It’s pretty rare nowadays to get home from a ride without seeing someone with an action camera mounted somewhere on their bike. But, for those who want to overlay performance metrics like speed, distance and heart rate onto their footage, until now Garmin’s VIRB camera was the only option.
As part of its newly announced Developer Program, GoPro cameras can now not only be operated using Polar's V800; metrics recorded by the watch can also be overlaid directly onto footage from the action cameras.
Details are still a bit thin, but we’d expect the V800 to be able to control basic features such starting/stopping recording and displaying information like battery life and remaining memory.
The GoPro Developer Program has been quietly ramping up for about year and promises to bring other collaborations to the action cameras. While Polar is one the early adopters of the ‘Works with GoPro' functionality, the Developer Program has allowed third parties to create GoPro approved apps, devices, mounts and housings that will seamlessly integrate with action cameras. The camera brand already has colaborations with BMW, Fisher-Price, Telefonica and Timecode Systems, with more in the pipeline.
Now your friends will know exactly how you were going when you took the bunch sprint at your local crit, provided you're using the right watch
It’s still a few months away, but current V800 owners will be able to access the GoPro integration via an upcoming free firmware update.
In the coming months we’re expecting to see a wave of gear with a ‘Works with GoPro’ sticker. What brands would you like to see taking part in the Developer Program? Let us know in the comments below.