Kaitlyn Cimino / Android Authority
TL; Dr
Whoop users say the company broke its promise of a free hardware upgrade after six months of membership.
Archived text confirmed the offer, but the manufacturer has quietly changed its policy following the Whoop 5.0 launch.
The backlash online has been swift, with Reddit users calling the move a betrayal.
A day after launching its new Whoop 5.0 fitness tracker, the company is facing a backlash from longtime customers. Many say they were promised free next-generation hardware, only to now be asked to pay more to upgrade.
As The Verge reports, Whoop previously stated that members who’d been subscribed for at least six months would automatically receive the next version of the device at no extra cost. That policy appears to have been quietly changed, with the company now requiring either a 12-month membership extension or a one-time fee to receive the latest hardware. The change has been met with frustration online, with some users accusing the brand of breaking its word.
Archived versions of Whoop’s site confirm that this promise was indeed made. As of March 28, the company’s membership page clearly stated: “Whoop members receive the next-generation device for free after having been a member for six months or more.” That wording has since been removed from the current upgrade support page.
“The cost isn’t the issue, it’s them changing what was promised.”
Instead, Whoop now offers two options for current members: they can extend their membership by a year to get the Whoop 5.0 or Whoop 5.0 MG “at no extra cost,” or pay a one-time upgrade fee of $49 or $79, respectively. Only those who joined or renewed their membership in the past 30 days qualify for a free upgrade.
Understandably, many longtime subscribers are unhappy. A post on the r/Whoop subreddit with over 1,000 upvotes describes the move as “a slap in the face,” while others in the thread say it feels like a betrayal. One user on a similar thread summed up much of the sentiment by writing, “The cost isn’t the issue, it’s them changing what was promised.”
The Whoop 5.0 and Whoop MG are smaller than their predecessors and add features like ECG support, blood pressure monitoring, and a new Healthspan tool that estimates users’ physiological age. Alongside the hardware, Whoop also introduced a new three-tiered membership system, with prices now starting at $199 per year.
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