By PYMNTS | September 22, 2026
Apple is actively developing a new health and fitness tracker designed to compete directly with the rapidly growing market share captured by Whoop’s wrist-worn recovery device and Oura’s popular smart ring, according to people familiar with the matter.
The Cupertino-based technology giant has been exploring this new product category for several months and is currently building and testing internal prototypes. While the project is moving forward through development stages, Apple has not yet made a final decision on whether to greenlight the device for a commercial release. Industry sources indicate that if the project receives formal approval to go to market, the screenless tracker likely will not make its official debut before 2028.
This prospective device would be worn on the wrist, distinguishing itself significantly from the traditional Apple Watch lineup. Unlike the company’s flagship smartwatches, the new tracker would feature a minimalist design characterized by a thin fabric band and a compact, sensor-equipped computing module. Crucially, the hardware would omit a screen entirely, opting instead for a streamlined, simpler interface dedicated strictly to continuous fitness and health metrics tracking.
The development places Apple into a burgeoning segment of the wearables market centered on minimalist, display-free wellness monitors optimized for round-the-clock comfort and recovery tracking. Competitors have already begun staking claims in this category. Google launched its own screenless wearable device, the Fitbit Air, in May, positioning it as an affordable, simple, and comfortable option designed to be worn continuously. Similarly, Garmin offers a screen-free fitness and health tracker targeted at users looking for unobtrusive biometric monitoring without the distractions of notifications or a traditional display interface.
Apple has declined to comment on reports regarding its secretive screenless device. However, the exploration of new form factors aligns with broader strategic hints offered by company leadership. During his first address to employees on September 1, Apple’s newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, John Ternus, emphasized that the company has numerous upcoming hardware innovations in the pipeline that extend far beyond the standard iPhone update cycle.
In his address to staff, Ternus expressed profound enthusiasm for the trajectory of the company’s hardware portfolio. He noted that he was just as excited about what lies beyond immediate product launches, highlighting the incredible products already in development alongside concepts that have not yet been imagined but will eventually be dreamed up and created collectively by the team.
The exploration of a dedicated fitness band also comes on the heels of strategic corporate acquisitions and software enhancements aimed at deepening Apple’s health and artificial intelligence capabilities. On September 8, reports surfaced that Apple had acquired Sonera, a sensor technology company specializing in non-invasive biometric sensors. Sonera’s proprietary technology is capable of measuring the body’s subtle neural signals, offering potential health applications that range from advanced muscle monitoring to active thought control mechanisms for interacting with external devices.
Just days later, on September 10, Apple announced an upcoming software feature slated for a beta release later in the year. The feature, known as Siri Recap, is designed to integrate with the Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4, utilizing advanced on-device intelligence to listen to conversations and automatically generate concise summaries for the user.
These technological strides complement the ecosystem approach seen across the tech industry, where hardware and software are tightly integrated to provide users with actionable health insights. When Google introduced the Fitbit Air earlier this year, the company emphasized that the screenless tracker was engineered to feed data directly into the Google Health Coach ecosystem, enabling the platform to deliver highly personalized wellness guidance based on continuous physiological data.
While Apple weighs the future of its screenless fitness tracker and whether to introduce it to the consumer market in the coming years, the company is simultaneously preparing updates for its established smartwatch portfolio. According to reports outlining the company’s hardware roadmap, Apple plans to roll out updates to its broader smartwatch lineup in late 2027 or subsequent releases, ensuring that its flagship timepieces continue to evolve alongside its broader exploration of dedicated health tracking form factors.