Today Polar announced its newest flagship running watch, the M430. As you’d probably expect, this watch features a heart rate sensor and it supports smartphone notifications. Whether you jog every day to stay in shape or you are training to reach a goal, there’s always a way to improve the way we train.
The Polar M430 is similar to its predecessor, the M400, but it is lighter and thinner. With this new GPS watch, it’s introducing a new customized algorithms for heart rate. Since size and weight of a device can impact the results, Polar has tweaked and perfected these algorithms to ensure accurate results on the new watch. The addition of a 6-LED wrist-based heart rate monitor should be a noticeable improvement.
Another new feature that Polar is proud of is the “Smart Coach” that is included. This can be accessed both in the Polar Flow smartphone app, as well as on the watch itself. With this tool, you receive a score known as the Running Index, which tells you data like the length of your run, your speed, and how hard you actually worked out. After this you’ll have a sense of how you’re doing and if you’d like, you can get free guidance on a running program based on your weight, age, gender, experience, and running time.
It is notable that the GPS in this watch has a new low-power mode, which can extend the battery life to 30 hours while GPS remains on. That tends to be an issue even with some of our smartphones, so that feature alone is a winner. When GPS signal is not available, the Polar M430 measures pace and distance from wrist movements.
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Additional specs include being waterproof for swimming in the pool or the ocean. It won’t measure the distance, but it will measure your heart rate and time that you swim.
Firmware updates can be completed over Bluetooth Smart, unlike with the M400 where we needed to connect it to a computer to do so. Like the mobile app, a desktop browser can also work for setting up training plans, if you’d rather a larger screen.
Excited for this one? We are too. The M430 starts at $230, which puts it between Polar’s similar running bands, the $120 Loop and the $445 V800. It’s available for pre-order in dark grey, white, and orange, and will begin shipping in May.
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