Polar A370 comes with a 24/7 heart rate sensor and advanced sleep analytics
Polar has added another device to its stable of fitness trackers today. The A370 comes with a continuous wrist-based heart rate sensor and advanced Polar Sleep Plus analytics.
The successor to Polar’s popular A360 sports a water-resistant glass lens color touch display (80×160 px), along with vibrating notifications. The wearable is lightweight and comes with swappable bands allowing you to customize the look to your liking.
As expected, the tracker covers the basics in terms of fitness monitoring and will keep tabs on your steps, distance, calories and sleep. It will also connect to your smartphone for notifications.
On top of this, the new heart rate sensor measures you ticker at a minimum of five minute intervals while you are at rest. Your resting heart rate is perhaps one of the most important indicators of your health hand fitness. The frequency of heart rate measurements automatically increases for higher levels of activity such as walking and running.
Essential reading: Top fitness trackers and health gadgets for 2017
Although it does not have built-in GPS, the A370 can tap into your smartphone’s GPS for more precise data on pace, distance and route. But you will need to keep your phone with you for the GPS via mobile to work.
“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 USA.
“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.”
The other big new addition are the advanced sleep analytics. A smart algorithm is capable of automatically detecting when you fall asleep, meaning you only need to remember to wear the tracker to bed.
The system uses polysomnography as a reference measurement, which Polar says is the gold standard when it comes to monitoring your kip time. By tracking a variety of metrics, the algorithm will assign you with a continuity score on a scale of 1-5 to show how well you slept. You also get guidance on how to improve your score.
“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 analysed to provide guidance that helps you better understand your sleep habits and the impact they have on your fitness, health and quality of life.
You can view most of this data on the wrist display, but a more detailed overview can be found in the Polar Flow app. Here you’ll find further info and charts on all aspects of your health and fitness along with access to Polar’s Smart Coaching features and insights from Activity Benefit, Smart Calories and Training Benefit.
Battery life is a respectible 4 days with 24/7 heart rate switched on. This falls to 12 hours when you are connected to your smartphone’s GPS. The device is rated WR30 for water resistance, meaning its resistant to accidental splashes, rain, sweat.
Polar’s A370 is available now on Amazon.
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