Steph Curry wore a grey and orange wristband during warm-ups against the Sacramento Kings on January 9, a detail that now looks like a calculated product seed. The device, a screen-less health tracker developed by Google and Fitbit, has spent the last several months hiding in plain sight on the wrist of the NBA star.
Steph Curry has been testing the device since January
Curry, who serves as a “Performance Advisor” for Fitbit, hasn’t been subtle about the hardware. He has worn the band during press conferences, social media vlogs, and throughout the NBA All-Star weekend in February. He only seems to remove the device during active games, likely because NBA regulations prohibit such wearables during play.
By March, Curry openly acknowledged that Google and Fitbit were preparing to sell the device to the public. The rollout has been a slow-burn marketing campaign, leveraging high-visibility athletic environments to normalize the look of a tracker that lacks a display.
Why the screen-less design targets the Whoop market
Removing the screen is a strategic pivot. For a specific segment of athletes and health enthusiasts, the smartwatch has become a source of distraction rather than a tool for optimization. By stripping away the OLED display, Google is positioning this band as a direct competitor to Whoop and Amazfit.
Battery life is the primary technical beneficiary of this design. While the Pixel Watch 4 and other screen-heavy wearables are measured in hours of juice, screen-less trackers typically last for multiple days. This shift mirrors the early days of the fitness tracker boom, when users prioritized raw data over the distraction of a wrist-mounted computer.
Under the hood, the Fitbit app has a new ‘Live data’ page
Software leaks suggest the hardware is paired with a specialized interface. A “Live data” page spotted on a Pixel phone—captured in a behind-the-scenes vlog—shows metrics that don’t exist in the current public version of the Fitbit app. This page tracks heart rate, energy burned, and “elapsed time” during active workouts.
The inclusion of “Cardio Load” indicates a move toward more advanced recovery and strain metrics. The leak also offered a glimpse into Curry’s personal tech habits; the athlete apparently uses the standard Messages bubbles on his Pixel device, adding a layer of mundane authenticity to the high-performance product tease.
Recycled materials make up the band’s construction
Close-up 4K footage from a Sotheby’s video shows a device that is considerably thinner than the Whoop MG. The hardware consists of a single, lengthy band that wraps around the wrist, passes through a metal loop, and secures over the sensor.
The aesthetic is nearly identical to the Peony-colored Performance Loop Band for the Pixel Watch. This suggests Google is leveraging existing supply chains for its textile components while focusing its engineering efforts on shrinking the sensor housing to reduce the device’s profile on the wrist.
When will the new Fitbit band be released?
Google has not yet announced an official launch date for the screen-less tracker.
What specific health metrics will the device track?
Leaked app screens show the device tracks heart rate, energy burned (calories), elapsed workout time, and “Cardio Load.”
