Besides the name of the sports watch, two features have been listed that will be highlighted on YouTube in due course:

• Custom Watch Face

  Customizable watch faces have never been something Polar did focus on. Although you can choose from a limited number of analog and digital watch faces and determine an accent color, it neither was really customizable nor convincing.

  Unfortunately, there is not much information in the description of the app code about what can be expected from the future feature. However, it would not be worth mentioning if Polar sticks to what the current sports watches have to offer today.

  My hope is that it’ll be possible to choose from additional information and metrics that then will be projected on the watch face.

• Audio Guidance

  The second feature is called “Audio Guidance”. Sounds a bit like the Ignite 3 can send metrics and guidance to paired headphones. If that’s the case, then it would be a pretty big innovation for Polar. Whether this means that the Polar Ignite 3 can also store and play music remains to be seen. Such a feature would suit the Ignite 3 – being a fitness watch in the first place – very well.

Because not much can be read from the app code, the above contents should be considered speculations. As soon as more concrete information emerges, you will find it here.

Polar Ignite 2 – fitness watch with potential

Polar launched the Ignite 2 in spring 2021, creating a mid-range model for sports and fitness enthusiasts.

In terms of features for sports and fitness, the Polar Ignite 2 is quite complete, but there is room for improvement. Especially the touch display has been criticized a lot, as it did not react quite as precisely and quickly as expected.

Availability and prices

Despite the first information popping up on the internet, neither a release date, a price, nor a list of features is available yet. In addition, there is no information about a new model at the FCC and hardly any rumors so far. The Ignite 3 was mentioned in the metadata of Polar’s Brazilian website, but without offering further information about the model.

I think that more information will be available in the weeks to come.

Der Beitrag Polar Ignite 3 – Next-gen fitness watch revealed by app code? erschien zuerst auf Fitness Tracker Test.

Compared to Garmin, Polar is a much smaller company. Nonetheless, sports watches like the Polar Vantage M2, Vantage V2, and Grit X (Pro) are fairly popular among runners. While Garmin tries to attract customers with all sorts of features, Polar primarily focuses on the sporty aspects. You’ll find no colorful OLED displays, onboard music, or NFC payment on Polar’s watches. However, these watches offer numerous metrics and functions addressing runners’ needs to measure and increase performance.

Polar Pacer / Pacer Pro (Source: Polar via @rquandt)

Polar Pacer and Pacer Pro at a glance

Polar positions the Pacer and Pacer Pro somewhere between the top-of-the-line Vantage V2 and the mid-range Vantage M2. With 45 x 45 x 11 mm the Polar Pacer is smaller than the Vantage V2, resulting in considerably less weight and an apparently smaller battery. This affects battery life: the Pacer Pro lasts up to 7 days in watch mode and up to 35 h in training mode (Vantage V2: 7 days / 40 hours).

Sensor array (Source: Polar via @rquandt)

A new microprocessor doubles the Pacer’s performance compared to the Vantage M2. In addition, the new sports watches feature seven times more RAM. We will have to wait and see to what extent the performance affects the watch in everyday life. However, this improvement has been overdue to speed up Polar’s sometimes sluggish operating system.

While the Pacer’s wristband uses a simple spring bar – and thus can be changed at will – the Pacer Pro’s wristband strongly resembles the one of the Vantage V2 with an inserted pin holding wristband and casing in place. Without Polar’s Shift adapter, the wristband can only be exchanged with Polar’s own replacements.

Shift-Adapter for Pacer Pro and Vantage V2 (Source: Polar)

The Pacer Pro will include a Shift adapter, as does the Vantage V2 Shift Edition – however, there are still no separate adapters available from Polar.

Pacer and Pacer Pro with improved MIP display

Even though both Pacer models were rumored to have an OLED display, Polar sticks to a transflective MIP display. While it lacks the splendid colors and high contrasts of self-illuminating displays, it consume significantly less power and thus is always on without draining the battery too much. Both models feature an improved MIP display with better color reproduction and higher contrasts.

Unlike the Vantage V2 / Grit X Pro, the Polar Pacer models won’t feature touch-enabled displays – something that shouldn’t cause much pain for most people.

As neither the resolution is likely to change nor is the display size, the battery will last up to 7 days.

When it comes to features, the Polar Pacer Pro clearly takes its cues from the full-blown Vantage V2. Even the more complex functions like wrist-based running power, as well as performance and recovery tests are likely to be available on the Pacer Pro. Compared to the Pacer Pro the Pacer misses the Recovery Pro, komoot integration and route guidance, as well as the back-to-start feature.

There is a new walking test available to both models. It’s a 15-minute test based where you have to walk at a rather fast pace and the Pacer will determine performance indicators like VO2max and the like based on your pace and heart rate.

Prices and Availability

Polar is selling the Pacer Pro for $299.95 and the less complex Pacer for $199.95. These are attractive prices given the facts that you get a lot of features. I am not even sure if Polar canibalizes the sells of the Vantage V2 and Grit X Pro that are a lot pricier but tend to offer similiar functions.

Concerning the colors, the Pacer will hit the shelves in white, black, teal, and purple. The Pacer Pro will be available in gray, white, blue, maroon, and green.

My two cents

Polar is diversifying its sports watches and does well to do so. Based on what we know today, the improvements of the Pacer / Pacer Pro are rather evolutionary, but a slimmer and lighter watch will appeal to buyer groups that haven’t felt addressed so far. Thanks to the reduced weight and dimensions, these are likely to be women in particular, for whom the Vantage V2 and Grit X Pro seemed too large on their usually narrower wrists.

Der Beitrag Polar Pacer Pro – Leightweight GPS sports watch for runners erschien zuerst auf Fitness Tracker Test.

Countdown for Polar Grit X release (Source: Polar)

Almost 18 months ago Polar released the Vantage M and Vantage V. Both sports watches have been specifically designed for runners and triathlets. The Polar Ignite, which has been released last year, is more like a general purpose sports watch to fill in the gap between Polar’s activity tracker A370 and the Vantage series.

While Polar’s strength always have been its sports watches for runners and triathlets, the Finnish company lacks products that focus on outdoor sports like trail running, mountain biking and hiking. With the Grit X Polar is trying to change this situation and as the Garmin Fenix 6 is likely to be the most relevant competitor, Polar is longing for some of Garmin’s customers.

Grit X – Designed for outdoor sports

The Polar Grit X is a multisport GPS watch designed for outdoor sports off the beaten tracks. As such, the Grit X had to pass MIL-STD-810G tests, including extreme temperatures, drop and humidity.

The watch’s dimensions are 47 x 47 x 13 mm, which is about the same size as the Vantage V. The battery has some more capacity but battery life is equal to the Vantage V. Even the display specs do not differ. The Grit X is having a 1.2″ transflective colorful always-on display with a 240×240 pixels resolution.

Screenshot – Polar Grit X Teaser (Source: Polar@Youtube)

To protect the display, the watch features scratch-resistent tempered Gorilla Glas and a stainless steel bezel.

Grit X – New Features

Concerning its functions and its price, the Grit X is positioned between the Vantage M and the Vantage V. The Grit X is missing some of Polar’s more sophisticated running features, but it is going to sport two brand new functions that haven’t been seen on any other Polar devices:

• Hill Splitter™

  Hill Splitter™ automatically tracks uphill and downhill sections during your outdoor activities. It does so by taking the altitude, pace and distance into account. The provided data allows for detailed insights and comparing the heart rate, distance, speed, ascent and descent, for every detected hill on your route.

• FuelWise™

  FuelWise™ is a smart assistant, which ensures that you drink and refuel your system carbs regularly. Both are essential to best performances during long lasting activities.

  Basically FuelWise consists of two reminders: The carb reminder is based on the number of calories burned and automatically reminds you to refuel in order to keep a constant level of energy. The drink reminder is manually set up. The reminder frequency is based on your personal preferences and conditions.

• Komoot Support

  Just in case you don’t know, Komoot is a community and plattform for outdoor sports like trail running, hiking and mountain biking. Thanks to transferring tours to the Grit X the device offers a wrist-based turn-by-turn guidance, which allows for easy navigation on unknown terrain.

  Buying the Polar Grit X allows for 30 days free access to Komoot premium.

• Weather Forecast

  To be prepared for unfavorable weather, the Grit X features the current weather as well as the weather forecast for the next two days.

Battery life

The Grit X has a 346 mAh battery which has slightly more capacity than the Vantage V’s. It is enough capacity for up to 40 hours of tracking activities with enabled GPS and optical heart rate sensor turned on. The more efficient watch mode sports 24/7 heart rate tracking but lacks the GPS support. Since the power consuming GPS has been disabled, the battery life extends to up to 7 days. There are additional power settings that affect the battery life.

Release Date, Price and Availability

The Polar Grit X has been launched on April 22. The recommended retail price is 429,95 € which is midly less expensive than the Vantage V which is 499,95 €. Compared to the Vantage M’s recommended retail price of 279,95 € the Grit X is way more expensive.

The multisport outdoor watch is available in black, green (large wristband) and white (small wristband). You can order the Grit X via Polar’s website. My guess is that it’ll be a couple of weeks before the Polar Grit X is hitting the shelves in retail business.

Der Beitrag Polar Grit X – New Outdoor Multisport Watch Launched erschien zuerst auf Fitness Tracker Test.