Apple Watch vs. Whoop
I’ve had a Whoop band since December 2020 and have been absolutely obsessed with it. Since I’ve been wearing it, I’ve received so many DM’s from you all asking if I like it, if it’s worth the money, and what the difference is between the Apple Watch and Whoop. It’s become one of my most asked questions so I thought I’d take some time to break down the difference here!
Appearance
Though Apple Watch and Whoop are each worn on your wrist, they look and feel quite different in the following ways:
Thickness: Both Whoop and Apple Watch have a similar overall thickness profile. The default band that comes with an Apple Watch is silicone, while the standard band for Whoop is more of a woven elastic cloth material.
Clasp: Apple Watch has a traditional groove/snap-on band that makes for easy sizing adjustments, while Whoop has more of a clasp feature that is meant to set sizing and leave it.
Display: While both wearables have 24/7 heart rate monitors on their backside, Apple Watch has a full touchscreen display, acting as a clock and mini-app device. I have tiny wrists, so the face on the Apple Watch takes up most of my wrist. Since the Apple Watch face is usually at rest, the blacked out screen is what you see on your wrist most of the time. Whoop has zero display whatsoever, with a cloth band that wraps all the way around your wrist.
Mobile App: While Apple Watch can be controlled predominantly from it’s screen directly, all information and settings on the Whoop are found and controlled via the Whoop app on your phone. The Whoop app is super in-depth and something I check throughout the day. Apple Watch also has a mobile app, but it is more meant to adjust settings and display styles.
Water Resistance: Both Apple Watch and Whoop say they are “water resistant”. I can wear both my devices in the shower, as long as I have a water resistant band on.
Band Design: Both Apple Watch and Whoop have tons of different band colors and designs that can easily be purchased and switched out. There are many more options for Apple Watch, given that you can purchase bands both from Apple and on Amazon. Whoop’s bands are only available on their website, but the company has developed many different designs to switch in and out. I started with a free band and then purchased this Lux Band in Caramel with Gold.
Function
The biggest differentiator between Whoop and Apple Watch are the functionalities. In general terms, Whoop is focused on in-depth health data and coaching while Apple Watch acts as an all-encompassing communication and app based device, with a few health metrics as side features.
Whoop’s key functionalities can be broken down into the following:
Strain: Whoop calculates your overall exertion each day (as well as per workout), on a 0 to 21 scale after determining your baseline health and heart rate zones. Personally, I love being able to see how hard I pushed myself in a given workout or day with that instant and personalized feedback.
Sleep: Whoop tracks your sleep quality every night, specifically breaking down how much time you spend in each sleep stage. After a baseline is calculated, Whoop offers sleep coaching to tell you each night how much sleep you need based on your expected activity load the next day.
Recovery: Whoop takes in each day’s strain data, your previous night’s sleep, and other metrics (heart rate variability, resting heart rate, respiratory rate) to provide a personalized recovery score each day as a % out of 100. I’ve found it to be super helpful in telling me each day if my body is ready for a tough workout or if I need to take a day off to rest.
Every morning when you open the Whoop app, it’ll ask you a series of questions about the previous day. For example, did you drink alcohol the day before, how much water did you drink, did you wear blue light blocking glasses, did you eat any food close to bedtime, etc. Based on your answers and the data from wearing the Whoop, the app will help you make better lifestyle choices to improve your recovery. Maybe when you wear blue light blocking glasses, you sleep better or if you eat food close to bedtime, you wake up feeling less recovered (those are just examples but you get the idea). It’s really cool to see how different factors affect your body.
I won’t pretend to be an expert on all the science behind Whoop’s metrics. If you are interested in more behind Whoop’s technology and data, this article gives some great background on the functionalities.
I’m guessing many of your are much more familiar with the capabilities of Apple Watch, so I’ll just mention a few of my favorite features of my Apple Watch:
Texting: Though I usually don’t respond to texts from my Apple Watch, I love being able to quickly read a text on my watch rather than pulling out my phone...especially when I’m at dinner, in a meeting, or with friends.
Finding my Phone: I “misplace 😂” my phone a lot more than I would like to admit! It’s super convenient to hit the Find my Phone button on my Apple Watch to let my iPhone ring out loud until I locate it.
Alarm and Clock: I’ve been trying to be better about not having my phone near me at night and when I’m sleeping, but I still like being able to set an alarm and check the time with my phone in another room. I’ll set my alarm on my Apple Watch, which vibrates so that it doesn’t wake Cort. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I can check the time on my wrist without having to see any texts or other notifications I may have gotten.
Battery
Battery life and charging capabilities are a huge difference between Apple Watch and Whoop.
For whatever reason, my Apple Watch seems to run out of battery rather quickly, as I usually only get a day or day and a half out of a full charge. Therefore, I usually charge my Apple Watch at some point during the day so that I can wear it at night, but it can be inconvenient to have to take it off and plug it in each day.
Whoop’s battery life is much better. I can usually go 4 or 5 days on a full charge. Additionally, Whoop has a rechargeable battery back that slides on top of your Whoop to charge while you wear it. Therefore, Whoop is designed to be worn 24/7 so that you never lose any data. I shower in it, sleep in it, swim in it.. it never needs to be taken off.
Cost
Apple came out with the Apple Watch Series 6 in September 2020, which starts at $399 and goes up from there. I personally have the Series 4 and might look at getting the newer version at some point in the next year or so.
Rather than buying the device outright, Whoop is purchased on a subscription membership. Plans start at $30 per month, but go down in cost if you commit to a 12 or 18 month membership. If you use my link to sign up, you can get the Whoop 3.0 strap (latest version) and your first month membership free. After about a month, I did end up purchasing an upgraded strap (Lux Band in Caramel with Gold) which is $85. I found that it blended in with my outfits and jewelry better and just looked more feminine which made me feel like I didn’t need to take it off if I was wearing something dressier. To me, the $85 was totally worth it and I’ve had this same strap now for 4 months. But to start out, you can always just get a free strap with this link. Also, they’ve added a lot more colors to the free options such as Sandstone and Quartz which were not free options when I first signed up!
Summary
To wrap it all up, I’d say the Apple Watch and Whoop are very different so you really can’t compare them. If you want a fitness band, Whoop is the way to go for sure. If you want a watch with a face and apps, then Apple Watch is the way to go. For me personally, I barely wear my Apple Watch anymore. I sleep in it so I can use the alarm function and sometimes wear it while I’m working at home, but even before I got the Whoop, I never really wore it! I would usually take it off when I went out because I felt like it didn’t go with my outfits (regardless of trying out tons of bands). I know it sounds superficial, but I have tiny wrists and I felt like the watch face was so obnoxious. I like that the Whoop doesn’t have a face and the band wraps all around so it kind of just blends in. Another reason I rarely wore my Apple Watch was because it died so fast. I’d take it off to charge it and then forget to put it back on. I never have that issue with the Whoop because I never take it off even to charge it - plus the charge lasts so much longer! I know some people love their Apple Watch, but I felt like I never really got into mine. I always have my phone on me, so I didn’t really need another device with the same capabilities as the phone. When it comes to the Whoop, it offers new capabilities that I didn’t have before which is why I love it so much. I check it every day to see how much sleep I got, how recovered my body is, what time I should go to bed that night, etc. I will say that Cort wears both his Whoop and Apple Watch at all times. He loves them both and doesn’t mind wearing them on both wrists. Personal preference I guess! I hope this helps answer your questions and gives you more info on the Whoop! Personally, I love mine and I’m so glad that Cort convinced me to get one ;)