feature. It instantly starts and stops 'timed activities', which is great for ensuring you don't miss a beat of your health tracking. It's a design decision that aligns with Garmin's philosophy of not letting you miss even a second of health data.

3. The Heart Rate accuracy of the Cirqa is impressive. While it's not as precise as a dedicated chest-mounted heart rate sensor, it's pretty close. Plus, it measures your skin temperature for female health tracking and is compatible with Natural Cycles, a popular women's health app for tracking fertility, postpartum health, and perimenopause.

Three things I'd change:

1. The strap of the Cirqa is quite bulky and not very comfortable. For someone with petite wrists like myself, it feels quite large and not all that comfortable. This is a major drawback if you're looking for a tracker that 'disappears' on your wrist.

2. The $199 price tag is considerably more than the Fitbit Air. Yes, the Cirqa doesn't require the ongoing subscription like the Fitbit Air, but it's still double the price. It's also more expensive than other screenless trackers like Whoop or Oura.

3. The Cirqa lacks on-board GPS, meaning you'll need to carry your phone with you if you want a map of where you've walked or run. This is a fair criticism, as most screenless trackers currently don't have built-in GPS.