Whoop Inc., the maker of popular screen-less fitness bands, is facing a backlash from subscribers upset that it’s charging an upgrade fee for the new models after previously pledging not to do so.
The company on Thursday unveiled two new fitness bands, the Whoop 5.0 and MG, which add improved sleep tracking and new features like blood pressure monitoring in the higher-end model. The company’s business model charges users an annual subscription — ranging from $199 to $359 a year — versus an upfront payment for the hardware.
In the past, Whoop has said existing subscribers of at least six months would get new hardware for free and that new software features would come to existing users.
“Instead of purchasing new hardware every time an updated model is produced, Whoop members receive the next-generation device for free after having been a member for six months or more,” it wrote in a since-deleted blog post published last year. The company said that it’s “committed to releasing new and regular updates constantly without requiring the purchase or use of a new device.”
But when Whoop announced the latest devices, it said that users would need to extend their subscription or pay a $49 upgrade fee. Users with the prior device, the 4.0 that launched in September 2021, won’t get access to new software features including advanced women’s health tracking or one that estimates the user’s physiological age.
A Whoop spokesperson said that, “like any company, we from time to time update our commercial policies.” The spokesperson added that it has “worked to make Whoop more accessible to more people” and that it is now offering three tiers of membership, including one with its lowest price to date of $199.
The Whoop 4.0 will “also continue to be supported” with new features coming to users on the $239 Peak membership, the spokesperson said.
Existing subscribers have expressed frustration on social media sites like X and Reddit, where they have accused the company of “lying,” rug pulling and “forcing users to pay extra” to describe the apparent change in Whoop’s upgrade policy. Others have threatened to cancel their memberships.
A Reddit post titled “Whoop lied to us. End of story” has more than 790 upvotes. Another, titled “Whoopgate — The receipts,” which shows the referenced deleted blog post, has some 1,500 upvotes, along with around 280 comments.
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