Wrist-based monitoring of Heart Rate for swimming will be up and running in Garmin Products soon and the first product to receive this upgrade will be Garmin’s Forerunner 945. Based on the information we have right now, not much can be deduced about what other smartwatches will end up receiving this specification.
Forerunner 945 has a brand-new 2.64 Beta Firmware which makes it possible for the product to monitor heart rate with its wrist-based functionality in pools of water and during swimming. To make use of this feature, you have to download and install the Beta on your smartwatch. Toggling “While Swimming” to ‘On’ in the menu of ‘Wrist Heart Rate’ turns this feature on for you and by following these few simple steps, you can easily check your heart rate while you swim. This can help you a lot in training better and taking care of your health more efficiently.
“Note that there are inherent limitations with the technology that may cause some of the heart rate readings to be inaccurate under certain circumstances. These circumstances include the user’s physical characteristics, the fit of the device, and the type and intensity of the swimming. For the most accurate heart rate during swimming, Garmin recommends using HRM-Swim or HRM-Tri heart rate monitors.” A warning read on the page of Garmin’s Updates and Downloads.
Polar, Coros and Suunto already had this feature of monitoring heart rate while swimming but Garmin has now joined the club too. Forerunner 945 is the first one to get this update. Fenix 5 plus and Forerunner 645 might end up getting it soon to but anything older than that like the Forerunner 935 and Fenix 5 are highly unlikely to have this feature. However, for now nothing can be said for sure as not a lot has been made public about what Garmin is planning to do.