This announcement comes at a time when Polar is seeking to compete with more established fitness watch brands such as Garmin. While Polar describes itself as a “top 10 player” in the wearables market, it still lags behind the industry’s heavyweights. According to Canalys estimates, Garmin was the only fitness-first watch brand whose shipments cracked the top five in the second quarter of 2022, with 5.5 percent of the market. Licensing its algorithms could provide Polar with a new source of revenue and influence, regardless of how its device sales perform.
