Polar Loop is Here: But We Need to Chat...

Everything you need to know about the Polar Loop! For the past 18 months, Polar has been making steps towards a Whoop competitor. Back in May 2024, they announced the Polar 360, which was a business version of such a device, aimed primarily at healthcare scenarios and workplace/wellness entities. Then, earlier this summer they announced it’d be coming to consumers on September 3rd. At the time, it lacked a name, or many details, but, they did commit to it requiring no subscription. Now, we find ourselves with all the details, albeit, perhaps not the details we wanted. The new consumer-focused version of the Polar 360 is called the Polar Loop (the same name the company used back in 2013 for a related wearable band). The new Polar Loop is virtually identical in every way to the existing Polar 360. Same sensor package, same internal hardware, same app, and same features. In fact, there’s only two minor differences: 1) The Polar Loop has a metal clasp/shell (with various colors), versus plastic on the Polar 360 2) Polar slightly expanded the internal battery to get an additional 1-2 days of battery life compared to the Polar 360 That’s both good and bad, as I’d find out. I’ve been using the Polar 360 for a bit now, in preparation for switching over to the Polar Loop. Effectively, the only difference to my daily life would be a different color shell and a few extra days of battery life. Akin to going from a 41mm Apple Watch to a 45mm Titanium Apple Watch. Thus, making my review process faster. Except, before you jump on the anti-Whoop train, we need to talk about where the differences are. Because they are vast, and very real.