Apple Eyes the Rapidly Growing Fitness Tracker Segment. What That Could Mean for AAPL Stock.
Say your watch buzzes again on a busy Wednesday afternoon. It wants you to stand up, read a text, and check a calendar alert.
For a growing number of people, it could get overwhelming. Most customers would like just two questions answered each morning: How well did I sleep, and how hard can I push today?
This simple wish has built a booming business for smaller brands. Now the biggest name on the wrist appears to be paying very close attention.
Why Fitness Trackers Matter for Apple Stock
Fitness trackers count steps, calories, heart rate, sleep, and breathing, then sync that data to your phone. That is how Fortune Business Insights describes them in its market report.
The firm valued the global fitness tracker market at $72.08 billion in 2025. It expects the market to grow to $84.68 billion in 2026 and $486.6 billion in 2034, indicating a compound annual growth rate of 24%. North America is the world's largest market, accounting for 47% of total sales, and fitness tracker sales in the U.S. are projected to surpass $24 billion this year.
Several demand drivers support fitness tracker growth. Six in 10 U.S. adults live with a chronic disease, according to CDC data cited in the report. A ValuePenguin study it referenced found 92% of smartwatch wearers use them to monitor health or fitness.
Fortune Business Insights already ranks Apple (AAPL) as the market leader thanks to its broad product lineup, given smartwatches are projected to hold 41.7% of the market in 2026.
Apple Stock Rises as Whoop Rival Takes Shape
According to Bloomberg:
Apple is developing a screenless health and fitness tracker, similar to the band sold by Whoop. The prototypes use a thin fabric band holding a small computing module packed with sensors.
A display-free device would mean customers will not receive any app-related notifications, a key difference setting it apart from the Apple Watch. Internally, Apple calls this stage a "technology investigation,". The company hasn't decided whether to release the device, and a launch likely won't come before 2028.
Executive Chairman Tim Cook and services chief Eddy Cue have shown interest in the device. Cue took over Apple's health efforts late last year. Members of the team that built the Vision Pro headset have also joined the early engineering work.
Apple Watch Borrows From the Upstarts
Whoop and smart ring maker Oura each have millions of users and are growing quickly, Bloomberg reported. Oura filed for an IPO this month, and Whoop, valued at about $10 billion, is also considering going public.
Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google recently launched the screenless Fitbit Air. Cue has pushed Apple's health team to adopt ideas from these rivals, according to Bloomberg. You can already see the results.
At its Sept. 9 event, Apple unveiled its Apple Watch Series 12 and Ultra 4 with a new Health Sensing System. Background heart rate readings now occur every five seconds. That is 60 times more often than before, according to the event transcript.
A new Readiness score reviews your activity, vitals, and sleep each morning. Then it delivers one clear call: "Recover, pace yourself, ready, go for it," Apple's Sumbul Ahmad Desai said.
It also offers Health Age, which compares key health metrics with your age. Apple's Deidre Caldbeck said a head-to-head study showed the watch "has the most accurate heart rate sensing in a wearable."
The Series 12 starts at $399, and the Ultra 4 remains at $799.
What It Means for Apple's Stock Price
A screenless band would not replace the watch and could target customers who find a smartwatch too busy or too costly. A typical fitness band costs around $100, according to an Ars Technica article cited by Fortune Business Insights.
Privacy could be a key selling point. Fortune Business Insights flags data theft as a key risk, noting that hackers once reached data from 150 million MyFitnessPal accounts. Apple spent much of its event stressing that its AI runs on the device whenever it can.
The band may never ship, and 2028 is a long way off. Still, Apple is studying the fastest-growing corner of wearables closely. Investors should watch whether its biggest health bet ends up having no screen at all.
Out of the 40 analysts covering Apple stock, 20 recommend “Strong Buy”, three recommend “Moderate Buy”, 14 recommend “Hold”, one recommends “Moderate Sell”, and two recommend “Strong Sell”. The average AAPL stock price target is $331, below the current price of $337.
On the date of publication, Aditya Raghunath did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. For more information please view the Barchart Disclosure Policy here.