Apple Develops Screenless Fitness Tracker to Rival Whoop

Apple is exploring the development of a screenless fitness wearable that would compete with Whoop and similar recovery-centric devices. The proposed wearable, which is still in the prototype phase, would feature a fabric strap with an integrated sensor pod rather than a traditional display.

The project has backing from top-level executives including Tim Cook and Eddy Cue, who oversees services. Cue assumed leadership of Apple's health division last year and has been pushing the team to examine streamlined wearable offerings from emerging competitors.

Companies like Whoop and Oura have cultivated dedicated user bases with wearables emphasizing health metrics, recovery analytics, sleep tracking, and fitness monitoring instead of conventional smartwatch capabilities. Apple seems to be evaluating whether a more focused product could complement Apple Watch within its lineup rather than serving as a replacement.