Polar is one of the better-known developers of heart rate trackers and has leveraged that expertise to release everything from scales and watch-style fitness wearables to heart monitors for horses. Today, the company unveiled Ignite, a mid-range GPS fitness watch that brings design elements from its more expensive wearables down to a $230 price point.
Ignite’s circular color touchscreen will look pretty familiar if you’ve seen the company’s Vantage M, a $280 watch that’s decidedly fancier than the $200 black-and-white M430. Optimized for exercise, the screen can switch from an analog-style watch face to display a cardio load screen; a running screen with heart rate, pace, distance, and duration details; and other activity-specific screens — including with new sleep-related features that you can’t currently find in more expensive Apple Watches.
Unlike smartwatch makers that treat heart rate hardware as a basic commodity, Polar’s background in heart monitoring means its wearables go further than entry-level rivals. Ignite includes the same Precision Prime system previously found only on Vantage watches, pairing a 3D acceleration sensor with multi-colored optical sensors and an electrical skin contact sensor. Paired with five-day battery life, this feature enables Ignite to offer atypically robust sleep stage tracking, as well as “nightly recharge” tracking of how much you’ve recovered from the past day’s exercise activities.
Ignite also includes FitSpark, a personalized training system that adapts to your fitness level, training history, and nightly recharge levels, suggesting exercises that can easily be tracked with the watch. Beyond running, the watch can be used for swimming, step counting, strength training, and cardio exercises, tracking data from over 100 different sports.
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The standard $230 Ignite model has a silver bezel and comes with your choice of a white, yellow, or black silicone wristband. For $25 more, you can get either a small or medium/large replacement band. Ignite and the bands are available today from Polar’s website.
