ZDNET’s key takeaways
- The Type Good Swim 2 Professional is on the market for $329, with the premium subscription for $119/12 months or $15/month.
- The included answer retains the goggles fog free, and the annual subscription offers in depth coaching and evaluation options.
- Peripheral visibility is proscribed, the glasses are slightly costly, and the anti-fog spray must be utilized earlier than every swim.
I have been exercising since I used to be a younger boy within the 80s, and by no means did I believe I would be working, biking, and swimming with eyewear that shows customized health knowledge proper in entrance of my eyes.
Nicely, these days are right here, and in my view, it is superior. Makers of premium swim tech, Form, lately launched its newest technology of AR (augmented actuality) swimming goggles, the Form Smart Swim 2 Pro, and I have been utilizing them within the pool and at certainly one of our native lakes right here in Washington over the previous 12 months.
Additionally: I tested smart goggles and they have a game-changing feature for swimmers
I examined these goggles’ successors: the Smart Swim 2 goggles in early 2024, and there have been a number of software program and {hardware} enhancements launched in that point. At the beginning: the Good Swim 2 Professional is the primary pair of swimming goggles made with Gorilla Glass 3 to remain scratch-free for years.
The final technology goggles had been plastic with a manufacturing facility utilized anti-fog coating so that you by no means needed to do something to them to maintain them clear. Nevertheless, over prolonged durations of time and heavy utilization, the plastic might scratch and detract from the AR expertise.
The brand new Good Swim 2 Professional with Gorilla Glass 3 lenses requires software of an anti-fog spray earlier than every swim to maintain them clear. Type offers sufficient answer for as much as 175 purposes, however then offers the straightforward system (the suitable combination of 75% water and 25% child shampoo — accessible at your native drug retailer) to be able to make your personal spray whenever you run out.
Type contains 5 arched nostril bridges to suit each face form, and you’ll even flip these over if you would like the AR view, proper aspect by default, to seem in entrance of your left eye. The glass lenses have a mirror coating below the highest layer of glass and block 98% of dangerous UV rays. The Good Swim 2 Professional has an marketed battery lifetime of 14 hours, and that matches my expertise throughout testing.
Whereas there’s a subscription accessible, one month of premium service is on the market totally free, you should utilize the core options of the glasses with out a sub. Core options embrace the free smartphone software (accessible for iOS and Android) that allow you to arrange the AR show on the goggles, the optical coronary heart price sensor, automated stroke detection, sharing with companies like Strava and TrainingPeaks, and open water swim monitoring with assist for related GPS sports activities watches.
If you wish to make the most of teaching and highly effective exercises, the $99 annual subscription is definitely worth the worth. It offers guided exercises, visible teaching within the glasses, open water swimming digital compass, coaching plans, and extra. The HeadCoach Plans functionality creates customized coaching plans primarily based by yourself swim metrics and modify primarily based in your swimming routine.
Additionally: I finally found bone conduction headphones that stay on while swimming (and they sound great)
I like the concept behind Good Set since swimming will not be part of my common train routine. With the Good Swim 2 Professional I can simply soar within the pool and begin swimming, then Type makes use of AI to research the swim and creates a exercise construction you possibly can then use to construct exercises that for the long run.
The information that seems within the Type app in your cellphone is spectacular. It contains particulars in your kind, distance, tempo, stroke price, and way more. Information collected by Type exhibits that premium subscribers improved by 5 seconds over 100 meters in simply 4 months, so there are clearly measurable advantages to having teaching accessible to you. Similar to the Engo PC glasses that improved my working efficiency, having the important thing metrics proper in entrance of you with none distractions is important to enhancing efficiency when seconds depend.
I used to be anxious a bit in regards to the goggles being robust to make use of whereas swimming, however Type has perfected the consumer expertise with two-button controls on one aspect and seamless connectivity to your smartphone and sports activities watch. The Good Swim 2 Professional may be very straightforward to regulate for the right match and my swimming expertise has modified without end because of the goggles.
Additionally: These XR glasses gave me a 200-inch screen to work with – and now I might ditch my monitors
One factor to notice is that with the A/R lens and design, you might have restricted peripheral imaginative and prescient, so open-water swimmers will respect the directional steerage, however might lament the visibility. Since pool swimmers should not as centered on visibility past their lanes, this may not be a difficulty for many swimmers.
ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation
As an individual who may be very aggressive and enjoys collaborating in a variety of sports activities, AR wearables fascinate me and encourage me to enhance. Form’s Smart Swim 2 Pro goggles are an excellent instance of this, and the primary to supply Gorilla Glass 3 lenses with superior software program to trace your swimming progress each within the pool and in open water.
The negatives embrace the associated fee and a possible lack of peripheral visibility, however they don’t seem to be dealbreakers for me. The goggles’ advantages finally outweigh them, and I am extra motivated to swim than ever earlier than.
