Polar
A Finnish maker of heart rate monitors and sports wearables, active since 1977.
- 1Buy Polar sensorsOff-the-shelf heart rate sensors
- 2Prove the conceptUsed Polar's open SDK
- 3Buy armband wholesaleNo hardware built in-house
- 4Co-design new buildBetter battery, easier charging, accelerometer data
From Polar page notes on Visible
What was said about Polar
Visible used Polar sensors instead of building its own hardware. Visible first bought Polar heart rate sensors and used Polar's open SDK to prove its concept. It then bought the armband wholesale.
Polar later worked with Visible and a few other customers to design a new build with better battery life, easier charging and accelerometer data. Polar has made heart rate monitors since 1977. Visible's view on building sensors itself: "We could never compete with that."
A dedicated sensor beat API aggregators for real-time heart rate. Aggregators sample every 5 to 10 minutes and need a second app open, which suits people with brain fog poorly. Per the source, 99% of devices can't support real-time heart rate alerts.
That gap is why Visible chose a hardware partner for accuracy and real-time data over pulling from wearables through an aggregator.
$10M ARR without ever testing a paywall — Luke Martin-Fuller, Visible
Visible proved its concept on Polar sensors using the open SDK, then bought the armband wholesale. Polar later worked with Visible and a few other customers to design a build with better battery life, easier charging and accelerometer data.
Visible used Polar sensors instead of building its own hardware. Visible first bought Polar heart rate sensors and used Polar's open SDK to prove its concept. It then bought the armband wholesale.
Polar later worked with Visible and a few other customers to design a new build with better battery life, easier charging and accelerometer data. Polar has made heart rate monitors since 1977. Visible's view on building sensors itself: "We could never compete with that."
A dedicated sensor beat API aggregators for real-time heart rate. Aggregators sample every 5 to 10 minutes and need a second app open, which suits people with brain fog poorly. Per the source, 99% of devices can't support real-time heart rate alerts.
That gap is why Visible chose a hardware partner for accuracy and real-time data over pulling from wearables through an aggregator.
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