Last fall it was clear that the Polar M600 was the best smartwatch and GPS sports watch combination. Even with the Apple Watch Series 2 and Samsung Gear S3 releases, there are reasons the M600 remains the best for athletes looking for one watch that does it all.
Last September, I reviewed the Polar M600 Android Wear smartwatch and labeled it the best smartwatch for sports-focused people. With the release of Android Wear 2.0 for the M600 and new competing watches from Apple, LG, and Huawei, it is clear to me that the Polar M600 is the best for those who want their GPS sports watch combined with their daily wear smartwatch.
In most cases, we have to choose either a GPS sports watch or a smartwatch to have optimal experiences for each primary function. Let’s look at some of the newest devices that try to combine the two functions.
As you can see, there is competition to the Polar M600 when it comes to smartwatches that can serve as GPS sports watches. While most are close and even offer a better smartwatch experience in most cases, the long battery, GPS accuracy, heart rate performance, open nature of the Polar Flow service, and sleep tracking make the Polar M600 a better GPS sportswatch that also performs well as a smartwatch.
The details of the data captured by the Polar Flow app on the M600 is exhaustive and it’s tough to find another smartwatch with such a comprehensive collection of your data. Polar Flow has a selection of running programs that you can sync to the M600 to achieve your event goals. The programs can be customized to how often you train, how long you wish to train during each session, and how intense you want to train. For those looking to complete a 5K, 10K, half marathon, or full marathon the Polar Running Program is a valuable added benefit to using the Polar M600.
With the recent release of Android Wear 2.0, updates to the Polar M600 include:
Google Assistant works well on the Polar M600 with a press and hold of the left hardware button. Music plays back well and it is easy to download and install apps right from the watch. The only real limitation with the Polar M600, compared to 2017 smartwatches, is that NFC is not present so you cannot use Android Pay on the M600.
The Polar M600 is available in Charcoal Black and Powder White for $329.95. Interchangeable wristband accessories are available in red, white, and black for $29.95 each.
