Verdict
The manakin Smart Swim 2 are the best swim go after bright goggles justly now , but if you may endure without a build - in heart rate monitor , the original will give you pot of that great experience for less .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Form Smart Swim 2 are an upgraded duo of the AR swimming goggles Form launched in 2019 , that now require to become a just and voguish swimming companion .
The sassy goggles are now catch the ability to supervise your heart rate during swims and help you swim straighter to make trusted you ’re swimming more efficiently when you switch the pool for the open water system .
Those new smarts do however derive at an extra cost compared to the originalSmart Swim goggles , which I still apply long - term to track swimming . So , are those new features deserving it ? I ’ve been using them for indoor and out-of-door sessions to find out .
Design
The core pattern of the Smart Swim 2 remain very tight to the first generation goggles , which are n’t being replaced and will persist usable as a tinny choice to the Swim 2 .
They still come in with non - removable clear mirrored lenses and black eye seals , with five unlike olfactory organ bridges useable to better the fit . On the right side of the goggles you ’ll find where the ironware like the motion sensor and barrage fire Trygve Halvden Lie . It ’s now a smaller box of component that does n’t dilute as far back on the goggles , though does mean you have to vie with some mass still that you would n’t find on your standard Seth of goggles .
Tucked behind that box is the new mix optical heart rate monitor . While the original chassis goggles allow you to wear and copulate Polar ’s Verity Sense inwardness charge per unit monitor to track drive in the water , it ’s now build this feature in so you no longer need to think about clipping another matter on during a swim .
While the strap has changed vividness , the design and the way they secure to your pass works the same . The tot up colour offers a boost in visibleness , but ultimately there ’s little variety on that front in terms of burst .
I ’ve been using the Form Smart Swim 2 goggles for a few months and have found them as easy as the first coevals goggles . I ’ve not experienced any kind of electron lens leakage but a obtrusive increase in the level of suction they deport around the eye seals , which greatly improves the paroxysm . While it ’s expert to see the presence of the tech shrinking , I do n’t think it ’s radically changed the overall weight of the goggles , but it ’s a clear step in the right counsel to make them feel more like a standard pair .
Screen
The establish - in augment reality presentation has n’t changed from the first goggle in terms of the approaching and the experience of using it .
It ’s an AR presentation based on waveguide technology that can display your metrics and stats on either the left or the right wing of the goggle lens look on what you feel most easy with .
The first version was a great showcase of bringing a Google Glass - expressive style glide slope to AR displays to something you endure in the pee , and it ’s more of the same here . It ’s discriminating , easily visible without feel to a fault distracting , and the ability to adjust showing luminosity mean you could make it better suited for indoor and outside swim .
Like the first goggles , there has n’t been a drop in performance of that display and while Form has begun to proffer more info on that display , it still feels well optimised and work out far better than other swimming goggles that have tried to comprise displays into their goggles .
Swim tracking and battery life
shape packs in identical motion sensors as the first goggles to deliver the same rich tier of swim metrics , so it can capture distance covered , count strokes , stroke charge per unit and rate . Most metrics are delivered for pool swim . Once again , there ’s no Global Positioning System to dog overt water swim , but you do still have the power to pair them to an Apple Watch or a compatible Garmin to capture distance covered and step stats during subject water swimming .
The two big feature additions are the new heart pace monitor and the new SwimStraight mode . The latter will help you float in a full-strength line of merchandise by using the onboard magnetometer and digital compass . The nerve rate monitor is built - in so that is n’t something original descriptor Smart Swim user will have access to . The SwimStraight mode will be made uncommitted to the first gen goggle but that is a feature that sits within Form ’s Premium service , which cost either £ 13/$15 a calendar month or £ 84/$99 a twelvemonth . That also gets you admittance to Form ’s HeadCoach in - goggle education feature , integrating with TrainingPeaks and consecrate workouts among some other things .
I ’ll start by saying that the essence tracking performance in the pool has n’t feel all that different from my time with the original , mean that it ’s great , and remains one of the best swimming tracker I ’ve used for metrics like aloofness travelled , tempo and display those literal - clip stats . It ’s also groovy at recognize when you ’re resting in between sets . I ’ve been testing them against the swim trailing on Garmin and Polar spotter and the accuracy has stood up very well .
Getting into heart pace trailing , the keystone here is in cause certain you get the sensor positioned right . It does need to be resting against your temple , which means wearing it underneath your swim chapiter if you choose to wear one . You also need to make trusted it ’s forfend fuzz , which is easy for me but wo n’t be for hoi polloi with longer hair . The presentation will indicate when the real - time centre rate is being capture and will prompt you to check positioning if it ’s not picking anything up .
In terms of accuracy , Form has come out a white newspaper propose it has a 97 % accuracy pace against an ECG - base heart charge per unit monitor strap with deviation of plus or minus 4 BPM . In my testing , I used it against a Polar H10 and Garmin HRM - Pro heart rate admonisher breast shoulder strap , which can be a tricky customer to keep in place during swims . I also tested it against optical wrist - based heart rate sensors on Garmin and Polar see that promise to track heart rate underwater . I found that in general the heart pace data felt good for easy and steady paced swims . Positioning and placement is key here and there was just one occasion where I did n’t quite get the primed right and the mettle rate dropped . have that selective information to coup d’oeil at add another dimension to trailing , though as that blank paper tell you , it ’s not the most precise way of life to get across heart pace in the water , although it does seem to do a good business of it ..
Heading into the open water and as name , you do n’t have GPS here and many of the metrics are built with pool swimming in nous . Adding an Apple Watch or Garmin see into the mix will give you those extra stats you may crave and can expose them on the filmdom , which asseverate that strong profile in the H2O too . The liberal story is the SwimStraight modal value , which use the magnetometer and orbit and your head teacher movement to make certain you ’re swim in a square rail line .
Before you get go it will enquire you to perform a spry calibration , which involves gather your straits into your chest and moving your straits to either shoulder and then spin around , which is definitely rummy to do in the piddle . Once you hit ‘ start swimming ’ , you ’ll see act on the screen to indicate your bearing . The end is to aim for that routine and when you vary from it , it means you ’re going off course of action . For a comparatively inexperient open weewee natator like myself , this feel like a really gracious feature of speech to have at my disposal .
In terms of shelling spirit , there has been a alteration on that front . physique promise up to 12 time of day barrage fire of a single heraldic bearing , which is down from 16 hours on the first var. Smart Swim and seems to account for those added sensors and contract down that package of tech on the side of the goggles . That ’s a little dissatisfactory , but these are thankfully not smart goggles that suck the life out of the battery in an undesirable mode . swim for 40 - mo to an hour does n’t see a atrocious drainage on barrage fire and they ’ll deem well for a solid calendar week ’s or workouts . They still practice the same proprietary charging cable , which can saddle them up fully from 0 - 100 % in around an hour so you may top them up in relatively quick manner to get back out there and drown with them .
App
The Form App is available for both Android telephone set and iPhones and you ’re using Bluetooth to set up , pair and synchronize your stats to it . It does that all in a nice and speedy way after you ’ve finished your swim .
There ’s reinforcement for third party apps to share data like Strava , Apple Health , Final Surge and TrainingPeaks . There ’s also the ability to spell workouts to TrainingPeaks though that ’s a premium feature here . This also extends to Headcoach mode , which analyses data point from your swims including head roll and pitch to suggest workouts and prompts in literal - time to turn on your swimming proficiency . You do also have the option to turn this on or off if you do n’t want to employ it . It ’s a feature that ’s now get more personalised and it is utile if you ’re still trying to hone your swimming proficiency .
There ’s sure as shooting a draw more going on in the app than when it first found , so it ’s worth spend some time make to acknowledge what ’s here and also press up whether you ask to pay the extra fee for the full app experience . Without it you could still get your core swim metrics , share data to other apps and have admission to both open and consortium swimming modes .
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Should you buy it?
The Form Smart Swim 2 redeem a smashing swimming tracking experience with a design and AR display that ameliorate anything else out there
The big computer hardware difference between the first gen and new gen is the heart rate monitor , and if you do n’t care or do n’t require it then you should snaffle the Form Smart Swim instead .
Final Thoughts
I still use theForm Smart Swim , which I believe speaks volume in footing of how proficient these AR swimming goggles are and how they ’ve evolve . With the Smart Swim 2 , you ’re getting more metrics from a design that act upon to make the bearing of its tech less prominent . However , the fact that the first multiplication will still be available for less money ( $ 179/£159 ) and will get the SwimStraight mode and admission to feature article like the HeadCoach , all with the same show technology means it ’s probably the good option for most swimmers . If you really care the idea of center rate trailing and a slimly more refined excogitation then you ’ll like the Smart Swim 2 . My feeling is that the smart move is to relieve some money and get the first gen circle .
Trusted Score
How we test
When test a pair of sassy goggles , we thoroughly test all the usable feature , be that audio frequency , camera technical school or even bright displays , appraise various aspects like performance , barrage spirit and comfort .
FAQs
No , the cast Smart Swim 2 goggles do n’t admit GPS , but can be connected to an Apple Watch or compatible Garmin watch to add GPS - related data such as space and pacing .
Yes , it does do work without a subscription , pass you access to drown trailing stats , both consortium and open urine swim modes and the power to partake in information to apps like Apple Health , Strava and TrainingPeaks .
Full Specs
