Powered by Polar is a phrase you may begin to see more often in the future, as the fitness watch company announced this week that it will be licensing out its fitness tracking features to other rival smartwatch/fitness watch brands. Starting with Casio, the upcoming G-Shock G-Squad GBD-H200 will be the first watch in the industry to use the new tracking features. The watch doesn’t have a release date yet and there’s not really much information about what features will be available. Or how it’ll utilize the technology from Polar.
What’s clear though, is Polar licensing out its tech to Casio (and other brands at some point) should help it increase profits. Polar isn’t an entirely unknown company in the world of fitness watches, but it’s not exactly a world-renowned brand to consumers. Garmin on the other hand, is more globally recognized. This of course doesn’t mean that Polar is going to stop making watches. It’s simply a way for the company to create a new revenue stream.
And Polar may be on to something. According to the company, other brands who license its tech won’t have to devote years to research. Polar says it will make 25 fitness algorithms available for licensing.
Powered by Polar watches to include multiple tracking features
Polar hasn’t outlined specifically which algorithms will be licensed out. But does seem to mention the broader spectrum of what can be expected. Powered by Polar watches will use Polar’s sleep tracking, activity tracking, and health tracking features. These can be paired up with whatever the licensees offer from their own tech.
Outside of licensing these features, Polar’s latest in-house watches include the Pacer Pro and Grit X Pro. A dedicated running watch and one meant to be more outdoorsy with an increased durability. Akin to what you might get from the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and Garmin Fenix series.