Polar, the Finnish maker of health tracking gear, recently launched the Polar Loop – a new wearable that aims to take some of Whoop’s lunch money.
The Polar Loop is confirmed for South Africa (by way of it already appearing on the company’s local website). It will cost prospective owners R3,700 when it becomes available towards the end of October.
Where Polar’s other wearables are packed with bright displays, GPS tracking, and all the smart training tools that will fit on your wrist, it’s taken a different approach with the Loop. Here, subtlety is the main aim. If you’ve ever wanted health tracking without the distractions that usually accompany it, this one’s for you.
Polar Loop it around your wrist
At 9mm thick, 42mm long, and a total weight of 29g, the Polar Loop has been designed to sit quietly on your wrist and not get in the way. You’ll still get core health metrics like step count, heart rate measurements, sleep quality assessments, and recovery with the on-board Precision Prime sensor suite. There’s also workout tracking, activated manually through Polar’s app or from the Polar Loop’s automatic workout detection.
Polar reckons a single charge should last you up to eight hours, but that’s likely to fluctuate based on how active you are. There are three colours to choose from at launch: Greige Sand, Night Black, and Brown Copper, with a further three (orange, green, and blue) coming later.
When it comes to display-less health trackers, the field is still fairly sparse. Amazfit and Whoop are the only other companies with devices in the category, and Whoop’s offering requires an ongoing subscription to access all the available features. That’s already a point in the Polar Loop’s favour.
