Back in 2013, Polar released the Loop. The company is the old guard when it comes to heart rate monitors and fitness tracking, and we had high hopes — which were unfortunately dashed once we actually tried it. Now, Polar is taking another shot with the Loop 2.
At first glance, it seems like Polar addressed a few concerning issues with its last wearable. This time the Loop 2 will launch in July with Android support, which was sorely missing when the OG Loop came around. Also, it ships data to other services like Google Fit, Apple Health and MyFitnessPal rather than just its own app (though that’s still around too). It also has white and pink colour options in addition to the plain black.
But the overall look of the new band is still similar to the old version, since the Loop 2 also adopts the Dot-matrix LED display for serving up notifications and reminders. It also has eight days of battery life, which ekes out an extra two days over its main competitor, the Fitbit Charge HR. At the same time, it seems less feature-packed than its competitors — though it does remain completely waterproof.
We won’t know exactly what other tweaks could make the Loop 2 a worthwhile $US130 upgrade until we get our hands on the thing, but wearables are a tough crowd right now — and the Loop 2 seems like it may, once again, get lost in that crowd.