{"id":2116755,"date":"2026-08-27T18:00:47","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T15:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2116755"},"modified":"2026-08-27T18:00:47","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T15:00:47","slug":"whoops-new-meridian-band-makes-an-expensive-wearable-even-more-so","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2116755","title":{"rendered":"Whoop\u2019s New Meridian Band Makes an Expensive Wearable Even More So"},"content":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Whoop-Meridian-Band-1200×675.jpg”]<\/p>\n

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Whoop\u2019s wearables are designed to maximize the amount of data they collect, so much so that the company built an optional battery that can top up your Whoop without taking it off. The long-term problem has been how Whoop devices actually look\u2014they\u2019re more discreet than an Apple Watch, but they still look like a gadget and a fitness-oriented one at that. Enter Whoop\u2019s new solution: the $149 Meridian Band, a new housing for its fifth-generation sensors that\u2019s designed to look luxurious, not unlike a piece of jewelry.<\/p>\n

The Meridian comes in gold, silver, matte black, and rose gold finishes and is made from titanium, the go-to material for premium wearables as of late because of its hardiness and durability. The band is adjustable like Whoop\u2019s fabric bands and features the company\u2019s recognizable \u201cW\u201d on the top, but Meridian is also immediately more eye-catching because it\u2019s made from a Milanese mesh. Introduced to the world of wearables through the \u201cMilanese Loop\u201d Apple sells for its smartwatches, Milanese bands are a classic style of watch band that\u2019s woven from individual metal wires. They\u2019re more flexible than a link bracelet, while looking just as premium, if not more so.<\/p>\n

\"Whoop
\u00a9 Whoop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The new band fits the Whoop 5.0 and the Whoop MG and can be added to an order when you sign up for a new Whoop subscription. As a way of making Whoop\u2019s sensors more palatable in non-gym settings, the Meridian band makes a lot of sense. It is, ironically, also a new way to make wearing a Whoop even more expensive. The company famously only offers its wearables as part of a subscription, and once you stop paying, the wearable stops working. Whoop\u2019s strict subscription structure is one of several reasons the $99 Fitbit Air or $200 Garmin Cirqa is compelling. While either screenless wearable can benefit from an additional subscription, they both work without one.<\/p>\n

Whoop offers plans at multiple prices (the cheapest starting at $199 per year) and multiple ways to lower the initial cost of a Whoop, like the option to trade in a competing wearable for a discount or subsidize the cost of joining with FSA or HSA funds. Still, committing to Whoop long-term means you could pay more over time than you would with the company\u2019s competitors. For the kind of customers buying a Meridian band, that might not really matter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

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Whoop\u2019s wearables are designed to maximize the amount of data they collect, so much so that the company built an optional battery that can top up your Whoop without taking it off. The long-term problem has been how Whoop devices actually look\u2014they\u2019re more discreet than an Apple Watch, but they still look like a gadget and a fitness-oriented one at that. Enter Whoop\u2019s new solution: the $149 Meridian Band, a new housing for its fifth-generation sensors that\u2019s designed to look luxurious, not unlike a piece of jewelry.<\/p>\n

The Meridian comes in gold, silver, matte black, and rose gold finishes and is made from titanium, the go-to material for premium wearables as of late because of its hardiness and durability. The band is adjustable like Whoop\u2019s fabric bands and features the company\u2019s recognizable \u201cW\u201d on the top, but Meridian is also immediately more eye-catching because it\u2019s made from a Milanese mesh. Introduced to the world of wearables through the \u201cMilanese Loop\u201d Apple sells for its smartwatches, Milanese bands are a classic style of watch band that\u2019s woven from individual metal wires. They\u2019re more flexible than a link bracelet, while looking just as premium, if not more so.<\/p>\n

\"Whoop
\u00a9 Whoop<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The new band fits the Whoop 5.0 and the Whoop MG and can be added to an order when you sign up for a new Whoop subscription. As a way of making Whoop\u2019s sensors more palatable in non-gym settings, the Meridian band makes a lot of sense. It is, ironically, also a new way to make wearing a Whoop even more expensive. The company famously only offers its wearables as part of a subscription, and once you stop paying, the wearable stops working. Whoop\u2019s strict subscription structure is one of several reasons the $99 Fitbit Air or $200 Garmin Cirqa is compelling. While either screenless wearable can benefit from an additional subscription, they both work without one.<\/p>\n

Whoop offers plans at multiple prices (the cheapest starting at $199 per year) and multiple ways to lower the initial cost of a Whoop, like the option to trade in a competing wearable for a discount or subsidize the cost of joining with FSA or HSA funds. Still, committing to Whoop long-term means you could pay more over time than you would with the company\u2019s competitors. For the kind of customers buying a Meridian band, that might not really matter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

[analyse_source url=”https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/whoops-new-meridian-band-makes-an-expensive-wearable-even-more-so-2000804041″]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[analyse_image type=”featured” src=”https:\/\/gizmodo.com\/app\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Whoop-Meridian-Band-1200×675.jpg”] Whoop\u2019s wearables are designed to maximize the amount of data they collect, so much so that the company built an optional battery that can top up your Whoop without taking it off. The long-term problem has been how Whoop devices actually look\u2014they\u2019re more discreet than an Apple Watch, but they still look […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,53],"class_list":["post-2116755","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-gizmodo-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2116755"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116755\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2116755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2116755"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2116755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}