Whoop 4 Review - The Anti-Apple Watch

The Whoop 4 is the antithesis to the modern fitness tracker, an anti-Apple Watch of sorts. It eschews common tropes like daily goals, step counts, and more, instead focusing on just two key metrics: strain and recovery.

Strain is your daily cardiovascular exertion. Instead of being measured in calories (which is one of the few other metric Whoop measures), it's a number between 0 and 21. Between 0 to 9 is light, 10 to 13 moderate, 14 to 17 is strain, and anything higher is all out. This is calculated by the amount of time you spend in different heart rate zones, so a long walk may burn calories, but may not add strain if it doesn't elevate your heart rate significantly. (It also may not be the best choice for those who predominantly focus on strength training, depending on the intensity of your workouts. My heart rate never got high enough during any Apple Fitness+ strength workout for the Whoop to log it.)

On the other hand, recovery indicates how well your body is ready to take on strain. If your recovery percentage is high, the idea is you can push yourself. If it's low, you could be overtraining. Whoop calculates this as you sleep, based on how long you slept for, your heart rate variability, resting heart rate, and respiratory rate. The more you use your Whoop, the more accurate your recovery data should be, according to the manufacturer.

Instead of pushing you toward arbitrary goals like 10,000 steps or burning a certain number of calories per day, Whoop encourages you to balance strain and recovery. Every morning you'll be given an optimal strain target based on your recovery. It's the rare fitness tracker that actually encourages you to take rest days rather than trying to hit the same target every day. And honestly, it's probably a healthier approach. I know I'm guilty of pushing myself when I probably shouldn't just to close the rings on my Apple Watch and maintain my streak.

At the same time, this means the Whoop 4 isn't exactly a great motivator for getting up and exercising. You need to bring your own drive. There are no goals to hit, no flashy animations for doing a certain amount of exercise, no streaks, no serotonin spikes. The only way the Whoop actively engages with you is by reminding you to go to sleep. While bullying you into being active is clearly against the core Whoop philosophy, I'd love to see prompts that tell me when I've achieved an ideal amount of strain for the day, or suggestions on when to push myself.

You get a daily strain target, but not much advice on how to reach it. I've learnt my typical morning exercise routine results in a certain strain level, but a notification like "try to go for a brisk 30-minute run to hit your ideal strain or aim for 50 for greater fitness gains" would be really useful. Instead, your journey is a lot more self-guided.

But for those willing to commit, Whoop gives you a treasure trove of data. There are weekly and monthly performance reports, a health monitor that lets you know if your respiratory rate, blood oxygen, resting heart rate, heart rate variability, or skin temperature are out of whack, and extensive journaling features. These span from being able to rate your workout satisfaction, to logging details like if you've been drinking, had coffee, or were reading in bed. It's a lot to get your head around, but I'm sure some power users would appreciate the functionality.

The Whoop 4 tracker itself is very basic. It's a small puck that sits in a clasp, with no screen and no notification support. The Whoop 4 clearly isn't trying to be a smartwatch. This means it's very light and comfortable to wear, but it may leave you wanting if you've come from any other fitness tracker. At a minimum, I would have loved NFC for mobile payments.

A way to start workouts from the band itself would also be great. Instead, you either have to open the app on your phone to start logging a workout, or rely on auto-detection which can be finicky. It typically combines my workout routine into just one batch of exercise, even though it typically involves a mix of running, weights, and using the stair master. I've also had a few instances where the tracker recorded significant activity that didn't occur. For example, it once said my heart rate spiked to 170bpm for an extended period of time when I was playing the drums, which wasn't the case. Thankfully these occurrences were rare, but I'm curious as to how that would have impacted my overall data.

The Whoop 4 also has a few really neat features that I haven't seen in a tracker before. Rather than charging the Whoop itself, you charge a battery that you can clip onto the band. This means you never need to take the Whoop off, and can genuinely get 24/7 data. In my testing, I found the Whoop 4 lasted about four days per charge.

Whoop has also got its own line of activewear and apparel designed to work with the tracker. Instead of wearing it on your wrist, you can slot it into boxers, a bralette, shorts, or training shirts. It's a cool option for those ready to buy into the ecosystem, but definitely on the premium side. You're looking at $94 for a two-pack of boxers, or $74 for a bralette. If you want to avoid wearing the Whoop 4 on your wrist, you'll need to make a hefty wardrobe investment.

The biggest catch with Whoop is pricing: you can't use the tracker without paying a monthly subscription. There are three options to pick from: $44 per month with a six-month minimum commitment, $32 per month with a year-long commitment, or $432 upfront for an 18-month membership. The tracker itself is free with all of these options, at least assuming you're happy with black. Even opting for choices like pink or white will cost you an extra $64, and there are also more premium options that will set you back an extra $134. In addition, Whoop will send subscribers upgraded trackers as they come out, at no extra cost.

Ultimately, you're paying for the service, rather than the Whoop band itself. $44 per month is pretty hefty when compared to something like Fitbit Premium, which goes for $14.99 per month, and even $432 for an 18-month term is more than you'd pay for most fitness trackers. There is however a 30-day return policy if you want to dip your toes in the water.

Whoop 4 - Final Thoughts

The Whoop 4 and the broader ecosystem are clearly designed for a very specific kind of user. This isn't a "my first fitness tracker" kind of device that's going to get you motivated to work out. It's for those already taking their training seriously and looking to optimise it further.

Even if the Whoop 4 isn't the kind of fitness tracker I could recommend to most, I love its core approach to balancing strain and recovery, rather than just having fixed targets. It's something I want to see the fitness tracker and smartwatch industry take note of. After all, everyone needs a rest day.

Alex Choros

Managing Editor + Group Telco Editor | X | Instagram | Threads | LinkedIn

Alex Choros is the Managing Editor of WhistleOut Australia and an award-winning journalist. He's been writing about consumer technology for over a decade and is an expert on the Australian telco sector, to the point where he knows far too many phone and internet plans by heart. In addition to leading the WhistleOut editorial team, Alex is responsible for ruining the office Sonos with his troubled taste in music.

Read full bio