Polar takes on G-Shock with its toughest watch yet and adds a Garmin-style flashlight

Polar has unveiled a new smartwatch that shows the brand is ready to move beyond the ‘wearables for hardcore athlete’ box it has long occupied.

The Street X leans heavily into durability and everyday wearability, positioning itself closer to rugged lifestyle devices than to traditional running watches.

It has a reinforced polymer case, exposed screws and chunky proportions reminiscent of G-Shock watches, while the lightweight build and 1.28-inch AMOLED touchscreen display (protected by Gorilla Glass 3) keep it firmly in modern smartwatch territory.

Polar says the Street X is “designed for a new generation of sport enthusiasts and health-conscious users whose routines move effortlessly between indoor and outdoor spaces.”

With the rise of hybrid training, including CrossFit and HYROX, many users now expect wearables to track multiple disciplines seamlessly.

That isn’t new in itself (see also: best triathlon watches), but the way these users engage with devices is changing.

Modern hybrid athletes are as interested in how a watch looks as how it performs, which is where the G-Shock-style build of the Street X comes into play.

As Sander Warring, CEO of Polar, says, “The new generation of city athletes want a watch that performs and fits their style.”

“With Street X, we responded to this demand by creating a rugged, design-led watch that combines Polar’s training credibility with bold, everyday wearability and durability at a more accessible price, ready to handle gym sessions, street runs, and daily life with equal confidence.”

The watch doesn’t just look rugged. It is tested to MIL-STD-810H standards and offers WR50 water resistance, suggesting it can handle more than just knocks, bumps and daily wear.

Despite that, the Street X weighs just 48g, which should make it more comfortable for all-day use than bulkier outdoor watches.

Familiar Polar features, new positioning

Despite the design shift, the Street X remains a Polar watch at its core. It supports more than 170 sports profiles and includes established training and recovery tools such as Training Load Pro and Nightly Recharge.

Sleep tracking covers duration, stages and quality, while overnight metrics include heart rate, heart rate variability and skin temperature.

Polar claims up to 10 days of battery life in smartwatch mode, or up to 43 hours of continuous training with GPS and optical heart rate tracking enabled.

A small feature with big implications

One of the more unexpected additions is Polar’s first integrated LED flashlight.

Positioned on the side of the case, it supports both white and red light modes, allowing for quick visibility in low-light conditions without reaching for a phone.

It’s a feature more commonly associated with Garmin watches, particularly the Fenix line, and its inclusion here reinforces the Street X’s crossover appeal as both a training tool and an everyday utility device.

The Street X is available now via Polar and selected retailers, priced at £219 / €249.90 / $249.90 (~AU$415).

At launch, it comes in two colours, Night Black and Snow White, with a third option, Forest Green, available first in a limited batch on Polar’s website, before wider availability in Q2 2026.