After unpacking, it is necessary to connect the goggles with the FORM app on your smartphone (iOS or Android) via Bluetooth. This may take some time — once we established the connection, there was a firmware update to install. The goggles recharge using a magnetic charging cable which offers 14 hours of usage. That’s a substantial amount of swimming, although if you forget to charge them completely before a swim, just a brief 10-minute charge will provide enough power for two hours in the pool.
Once that process is complete, you have two responsibilities. Firstly, ensure you achieve the best fit possible. To aid in this, the FORM case consists of nose bridges in five different sizes. These are easy to insert and remove, and the app guides you throughout the procedure. Naturally, what feels comfortable for a brief moment in your home might not feel as pleasant after an hour in the water, but this is an adjustment you can continue to make, swapping bridges as necessary.
It’s crucial to get this accurate — not merely for comfort but also because a proper, snug fit is essential for keeping the optical heart rate monitor in contact with your skin, ensuring you obtain an accurate reading without interruptions.
After configuration, the app permits you to customize the information displayed during your activity. You have three field options per “page” that you can cycle through, or you can maintain simplicity and examine the complete data once you’re finished. The fields are categorized into those visible during a swim, those displayed during recovery periods, and those appearing just after each turn at the end of the lane. All are customizable.
The unit or pod that powers the display is located on one side of the goggles. When you hold them, this weight appears unbalanced: you might worry it could be a problem, but in reality, you can’t perceive the difference while swimming at all. You can switch which side the unit is worn on and adjust which eye/lens the data is presented.
Out of the water, adjusting to simultaneously viewing “at” the display and “through” the goggles, with varying depths of field, feels a bit peculiar. Even in the pool, I initially found myself attempting to shift focus between the pool’s bottom and the display. This wasn’t necessarily an issue, just an unfamiliar sensation. Similarly, it took a while to adapt to the fact that peripheral vision is quite limited compared to standard goggles. This, once more, can be a little disorienting at first.
The heart rate (HR) functionality on these goggles is remarkable. If you’ve ever experimented with a heart rate monitor while swimming, you are aware of how erratic and unpredictable it can be. Throughout all the swims I completed with FORM, I honestly don’t think I experienced a single instance of HR drop-out or an interval where the reading was absent. Nor did I encounter any erratic readings, as is often the case with wrist-based optical sensors. It’s truly impressive.
We discovered the FORM goggles to be quite comfortable for wearing. (Image credit: Kate Carter)
The associated FORM app offers a wide array of structured workouts designed to meet your specific objectives. To access these, the app recommends that you initially swim 1,000m (not necessarily all at once) so it can gauge your speed, fitness level, and heart rate.
To activate the Smart Swim 2, simply turn it on, enter the pool, and it begins tracking, just that easy. You won’t need to tap a pause button if you take a break, as it automatically recognizes that. It also tracks turns, total distance (you input the pool length before starting), and pace. Once again, the precision here is incredibly remarkable, from pausing the workout when you stop to accurately counting laps even if you pause mid-length.
Besides pool swims, the Smart Swim 2 is also made for open water. In this mode, the metrics are somewhat different. You can swim as you do in the pool, but here, you can also pair it with a Garmin or Apple Watch, allowing it to use the GPS data they provide for precise pace and distance information. Impressively, the goggles relay this information live, instead of calibrating it afterward.
The FORM Smart Swim 2 goggles are filled with intelligent features. (Image credit: Kate Carter)
One of the cleverest features in open water swim mode is known as SwimStraight, which does exactly that — assists you in swimming straight. If you’ve ever attempted swimming in a lake, river, or ocean, you’re aware of how unexpectedly challenging this can be. Prior to each swim, you’ll need to calibrate the goggles, but this process takes only a few seconds and a few simple movements.
Inside the display, you’ll find a type of compass that indicates your direction. Once you determine where you’re swimming to, simply strive to maintain that reading steady, but you will also receive regular reminders to “sight”—that is, to lift your head and verify you are still on course and haven’t overlooked anything important.
This is an extraordinary feature and would be immensely beneficial during an open-water race. And to answer your question — yes, it is entirely permitted. World Triathlon, USA Triathlon, the PTO (Professional Triathletes Organisation), and Supertri have all explicitly authorized the use of this FORM function in races.
FORM Smart Swim 2: Functionality
Integrating training plans and coaching guidance (available with a subscription) Live, precise information incorporated in the display Comprehensive data available post-swim is detailed, useful, and easily integrable with other platforms such as Strava
The FORM Smart Swim 2 can sync with third-party applications like Strava. (Image credit: Kate Carter)
However, should you wish to access the entire suite of workouts and coaching features, a subscription is required. This costs $15 (£13) monthly or $99 (£84) annually, though you receive a two-month free trial to evaluate it.
The Premium package includes over 45 training plans and more than 1,500 workouts, along with the option to create your own custom ones. Additionally, you will receive technique guidance. Unsurprisingly, the Smart Swim 2 can’t analyze your kick quality or critique your arm placement, but it can evaluate your efficiency, recommend drills to enhance it, and notably, provide coaching on your head position in the water. I found this extremely beneficial and was able to implement some minor yet highly effective adjustments.
The training plans themselves offer a vast range, from returning to swimming after a hiatus to using swimming as cross-training for another sport or preparing for a triathlon. You can focus on training for a specific event, reaching a new distance, or purely refining your technique. On the app, you can view any workout and see what it comprises, even editing it if desired.
One drawback is that a subscription is also necessary merely to create your own workouts or to import them from TrainingPeaks, which is a system commonly used by coaches and athletes. This is a downside since most devices usually allow these basic functionalities without a subscription.
Nonetheless, I truly enjoyed the coached sessions: they are remarkably user-friendly, and there is minimal distraction from getting “into the flow.” Without pressing a single button, all your repetitions will be counted, and you’ll be informed of how much time remains in each set, how much recovery time is left, and so on. You simply follow the instructions.
Should you purchase the FORM Smart Swim 2 goggles?
The FORM Smart Swim 2 goggles are an exceptional device for enthusiastic swimmers. (Image credit: Kate Carter)
These FORM goggles are an excellent piece of fitness technology that genuinely boasts a unique selling point. Even if you disregard the subscription-based features and training plans, and simply use them for tracking your swims, they excel remarkably well in that regard.
Unlike using a watch in the pool, there’s no need to squint at a small screen on your wrist at the end of a lap or to start and stop between reps while struggling to remember the next steps. The goggles escort you seamlessly through your selected workout with minimal interruption, enabling you to channel your inner dolphin and concentrate on gliding through the water.
And if you aim to elevate your swimming performance, acquire valuable coaching insights, and adhere to a structured program, this piece of equipment will facilitate all that for you as well.
— You swim consistently and wish to enhance your experience
— You seek precise information throughout your workout
— You are budget-conscious and already possess
a workout regimen
— You would rather review your statistics post-completion instead of in real-time
If this product isn’t suitable for you If you do not swim frequently and simply seek something straightforward, without a necessity for metrics, then consider a basic, well-fitting pair of “dumb” goggles such as the Speedo Biofuse Aquasphere Xceed
On the other hand, if a smartwatch attracts you, then the Garmin Swim 2
FORM Smart Swim 2: Method of Testing We evaluated the Smart Swim 2 in both outdoor and indoor swimming pools, under diverse lighting settings ranging from bright sunlight to relatively dim conditions, with swim distances varying from 800m to 3,000m. We also conducted tests in open water, specifically in the ocean.
