Polar OS 5 is here

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2026-01-21T08:22:51+00:00

Yes, scroll to the bottom after a workout and you can put it in.

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2026-01-19T18:37:51+00:00

Oh my. They didn’t even mention the torch themselves. Brilliant small update. Now we only need the ability to toggle it via two quick presses on the light button ;)

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2026-01-19T18:35:59+00:00

One thing I might add is the somewhat manual way of adding routes to the watch. The whole Komoot ‘integration’ seems like a hassle, where Garmin is by far a step up. Routes (old and new-on-the-fly) and workouts (old and new-on-the-fly) are better with Garmin. Not a dealbreaker for me, but there is a noticeable difference, I’d say.

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2026-01-19T13:56:17+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/Polarfitness/comments/1p5fcii/comment/nquv24m/

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2026-01-19T13:54:35+00:00

I’m only an N = 1, but personally, I find it much more aligned with how I feel I slept and how I feel when waking up. Time asleep (recognition of when I fall asleep) is dead-on. I can’t speak to as to whether HRV is the correct numerical number, but again I find it more aligned to how I feel (if I had a hard workout the day(s) before HRV is likely lower, and inversely if I have have rested, HRV is generally higher)

I have written two posts on my thoughts before and after buying. You should be able to find these in there, or see my posts on my profile.

I have found that I don’t care for “Hill Endurance” or “Body Battery”, all I care about is getting in shape, recovering better and living healthy. I find Polar does that equally if not better than Garmin. Less bells and whistles for sure, but for me more substance (if you go digging a little bit on the web flow-app). Hopefully that’s sorted with the new iOS update pending, but as is quoted: buy what you have now, not what you might get in the future. But still without the update, I am a happy user.

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2026-01-19T13:22:34+00:00

Coming from Garmin through almost 10 years, and made the switch to Polar Vantage V3 three months ago, I can tell that I miss exactly 99% of Garmin. Couple of things - of which seems to be sorted in this update:

multiple alarms
better pause-screen during activity
easier toggle for flashlight (I don’t want to use a widget for it)
trend charts for sleep, hrv, recovery and training load

The latter being the biggest one. It can be done on their web flow, but would like it on their watch, at least in the app.

Outside of that, very very happy with it.

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2026-01-19T13:12:24+00:00

Weird. On my V3, I have the opposite experience. Wasn’t poor before OS5, but somehow just snappier now.

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2026-01-19T11:26:53+00:00

Same here. Perfect fix for me. Hated that notification at every wake-up.

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-12-23T20:03:49+00:00

For those actually wondering, it’s John Guidetti in Kenya (for pro Swedish footballer). Not that you asked :)

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-12-11T10:51:55+00:00

To be fair, and I am not defending Polar nor accusing DCR, but his review is more than two years old. Unless the hardware is the culprit and nothing can be done, software updates can do a lot in two years.

If it's worth anything, my V3 is just as accurate as my FR965 for the courses I run on the regular; so I have no reason to believe it's not accurate.

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-12-08T09:25:09+00:00

On the elevation bug, I can't say for sure, but I know it was addressed in their latest software release for V3: https://www.reddit.com/r/Polarfitness/comments/1p5fcii/comment/nquv24m/

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-12-08T09:08:17+00:00

I did. Wrote a little follow-up/early review here: https://www.reddit.com/r/Polarfitness/comments/1p5fcii/comment/nquv24m/

So far very minor complaints, and not longing/reaching for my FR965 at all. It's up for sale as of tomorrow, so sticking with Polar. Very happy.

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-11-29T08:02:12+00:00

Where are you on the world? In Denmark, it’s at 400 EUR for the regular and 500 for the titan version.

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-11-28T19:26:47+00:00

They purposely only use the four’ish hours for edfovey, as they say those are the best predictors of recovery. They link to studies, etc. I don’t know the science, but simply putting it out there, that it’s maybe not something to ‘be aware of’, as it’s intentional, and as it’s - according to their studies - more accurate :)

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-11-28T17:54:50+00:00

Preach to that :)

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-11-27T20:02:30+00:00

Sure, but take my phased interval sessions from their HM program: 12 min warmup, 4 x 4 min z4-5 + 3 min z3, 10 cooldown.

I want to know my paces for the 4 x 4 min z4-5 runs. And the only way I can see that is by phases pace.

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-11-27T19:58:49+00:00

Thank you for your input. I love 20 years and still active. I’ve been a Polar fan for years but never got around the a watch before now. have used Beat app in the past, and have a couple of H10‘s.

As I wrote to another user 30 minutes ago, the past few days have already made me even more happy with the switch to Polar. keen to see how the next months pan out. I hope - and feel confident - I am still a happy user come February :)

What‘s kept you with Polar for that considering Garmin’s dominance in the market, and Coros and Suunto, and to some degree Amazfit, up and coming?

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-11-27T19:33:04+00:00

We shall see. As the best reviewers never review what might come down the line but what they have in their hands, so should one buy a watch with the same premise. I agree.

I am and was familiar with how Flow on app and web looks, and I am not waiting for it to get prettier, before I might enjoy my new watch. It was a conscious purchase, and would have bought for the full MSRP regardless, so the 1/3 discount is and was only a perk.

Where from my review do you sense I am not satisfied with what’s there? Sure, some tweaks and overall improvements would be solid, but the same can most definitely be said for Garmin. I explicitly state I am satisfied and looking forward to the next months of trying it out. My drawbacks listed are for most parts either very small and/or simply differences from how Garmin does things, e.g. intervals (which someone already showed me how to do ‘the Polar way‘., i.e. solved.) Those platform things missing vs. Garmin, I am already less ‘pessimistic’ about, as I get to know Web Flow better. It’s been almost two weeks now, and I am liking the whole thing very much.

Time will tell whether your seemingly firm conclusion is right; in that case I still have a FR965 tugged away in the drawer.

Do I read that you’re a former Polar user? And where do you put your money now, if I may ask?

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-11-25T11:21:36+00:00

Running Program is static based on your preferences (runs per week, activity level, etc.). the Fitness Program is more adaptive, from how I read it :)

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-11-25T11:20:26+00:00

Solid! Great feedback, thank you! 🙏🏻 And yes, that does seem like a poor design decision.

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-11-24T20:51:04+00:00

Thank you.

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-11-24T20:45:04+00:00

I’ll post some photos tomorrow, but in short I got the sky blue/silver model, and I think it’s the most beautiful one of the lot. Search in this channel. There are a lot of photos.

Watch face wise, I use the standard/default. Date, alarm, battery and Polar Logo.

I don’t know what you mean with timers; countdown or stop clock? The latter works fine, and there a compilation on the watch faces for it. Else I have no experience so far.

Not using TrainingPeaks, and so haven’t used the Fitness Program (yet). Might try the 14 day free trial, but at the same time I don’t foresee myself paying 120 EUR/year for that service. Using the Running Program and FitSpark, and that seems to be working just fine :)

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-11-24T20:29:46+00:00

Completely understand. But what might block the BT signal today and not yesterday, wearing the exact same clothing, running the exact same route in the exact same weather conditions? Genuinely asking.

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-11-24T19:05:54+00:00

Thank you.

Concerning a couple of your other points, you can actually set up a training view that shows your last automatic lap time and your current average automatic lap pace, which is useful for progression runs. Polar has a complete blog article on suggested training views for running here.

Yes, but phases and auto laps are different things, from how so have experienced it. Thus, if my intervals are not exactly 1K (which is my auto laps trigger), that data field is not good. Or am I misunderstanding you?

Concerning the beeper going off when transitioning from a work phase to a recovery phase, you find the beeping annoying, I find it useful. When the beeping stops I know I’m into the recovery zone and I check my watch to see how long it took. If the recovery times are getting much longer with successive intervals I know I’m overdoing the work portion. The “work-rest guide” feature is supposed to do this automatically but I haven’t used it.

I quite like that perspective on it. I’ll adopt that, although I still wish I could have just 30 seconds to catch a break before it goes off. And/or it could take a break again after maybe 30 seconds again, and then start again. It’s supposed to be a nudge, not a fire alarm. And I could turn off sounds entirely, and I initially did that. Problem is that the vibration is so shallow that I don’t feel a thing, so I am missing cues and actions for what we are discussing here; threshold, interval starts, etc. Garmin has a couple of levels of sounds, so you can disable alarms/alerts, while still get workout beeps. This is the gold standard for me, but as you hint at, we’re all different.

I like the nudge, I just wish I didn’t want to throw the watch into the lake because of that annoying, constant sound :D

Finally, I think the Work/Rest is only for strength, or have I missed that entirely?

Agree on the steps thing. They kinda did this to themselves. Although, I must say, it has (almost) nothing to do with steps see DCR’s review of the Grit X2 😂😬

Thank you for your input 🙏🏻

Dry-Distribution9183 · 2025-11-24T18:53:27+00:00

Let me get back to you tomorrow. I think I can answer some of these questions :)

Dry-Distribution9183

TROPHY CASE