Video summary

Garmin CIRQA Update!

Main summary

Key takeaways

Product Review

Product reviewed

Garmin CIRQA (Circa) wearable (wrist HR/HRV + sleep phase tracking; heart rate during workouts).

This is an interim “first results” report after ~4 days and 3 nights of testing. The reviewer plans a fuller review in 1–2 weeks, with more data likely extending toward 7–10 days total.

Key findings (accuracy)

1) Nighttime heart rate (HR)

  • Compared against a Polar H10 chest sensor (reference).
  • Overall: very good / “very well.”
  • Most night-by-night graphs track closely.
  • Occasional issue: Circa sometimes records slightly higher HR at moments when the reviewer gets out of bed, likely due to different calculation/handling of high-rate periods.

Unique points mentioned

  • Uses correlation/graph comparisons vs Polar H10.
  • Accurate within a tight HR range (reviewer notes an example around 42–52 bpm).

Verdict: Strong for night HR.

2) Nighttime heart rate variability (HRV)

  • HRV requires beat-to-beat interval recording, deemed harder than HR.
  • Overall: still pretty good / “nothing to complain about,” but with bias.
  • In higher HRV ranges, Circa tends to show slightly lower HRV than the benchmark.
  • Some nights show:
    • Overestimation at the beginning, and
    • Underestimation later (night-dependent).

Unique points mentioned

  • HRV agreement judged as “pretty reliable” for recovery assessment.

Verdict: Good, with some range-dependent bias.

3) Sleep phase tracking (Deep / Light / REM)

  • Compared against an EEG device (reference “silver standard”).
  • The implied best diagonal match suggests the results visualized as a 100% agreement line (as referenced by the reviewer).

Reported coincidence/accuracy

  • Deep sleep: 77% (good; among the best the reviewer has seen)
  • Light sleep: 64% (mediocre)
  • REM sleep: 46% (worst; major confusion)

Specific REM problems

  • A significant portion of reference REM is classified by Circa as light sleep.
  • Circa often detects little to no REM during the first half of the night; later REM looks better.

Unique points mentioned

  • Reviewer suspects Circa uses the same algorithm/sensor as Garmin 470 and 170.
  • Aggregate “many tests” chart suggests:
    • It doesn’t match the best Garmin devices.
    • The reviewer feels it’s closer to “level three” than better performers.
    • It’s not as good as Garmin 470 / Forerunner 170 in these tests.

Verdict: Night HR/HRV are strong; sleep staging—especially REM—is the main weakness.

Heart rate during workouts (primary purchase reason)

Tested across multiple activities. HR tracking was evaluated using correlation and the proximity of points to a reference line.

Stationary bike / spinning

  • Correlation: 0.99 (excellent)
  • Very close tracking; minor early deviation but not training-impacting.

Running

  • Described as improved vs earlier testing.
  • Earlier issues (artifacts/hesitation at the beginning and unexplained peaks) are reported as reduced.
  • One test indicates it didn’t “pick up” cadence during interval-like structure.
  • Correlation: 0.93 (good/acceptable, not perfect)

Outdoor cycling

  • Correlation: 0.94 (very good vs competition)
  • Deviations more often fall below the reference line → tends toward underestimation more frequently than overestimation.
  • Reviewer concludes outdoor cycling feels reliable, possibly helped by lighter watch weight.

Verdict: Workout HR tracking is solid to excellent, particularly cycling/spinning; running is good with small remaining gaps.

Wearing position & strength training considerations

  • Reviewer did not test weight training directly, but noted known issues:
    • Wrist tension can distort the signal, and wrist-based Garmin devices generally do poorly for strength training.
  • Planned follow-up: test with a biceps strap (ordered; expects results after a few weeks).
    • Concern: the strap uses non-standard proprietary small connectors, so universal third-party strap compatibility is uncertain.
    • Reviewer suspects standard sizing might be 22/26 mm, but this connector appears much smaller.

Settings note (sleep performance affected)

  • Sleep phase accuracy may depend on:
    • whether worn on the dominant vs non-dominant wrist, and
    • whether worn on wrist vs bicep.
  • Reviewer recommends setting these correctly.

Big pro expectation

  • If the biceps strap works well, Circa could become one of Garmin’s best HR devices, potentially outperforming more expensive wrist-based Garmin models due to improved sensing placement.

Apps / usability / quirks

  • Sync time to phone is longer than some other devices.
  • One manual workout recorded via a button didn’t save (occasional odd behavior).
  • Garmin app
    • Reviewer dislikes it for general review/interpretation (“cumbersome”).
    • However, they like it for data collection and connecting multiple devices.

Pros / Cons (as stated or strongly implied)

Pros

  • Accurate night HR (very good vs Polar H10)
  • HRV generally consistent enough for recovery assessment
  • Excellent workout HR for cycling/spinning (0.99) and strong for outdoor cycling (0.94)
  • Running HR good (0.93) and improved vs earlier testing
  • Potential to be a top HR performer if biceps strap improves sensing

Cons

  • Sleep staging—especially REM: lowest coincidence (46%) and early-night REM often missed
  • HRV bias in higher HRV ranges (sometimes under/over)
  • Wrist HR during strength training likely distorted due to wrist tension
  • Biceps strap compatibility concern (non-standard small connectors)
  • App sync takes longer; occasional workout save issues

Comparisons mentioned

  • Reference devices used:
    • Polar H10 (reliable HR)
    • EEG device (sleep “silver standard”)
  • Sleep staging aggregate comparison:
    • Garmin Forerunner 470 and Forerunner 170: Circa is reported as not as strong, described as “closer to level three.”
  • Outdoor cycling competition comparison:
    • Circa “looks very good compared to the competition.”

Unique points list (all distinct claims)

  1. Interim results after first 4 days / 3 nights; full review later (1–2 weeks, more like 7–10 days).
  2. Night HR matches Polar H10 closely; occasional slightly higher readings when getting out of bed.
  3. Night HRV is harder; generally consistent but lower in higher HRV range vs benchmark.
  4. Some nights show HRV overestimated at start and underestimated later.
  5. Sleep tracking tested with EEG; coincidence rates:
    • Deep 77%
    • Light 64%
    • REM 46%
  6. REM is frequently misclassified as light sleep; early-night REM often missing.
  7. Possible use of same sensor/algorithm as Garmin 470/170 (reviewer expectation).
  8. Aggregate chart suggests Circa underperforms Garmin 470/170 in sleep-stage performance.
  9. Stationary bike HR tracking correlation 0.99; very good.
  10. Running HR improved in this dataset; correlation 0.93.
  11. Outdoor cycling HR tracking correlation 0.94; deviations more often underestimate.
  12. Cycling reliability may be helped by Circa’s lighter weight.
  13. Strength training not tested directly; wrist tension distorts HR; wrist Garmin generally bad for strength work.
  14. Biceps strap expected to improve HR accuracy but connectors appear non-standard/small; universal fit uncertain.
  15. Sleep tracking depends on settings (dominant/non-dominant wrist; bicep vs wrist).
  16. Quirks: workout recording sometimes fails to save; syncing takes longer than other devices.
  17. Garmin app: disliked for interpretation, but good as a multi-device data collection/review tool.

Speakers/views

  • Single main speaker (Rob) throughout the transcript; no other reviewers contributing separately.

Overall verdict / recommendation

Best recommendation: If you care most about night HR/HRV and workout heart rate (especially cycling), the Garmin CIRQA/Circa looks strong based on early testing.

Main drawback: Sleep phase tracking—particularly REM—appears weak, with under-detection in the first half of the night and heavy REM→light misclassification.

Recommendation: Buy for HR + recovery (HR/HRV) and workouts, but don’t buy primarily for accurate REM sleep staging unless future testing improves confidence.

Original video