We want health tracked but no screen please, health bands now growing in popularity

Meet Ankit, a marketing professional who has been part of Apple’s ecosystem since 2015. He uses an iPhone, a MacBook and other Apple devices, but there is one product he does not own and does not want: the Apple Watch. In fact, he has stayed away from other smartwatches too. Why? He wants a device that can track his health but without forcing him to look at another display throughout the day.Ankit says has been using the Amazfit Helio Strap for a year to track his activity and health metrics. “No day-long distractions. Just vibration alerts when the battery is low. It allows me to focus better on my life and work because I don’t have to constantly glance at one more screen,” he tells India Today Tech.But screenless experience, although has some disadvantages, has one more big benefit for Ankit. That is the battery life of his band. The one that he uses lasts him around 10 to 15 days on a single charge. “I usually alternate between sports and strength training, so it’s a great device to measure overall health indicators, apart from the usual metrics such as calories burnt, training load and VO2 max,” he says.Ankit is not the only one who has made a screenless health tracker part of his daily routine. If you think of someone who uses a fitness band, chances are you will think of Virat Kohli. Reasonably so because the legend has been spotted wearing Whoop’s fitness band for years. What Kohli started doing a long time ago, though we are not sure if it was his personal decision or part of some agreement with Whoop, many people are gravitating towards in 2026. One of them is Karan, who owns a Samsung smartwatch but sometimes prefers to wear only his Fitbit. Why ditch the smartwatch? For Karan, the watch is a source of distraction. “Sometimes, I wear my Fitbit instead of my Samsung smartwatch because I want to reduce my screen time. I don't get interrupted by notifications, and I can focus on what I am doing,” he tells India Today Tech.Karan says he uses the band to track everything from gym sessions to cricket, pickleball and paddle, and checks his sleep score first thing in the morning. Like Ankit, he also appreciates the battery life. “Once, I forgot my charger while travelling, but even when the battery dropped to 3 per cent, it continued tracking my steps for another two days. I couldn't access the other data, though,” he says. Then there is Srinivas, a fitness enthusiast and marathon runner who uses Whoop to keep tabs on his recovery. He tells India Today Tech that recovery metrics are particularly important to him as a runner. He relies on data such as heart rate variability (HRV) to understand how his body is recovering.“Whoop does it all very, very well, very precisely and very perfectly,” says Srinivas. “It measures heart rate continuously, and other metrics such as HRV and resting heart rate are derived from that data.” But Srinivas has nothing against smartwatches either. In fact, he likes using them in certain situations. He explains that during a marathon, having a screen means he can check his live performance metrics on his wrist without having to pull out his phone or open an app while running.Screenless bands, however, offer him one distinct advantage. They allow him to keep wearing a traditional analogue watch on one wrist and a fitness band on the other. “People still want to wear fashionable analogue watches. They may not want to wear a sports smartwatch on one wrist and a traditional watch on the other. A screenless band lets them track their health while continuing to wear the watch they like,” says Srinivas. 2026 and the rise of screenless fitness trackers Less distraction, better battery life or simply the flexibility to wear a watch of your choice, the reasons can be many. But we know for a fact that in 2026, screenless wearable devices are the latest trend in the tech world. They even come in two distinct shapes: as a band or, as Oura offers, in the shape of a ring. Tech companies, realising the trend, are quickly coming out with products that can cater to it. Oura entered India earlier this year. Since then we have also seen a number of companies, from Google to Garmin, launching fitness bands. Even Apple, which dominates the smartwatch market in the premium category, is reportedly working on a fitness band to ensure that it doesn’t miss out on the fun. But what is driving this shift? One reason is the reduced screen time. At a time when we are surrounded by screens all day, the idea of having one less display to check feels like a breather. And healthier options for eyes. Importantly, with less screen time, you are not ditching technology altogether. You are simply letting it work in the background while you get on with your day.Prabhu Ram, VP of the Industry Research Group at CMR, sees this as part of a broader move towards what is known as ambient computing. “I see screenless wearables as part of a broader shift from screen-centric to ambient computing,” he tells India Today Tech. “As devices become better at understanding the user and their surroundings, the interface can increasingly move into the background.”The idea is that technology should understand our needs and surroundings and work quietly in the background, rather than requiring us to interact with a screen every time we need something. “The smartphone will remain the primary screen, but not every interaction needs to happen through a screen,” he says.Anshika Jain, Principal Analyst at Counter Point, agrees and says consumers are increasingly looking for lightweight and convenient devices. “Consumers are increasingly looking for a light and convenient form factor that can provide continuous health tracking, especially around fitness, sleep and recovery,” she says. “While reduced screen time is one contributing factor, accuracy and long battery life remain the key purchase drivers.” According to Anshika fitness bands and rings shift the functionality away from offering more features on a screen to providing users with more health insights with less interaction. That seems to be the real appeal of screenless wearables. In 2026, people are not necessarily giving up screens altogether but they surely seem to want less of them in their life. And in the middle of this trend, the wearable bands and smart rings are finding a favour because they give people convenience without asking them for constant attention.- Ends