Whoop Angers Users Over Reneged Free Upgrade Promises

Wearable startup Whoop recently announced its new Whoop 5.0 fitness tracker, but existing users are unhappy because they won't receive free upgrades as previously promised. The company had stated that members who had been with them for at least six months would get free upgrades to next-generation hardware. However, Whoop is now saying that members who want to upgrade from the Whoop 4.0 to 5.0 will have to pay. Whoop operates differently from other fitness trackers, running entirely on a subscription membership model. Most wearable makers charge for the hardware and then offer subscriptions for extra data or features. In contrast, Whoop Ring is an example where you buy the hardware and have the option to pay a monthly subscription. Whoop, on the other hand, gets the hardware for "free" while paying a heftier annual subscription. The company had promised users that whenever new hardware was released, existing members would be able to upgrade free of charge as long as they'd been a member for at least six months. This promise has now been broken, leaving existing users unhappy.