Polar Announces A300 Activity Tracker Watch, also MyFitnessPal automatic sync support
The A300 Overview:
This weekend ahead of CES here in Las Vegas, Polar has announced their latest activity tracking watch, the A300. This watch aims to take the M400 GPS watch, remove the GPS part, and then call it the A300. Roughly.
But while that might be roughly the case when you look at the PR material, in actuality there’s a number of smaller tweaks (and adds) that differentiate it more than you might think from the M400. For example, the A300 has removable watch bands, so you can go all colorful and swap to any of the different band colors shown above quickly:
It also contains a USB plug built straight into the device that goes right into your computer with no cables (but still has Bluetooth Smart for transfers wirelessly to phones too):
While the V800 and M400 share the same display screen, the A300 gets a reduced resolution screen with a slightly simplified menu. It actually works well in this form factor (kinda like the Garmin FR15), and does have a cool backlight feature where the data pages will automatically light-up at a reduced level anytime you tap a button, and then you can press the dedicated light button to fully turn on the backlight at a brighter level:
Also unlike the M400, it supports the analog portion of the heart rate strap (in addition to Bluetooth Smart), so with straps such as the Polar H7 it’ll actually record and display heart rate while swimming underwater:
With all these features, the A300 effectively becomes a much more advanced Polar Loop activity tracking device – but in a watch form factor. Thus from an activity tracking standpoint it does daily activity tracking including steps and distance, as well as sleep tracking. It’ll also beep and buzz at you too – as it does include a vibration function – a feature lacking on the M400 GPS watch.
On the workout side of things, the unit is heavily focused on heart rate based workouts. As noted above it connects to Bluetooth Smart capable heart rate straps, like Polar’s H7 and H6 straps, to display your heart rate within activities. This data is then used to give you detailed calorie burn information with the same fidelity as some of Polar’s higher end devices like the V800. This is notable if only because some other competitive companies put in ‘cheaper’ calorie burn algorithms in their lower end devices.
The A300 does allow you to create numerous different activity profiles on the device, like its M400 and V800 siblings. This helps to slightly refine the calorie burn assumptions for rowing versus running, for example. Of course, lacking a GPS chip or any other workout distance tracking, some of this starts to become more academic than practical.
These modes can be leveraged in conjunction with Polar’s existing Smart Coaching functions – which allow you to build out heart rate based workouts of structure on the Polar Flow website and then download them to the watch. This functionality also covers guidance around targeted workouts in terms of focusing on a given effort level for a specific workout and understanding the purpose of that workout.
Next up is that the A300 can communicate directly with your iOS or Android smartphone to relay the data to the Polar Flow website and Polar Flow mobile apps. The mobile apps will show your daily activity tracking details, as well as individual workout details. Additionally, from the Polar Flow site you can export out your activity data for manual transfer to 3rd party sites like MyFitnessPal.
(Note that in order to use smartphone sync, your phone must support Bluetooth 4.0, which is roughly any Android phone on Android OS 4.3 or higher, or iPhone 4s and higher.)
Polar announces MyFitnessPal sync:
In conjunction with the A300 announcement, Polar is also announcing that later this month (January 2015) they’ll rollout automatic sync with MyFitnessPal (MFP), which is by far the most popular calorie focused and health tracking app out there. This will then send from Polar to MFP your step data, as well as your activity/workout data. This will happen automatically behind the scenes from Polar Flow to MFP.
You’ll only need to sync your Polar M400, V800 or A300 to Polar Flow as normal via your mobile phone or computer with the USB port downloading.
Now while MyFitnessPal might not be as appealing to endurance athletes, Polar says it’s the first service they’re working to support with the background sync service they rolled out this fall. They are working with a number of the other ‘majors’ in the endurance segment, but declined to announce the names quite yet.
Product Comparison Tables:
I’ve gone ahead and added in the Polar A300 into the product comparison database. This helps you to see how it compares to the M400 GPS watch, as well as Polar’s higher end V800 multisport GPS watch. Note that you can always mix and match products from anything I’ve reviewed by going to the database itself.
Copyright DC Rainmaker – Updated November 27th, 2016 @ 4:58 amNew Window
Price$139$179$449
Product Announcement DateJan 3rd, 2015Sept 25th, 2014Jan 6th, 2014
Actual Availability/Shipping DateJanuary 2015October 2014May 2014
GPS Recording FunctionalityNoYesYes
Data TransferUSB, BLUETOOTH SMARTUSB, BLUETOOTH SMARTUSB, BLUETOOTH SMART
WaterproofingYes – 30mYes – 30mYes – 30m
Battery Life (GPS)4 Weeks8 hoursUp to 50 hours
Recording Interval1-Second1-second1s
Satellite Pre-Loading via ComputerN/AYesSorta, predictive but not cached.
Quick Satellite ReceptionN/AGreatGood
AlertsSound/Visual/VibrateSound/VisualVibrate/Sound/Visual
Backlight GreatnessGreatGreatGreat
Ability to download custom apps to unit/deviceNoNoNo
Acts as daily activity monitor (steps, etc…)YesYesYes
Can control phone musicNoNo
Has music storage and playbackNoNo
Bluetooth Legacy (pre-4.0) to PhoneNoNoNo
Bluetooth Smart (4.0+) to Phone UploadingYesYesYes
Phone Notifications to unit (i.e. texts/calls/etc…)Yes (as of May 3rd, 2016)YesYes
Live Tracking (streaming location to website)NoNoNo
Group trackingNo
Emergency/SOS Message Notification (from watch to contacts)NoNoNo
Built-in cellular chip (no phone required)NoNoNo
Designed for cyclingNoYesYes
Power Meter CapableNoNoYes
Power Meter Configuration/Calibration OptionsNoNoYes
Power Meter TSS/NP/IFNoNoNP
Speed/Cadence Sensor CapableNoNoYes
Strava segments live on deviceNo
Crash detectionNo
Designed for runningSorta (no distance)YesYes
Footpod Capable (For treadmills)NoYesYes
Running Dynamics (vertical oscillation, ground contact time, etc…)NoNoNo
VO2Max EstimationNoSortaYes
Race PredictorNoCan estimate finish time during raceYes, via Race Pace
Recovery AdvisorNoNo (only if you have V800 too)Yes
Run/Walk ModeNoNoYes, via timers
Designed for swimmingYesNoYes
Openwater swimming modeNoNoYes
Lap/Indoor Distance TrackingNoN/AYes
Record HR underwaterYesNoYes
Openwater Metrics (Stroke/etc.)NoN/AYes
Indoor Metrics (Stroke/etc.)NoN/AYes
Indoor Drill ModeNON/ANo
Indoor auto-pause featureNoN/ANo
Change pool sizeNoN/AYes
Indoor Min/Max Pool LengthsNoN/A-
Ability to customize data fieldsNoN/AYes
Can change yards to metersNoN/AYes
Captures per length data – indoorsNoN/AYes
Indoor AlertsNoN/AN/A
Designed for triathlonNoNoYes
Multisport modeNoNoYes
Create/Follow custom workoutsYesYesYes
On-unit interval FeatureNoYesNo
Training Calendar FunctionalityNoYesYes
Auto Start/StopYesYes
Virtual Partner FeatureNoVia Race EstimatorYes
Virtual Racer FeatureNoNoNo
Records PR’s – Personal Records (diff than history)NoYesNo
Day to day watch abilityYesYesYes
Hunting/Fishing/Ocean DataNoNoNo
Tidal Tables (Tide Information)NoNoNo
Jumpmaster mode (Parachuting)nONoNo
GeocachingNoNoNo
Weather Display (live data)NoNoNo
Follow GPS Track (Courses/Waypoints)NoNoYes
Markers/Waypoint DirectionNoNoYes
Routable/Visual Maps (like car GPS)NoNoNo
Back to startNOYesYes
Impromptu Round Trip Route CreationNoNoNo
Download courses/routes from phone to unitNoNoYes
Altimeter TypeNoneGPSBarometric
Compass TypeNoneGPSMagnetic
Optical Heart Rate Sensor internallyNo
Heart Rate Strap CompatibleYesYesYes
ANT+ Heart Rate Strap CapableNoNoNo
ANT+ Speed/Cadence CapableNoNoNo
ANT+ Footpod CapableNoNoNo
ANT+ Power Meter CapableNoNoNo
ANT+ Weight Scale CapableNoNoNo
ANT+ Fitness Equipment (Gym)NoNoNo
ANT+ Lighting ControlNoNo
ANT+ Bike Radar IntegrationNoNo
ANT+ Trainer Control (FE-C)NoNo
ANT+ Remote ControlNoNoNo
ANT+ eBike CompatibilityNoNoNo
ANT+ Muscle Oxygen (i.e. Moxy/BSX)NoNo
ANT+ Gear Shifting (i.e. SRAM ETAP)NoNo
Shimano Di2 ShiftingNoNoNo
Bluetooth Smart HR Strap CapableYesYesYes
Bluetooth Smart Speed/Cadence CapableNoNoYes
Bluetooth Smart Footpod CapableNoYesYes
Bluetooth Smart Power Meter CapableNoNoYes
Temp Recording (internal sensor)NoNoYes
Temp Recording (external sensor)NoNoNo
Compatible with Firstbeat HR tools–Yes
PC ApplicationPolar FlowsyncPolar FlowsyncPolar Flowsync – Windows/Mac
Web ApplicationPolar FlowPolar FlowPolar Flow
Phone AppiOS/AndroidiOS (now)/Android (Dec 2014)iOS/Android
Ability to Export SettingsNoNoNo
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Review LinkLinkLinkLink
Remember again that you can always mix and match any products within the product comparison tool.
My Thoughts on the A300:
With that bit of background, let’s get to the important piece – price. And this is where things get a bit shaky. The A300 is priced at $139 without the HR strap. Which…is a sorta awkward price competitively speaking. Why’s that? Well, the GPS-capable M400 is only $40 more. And as I’ve said before, the M400 is the best mid-range GPS watch these days under $300. Whereas with the GPS-less A300, you’ve got kinda an odd duck feature-wise on the price spectrum.
The A300 does however have a handful of features that the M400 doesn’t, like vibration alerts, changeable bands, and the ability to use it to record heart rate while swimming. But those features are somewhat in conflict with the people who would realistically want them (and pay for them) at the M400 price point instead.
I suspect Polar is trying to carve out a modern replacement for their FT series that’s long been in their watch stable – and to that end, this actually makes a great replacement for that aging line. But at the same time – I feel like it’s about $20-$30 too expensive for that market. Had this been been priced at $109-$119US without the HR strap – then it becomes more appealing (and competitive). But because a HR strap is pretty much 100% required to have this unit be of any value, you’re looking at an entry point today closing in at $180…which is again quite a bit compared to other options on the market (or phone apps).
As for an in-depth review, Polar’s handing off to me a unit Monday, so I’ll likely aim for some form of review later in the month or early February, depending on the load of devices coming out of CES this week (and into my suitcase).
Thanks for reading – and feel free to drop any questions below!
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Welcome to CES 2015! Don’t forget to check out all my CES 2015 coverage, as well as my continual updates throughout the day on Twitter. It’s gonna be a crazy busy week!
