Apple Developing Screenless Health and Fitness Tracker With Fabric Band [Report]

Apple is developing a screenless health and fitness tracker similar to Whoop's wrist-worn device, with prototypes already being tested but no decision yet on whether to release it, according to Bloomberg. The project is still in a preliminary phase known internally as a "technology investigation," and even if it moves forward, the device likely would not arrive before 2028.

The company has been exploring the category for several months. Prototypes feature a thin fabric band with a sensor-equipped computing module, but no display. That would set the device apart from Apple Watch, which combines fitness tracking with apps, notifications and other functions built around a screen.

Executive Chairman Tim Cook and services chief Eddy Cue have taken a particular interest in the effort. Cue, who took over Apple's health efforts late last year, has pushed the team to adopt features from newer rivals that offer simpler interfaces focused squarely on fitness and health tracking.

The shift comes amid changes in leadership across Apple's Watch and health businesses. Former chief operating officer Jeff Williams, who oversaw both areas, retired at the end of last year. Apple Watch marketing lead Stan Ng and fitness strategy chief Jay Blahnik have also left the company.

That competitive influence is already showing up in Apple's existing health products. The latest Apple Watch and revamped Health app include more advanced heart-rate tracking, readiness metrics and biological-age estimates. The Health app also has a cleaner interface designed to make its information easier to understand.

Whoop and Oura each have millions of users, with Whoop valued at about $10 billion and Oura filing for an initial public offering this month. Google recently entered the screenless category with Fitbit Air, while Garmin also offers screen-free fitness bands.

Members of Apple's Vision hardware team have contributed to early engineering work on the tracker. The group developed Vision Pro and is also working on Apple's first smart glasses and camera-equipped AirPods, both targeted for 2027.

A major update to the Apple Watch lineup is also in development for release as early as late 2027. The redesign would follow several years of more incremental changes, with the Apple Watch Ultra retaining essentially the same overall design since its debut in 2022.