Polar is teaming up with startup Form to let you view heart rate data through its swimming goggles with a built-in AR display.
Owners of the Form Swim Goggles will be able to pair them up with either the Polar OH1 or Polar OH1+ optical heart rate monitors. These are the monitors that are designed to be clipped onto the strap of a pair of goggles.
Read this: Understanding your swimming wearable metrics
When paired, data from the HR monitor will be transmitted wirelessly to the goggles enabling you to view that heart rate data in your line of sight during your swim alongside existing metrics such as split times, stroke count and lap counts.
The addition of heart rate means you have a metric that can now offer an insight into the intensity and effort level put into your swimming session. When the goggles are synced to the companion Android or iOS app, that HR data will now be added to your session’s data too.
How real-time HR will be displayed in Form Swim Goggles
“FORM has worked closely with Polar since 2018 to enable this functionality,” said Dan Eisenhardt, founder and CEO of Form. “We’ve done extensive testing in the pool with swimmers of all levels, including elite competitive swimmers, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the results."
We recently put the Form Swim Goggles to the test and were big fans of the swimming wearable. We didn’t quite have the same experience putting Polar’s waterproof OH1+monitor to the swimming test, though we are keen to pair the two together to see how they get on as a duo.
Read: Guide to Polar Flow
If you’re wondering whether Form will be supporting swim-friendly heart rate chest straps, it looks like that pairing will be unlikely. A spokesperson for the startup told us that they’re not currently part of its roadmap. “What we've found is that serious swimmers don't like swimming with them, since they're obtrusive and can shift around,” they said.
The Polar OH1/OH1+ support will be available for Form Swim Goggles owners in November via a free software update.
How we test
By Michael Sawh
Michael Sawh has been covering the wearable tech industry since the very first Fitbit landed back in 2011. Previously the resident wearable tech expert at Trusted Reviews, he also marshaled the features section of T3.com.
He also regularly contributed to T3 magazine when they needed someone to talk about fitness trackers, running watches, headphones, tablets, and phones.
Michael writes for GQ, Wired, Coach Mag, Metro, MSN, BBC Focus, Stuff, TechRadar and has made several appearances on the BBC Travel Show to talk all things tech.
Michael is a lover of all things sports and fitness-tech related, clocking up over 15 marathons and has put in serious hours in the pool all in the name of testing every fitness wearable going. Expect to see him with a minimum of two wearables at any given time.