Polar has unveiled the follow-up to its OH1 heart rate monitor armband, which will monitor your heart in the water as well as on land.
The OH1+ takes the form of the same small, disc-shaped device packed with light-based optical sensors, which can be clipped into an armband. Polar promises HR accuracy on par with a heart rate monitor chest strap.
Essential reading: The lowdown on swimming with heart rate monitoring wearables
For the next-gen version it's bringing the heart rate monitoring to the pool via a small clip that will connect to your existing swimming goggles to measure heart rate from your temple. This is a similar method to what Wareable favourite Moov offered with its Moov HR sensor, which could be slipped into your swim hat. The sensor itself is waterproof up to 30 metres, so it sounds like it's best suited for pool action.
In addition to offering an alternative way to wear the new OH1 sensor, Polar is also now offering both ANT+ and Bluetooth connectivity support, giving you the ability to pair it with compatible gym equipment, cycling computers and your other Polar devices. That ANT+ support is also going to be rolling out to the Polar OH1 and the Polar H10 chest strap via a software update that should start rolling out soon.
In terms of other key features, the OH1+ has an internal memory big enough to store 200 hours of data and should deliver 12 hours of monitoring off a single charge. It'll play nice with the Polar Beat smartphone app where you can access real-time HR data, get guidance and access Polar's Smart Coaching features.
The Polar OH1+ is shipping now at and comes in a choice of black, grey or orange. Polar as a company was built on its innovation in the heart rate monitoring space and introduced new sensor tech in its Vantage V and Vantage M sports watches last year.
We had a good experience with the OH1 from an accuracy point of view, so we are expecting similar results from the OH1+. While there's still plenty of debate about how insightful heart rate data is for swimming, it's good to see Polar joining the likes of the Scosche Rhythm 24 HR wearable in offering up the data if swimmers want it, but don't want to wear a chest strap or rely on a wrist-based monitor in the water.
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.