Credit: Whoop

Fitness tracker company Whoop has upset some long-time customers by ending an upgrade system that promised free hardware upgrades to anyone who had a subscription with the company for at least six months.

Whoop makes fitness tracker bracelets that let users access things like sleep tracking, menstrual tracking, and electrocardiograms (ECGs) via a subscription companion app. Since the first Whoop wearable came out in 2015, the Boston-based company’s business has been built on subscriptions. Whoop has traditionally lured customers in by giving its hardware away for “free” to Whoop app subscribers. Further, customers who subscribed to the Whoop app for at least six months got access to free hardware upgrades.

“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device for free after having been a member for six months or more,” said a webpage on Whoop’s website that is no longer active but was accessible as recently as March 28, as reported by The Verge and confirmed via the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

On Thursday, Whoop announced a new fitness tracker, the Whoop 5.0. But unlike with previous hardware releases, long-time Whoop subscribers aren't automatically entitled to the wearable. If a current subscriber wants to upgrade to a Whoop 5.0, they have to pay a fee of $49 or $79, depending on whether their Whoop 5.0 has ECG sensors, or pay for an annual subscription upfront.

Whoop's upgrade page doesn't mention whether renewing with Whoop's cheapest $199 subscription gets users a Whoop 5.0. The page only points to renewing more expensive subscriptions that start at $239 per year. Whoop sells the new device with a $199/year subscription to new customers, though. Ars has asked Whoop for clarity and will update this article if we hear back.

Current customers can also get a "free" hardware upgrade if they subscribed to or renewed a Whoop membership within the past 30 days, a Whoop representative confirmed via Reddit.

Customers complain

Some customers have expressed frustration with the changes. One Reddit user, for example, wrote:

Whoop published content which most certainly was to influence and convince people to buy the product, that clearly stated there was free upgrades. This has been removed as if it never happened. …

You can’t sell a subscription product making future promises, make a bunch of sales, and then take away those advertised benefits.

When reached for a comment, a Whoop spokesperson told Ars Technica that promises of free upgrades only pertained to previous launches.

Still, another Reddit user accused Whoop of performing a “bait and switch,” and a third said, “Just spent my first week with Whoop 4.0 and see all that has hit today. Looks like I’ll be returning and already walking away from the company.”

The statement shared by Whoop's representative added:

With the launch of the WHOOP 5.0, we’ve worked to make WHOOP more accessible to more people and are now offering three tiers of membership, including our lowest price point ever with WHOOP One at $199. The WHOOP 4.0 will also continue to be supported, with members receiving new features available on our Peak membership.

Making adjustments

Whoop’s about-face is an increasingly common story as companies that launched during the initial Internet of Things (IoT) craze get a clearer idea of what they need to do to stay in business. In addition to changing its approach to upgrades, Whoop previously stopped selling monthly subscriptions to new customers. Its new devices, meanwhile, have more advanced features, including ECG capabilities and longer battery life claims, that likely add to associated costs.

Wearables are a relatively new type of gadget, and some firms, like Whoop, are still trying to figure out the best way to make money with them. That may mean going to market differently than a decade ago. Whoop customers will have to decide if the company’s offerings are worth dealing with the updated strategy and potential future changes.