Polar Unite: Sub-$150 Fitness Smartwatch Put To The Test - Forbes

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The new Polar Unite fitness watch

Polar

Last month, Polar took the covers off of the Polar Unite; a budget fitness watch that aims to offer insights for workout and casual fitness fans.

At a few cents shy of $150, it represents a bargain but there is a caveat to that budget price-tag: there’s no GPS tracking on board, so it’s no use for runners looking to track their runs.

Instead, it’s designed for those wanting to focus on the effectiveness and performance of gym and all-body workouts, with a focus on recovery.

But how does that work in the real world? The Polar Unite reviews are in and this is what the experts are saying...

Great for newbies

“Designed for beginners and those who are getting back into working out after taking a break, the Polar Unite includes many of the features found in Polar's more expensive fitness watches, including heart rate and sleep tracking, but leaves out some outdoor and sport-specific tools beginners might not want anyway,” writes Angela Moscaritolo on PC Mag.

“Many will prefer the Unite's classic round watch face and color touch screen over the Fitbit Charge 4's rectangular, black and white display.”

No running, no problem

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“The Unite has plenty of rich fitness and well being features.The one feature that really sets the Unite apart though, is FitSpark. It’s a powerful and easy-to-follow daily workout recommendation tool that offers up suggested sessions across three categories cardio, strength and supportive (essentially mobility),” says Kieran Alger on Wareable.

“Each day, based on your recent training and how well you slept and recovered overnight, FitSpark recommends a training session it believes will improve your fitness. For example, it might advise cardio to ‘Keep up your endurance’, along with a 1 hour 22 minute cardio workout in heart rate zones 1-3.”

Solid budget fitness tracker

“The Unite is a solid budget fitness watch that I enjoyed testing. I’m not going to kick down your door and demand you buy it, but I think it does what it’s supposed to very well,” according to Gizmodo’s Victoria Song.

“What I most liked about the Unite was the fact that its more advanced features were designed to put meaningless numbers into context.”

Elephant in the room

“It’s quite a change of pace for Polar – a company that has long specialized in tech for serious outdoor athletes,” explains Cat Ellis over on TechRadar. “The elephant in the room is the lack of on-board GPS – the Unite can only track the speed and distance of outdoor workouts if you’re also carrying your phone.”

“Its specs are almost identical to those of the Polar Ignite, but without the GPS. The problem is that the older Ignite has now dropped in price, making the two devices equally affordable, making the Unite hard to recommend.”

Availability

The Polar Unite is available now for $149.95. It comes in black, white, pink and blue, with S/M/L wristbands included.

The Link Lonk


July 30, 2020 at 05:12PM
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Polar Unite: Sub-$150 Fitness Smartwatch Put To The Test - Forbes

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