Polar Grit X2 Review: Five Years of Wait, Finally Worth It

Introduction

Five years is a long time between flagship releases in sports watches, and Polar has finally answered with the Grit X2. The original Grit X launched half a decade ago, and this new model arrives with a modest price increase from $429 to $479, an AMOLED display, dual-frequency GPS, built-in maps and Polar’s new OS 4.0 platform. After real-world testing across swimming, cycling, running and even standup paddle boarding, the short version is this: the Grit X2 is a much more interesting watch than it is being given credit for, with a couple of clear quirks you should know about first.

What Is New Compared to the Original Grit X

The headline upgrades are significant. The Grit X2 joins Polar’s shared platform alongside the Vantage M3, Vantage V3 and Grit X2 Pro, which means it gets built-in base maps for North America and Europe, plus downloadable detailed maps for your region or country from Polar’s site. With 32GB of onboard storage, there is plenty of room for several gigabytes of detailed maps, and OS 4.0 adds points of interest such as campsites and cafes directly on those maps.

Dual-frequency (multiband) GPS is another major addition, and the new optical heart rate sensor brings nightly skin temperature tracking. There is also a manual ECG feature, though it is not medically certified and does not detect atrial fibrillation or run any passive background monitoring. The switch from the older MIP display to AMOLED enables the virtual flashlight, activated by swiping down from the top. It is enough to navigate a dark hotel room, but it is not an LED flashlight and will not light up trails at night.

Not everything moved forward. Waterproofing drops from 100m to 50m, and battery life specs shrink across the board, likely a consequence of the AMOLED panel. GPS runtime goes from 40 hours to 30 hours, and the ultra-long economy mode drops from 100 hours to 90 hours.

How It Compares to the Grit X2 Pro

The differences between the two mostly come down to case and materials. The Grit X2 Pro is effectively a 49mm watch versus the 45mm Grit X2, though the Grit X2 honestly feels bigger than its number suggests next to other 45mm watches. Both have a stainless steel bezel, and the Pro’s titanium edition uses titanium for the lugs and case, with a plastic back on both models.

The bigger case houses a roughly 50 to 60 percent larger battery, which translates into longer battery life. Beyond that, everything else is identical: the same military-grade spec, dual-frequency GPS, USB-C, Bluetooth, and every single software feature is the same, which is arguably the most important part. If you want maximum battery and a bigger build, the Pro earns its higher price; if you want the full feature set in a smaller, cheaper package, the Grit X2 is the more rational choice.

Heart Rate Accuracy

Optical heart rate results are a genuine mixed bag. On easy trail runs and longer moderate-pace sets, the Grit X2 matched a heart rate strap spot on with no issues. On a mountain ride of around two and a half hours, it actually performed far better than expected for a wrist-based sensor, outlasting a chest strap that was having a bad day, with only a couple of minor sprints and surges skipped near the end.

The rough spots show up in intensity. A session of 400-meter repeats, at an easy pace in warm, ideal conditions, missed all six intervals outright. An indoor cycling workout tracked well overall except for the sprints, one of which was completely missed and another only half captured. If your training revolves around short intervals, treat the wrist sensor cautiously and plan to pair a strap.

GPS Accuracy: Great on Land, Poor in Water

On land, the dual-frequency GPS is excellent. Trail runs matched comparison watches with zero issues, repeated loops traced identically every single time, and mountain rides handled high-speed and low-speed switchbacks without a wobble.

The open water swim is another story entirely. The watch recorded over 3,100 meters for a swim that covered roughly 1,800 to 900 meters in reality, and the mapped trace confirmed how far off it was. If open water swimming is a priority, this is not the watch for it right now.

Buying Advice

Two things stand out about the buying picture. First, the pricing restraint deserves credit: a $50 increase over five years is refreshing in a market where competitor prices have climbed sharply recently. Second, the Grit X2 is not launching in the US initially. Polar has only said it will come later, presumably because the China-made unit makes pricing under shifting tariffs difficult. European pricing at 479 USD equivalent represents a strong deal, but the eventual US price could land anywhere from moderate to significantly higher.

On the software side, there is room to grow. The turn-by-turn guidance, which now supports imports from Strava and GPX files alongside Komoot, annoyingly has to be re-enabled in settings after you start the workout. The Polar Flow app feels aged and needs an update, and parts of the watch interface, such as the sleep tracking layout, could use tidying up.

Conclusion

The Polar Grit X2 is a good watch overall: excellent land GPS, a genuinely improved feature set, a reasonable price relative to its predecessor, and full software parity with the more expensive Grit X2 Pro. The caveats are real but narrow: unreliable wrist heart rate on intervals, poor open water swim tracking, a reduced waterproof rating and slightly shorter battery life. If you run, ride and hike on land, it is an easy recommendation. Swimmers should look elsewhere for now.