The Whoop challenger is available for pre-order
After numerous leaks and hints, Polar has officially revealed its screenless fitness tracker, Loop.
The all-new wearable is essentially a slightly tweaked, consumer-facing version of last year’s B2B Polar 360 tracker—and, crucially, arrives without a subscription fee. Instead, the Finnish brand is making Loop available for pre-order at $199.99/£149.50 ahead of its 10 September shipping.
The one-time purchase fee is a clear distinction to Whoop—currently the leader in offering discreet tracking from the wrist with its Whoop 5.0/MG platform. Polar joins Amazfit, which launched its Helio Strap earlier this year, in offering a subscription-free alternative.
Like those devices, Loop is a discreet, 24/7 health and fitness companion that can be worn alongside a traditional, ‘dumb’ watch on the opposing wrist. The button-less design is capable of automatic workout tracking and eight days of battery life (as well as four weeks of data storage), which should mean users aren’t constantly syncing or interacting with it.
Have it your way
It also technically can complement a Polar sports watch like the Vantage V3 or just-released Grit X2, filling in the gap between workouts (such as sleep tracking or idle time at an office desk) in a more comfortable form factor.
In terms of the features and specs, Loop is powered by the brand’s Precision Prime optical heart rate sensor, enabling the typical suite of tracking insights. This includes advanced sleep and recovery analysis, like SleepWise (which predicts the user’s daytime alertness) and Nightly Recharge (Polar’s recovery assessment tool).
Then, for workouts, Loop can tap into its Training Load Pro system to monitor strain—similar to Garmin’s Training Status/Load features, or Whoop’s Strain assessments. However, there’s no built-in GPS here, so you’ll need to hand off to a Polar watch or take your phone for distance and location tracking.
The Wareable take: An intriguing competitor, but not a slam dunk
The launch of Loop is a pointed and timely move from Polar, joining the growing number of brands offering a challenger to chip away at Whoop’s dominance.
The lack of a subscription is by far its biggest weapon against the US brand, which is a notoriously expensive membership, and this alone will be a huge draw.
Yet, while Polar is making a statement with its one-time purchase model, the success of Loop will ultimately depend on the quality of the Polar Flow app experience.
As we’ve always said in our analysis of Whoop’s model, its strength lies in the best-in-class platform—the Strain Score and recovery insights are what justify much of the cost, often despite subpar wrist-based heart rate accuracy (from the wrist, at least).
Flow, in its current form, doesn’t quite meet the same bar in presenting actionable insights.
But there’s no getting away from Loop being an intriguing launch—and potentially an excellent alternative for those (especially existing Polar users) who are zeroed in on their training plan rather than specifically health, lifestyle, and longevity markers.
Again, it’s available to pre-order from today (3 September), and we’ll be delivering our complete verdict once we’ve had the chance to put Loop through its paces.
