A practical 24/7 wearable that feels weightless on your w…

Discover the Polar Loop: a stylish, lightweight, subscription-free activity tracker with impressive battery life and wellness metrics.

It’s been almost 50 years since a Finnish professor invented the first battery operated fingertip heart rate monitor to assist the Finnish National Cross Country Ski Team. Professor Seppo Säynäjäkangas went on to set up Polar Electro that unveiled the first ever commercial wire-free, wearable heart rate monitor in 1982. Polar maybe a new entrant to India’s screen-free, activity tracker segment but it’s a company steeped in innovation.

The company’s Polar Loop aims to target the same user base as Whoop with one key differentiator — a subscription-free model. Aside from a range of smart rings, the fitness wearable landscape in 2026 has largely split into two camps: performance-oriented smartwatches and screen-free, activity trackers that many users choose for a distraction-free experience. And then there are those of us who use a smartwatch and an activity tracker on either wrist.

The Polar Loop is one of the best looking activity trackers. We approve of the premium stainless steel bezel and case, the lightweight textile strap adds to its refined vibe. We checked out the Brown Copper colour way that’s probably the most appealing. The Loop is also available in Night Black and Greige Sand colour variants and comes with optional extra wristbands ( ₹1,999) What works well is that the  strap is stretchable and  comfortable to wear for hours together.

At 29 gm, the device feels almost weightless on your wrist. The design will remind you of the Whoop Activity Band. You can swap out the bands to complement your look for the day. The bands are easier to change than the Whoop. Polar also packs a spare strap in the box to suit varying wrist sizes. The Polar Loop is shower-proof, it’s also ready for a dip in the pool (thanks to its WR30 rating). Set up is a breeze with the Polar Flow companion app that hooks up with your phone via Bluetooth.

We set this up with an iPhone and it worked seamlessly. Polar leans on its Precision Prime sensor suite to cull out wellness data such as your heart rate, steps and sleep. The app itself is not easy on the eye. We’ve been hearing about a likely overhaul of the Polar Flow App’s UI; we do hope this update arrives sooner than later. I had the Polar Loop strapped on to my right wrist while a smartwatch from a leading wearable brand occupied my left wrist for nearly two weeks.

The sleep data was fairly accurate with useful add-ons such as nightly recharge and sleep charge data that capture how much your sleep helped recharge your body. The Step counter seemed accurate too. The Polar Loop auto detected my sessions at the gym as one long session but didn’t record the different activities ( such as cardio or weight training) that my workout is usually split into. This is an issue with quite a few activity trackers.

You can use your phone to manually start a training session and record specific workouts that also ride on your phone’s GPS (there’s no on-board GPS on the Polar Loop). The user interface doesn’t make it easy to navigate all the data on the Polar Flow app that rounds up quite a few insightful data points that include training loads and cardio load status. The data syncs constantly, Polar tells us that the Loop can store up to four weeks of data without syncing.

Polar claims a battery life of 8 days for the Polar Loop. Our testing data validates this claim. We managed about seven days between each charge that is quite impressive for an activity tracker. The 170 mAh battery powers up in less than 90 minutes and the proprietary USB-C cable clips on to the device without a fuss. Battery life is a big win for the Polar Loop over some of its rivals. The Polar Loop scores with its design language and premium finish as well as it’s distraction-free appeal.

Battery life is solid and the device tracks quite a few wellness data points that casual users and serious fitness enthusiasts will find insightful. We wish the Companion app was more intuitive but some users might accept that trade-off for Polar Loop’s subscription-free model that makes this device a serious contender in the premium activity tracker segment. Pros Wide range of wellness metrics, no subscription fee, premium build, battery life.

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