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Polar has launched its first new watch of 2026: the Street X is an affordable option designed to appeal to city athletes thanks to its rugged design and variety of sports tracking modes.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about the new Polar Street X is the built-in flashlight. This is a feature I love on the best sports watches from other brands, and it’s the first time we’ve seen it on a Polar watch.
Polar Street X: What you need to know
The Street X is available today and costs $249 in the U.S. and £219 in the U.K., making it one of the more affordable sports watches on the market with a price in line with the likes of the Coros Pace 4, Suunto Run and Garmin Forerunner 165.
Article continues belowIt has an AMOLED display and a distinctive design with a chunky plastic case that reminds me of watches like the Garmin Instinct 3 and Coros Nomad.
Aside from offline maps, which are a feature reserved for pricier Polar watches, the Street X has all of the brand’s key features for sports, sleep and activity tracking, and offers up to 10 days of battery life in watch mode.
Light up your life
Garmin has spearheaded the charge of the flashlight brigade with sports watches, having included the feature since the Garmin Fenix 7X, which launched in early 2022.
Most of the best Garmin watches now have it, and other brands are adding one to new launches, including the Suunto Vertical 2 and the Polar Street X.
Garmin has actually included the design of its flashlight as part of a lawsuit against Suunto, claiming its patent has been infringed, so it will be interesting to see if there’s any legal trouble with Polar’s new watch to come.
Hopefully not, as I love having a flashlight built into my sports watch and want to see it done by as many brands as possible; the Polar Street X is one of the most affordable watches to have the feature.
A durable design for urban athletes
Polar’s positioning of the Street X as a watch for city living mostly relates to its design, with its bold look and rugged hardware.
The Street X is tested to MIL‑STD‑810H standards, water resistant to 50 meters and comes in black, white and green.
While it’s primarily aimed at people who train in the gym, it still features all of Polar’s endurance sports modes and detailed training analysis, and offers 43 hours of GPS battery life.
I'll be testing the Street X soon to see if it can rival the best entry-level watches from other brands.
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