Polar Grit X gets an update that will literally transform your runs

Woman wearing Polar Grit X running watch

(Epitome credit: Polar)

Ane of the globe'south toughest running watches, the Polar Grit Ten, has received a major firmware update for 2022 that will allow y'all change your route on the wing during a run, link information technology to gym equipment for accurate eye rate monitoring during indoor workouts, and more.

The Polar Grit X arrived in September 2020. It was followed by the more rugged and outdoorsy Polar Grit X Pro in October 2021, but this latest software update gives owners of the original picket a hefty gear up of new features.

Most new running watches permit yous to control your phone's music role player from your wrist, avoiding the need to stop and dig out your handset when you want to skip a track. It's a useful feature, but one that was missing from the Grit Ten until now. Once you've downloaded the update, you lot'll find that you can navigate your playlist and adjust volume during training sessions, or from the watch's time view when you're not tracking an action.

As mentioned, you tin can now tweak your running route mid-conditioning, which allows you to alter your class if you lot're starting to feel drawn and desire to cutting your run short. Provided y'all've fix more than 1 route earlier heading out, you can switch betwixt them by selecting 'Routes' from your lookout'southward Quick Menu.

The January Polar Grit update adds a new running performance examination, which lets you check your electric current fitness level, and set up personal heart rate, speed, and power zones that you tin can utilize in future training sessions.

Three Polar Grit X watch renders showing new music and training features — (Image credit: Polar)

You'll be able to meet a weekly summary of your week'southward training on the watch face, and you can use the Polar Menstruum smartphone app to create training targets based on ability, add a ZonePointer so y'all tin can see at a glance which ability and speed zone you're currently working in, and add last lap training views.

Finally, you tin now plough the watch off, perform a factory reset directly from your wrist, or create a custom scout face featuring your proper noun.

You can download the update now via either Polar FlowSync on your figurer, or the Polar Flow app.

Opinion: do you lot really need a new scout?

It's refreshing to encounter watchmakers maintaining their existing products rather than pushing owners to invest in new hardware – particularly when it comes to rugged devices similar the Polar Grit X that are congenital to survive many years of mud and sweat.

Yesterday (Jan 18) Garmin launched its new flagship running watch, the Garmin Fenix 7. It's an impressive device (we were particularly impressed by its ability to track changes in stamina during a run), just the company isn't pushing its existing customers to upgrade.

But the mean solar day earlier, the company released a huge firmware update for the three-year-old Fenix 6, which may well have tempted some owners to stick with the older device. Like the Grit Ten, the Fenix six is very solidly congenital, and information technology's unlikely that the hardware will take failed in the three years since its release.

That's not just adept news for runners, but for the environment too, reducing electrical waste material, and limiting need for materials like lithium and cobalt, which are used in smartwatch batteries. Hopefully both Polar and Garmin volition continue to keep their existing devices up to date with new fixes and features for many years to come.

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Cat is the fitness and wellbeing editor at TechRadar. She's been a technology journalist for 12 years, and cut her teeth on magazines including PC Plus and PC Format before joining TechRadar. She's a trained run leader, and enjoys nothing more than hitting the pavement and helping new runners reach their goals. If you lot have a story nearly fitness trackers, treadmills, running shoes, eastward-bikes, or whatever other fettle tech, drop her a line.