Can A Smart Watch Control GoPro? Polar V800 Does!

Let me first say that the Polar V800 GPS Sports Watch might be the most hard-core true to running watch out there.  The fact that it also works with your GoPro as a camera remote is a bonus.

Last year Polar announced it was working on GoPro compatibility for it’s product and with a promise to introduce the functionality for its Polar V800 GPS multisport smartwatch later in the year.

If you haven’t heard of Polar, that’s okay, you’ve probably been checking out the mainstream fitness trackers instead of the serious, feature packed training watches like the V800.

While Polar does have a line of fitness trackers such as the Polar Loop 2, they’ve really raised the bar for everyone in the wearable technology space with useful, integrated technology for athletes who are training at a high level and pushing limits.

With the move into the GoPro Developer Program, Polar is one of just a handful of wearables offering cool functionality beyond the norm.

Connecting through your iPhone’s wi-fi bridge to the GoPro Hero4 Black and GoPro Hero4 Silver, the V800 allows you to select the camera mode of your GoPro and start/stop recording or capture photos.  With the separate Polar H10 Heart Rate Chest Strap(coming soon) future updates will let you add heart rate info right on your videos.

Unlike the Apple Watch, which allows you to preview your GoPro screen view on your smartwatch, the Polar V800 keeps it simple with an interface that is controls only.  We would not be surprised to see a “live-view” feature added down the road.

Other Polar smartwatches will add the GoPro remote control as they are developed, with the Polar M600 exptected to be next.

For both the Apple Watch and the Polar V800 the additional need to have the user’s smartphone bridging between the smart watch and the GoPro seems like an unfortunate and unnecessary step.  We call it the “internet of too many things” and fully expect that leadership in this space will come from devices that are able to do more direct D2D or “device-to-device” handshakes in the future.

The Polar V800 retails starting at $300 and has additional add-on bluetooth accessories like a stride sensor and a chest strap heart rate monitor.