GoKawiilFor the last 60 days, I have been wearing an Apple Watch Ultra 2 and the latest WHOOP MG. I wanted to better understand the hype surrounding WHOOP. If you spend enough time online, you can see that WHOOP users are loud and proud. It’s marketed as a serious wellness and fitness tracker that high-profile athletes and Silicon Valley tech founders wear. So, as someone who cares about their fitness, wellness, sleep, and overall health, I felt like I had to experience this for myself and, of course, compare it to the fitness tracker that I have been wearing for well over a decade: the Apple Watch. This is what I learned after 60 days.
Be sure to watch our in-depth video review below. We go hands-on with both of them for over 60 days and learn a lot about what they each can and cannot do.
Completely different design philosophies
The first thing I noticed when I finally got my WHOOP set up is that these fitness trackers are built around completely different ideas. The WHOOP has no screen. It’s lightweight at just 26.5g, low-profile, and designed to disappear on your body. I wore it on my right wrist, but you can wear it on your bicep or even on your waistband with the correct accessory. There is nearly nothing to interact with. You put it on and let it collect your data in the background. And that is the point, it’s meant to feel passive.
Then you have the Apple Watch, and it’s the complete opposite. In my testing, I used the Apple Watch Ultra 2, but everything I mention applies to any Apple Watch. The Apple Watch is a smartwatch first; an extension of your iPhone on your wrist. It has a bright display, tactile buttons, apps, notifications, and can make phone calls, doing pretty much everything your iPhone does at a smaller scale.
Even though I’m comparing these from a health and fitness perspective, the Apple Watch still feels like a tool you actively use throughout the day, while the WHOOP feels more like something you forget is even there. I understand the appeal of an accessory that is intentional, hyper-focused on one thing, and also distraction-free. I did enjoy that aspect of it. The only time I physically interacted with the WHOOP was to charge it. So if you are deciding between the two and want to be dead set on it being a fitness tracker, then the WHOOP will do that for you.
Battery life
The WHOOP’s distraction-free nature results in amazing battery life. It is rated for about 14 days of battery life, and I consistently got around 10–12 days with the WHOOP MG before needing to charge it. The charging system is also pretty clever because, in a perfect world, WHOOP does not want you to take the device off at all. So the charger is actually a battery pack that can be slipped onto the WHOOP to charge it, even while you are wearing it. I personally did not do that; I preferred to take it off while charging, but it is a nice aspect of the charging system. But that constant data collection is a huge part of the WHOOP philosophy.
Then you have the Apple Watch. Again, I am using my 2-year-old Apple Watch Ultra 2. At its best, the Apple Watch is rated for 36 hours and has a low-power mode that extends that to 60 hours. But since it is 2 years old, I get about 30-32 hours of battery life on it before I need to charge it. I usually charge it daily when I am in the shower or doing dishes. Battery is something I think about constantly with my Apple Watch. And if you work out for hours at a time, multiple times a day, it will drain even faster. It’s safe to assume that you will easily get through a day on one charge, but you will need to charge it on day 2.
If your number one priority is uninterrupted 24/7 tracking, WHOOP absolutely has the edge here.
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