ICYMI: the week’s 7 biggest tech news stories from Samsung teasing a major S26 upgrade to Garmin’s leaked Whoop clone

Here are the biggest tech news stories from Whoop, Netflix, Samsung, OpenAI, and more for January 31, 2026.

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Garmin might finally be launching its Whoop competitor as the Cirqa smart band leaks on its own website

Eagle-eyed Garmin users on Reddit managed to screenshot a leaked smart band – on Garmin’s own website.

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‘Garmin actually want their devices to break in these labs’ I went to Garmin’s closely guarded Kansas HQ to find out why its watches are so expensive

From brutal stress tests to a robot-run warehouse, here’s what surprised me ‘behind the scenes’ at Garmin’s home in Kansas City.
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5 surprising benefits of cold plunges, according to research – and how to make the most out of them, whether you’re out on a wild swim or at home doing a ‘James Bond shower’

I deep dived the research with the professionals to get you the best tips on how to use cold plunges to improve your health in many ways.
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ICYMI: the week’s 7 biggest tech stories from LG’s massive OLED TV news to glorious Whoop clones

Here’s the top news stories from Sony, LG, Spotify and more for January 24, 2026.

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My Garmin kept accidentally calling people in the shower — here’s the simple fix

My Garmin watch has a life of its own in the shower — here’s how to set up a touchscreen locking hot key.

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I tested this budget, subscription-free fitness tracker and it actually offers Whoop some serious competition – especially in terms of value

We tested the Amazfit Helio Strap in the wild, and found it every inch the Whoop competitor at a very reasonable price.
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Polar Loop review: The screen-free fitness tracker is good on heart rate, but a software let-down

We tested the Polar Loop, the subscription-free Whoop alternative.

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Dreame has expanded its remit to ‘literally anything’ and I’m not sure it’s good news for one of my favorite vacuum brands

From action cameras to TVs to coffee machines to smart rings, Dreame has it covered

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This four-star smart ring is a ‘cheap alternative to Oura and Samsung’ — and it just dropped to its best price since Black Friday on Amazon

The RingConn Gen 2 is one of the best smart rings if you’re on a budget, and t’s even cheaper today thanks to this Amazon deal.
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