Apple Watch vs WHOOP: A real comparison

I have been wearing it for the last 60 days Apple Watch Ultra 2 and most recently WHOOP MG. I wanted to better understand the hype surrounding WHOOP. If you spend enough time on the Internet, you can see that WHOOP users are loud and proud. It’s marketed as a serious health and fitness tracker worn by high-profile athletes and Silicon Valley tech founders. So, as someone who cares about their fitness, health, sleep, and overall health, I felt I had to experience this for myself, and of course I had to compare it to the fitness tracker I’ve been wearing for over a decade: Apple Watch. Here’s what I learned after 60 days.

Be sure to check out our detailed video review below. We’ve been experimenting with both of them for over 60 days and learning a lot about what each of them can and can’t do.

Completely different design philosophies

The first thing I noticed when I finally built WHOOP is that these fitness trackers are built around completely different ideas. WHOOP has no screen. Weighing just 26.5 grams, it’s lightweight, low-profile and designed to disappear on your body. I’m wearing it on my right wrist, but with the right accessory you can wear it on your bicep or even your waist. There is almost nothing to interact with. You wear it and let it collect your data in the background. The thing is, it’s meant to feel passive.

Then you have it Apple Watchand it’s the exact opposite. I used it in my test Apple Watch Ultra 2but everything I mentioned applies to everyone Apple Watch. The Apple Watch is first and foremost a smartwatch; an extension of your iPhone on your wrist. It has a bright screen, touch buttons, apps, notifications and can make phone calls, doing everything the iPhone does on a smaller scale.

Although I am comparing these in terms of health and fitness Apple Watch it still feels like a tool you actively use throughout the day, while WHOOP feels more like something you’ve forgotten is there. I understand the appeal of an accessory that is intentional, hyper-focused on one thing and also not distracting. I enjoyed that aspect of him. The only time I had physical contact with WHOOP was to fill it up. So, if you’re deciding between the two and want a fitness tracker for that, WHOOP will do it for you.

Battery life

The distraction-free nature of WHOOP results in amazing battery life. It’s rated for about 14 days of battery life, and I’ve gotten about 10-12 days consistently. WHOOP MG before charging. The charging system is also pretty clever, because in a perfect world, WHOOP wouldn’t want you to remove the device at all. So the charger is actually a battery pack that can be slid into the WHOOP to charge it even when you’re wearing it. I personally haven’t done it; I preferred to remove it while charging, but that’s the nice thing about the charging system. But this constant data collection is a big part of the WHOOP philosophy.

Then you have it Apple Watch. Again, I’m using a 2 year old Apple Check out Ultra 2. At best, the Apple Watch is rated for 36 hours and has a low power mode that extends it to 60 hours. But since it’s 2 years old, I get about 30-32 hours of battery life before charging it. I usually charge it every day while I’m in the shower or doing the dishes. The battery is something I constantly think about on the Apple Watch. And if you practice for hours several times a day, it will drain even faster. You can probably get through a day with just one charge, but you’ll need to charge it on day 2.

If your number one priority is 24/7 uninterrupted monitoring, WHOOP definitely has the upper hand here.

Status of health sensors

This really surprised me. Going into this comparison, I assumed that WHOOP would have every advanced health sensor imaginable. But actually Apple Watch has more sensors WHOOP MG.

Apple Watch sensors:

• Optical heart rate sensor
• Electric heart sensor for ECG
• Blood oxygen sensor
• Skin temperature sensor
• Accelerometer
• Gyroscope
• Dual-band GPS (or single-band on a regular Apple Watch)
• Altimeter
• Compass
• Ambient light sensor
• Depth gauge
• Water temperature sensor

Meanwhile, at WHOOP MG:

• PPG heart rate sensor
• Heart rate variability tracking
• Skin temperature monitoring
• Accelerometer for movement and sleep

Technically, WHOOP MG it also advertises blood pressure tracking, but there’s a lot of friction to set it up, and the feature feels half-baked.

What’s interesting is that even though the Apple Watch does more, the basic fitness and recovery data between the two is very comparable. Heart rate tracking, sleep tracking, and recovery metrics are essentially the same. The difference lies in how the data is presented to us.

Program experience

Now this is WHOOP’s bread and butter. The WHOOP app experience is really great. You get recovery scores, stress goals, sleep training, and an overall experience focused on proactivity. So instead of just showing you data, it wants to guide your interpretation of that data and help you take action to improve your health. In their latest update, they also added an AI assistant which I really like. You can simply ask questions like:

• Should I exercise today?
• Am I recovered enough to run?
• Why did I sleep badly?
• Should I focus on recovery today?

Then, based on your WHOOP health data, it will guide you to the best action plan for that moment or day.

Apple Health is the opposite. Apple gives you all the raw data, but it’s largely up to you to interpret what that means. You can view many of the same metrics like HRV, VO2 Max, resting heart rate and everything else, but Apple doesn’t help you create an activity plan to help you improve it. There are some explanations and words that tell you what HRV is and what it means if it’s high or low, but it won’t take your HRV data and tell you how to improve it.

Personally, I think when it comes to tracking all of your health and fitness metrics, most people want guidance on what to do with that data. So I would prefer the WHOOP app. It’s clean, easy to navigate, and actively helps you improve your health significantly. Apple Watch takes more of a “figure it out yourself” approach.

The WHOOP thing

When it came to this experience, I thought it was the hardware that set WHOOP apart from the rest. But I quickly learned that the Apple Watch offers more sensors and health-related hardware. Then I started playing with the WHOOP app and it seems that the app is a real differentiator for them. The software layer on top of WHOOP was what really set them apart, so I thought.

Then I found a program called Bevel. This app essentially turns any modern Apple Watch into a WHOOP. Bevel has everything WHOOP has: recovery scores, sleep analysis, stress tracking, and AI-powered insights. It even has a similar conversational AI layer that helps interpret your data as WHOOP. It all came to mind when I found the Bevel app. I realized that I don’t need a WHOOP device at all.

WHOOP really opened my eyes to third-party health app ecosystems on the Apple Watch. For over a decade, I’ve relied on Apple’s standard fitness and health apps, but there are hundreds (perhaps thousands) of apps that build on Apple Watch data in interesting ways. Bevel was the one who felt closest to WHOOP. So when you combine this new realization with WHOOP’s price point and subscription model, it really changes how you view and reason about WHOOP. Especially if you already have an Apple Watch.

Price and subscription status

This is where things get interesting for comparison. The WHOOP MG costs $359. They have two cheaper options with the ONE starting at $199 and the PEAK starting at $239. But I wanted to try their best version, so I went with the WHOOP MG LIFE for $359. For that price, you get a WHOOP, a fabric band, and a battery pack that doubles as a charger. But what confuses me is that the price is $359. You can literally buy a new one Apple Watch Series 11 from Amazon for $299. So you could technically buy a brand new watch for less than the price of a WHOOP MG subscription every year.

Then, as I mentioned above, I realized that what you’re paying for is the app experience. The WHOOP hardware itself is not particularly special and has no proprietary features. Meanwhile, programs like Bevel are significantly cheaper. If you are already an owner Apple WatchIt is very difficult to justify the long-term value of WHOOP.

What does WHOOP special

But despite everything I mentioned above, I can still see the appeal of WHOOP. There was something refreshing about wearing a device without a screen. No notifications, no distractions, no phantom hum; built purely for health and recovery. I 100% see that there is a growing audience of people who are tired of having yet another smart device attached to them all day. People want to track their data, but also wear a normal watch that doesn’t have a flashing screen. So the intention of WHOOP is really refreshing.

There is also an aura around WHOOP. They have a great marketing team and fantastic branding. Athletes wear it, tech founders and tech bros love it, and high performers gravitate to it. WHOOP has a sense of exclusivity that reminds me of the early days of the Apple Watch. But after living with it for over two months, the experience really didn’t live up to that aura for me.

There were a few annoying nuances that were missing from a $359 product. For example, I am very confident Apple Watch to slowly wake me up with its haptic engine. I love it. WHOOP also has a vibration motor, but it’s terrible. It feels like something that should be on a $20 device, not a nearly $400 device. It is also difficult for you to turn off the vibration alarm. You have to double tap the device and it never works. I have to tap my wrist 10 times for the vibration to stop. And then the fabric band literally stinks. Since it is made of fabric, sweat and moisture stick to it and it gets really bad over time. They should have gone with the rubber band for the standard option.

These little things add up over time, then it’s a product you have to wear 24/7 and marketed as premium and high quality.

Final thoughts

After this period of comparison, I learned who WHOOP is for. If you want great battery life, no distractions, passive health tracking, and a more focused health experience, I’d go for it. But it still baffles me that it doesn’t feel premium and lacks GPS. I feel like everyone runs now, so it’s wild to me that you can’t track runs with GPS.

But for me personally, it’s not enough to turn me away from the Apple Watch. Especially once I realized that the Apple Watch can give you all the benefits of WHOOP, mostly through third-party apps like Bevel. Apple Watch Series 11 is cheaper than WHOOP MG and does more. For those who want a distraction-free experience, you can still do this on your Apple Watch by turning off a few settings. For this reason, I would recommend the Apple Watch to 9 out of 10 people.

Because at the end of the day, Apple Watch may be WHOOP, but WHOOP can never be Apple Watch.

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