Polar A370 Announced – Review Linked

Polar have just announced an update to their successful (and rather nice) A360. Cleverly, the naming department at Polar decided to keep it simple, so we have the POLAR A370 (Reviewed here) 😉

It’s a fitness band. A lifestyle band.

So if you do classes, it’s fine. If you do the odd run, it’s fine. If you want a bit more in-depth look at your body’s physiology 24×7 then it looks pretty well-focussed towards that. Keen to get a better night’s sleep? Then it’s trying to help in that area as well.

Polar A370 Review | Smart Fitness Band

I liked the previous Polar A360 (review here) and no doubt the A370 will follow a similar aesthetic and technical vein. It was one of those devices that performed well enough for its purpose AND look VERY good – in my opinion. I had no problems wearing it.

Anyway. Polar have responded to what people are saying they want. Which is a not unreasonable approach to product development I guess!

Lots of you wanted 24×7 optical HR tracking. Now you’re happy. Although owners of the A360 hoped it would be introduced on the A360. It looks like the inbuilt accelerometer will turn the optical HR sensor on to a more frequent recording rate AUTOMATICALLY when exercise is started.

Polar Sleep Plus – When combing 24×7 HR with an accelerometer Polar can have a good go at analysing sleep quality and sleep stages. Their press release, below, indicates that they compare the A370’s performance to PSG (That’s polysomnography rather than Paris St. Germain for my Paris-based readers). But even PSG is not perfect….analysing sleep is HARD. We’ll hopefully see how Polar do later when I get my hands on one. Either way you should expect BETTER results from any company, like Polar, who includes a half-decent 24×7 optical HR sensor in the algorithm rather than just basing their sleep analysis and recommendations on movement.

Polar Sleep Plus gives understanding into these aspects of sleep: Sleep Time; Actual Sleep; Interruptions; Sleep Continuity; Sleep Time Preference; sleeping Patterns; Sleep Feedback; & Rate Your Sleep.

So, along with the improvements in what the device can sense and analyse so there are improvements and extensions to the POALR FLOW APP.

Polar A370 accurately combines continuous heart rate, advanced sleep measurement and actionable data to develop a balanced approach to activity, rest and overall fitness

Polar’s online running program is a good (free) way to be trained for your events with specific sessions planned for you and downloaded to your A370. The A370 adds a new feature here where it can take you GPS position from your mobile phone. You would have to carry your mobile phone for this and some phone are quite ACCURATE and some phones are very INaccurate, so the accuracy of this will be dependent on your phone. It’s obviously a bit of a faff to carry your phone with you but many of you already do that and those that do will already know that it is VERY hard to look at that screen on your phone on your upper arm…a wrist based screen is much better.

• Waterproof (WR30)
• Wide-viewing angle full colour TFT display with capacitive touchscreen
• Screen resolution 80 x 160 pixels (RGB)
• Screen size 13mm x 27mm
• Vibration alerts
• Polar proprietary optical heart rate module (2 green LEDs, 1 photodiode, analog front-end)
• Battery life up to 3 days with 24/7 activity tracking, including 1 hour of training per day (without smart notifications in use) with continuous HR

Note: if GPS was built in to the A370 (rather than using the GPS on the phone) then the battery life would be MUCH lower. So you have to understand this compromise and go with what’s best for you.

KEMPELE, FINLAND – May 24, 2017 – Polar, the leader in wearable sports and fitness technology for 40 years, introduces Polar A370, a fitness tracker with Polar 24/7 continuous wrist-based heart rate and advanced Polar Sleep Plus™ analytics. By combining daily activity goal guidance with Polar Sleep Plus, Polar A370 delivers a complete picture of the user’s fitness based on the intersection of activity, rest and recovery. Polar A370’s sophisticated and premium design features waterproof, vibrant glass lens color touch display and vibrating notifications. Lightweight, interchangeable band colors allow users to customize A370 to their style preference. Polar A370 is available now for pre-order at www.polar.com for $179/€199 and will begin shipping in June.

Polar A370’s continuous wrist-based heart rate automatically measures heart rate during rest and physical activity. Polar A370 continuously measures heart rate at a minimum of five minute intervals and can also recognize when users move their wrists during higher levels of activity (e.g. walking, running). During these higher intensities, triggered by a 3D accelerometer, Polar A370 will automatically measure heart rate at a higher resolution. Polar A370 also detects periods of inactivity, and captures resting heart rate every five minutes during these resting periods. Polar A370 then combines this data to provide immediate guidance toward reaching activity goals. A more detailed daily overview and insightful fitness guidance is available in the Polar Flow App. Here, users can examine their heart rate in motion and at rest, access Polar’s Smart Coaching features for additional guidance and gain feedback on specific activities with insights from Activity Benefit, Smart Calories and Training Benefit. Users may even notice how they reach their daily activity goal faster, due to a new level of precision of Polar’s new fusion of heart rate and activity algorithm.

“The utility of traditional heart rate monitors has been limited to workout sessions only; but what about the other 23 hours of the day? Understanding those hours – whether spent training, resting or doing light activity – is crucial to achieving fitness goals,” says Tom Fowler, President of Polar U.S.A. “Polar-developed continuous heart rate to fill that critical gap. Now, we’re enabling users to take charge of their fitness with a 24/7 perspective on their heart rate profile, activity levels and even rest and recovery. This is a game-changer for athletes of all levels from beginner to pro.”

Polar A370 combines continuous heart rate with Polar Sleep Plus, an intelligent sleep system with a smart algorithm that automatically detects via 3D accelerometer the timing, amount and quality of sleep based on position and wrist movements. Polar’s proprietary Polar Sleep Plus algorithm uses polysomnography as a reference measurement, the golden standard to assess sleep in science and medicine. Designed to provide accuracy in sleep detection at the same level of the polysomnography standard, Polar A370 provides precise measurements that offer increased accuracy and guidance.

Polar Sleep Plus is designed for people looking to find a balance between activity and rest, which includes learning healthy sleep patterns. By tracking a variety of different metrics such as total duration of sleep, actual sleep time, when users fall asleep and wake and any interruptions that occur during sleep, Polar Sleep Plus can provide users with a continuity score on a scale of 1-5 to show how continuous their sleep was. Users can also rate their sleep the next morning. Based on the sleep pattern data, Polar Flow will automatically provide feedback on ways to achieve better sleep. Users can then follow their timing, amount and quality of sleep over time to adjust their sleep schedule in order to reach their goals.

“We spend a third of our life sleeping, so if you’re trying to gain holistic insight into your fitness, it’s equally important to monitor and understand our bodies at rest as it is to understand them during physical activity,” says Marco Suvilaakso, Chief Strategy Officer at Polar Global. “With Polar Sleep Plus and Polar Flow, your data is analyzed to provide guidance that helps you better understand your sleep habits and the impact they have on your fitness, health and quality of life. Polar Sleep Plus is easy to use, easy to understand and motivates you to simply do better. Polar A370’s continuous HR monitoring, coupled with Polar Sleep Plus insights, provides a 24/7 approach to fitness with actionable steps, whether you’re running, lifting weights, or home relaxing.”

In addition to the latest advanced heart rate and sleep measurement capabilities, Polar A370 can also be used as a heart rate sensor with any other compatible Bluetooth devices or mobile app. The A370 can also be when connected your mobile phone to track pace, distance and route via the phone’s GPS. The tracker’s accelerometer can also estimate running speed and distance when indoors on a treadmill or track. Paired with Polar Balance, the Polar A370 becomes an effective weight management device.

Polar A370 is $179/€199 and available for pre-order now and will begin shipping in early June. Interchangeable bands come in black, white, ruby red, petrol, deep blue, and orange for $24.95/€24,90. Learn more about Polar, continuous heart rate and Polar Sleep Plus at www.polar.com.