When I first try out the Speedo iQ, the new smart swimming glasses, I wonder if I’m missing something. They look like regular glasses. They feel like regular glasses. And there’s no augmented reality display or data screen, as I’d expect from a £149 gadget that promises to analyze my swimming in more detail than a smartwatch ever has. According to its creators, this thing is the future of swimming technology, and three-time Olympic champion Adam Ramsay-Petey is already a fan. Can the user experience really be as simple as pressing a black button and just… swimming around?
Apparently so. It’s only when I return to the locker rooms after my first 1K swim and sync my goggles with my phone that I discover they’re watching me quite closely. In addition to the distance and pace data I usually get from Garmin, there’s data about my breathing, head position and rotations—even a moving avatar recreating what my head was doing underwater. My average head angle was 33 degrees, but I managed seven at best—much closer to the neutral position, which the app says reduces drag. Suddenly I’m looking at something I’ve never thought about in decades: not just how fast I swim, but how I swim.
This is where artificial intelligence comes to the rescue. As soon as I finish swimming, the goggles send data about my movements to Speedo’s systems, where algorithms trained on years of swimming data determine what I actually did in the pool.
“50 percent of people want some kind of feedback, and there are 50 percent who don’t want it.”
Nate Tracy, Speedo Vice President of Innovation
There are already smart glasses on the market trying to change this. Form’s Smart Swim 2 LT (£129) displays pace and distance right in front of your eyes, with coaching and instructor-led training available with a £99-a-year subscription. HoloSport goes even further with its SollaWave glasses (£173) combining fitness tracking and underwater music.
So it’s a curious decision where the Speedo device gives you less, not more, than its competitors. But apparently this is intentional. “50 percent of people want some kind of feedback, and there’s 50 percent who don’t,” Nate Tracy, Speedo’s vice president of innovation, tells me. The company’s swimmers were especially adamant that they didn’t want technology to distract them in the water. “You really want to finish the workout and look at that information,” says Tracy, describing it as “full dopamine” as you step out of the car and rush to your phone.
There is a more reasonable reason for the omission. The passive sensor is approved by the World Aquatics Organization for competition use, meaning the same £149 goggles I wear could be worn by Olympians. Speedo hopes athletes will do just that at Los Angeles 2028.
Should you buy smart swimming glasses?
But what can iQ do for hobbyists like me? Tracy compares it not to Garmin but to Trackman, the technology golfers use to analyze their swings. Running and cycling provide relatively “linear” data, he says; Swimming is a technical sport where turning your head a couple of degrees can make a difference. “I don’t know if there is another sport that can compare to swimming in difficulty and technique.”
As someone who swims for mindfulness and general fitness for periods of time, I’m skeptical. We track sleep, steps, menstrual cycles – do I really need more swimming data too? But in a couple of sessions I carefully study the angle of my head. Could the tilt of my head be related to my back pain? Could fixing this make me more effective in my next triathlon?
There’s no subscription, and best of all, I can still swim without a screen or stats and let my mind wander. Now let’s correct the head angle to 33 degrees. See you on the podium.
