After months of rumours, Whoop has finally unveiled its next-gen fitness tracker; the Whoop 5. But what’s new compared to the already-reliable Whoop 4?
While the two devices might look near-identical at a glance – the Whoop 5 is only 7% smaller than the Whoop 4 – there are plenty of upgrades to both the hardware and software to provide deeper insight into your health and fitness.
However, the new release also introduces a tiered system, with features and functionality tied to how much you’re willing to pay per year – a complete 180 compared to the one-size-fits-all Whoop 4 approach.
That said, here’s how the Whoop 5 compares to the Whoop 4, including insights into the top-end Whoop MG too.
Pricing and availability
Pricing is arguably the most confusing aspect of the Whoop experience, particularly when it comes to the new range.
The Whoop 4 was available at £229/$229 per year on a subscription basis, with no additional cost for the hardware.
However, with the launch of the new Whoop 5 range, Whoop 4 users will now be downgraded to a cheaper £169/$169 per year Whoop One package with options to pay to upgrade to the newer hardware. It’s also no longer available to buy from Whoop.
The Whoop 5, on the other hand, is available in three packages: One, Peak and Life. One is the basic package, offering elements like recovery, sleep and strain scores, hormonal insights and other stats. Peak adds more advanced features like stress monitoring, health monitoring and new Healthspan tech for £229/$229 per year.
Life, on the other hand, will net you the upgraded Whoop MG with ECG and blood pressure monitoring capabilities – though at £349/$349 per year, it’s also the most expensive package of the range.
The Whoop 5 offers more accurate tracking capabilities
The new generation of Whoop wearables is actually split into two: the Whoop 5 and Whoop MG. That said, the two are identical in most respects – not only in terms of hardware but software too.
Regardless of the variant you opt for, expect more accurate health monitoring data with improved heart rate and blood oxygen sensors that capture data a whopping 26 times per second.
The Whoop MG takes things a step further by including medical-grade ECG monitoring tech. Simply put your finger on the side of the wearable to take a reading. It also includes support for irregular heart rate notifications for added peace of mind compared to the regular Whoop 5.
The Whoop 5 has much longer battery life
The Whoop strap is designed to be worn constantly to deliver the most accurate insights into your health and fitness. It’s why the wearable comes with a charging pack that attaches to the wearable on your wrist, rather than a regular dock-style charger – so you don’t ever need to take it off.
That said, with a battery life of around 4-5 days, you’ll need to charge the Whoop 4 fairly often.
However, with improved processors that Whoop claims are 10x more efficient, the Whoop 5 and Whoop MG can offer 14+ days on a single charge. That’s a massive boost that’ll let the hardware slip further into the background, silently collecting data and providing those valuable insights.
The Whoop 5 can provide blood pressure monitoring
Interestingly, despite no mention of new hardware to facilitate the functionality, the top-end Whoop MG can offer blood pressure monitoring insights.
Whoop claims it’s a patent-pending technology that can deliver daily blood pressure insights with estimated systolic and diastolic readings. It can also use that data to provide information on how blood pressure readings can affect wellbeing and performance in day-to-day life.
That said, it doesn’t sound like it’s true blood pressure tracking like alternatives like the Huawei Watch D2 offer.
The Whoop 5 offers advanced cycle tracking
Another key new feature of the Whoop 5 experience compared to the Whoop 4 is women’s hormonal insights.
Unlike competing wearables offering cycle tracking, Whoop’s alternative aims to provide personalised insights on how hormonal shifts can affect your recovery, sleep, stress, performance and other factors.
Of course, it’ll also offer the same cycle tracking functionality as other wearables – it just does more.
Early verdict
It looks like the Whoop 5 will offer a huge upgrade over the Whoop 4 with improved sensors and better efficiency, as well as new metrics available in the app. However, the multi-tier subscription and varying featureset will likely put some off – especially compared to the one-size-fits-all nature of the Whoop 4.
That said, we’ll save our final thoughts until we’ve fully tested the new Whoop 5 and Whoop MG, so head back soon for our in-depth comparison.
