Boston fitness tech startup Whoop introduced its latest wristband devices on Thursday with new features that could appeal to a broader audience beyond the hardcore athletes who have favored the bands in the past.
One of the two new bands, dubbed the Whoop MG, included the company’s first-ever health-tracking feature that has been cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates medical devices.
Whoop customers will be able to use the MG to take clinically accurate electrocardiogram recordings of their heartbeat, which can warn of serious heart problems such as atrial fibrillation or an irregular heartbeat, the company said.
The MG also can provide information about a user’s blood pressure and women’s hormonal shifts, although those features have not been cleared by the FDA.
The FDA mostly reviews purely medical devices such as pacemakers, but last year cleared Apple’s smartwatch feature for sleep apnea detection and for EKG readings in 2018. Clearance requires a lesser standard of review than FDA “approval,” which is typically reserved for more serious medical devices.
The company also said it is working on a feature to allow customers to schedule blood tests and receive doctors’ reports within the Whoop app.
“This isn’t just a product launch,” Whoop chief executive and founder Will Ahmed said in a statement. “It’s a new chapter for Whoop.”
A star squash player at Harvard, Ahmed founded the company in 2012 with a focus on providing serious athletes with fitness monitoring features. The company, based in Kenmore Square, has since raised more than $400 million in venture capital backing and was valued at $3.6 billion in 2021. Whoop hired its first chief medical officer, primary care physician Dr. Pat Carroll, in 2022.
Millions of people suffer from atrial fibrillation, many undiagnosed, and the incidence is rising alongside growing cases of diabetes and hypertension. That could provide Whoop with a larger base of potential customers than just serious athletes.
However, there are limitations on the Whoop’s FDA-cleared heart monitoring feature. The feature is not intended for users under the age of 22 or for people who have already been diagnosed with atrial fibrillation, the company said.
In the past, Whoop’s screen-less wristbands mainly appealed to professional and amateur athletes who wanted to meticulously track their fitness levels; the company’s brand spokespeople include soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The new devices will be sold on subscription plans, Whoop said. A Whoop band without the FDA-cleared EKG starts at $199 per year, while the MG is available on a plan that costs $359 a year.
Aaron Pressman can be reached at aaron.pressman@globe.com. Follow him @ampressman.