Polar’s top smartwatches just got some useful new features via a free update — here are the 5 key upgrades

Polar Grit X2 Pro on a person's wrist
(Image credit: Dan Bracaglia/Future)

Polar’s best sports watches just got a big update with new features including map improvements, a find my phone tool and the ability to charge during long workouts.

The updates are available now for the Polar Vantage V3 and Polar Grit X2 Pro watches, and will roll out to the Polar Vantage M3 in Q2 2025, when the Polar Ignite 3 will also get the updates aside from the map improvements, since it doesn’t have offline maps.

While the updates are not ground-breaking new features for sports watches, they address a lot of the minor complaints I've had with Polar’s devices when testing them, and should deliver quality of life improvements for Polar users.

To update your watch, sync it with the Polar Flow app and click update when the notification pops up. It took about 15 minutes for my Polar Vantage V3 to update. Along with the usual vague ‘bug fixes’ here are the key new features you’ll be getting.

Polar Vantage V3
Polar Vantage V3: was $599 now $560 at Amazon

The Polar Vantage V3 is one of the watches that receives the latest software update and it's currently reduced to $560 on Amazon, a $39 reduction on what is an excellent AMOLED sports watch.

Points Of Interest on Maps

The offline maps on Polar watches will now show Points Of Interest (POI) around you, and you’ll be able to navigate to them during activities.

The latter is done using a pointer because Polar’s devices can’t create routes on the fly like the best Garmin watches, but this is still an useful upgrade which will help users find important local facilities like water points.

Note that to get this part of the update you’ll have to plug your watch into a computer and use the Polar Flow website to download the latest version of the maps you need to your watch.

Charging during workouts

Polar Vantage V3 software update

(Image credit: Future)

You can now charge your Polar watch during activities while it continues to record, so you won’t run out of juice during epic hikes or ultramarathons. Polar says a 20-minute charge will add 10 more hours of GPS tracking, so adventurers worried about their watch not lasting all day, or even a whole multi-day hike, can put those fears to rest.

Find My Phone

Polar Vantage V3 software update

(Image credit: Future)

This is a small but much-needed addition that brings Polar into line with other sports watches. As long as your phone is within Bluetooth range you can make it play a sound using the new Find My Phone feature, and the watch will also display a map showing your phone’s last known GPS location and an estimate of how far away it is.

Improved training analysis

Polar’s Cardio Load feature has been updated to give more useful and accurate feedback in certain situations, with a new training status called ‘Recovering’ replacing ‘Detraining.’

The watches are also less likely to say you are ‘Overreaching’ which I have noticed comes up too much on Polar devices during my testing of them, especially when I first start using a watch.

Swimmers also get more info after they complete workouts, including a breakdown of the stroke type used and insights into swimming technique that can help you improve.

More customizable watch faces

Updated Polar Vantage V3 on a person's wrist

(Image credit: Future)

I’m always pleased to see sports watches add more watch faces to AMOLED watches, because it does help them to compete with the best smartwatches with regards to customization.

Polar has added two new analog and three new digital watch face options, all of which can be customized to show data like the weather forecast and widgets like music controls.

More from Tom's Guide

Nick Harris-Fry
Senior Writer

Nick Harris-Fry is an experienced health and fitness journalist, writing professionally since 2012. He spent nine years working on the Coach magazine and website before moving to the fitness team at Tom’s Guide in 2024. Nick is a keen runner and also the founder of YouTube channel The Run Testers, which specialises in reviewing running shoes, watches, headphones and other gear.

Nick ran his first marathon in 2016 after six weeks of training for a magazine feature and subsequently became obsessed with the sport. He now has PBs of 2hr 27min for the marathon and 15min 30sec for 5K, and has run 13 marathons in total, as well as a 50-mile ultramarathon. Nick is also a qualified Run Leader in the UK.

Nick is an established expert in the health and fitness area and along with writing for many publications, including Live Science, Expert Reviews, Wareable, Coach and Get Sweat Go, he has been quoted on The Guardian and The Independent.

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