Unpacking the Launch of WHOOP 5.0

A few weeks ago, I received yet another not-so-gentle reminder text from my best friend, warning me that I have just over two months left to get rid of the tan line on my left wrist that is nothing short of jarring. The tan line – which she’s worried will plague her wedding photos as I fulfill my MOH duties – is from my WHOOP, a wearable fitness tracker I have dutifully worn for 6 years. My insistence on wearing my WHOOP 24/7 has earned me the aforementioned tan line (which truthfully might be past the point of remedying), countless prodding remarks from my partner (who, for whatever reason, thinks wearable tech is completely ridiculous), and a wealth of training, sleep, and recovery data.

Over the course of 6 years, I’ve logged over 2,900 activities spanning from martial arts to coaching clients and teaching fitness clients, weight training, cycling, walking, hiking, running – and so much more. If you do the math, a workout every day for 6 years would amount to 2,190 activities so, it’s safe to say I’ve been rather busy. While I cannot pretend to be a professional athlete by any means, I have dedicated and shaped much of my life around the pursuit of better health and fitness. The girl who grew up hurtling down soccer fields multiple times a week and throwing herself into every available sport grew into a woman who spends much of her free time in the weight room or the boxing ring, teaching group classes, or running private training sessions. The discipline I’ve carved out in constant sweat and repetition is, in my opinion, a fundamental part of who I am. And whether for myself, or for clients or friends, my interest in health, wellness, and performance only seems to grow with time, making me a perfect customer for a product like WHOOP.

For those unfamiliar, WHOOP is a subscription-based wearable that continuously gathers biometric data including heart rate, heart-rate variability, skin temperature, sleep stages, and movement. By continuously analyzing these metrics, WHOOP's algorithm generates daily Recovery, Strain and Sleep “scores”, and then curates personalized insights and recommendations based on that data. With so much information at your fingertips, WHOOP allows you to take a deep dive into the key drivers of health and performance, while identifying behaviours that optimize (or negatively impact) training loads, sleep quality, stress, and more. Unlike some of its competitors, the WHOOP band is screen-free and can be worn continuously during most activities – whether you’re gripping a barbell or trying to wrestle an opponent into a guillotine choke – thanks to WHOOP's “Body Smart Apparel” that integrates the sensor directly into clothing. Beyond daily insights and recommendations, Whoop aggregates your data to curate personalized plans according to your goals, detailed performance assessments, and even health reports you can share with your doctor.

Earlier last week, while squinting at my sleep/recovery score snapshot over morning coffee, I noticed an in-app notification alerting me to the launch of WHOOP 5.0. Upon scanning the corresponding article, I learned that Whoop’s latest hardware boasts a significantly improved battery life of more than 14 days, along with new membership options (WHOOP One, WHOOP Peak, and WHOOP Life) and a host of new features.

TLDR: The 5.0 “Peak” tier is an enhanced version of the 4.0 I am currently wearing, with new, longevity-focused measurements and proactive health alerts like Healthspan and Pace of Aging scores. The more robust (and more expensive) “Life” version, on the other hand, appeals to those craving more medical-level insights – perhaps those with existing conditions and/or concerns relating to their heart health. For those members who do not wish to access the new features included with the Peak or Life memberships, the WHOOP One membership tier offers the new hardware for an even lower price than you were paying before for the 4.0.

In the days since I first learned about the update, I’ve seen an influx of tweets, TikToks and Reddit threads hurling no shortage of criticism and, in some cases, outright vitriol, at the company. It would appear that some – or many – disgruntled customers feel as though WHOOP is guilty of a large-scale “bait and switch” trick. Why? Because of the requirement that current members extend their membership to get the latest hardware or, pay a one-time upgrade fee to keep their current membership (but still get the latest band shipped their way). Much of this disdain can perhaps be attributed to one of Whoop’s foundational promises, which has (until now) always been listed on their website: “Instead of purchasing new hardware every time an updated model is produced, WHOOP members receive the next-generation device for free after having been a member for six months or more.”

Some customers are not only promising to cancel their Whoop subscription in favor of a Garmin competitor product, but are also accusing this situation to be a real-life example of the dilemma portrayed in Episode 1 of the latest season of Black Mirror. On one hand, I understand the growing apprehension surrounding the unrelenting rise of paywalls and subscription models. I mean, do we really own anything these days, or are we just paying subscribers? Still, I wouldn’t single out WHOOP as Enemy #1 in this particular debate.

Here's what I think: One of the key differentiators of WHOOP has always been its subscription model. Rather than paying outright for the device, you pay for the “subscription” to access your data and insights, and get the device for “free”. The benefits of this model is that the upfront cost is lower and your subscription funds the ongoing improvement and development of the device. On the contrary, if you purchase a wearable for a one-time fee, you’re likely to pay a much higher cost for the device (Garmin watches seem to range from $400-$1,000, while an Oura ring costs $300-$550 + a membership), and you would not necessarily benefit from down-the-line refinements to the product. In other words, if the tech provider came out with a new-and-improved model offering enhanced features that you wanted, you would have to buy that latest edition.

Over the course of 6 years, I’ve seen countless improvements made to WHOOP’s hardware and its algorithm – with a number of new features rolled out seamlessly on the back of firmware updates. And while we can argue the long-term costs and associated merits of a subscription-based product, I would urge you to consider that innovation is not free, and WHOOP has never been marketed as a “static” product. Perhaps I’m biased, as someone who has spent much of her career observing and writing about tech trends, but I embrace the value of research and development, and I recognize the price tag associated with it. To not just have staying power in the market – but to demonstrate a commitment to continued innovation – requires a company to remain profitable enough to keep investing in their product/offering.

The other sticking point I have with some of the arguments I’ve seen online, is the fact that the WHOOP promise/model hasn’t really changed with this latest update. It has always been a subscription model, and with that, comes certain commitment requirements (monthly, 6 months, yearly). As Ben Foster, former CPO at WHOOP explained in a Reddit thread discussing the latest upgrade, “If you were intending to pay for your Whoop subscription indefinitely and you continue to, then you will literally pay $0 more than you would have while getting upgraded from 4.0 to 5.0.” Whoop has required new members to commit to 12-24 month memberships for a while now (with a one-month free trial), and with the inclusion of the new WHOOP One tier, you can actually continue your subscription (with the new hardware) for less than you were paying before. So, even if you do not care about the new features offered within the Peak and Life tiers – just as some of us don’t care about upgrading to the latest iPhone model, when our current phone serves its purpose – there is still a membership option for you.

For those long-standing members who don’t want to change to an annual subscription, a one-time upgrade fee of $50 is offered. Perhaps this is the root of the controversy – any mention of a “fee” when new hardware was always supposed to be free. But whether it’s “free” or not ultimately depends on your willingness to renew/commit to a subscription – and isn’t that the whole point of buying into what is best described as an evolving digital health ecosystem? If you weren’t planning on continuing to utilize your Whoop device and membership, why should the company send you its latest hardware for free?

Ultimately, the WHOOP model is not for everyone – just as any wearable device won’t be for everyone. Whether you’re paying a subscription to Whoop, buying an Oura ring, or strapping a Garmin watch on your wrist, the value of a wearable is ultimately subjective and hinges on the simple question: how will you use the data? Data alone won’t lead to optimization; the magic lies in the behaviour adaptations that data can inform. Of course, many of us could live a long, healthy and well balanced life without ever knowing how many steps we took in a day, how much deep sleep we get, or the ways daily behaviours impact our training quality and outcomes. There’s nothing wrong with that. And paying for health-related insights without the intention to adjust or align your behaviour according to that data is, perhaps, an expensive and fruitless hobby. But there is also a large – and ever-growing – subset of the population that has a rather voracious appetite for this kind of data to support their training and their health goals – whether it's in the interest of longevity and overall wellness, or achieving peak performance for training or sport.

I would argue that WHOOP's strength lies in its ability to turn continuous biometric monitoring into tailored, actionable insights — essentially creating a dynamic feedback loop between your physiology and its hardware. To once again quote Ben Foster, “Telling Whoop they cannot innovate outside the bounds of your current subscription level is both unreasonable and self-sabotaging.” In other words, for the athletes, biohackers, and wellness enthusiasts that make up Whoop’s customer base, is the extended membership commitment not just the cost of admission to an ecosystem that learns and grows with you?