Garmin app code reveals clues about CIRQA Smart Band Pro

Garmin might have another CIRQA wearable on the way. And no, we’re not talking about the smart ring. We dug through the latest Garmin Connect app and found a direct reference to something called the “CIRQA Smart Band Pro”, along with clues pointing to two physical buttons, audio feedback and spoken stats.

The CIRQA Smart Band Pro name is right there

The clearest bit is a Garmin Connect resource called device_tutorial_alarms_message_1. Its text reads: “You can set alarms on your CIRQA Smart Band Pro in the Garmin Connect app.”

That would be interesting enough on its own, but it gets better. The exact same CIRQA Smart Band Pro reference is present in both Garmin Connect 5.28.1 and 5.29, so this is not something that briefly appeared in one release before disappearing.

The next few resources also appear to belong to the same alarm tutorial. They explain that the alarm vibrates the device, that pressing “either button” snoozes it, and that holding “either button” stops it.

Then comes another rather important line. A separate resource in that same group says: “You can set alarms on your CIRQA Smart Band in the Garmin Connect app.”

In other words, Garmin Connect separately names the CIRQA Smart Band Pro and CIRQA Smart Band. That makes the Pro reference harder to write off as Garmin simply attaching the wrong suffix to the existing product.

The standard CIRQA Smart Band launched in July as Garmin’s first screen-free smart band. It has a single side button, and Garmin specifically describes activities as being started by tapping that one button.

The wording inside Garmin Connect therefore does not match the current hardware. “Either button” only really makes sense if Garmin is referring to a device with at least two physical controls.

Audio feedback

Things get more interesting when you look at the surrounding tutorial resources. Garmin Connect contains instructions referring specifically to an “activity button” and a separate “controls button”.

The activity button can apparently start, pause and stop an activity. The controls button provides access to another menu and can be used to hear daily stats.

There is also tutorial text describing volume adjustment. According to the app, the activity button turns the volume up while the controls button turns it down, and another instruction says the user can wait for the volume level to be confirmed.

A separate assistance tutorial says holding the controls button can trigger assistance. Another line says an assistance request can be cancelled by holding either button until the user hears “Canceled”.

The references to volume, hearing daily stats and hearing confirmation messages are particularly interesting. They suggest some form of audio feedback may be involved, although the APK does not tell us whether that means an integrated speaker, another type of audio hardware or something handled through a connected device.

There is an important caveat here. The surrounding tutorial text is not explicitly labelled Pro, but its placement and wording strongly suggest it belongs to the same device flow.

A Pro version of a screenless wearable would need some way of offering more interaction without simply adding a display. Extra buttons plus spoken feedback would be one way Garmin could do it. It all fits.

So what is CIRQA Smart Band Pro?

For now, all we can say with confidence is that Garmin Connect explicitly contains the name “CIRQA Smart Band Pro”. The reference has survived across at least two releases of the app, and Garmin has separately included the normal CIRQA Smart Band name in the same tutorial resource group.

The surrounding code gives us a possible first look at what could make the Pro version different. Two physical buttons look like the strongest clue, while volume controls and spoken status information raise the possibility of some kind of audio feedback.

The latest Garmin Connect 5.29 build also adds new CIRQA-specific device identification code, another sign that Garmin is actively developing the CIRQA side of the app. Makes sense if you are planning to release a Pro version of the band and a smart ring.