Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) vs WHOOP 4.0

🗓️ Release Year

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): 2023

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: 2021



🏃 Activity

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) is a top-tier multisport GPS smartwatch designed for demanding athletes and outdoor enthusiasts, featuring a vibrant AMOLED display and extended capabilities. It provides precise activity tracking for steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes with customizable daily goals. Its extensive range of activity profiles and advanced performance metrics cater to a wide array of sports and adventures, offering detailed data for performance analysis and improvement.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: The WHOOP 4.0 is a unique health and fitness tracker focused on providing in-depth physiological insights rather than just activity counts. It continuously tracks key metrics like heart rate, calories burned, and activity duration. Instead of traditional workout modes, it measures "Strain" based on cardiovascular exertion, offering a personalized view of your daily physical load.



❤️ Health Monitoring

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): This device features continuous heart rate monitoring, advanced physiological metrics including VO2 max estimation, real-time stamina, and training status. It also tracks respiration rate, Pulse Ox for blood oxygen saturation, and offers in-depth sleep analysis, providing critical health and recovery data essential for optimizing training and overall well-being during intense activities.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: This device excels in continuous physiological monitoring, capturing data on heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate, respiratory rate, and skin temperature. It uses this data to provide comprehensive insights into recovery, sleep quality, and overall health trends, going beyond basic tracking to offer a deeper understanding of your body.



🔋 Battery Life

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Epix Pro (Gen 2) delivers impressive battery life, offering up to 20 days in smartwatch mode and up to 60 hours with continuous GPS tracking. The integrated solar charging capability further extends these durations with sufficient sunlight exposure, enhancing its utility for prolonged expeditions and multi-day events.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: The WHOOP 4.0 features a battery life of up to 5 days on a single charge, designed for continuous wear. A convenient sliding battery pack allows for charging while wearing the device, minimizing downtime and ensuring uninterrupted data collection.



😴 Sleep Tracking

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): Advanced sleep monitoring on the Epix Pro (Gen 2) meticulously tracks sleep stages (light, deep, and REM) and utilizes the Pulse Ox sensor to monitor blood oxygen levels during sleep. This provides valuable data for assessing recovery quality and informing training decisions, crucial for athletes managing demanding training loads.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: Advanced sleep tracking is a core strength of the WHOOP 4.0, meticulously analyzing sleep stages (light, deep, and REM sleep) and providing a detailed Sleep Score. It offers personalized sleep coaching based on your circadian rhythm and recovery needs, helping you optimize your sleep for performance.



📍 GPS Tracking

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): Equipped with advanced built-in GPS capabilities, including multi-band GNSS support, the Epix Pro (Gen 2) provides highly accurate outdoor activity tracking and navigation without requiring a paired smartphone. It offers detailed preloaded mapping features, essential for precise route planning and navigation in diverse and challenging environments.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: The WHOOP 4.0 does not have built-in GPS. It can utilize connected GPS via a paired smartphone to track outdoor activities and distance, but its primary focus is on physiological strain rather than precise location tracking during workouts.



🏋️ Workout Modes

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Epix Pro (Gen 2) supports an extensive and customizable range of multisport and individual workout modes, including profiles for running, biking, swimming, hiking, trail running, skiing, strength training, and many more. Its comprehensive real-time data screens provide detailed metrics for immediate feedback and post-activity analysis across virtually any sport.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: Instead of discrete workout modes, the WHOOP 4.0 tracks "Strain" across all activities, providing a single metric for daily exertion. You can log specific activities in the app for context, but the focus is on the overall physiological load rather than individual workout types.



💫 Exercise Recognition

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The device includes automatic exercise detection for common activities like walking and running through its Move IQ feature, ensuring seamless recording of basic movements within the overall activity log, complementing its specialized sport profiles.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: The device automatically detects workouts based on increases in heart rate and physiological strain, logging them within the WHOOP app without requiring manual initiation. This seamless recognition contributes to an accurate measure of daily Strain.



🍎 Compatibility

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Epix Pro (Gen 2) is compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones, connecting via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for seamless data synchronization and smart notifications, ensuring users remain connected and data is readily available through the associated mobile application.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: The WHOOP 4.0 works with both iOS and Android devices, connecting via Bluetooth to the WHOOP app for data syncing and detailed analytics.



📲 App Support

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): Synchronization with the robust Garmin Connect app is fundamental, providing in-depth analysis of all tracked data, performance metrics, training insights, and recovery recommendations. The app facilitates the creation and syncing of detailed training plans and courses, along with extensive customization options for the watch settings.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: The WHOOP app is the central interface for the WHOOP 4.0 experience, providing in-depth analysis of recovery, strain, and sleep data. It offers personalized insights, coaching recommendations, and community features, requiring a paid membership to access the full range of analytics and features.



💡 Smart Features

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): In addition to its core athletic functionalities, the Epix Pro (Gen 2) includes practical smart features such as on-wrist notifications for calls, texts, and calendar alerts. It supports Garmin Pay for contactless payments and offers on-device music storage with compatibility for streaming services, providing convenience during both training and daily use.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: The WHOOP 4.0 is designed for continuous physiological monitoring and recovery analysis and does not include traditional smartwatch features such as notifications for calls, texts, or apps. Its functionality is entirely focused on health and performance data visible within the app.



💦 Water Resistance

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): With a robust water resistance rating of 100 meters (10 ATM), the Epix Pro (Gen 2) is engineered to be fully suitable for swimming, showering, and various water activities, making it a reliable and durable device for triathletes and those who train in or around water.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: With a water resistance rating of up to 10 meters, the WHOOP 4.0 is suitable for swimming and showering, designed for continuous wear throughout various activities and environments.



⌚ Display Quality

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Epix Pro (Gen 2) features a bright and vibrant AMOLED touchscreen display with high resolution, offering stunning colors, deep blacks, and exceptional brightness. This display provides excellent readability in various lighting conditions, including direct sunlight, enhancing the visual experience for mapping and data review.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: The WHOOP 4.0 has no display on the device itself. All health and performance data, insights, and analytics are viewed exclusively through the comprehensive WHOOP app on a paired smartphone.



👌 Ease of Use

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The device offers a dual interface with reliable buttons and a responsive touchscreen, providing flexible and easy navigation through menus, data screens, and mapping features. This dual interface is designed for intuitive operation and quick access to critical information during both activities and daily use.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: The device is designed for minimal interaction on the wrist, with a simple, comfortable band for continuous wear. The user experience is centered around the intuitive and data-rich WHOOP app, making tracking effortless once set up.



✨ Design and Comfort

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Epix Pro (Gen 2) features a premium and durable design with a high-quality titanium bezel and stainless steel or DLC coating, built to withstand extreme conditions while maintaining a comfortable fit for all-day wear and extended outdoor use. The design balances robust construction with aesthetic appeal.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: The WHOOP 4.0 features a sleek and minimalistic design, worn as a lightweight band or integrated into apparel. Its focus is on comfort and discretion for continuous wear, utilizing durable materials for all-day and all-night tracking.



🩸 SpO2 Monitoring

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): An integrated Pulse Ox sensor allows for on-demand spot checks and continuous monitoring of blood oxygen saturation levels. This feature is particularly valuable for acclimatization at altitude, monitoring sleep quality, and assessing overall physiological status during demanding activities, with solar charging supporting continuous data collection.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: The WHOOP 4.0 includes an SpO2 sensor for monitoring blood oxygen saturation levels, primarily as part of its comprehensive sleep and recovery analysis. This data contributes to a more complete picture of physiological well-being.



💖 ECG Functionality

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): It is important to note that the Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) functionality.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: It is important to note that the WHOOP 4.0 does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) functionality.



🧘 Stress Tracking

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Epix Pro (Gen 2) tracks stress levels throughout the day based on heart rate variability and offers guided breathing exercises to help users manage stress and promote mental well-being alongside physical training and recovery.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: Stress is implicitly tracked and analyzed through the WHOOP 4.0's continuous monitoring of heart rate variability (HRV) and its impact on daily Strain and Recovery scores, providing insights into how daily stressors affect your physiological state.



🩹 Recovery Tracking

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The device provides advanced recovery insights, including a daily readiness score, recovery time advisor, training status, and training load focus, offering detailed guidance to help athletes understand their recovery needs and optimize their training schedule to prevent overtraining and improve performance.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: Recovery tracking is a core strength of the WHOOP 4.0. It provides a personalized daily Recovery score based on sleep quality, heart rate variability (HRV), resting heart rate, and respiratory rate, offering actionable insights to help users optimize rest and performance.



💳 Subscription

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): A key benefit of the Garmin platform is that all features and data tracked by the Epix Pro (Gen 2) are accessible through the free Garmin Connect app, requiring no additional subscription fees for core functionality, advanced training analysis, or mapping features, providing comprehensive value for a premium, performance-oriented device.

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: ✅ A mandatory paid WHOOP membership (subscription) is required to access the data, insights, and features within the WHOOP app. The membership fee covers access to the platform and analytics, as the device itself is typically included with the membership



🏷️️ Price

1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): $1,099.99

Check Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) Price *

2️⃣ WHOOP 4.0: $30/month subscription for access to WHOOP’s health tracking, analytics, and personalized insights.

Check WHOOP 4.0 Price *

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