Garmin CIRQA smart ring rumors: Could it be the Oura alternative athletes actually want?

Garmin CIRAQ smart ring rumors are out. Yes, Brazil’s telecom regulator just gave us the clearest hint yet that Garmin is building a smart ring. Not surprisingly, I already have some pretty strong opinions about it.

Ten related model codes—A05124 through I05124 Plus AA5124— showed up under one certification, filed the same day. Gadgets & Wearables spotted it first. Ten variants for one product certainly screams ‘ring sizes,’ not ‘watch colors.’

Almost nothing else is confirmed, but I won’t let it sit there. If these Garmin CIRQA smart ring rumors turn into an actual product, I hope Garmin gives athletes a serious contender to the Oura ring. Millions of runners, cyclists, and triathletes are already in its ecosystem.

What we actually know so far

The Brazilian filing doesn’t say “ring” anywhere—it’s just ten model numbers grouped under one certification. A stronger clue came earlier, in August, when a device briefly listed in Indonesia’s certification database was explicitly named “CIRQA Smart Ring” before it vanished.

One of those model numbers, AA5124, matches the Brazilian filing—a pattern Garmin Rumors also tracked back to the original Indonesia listing. That’s the connective thread.

Garmin, true to form, hasn’t confirmed anything, and no specs have leaked. What we do have is the existing CIRQA smart band, which broadcasts heart rate over ANT+ and Bluetooth. It tracks nightly skin temperature while relying on the phone for GPS. If a ring shares that DNA, it tells us something about Garmin’s priorities.

Garmin has a real opportunity here

Sleep, recovery, passive health—that’s Oura’s whole identity, and it’s been wildly successful. But it’s ignored a wildly engaged demographic—people who train. I mean athletes, marathon runners, and anyone serious about fitness.

And that’s where Garmin has an opening, because it already owns the training crowd. I wear a Garmin around my wrist most days. By evening, I’m ready to take it off. A ring would solve that.

Imagine a Garmin ring that just handles sleep, resting heart rate, and temperature overnight. In the day, your Forerunner or Fenix stays the serious workout tool for runs and structured training.

The ring doesn’t have to replace the watch, but it does need to work with it. It could make the Garmin ecosystem useful during the hours you’re not wearing one.

The Oura problem

Oura has had a 5-year head start on design, sleep algorithms, and battery life. It also has a loyal fan base. Garmin can’t just shrink watch hardware and slap a logo on it—a ring has far less space for sensors and a battery.

It’s also worth remembering that Garmin executives have publicly argued against building a ring at all. They cite better power budgets and sensor accuracy at the wrist. That’s a real concern for a company obsessed with accuracy.

Garmin’s brand relies on its trustworthy fitness data. So if the ring reads heart rate or recovery less accurately than a Forerunner, Garmin owners may choose to skip it entirely.

What Garmin needs to do differently

For a Garmin smart ring to succeed, it needs to focus on athlete-first data, something Oura doesn’t really do. Runners will want to know if their sleep supports a marathon in a month, or if they need to change something.

Cyclists will want to know if they have the stamina for a competitive race. If a Garmin ring could offer features like these, I think it would appeal to Garmin customers.

Also on my wish list? Excellent Garmin Connect integration, so the ring feeds the dashboard like a Forerunner would. No orphaned app with its own subscription, please.

Verdict: This could actually work

We don’t know when Garmin will announce this, what it costs, or even whether these filings describe a ring at all. But the logic holds up, I’ll say that.

Garmin needs to make a ring that’s already useful to people who already use and love Forerunners and Fenixes. If the brand pulls that off, the CIRQA Smart Ring becomes more interesting, the missing piece of an ecosystem that already knows what athletes need.