Premier wearable brand Polar has announced it will launch an all-new wearable later this year, but unlike most of the brand's products, this one won’t have a screen.
Instead, it aims to quietly track your health and fitness in the background, free from subscriptions, distractions, or the constant glare of a digital display (a la Whoop MG or Oura Ring 4).
After nearly 50 years of heart rate monitors and GPS running watches – and only a couple of weeks after launching the Polar Grit X2, this shift marks a bold new direction for the Finnish company.
Instead of pushing notifications or tempting you to scroll through stats mid-workout, the new Polar wearable will blend into your routine, logging your activity, sleep, and fitness behind the scenes.
“We believe that Polar has the perfect combination of sensors, industry-leading metrics, and scientific research and development to meet this demand,” said Polar CEO Sander Werring.
“What they want is simplicity and freedom: the ability to choose what to track, how to track it, and when – seamlessly, effortlessly, and almost without noticing it’s there.”
Screenless is suddenly everywhere
This isn’t just a Polar thing. 2025 is shaping up to be the year of screenless fitness wearables.
Garmin has been quietly laying the foundations with a redesigned Connect app that would make far more sense if a screenless device were on the way, and the rumour mill suggests that’s exactly what’s coming.
Meanwhile, Whoop just launched its latest strap, the Whoop 5.0 and the aforementioned, ECG-capable Whoop MG, designed for all-day wear without any display at all.
After years of ever-larger AMOLED screens and smartwatch distractions, wearables seem to be swinging back toward minimalism, prioritising insight over interface.
The shift is probably due to the popularity of the best smart rings, which many people prefer, thanks to their distraction-free, minimalist design. Screenless wrist-wearables can offer an alternative to these, too.
What we know about Polar’s screenless wearable
Details are still scarce, but here’s what’s confirmed: Polar’s new device will be worn on the wrist and be entirely screen-free.
It won’t require a subscription, making it a potential game-changer for anyone tired of monthly fees just to access basic data.
The company promises it will track sleep, activity, fitness and “health,” though we’ll have to wait to find out what that includes: heart rate variability, stress tracking, maybe menstrual cycle support?
The official launch is set for 3 September 2025, and Polar has promised to reveal more about the product’s features, design, pricing, and availability over the coming weeks
Head over to Polar to find out more.
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