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Finis Smart Goggles Review: The Ultimate Swimming Goggles

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If you are ready to take advantage of some of the most advanced swim tracking currently available, then the FINIS Smart Goggles powered by CIYE are a must-have! In this review, I’ll be taking an in-depth look at the FINIS Smart Goggle- with its plethora of features- ultimately enabling you to take your swim training to the next level. 

The Problem with Swim Tracking Technologies

Up until now, swim tracking has mostly been dominated by swimming and multi-sport watches. While some of these provide decent swim tracking capabilities, they present 3 main problems for most serious swimmers-

Firstly, they are often quite heavy and bulky, which can cause stroke interference, prompting many swimmers to instead train without them- especially competitive swimmers. 

Secondly, they aren’t convenient for active feedback while swimming as it’s challenging to have a good look at your watch while training- especially during tough sets. The only time you get to glance at your watch is when you stop to rest.

Lastly, sports watches that offer good swim tracking capabilities, such as the Garmin Fenix 6X or Apple Watch Series 6, are more expensive devices- although they do offer many other features as well- but may not necessarily be what swimmers are after. 

Yes, there are some nice mid-range watch options as well- such as the Garmin Swim 2- but the active feedback provided by the FINIS Smart Goggles is unarguably an invaluable feature for many swimmers.

The FINIS Smart Swim Goggles eliminate all of these problems by providing swimmers with an all-in-one approach to swim tracking. The goggles feature a slim design ensuring they never interfere with your swim training, they have a built-in display allowing you to get active feedback while swimming, and they provide excellent tracking capabilities while coming in at a fair price.

Our Smart Goggle Pick
FINIS Smart Goggles

The FINIS Smart Goggle is the most innovative smart swimming goggle available.

Directly display and track your laps, splits, set time, rest time, stroke rate, and more in your goggles with the non-intrusive heads-up display while swimming.

Buy Now On SwimOutlet

FINIS Smart Goggles Review

With all that said, it’s time to take a look at the innovative FINIS Smart Goggles powered by CIYE and their many features. I’ll discuss what you can expect to receive in the box, all the different tracking capabilities, and how they can help you become a better swimmer, as well as the all-around usability of the device. 

What Is in the Box?- Quick Overview

You can expect your FINIS Smart Goggle to come in a neat and premium packaged box. 

Inside, you’ll find a set of FINIS Goggles, the Smart Coach Module (powered by CIYE, which stands for ‘Coach in your Eye’) – this is the actual tech providing all the tracking and display capabilities- and it’s a separate unit. The fact that it’s separate is a considerable advantage (but we’ll discuss that in more detail a bit later).

Furthermore, you’ll find a goggle case, six interchangeable nose bridges- enabling you to find the perfect fit, as well as a magnetic USB charging cable.

The Digital Display of the FINIS Smart Goggles

FINIS Smart Goggles Display

Let’s start by having a look at one of the key features of the FINIS Smart Goggles- being able to view specific metrics within your goggles while swimming. 

You can fully customize the metrics you want to view while training- the goggle display will then cycle through them as you are swimming. This is really useful and will greatly assist swimmers in enhancing their training performance with metrics like split times, lap tracking, and so on.

The thing I really like about the FINIS Smart Goggle display is the fact that it sits neatly in the corner of your left eye and is only viewable if you actively decide to look at it- the rest of the time, it will be out of your way ensuring you have a (nearly) full field of vision while training. 

The display is also fully customizable within the app, allowing swimmers to adjust it to provide the most comfortable and optimal viewing experience in the water. 

Our Smart Goggle Pick
FINIS Smart Goggles

The FINIS Smart Goggle is the most innovative smart swimming goggle available.

Directly display and track your laps, splits, set time, rest time, stroke rate, and more in your goggles with the non-intrusive heads-up display while swimming.

Buy Now On SwimOutlet

Metrics Tracked by the FINIS Smart Goggles

The tracking capabilities are one of the most important aspects of the FINIS Smart Goggle- and it offers an abundance of tracking metrics. 

Here is a complete list of what you can expect to track and view while swimming- laps, splits, set time, rest time, running time, total swim time, stroke and drill detection, total laps, and time of day.

What’s even better is that you’ll have access to all of these as well as some additional tracking metrics directly in the CIYE app when you are done swimming. 

Some additional tracking metrics that you’ll be able to find in the app include- average pace, total distance swam, an in-depth breakdown of active time and rest time during your workouts, calories burned, and lap splits per set. 

Within the app, you’ll also be able to set goals and track your training on a week-to-week basis, as well as having access to lifetime stats. These include metrics like total distance, time, sessions, and weekly training frequency. 

Let’s have a bit more of an in-depth look at each metric and how they can benefit you into becoming a better swimmer-

Swimming Laps

This tracks the number of laps you have done for your workout. This metric can be displayed within your goggles while you swim. This is useful for long-distance sets as you can focus purely on swimming and not having to worry about counting laps. 

For lap counting, there are 2 main metrics you can display within the goggles while swimming. You can view both the total number of laps you’ve done for your workout as well as the number of laps you’ve done for a particular set.

Swim Splits

This displays your splits per lap while swimming so you can know if you need to push harder or relax. I find this to be one of the most valuable metrics to have while swimming- especially if you’re a competitive swimmer and frequently train on tough send-offs or are aiming to hold fast times in practice. 

This metric is also accessible through the app after your workout and will tell you how long you spent on a particular set and what your split was for each 50 during the set (or whichever distance you prefer). 

Sets are tracked as the total distance you swim once you start until you stop. So if you swim a 100, that will be tracked as 1 set, and you’ll be able to view the total time it took you to complete that 100 as well as your splits for each 50 of the 100.

Similarly, a 200, 400, 500, etc., will be tracked as a separate set, and you’ll have access to all your splits as well as the total time it took.

Rest-, Active-, Running-, and Total Time

The time metrics will be handy for many swimmers. 

With the rest time metric, you can see the amount of time you have rested in between sets directly in your goggles. If you are a competitive swimmer like me, this will help you rest the right amount of time between sets and not too much or too little.

For the more casual swimmer, this will help ensure you aren’t wasting too much time just standing around during your workouts and will keep you accountable to swim more. You’ll also be able to see the total time you’ve been busy with your swimming workout directly in the goggle display.

Running time will depend on the mode you choose to configure your FINIS Smart Goggles in. There are 3 main modes, namely- 1) I swim laps, 2) I swim sets, and 3) I swim for time. 

For example, say you set the goggles to I swim for sets, then this means the goggles will reset the running time metric once you’ve completed a set (a 100, 200, 500 as explained earlier). If you set it to I swim for time, it will instead display the total time your workout has been going and will only stop after you’ve completed that workout. 

Within the app, you’ll be able to view the total time you spent in the pool. This will then further be broken down into rest time and active time, allowing you to see how much of your workout you were actively swimming and what portion you were resting.

Stroke Type

The goggles will automatically detect what stroke you are swimming and also has detection modes for drills and IM sets. These metrics can be optionally displayed in your goggles and will also be available in the app after you have completed your workout.

Calories

Within the app, you’ll be able to see how many calories you burned during your workout. The FINIS Smart Goggles use a standard calorie calculator to calculate this number.

However, the nice thing about this metric is that it’ll be far more accurate than any online calorie calculator or similar application. This is because it’ll calculate this metric based on factors such as intensity, what stroke you are swimming, and so on, providing a very accurate reading.

This metric is something many fitness enthusiasts like to track and will also be helpful for competitive swimmers who are serious about their nutrition, as it will help you more accurately determine what you need to eat throughout the day to perform optimally in training.

Do You Want to Make Every Lap Count?

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Time of Day

Within the goggles, you’ll be able to view a clock display of what the time is. That way, you can know how long you have until practice ends. This isn’t something that I generally like to see while training, as I would instead focus on swimming and training as hard as possible until my coach says it’s time for cooldown. 

However, I know many swimmers like to see the time while training, making it a useful application. It will also be helpful on days where time is limited. That way, you don’t have to worry about getting out now and then to check the time.

Average Pace

Within the app, you’ll be able to view your average 100 pace for each workout. For most competitive swimmers, this probably won’t provide a ton of insights as workouts frequently change and have different goals, but this may be something more useful for triathletes and casual swimmers.

Our Smart Goggle Pick
FINIS Smart Goggles

The FINIS Smart Goggle is the most innovative smart swimming goggle available.

Directly display and track your laps, splits, set time, rest time, stroke rate, and more in your goggles with the non-intrusive heads-up display while swimming.

Buy Now On SwimOutlet

FINIS Smart Goggles Open Water Swimming Capabilities

If you are an open water swimmer or triathlete, you are probably interested in the open water swimming capabilities of the FINIS Smart Goggles. Well, you’ll be happy to know that the device does support open water swimming- although it is relatively limited at the moment.

The FINIS Smart Goggles allow for open water swimming by using a running clock and using data from your pool swims to gauge your open water swimming performance. Although this certainly won’t be 100% accurate as there is no GPS, judging by the performance of the goggles in other areas so far- I’m sure it does a great job.

This is a feature that I’d like to test more for myself in the future, but I don’t get out for open water swims too often (and aren’t particularly interested in it). I’ll, however, update this article once I’ve been able to test this feature myself thoroughly. For now- just know that the FINIS Smart Goggles do indeed support open water swimming.

FINIS Smart Goggle Design

The FINIS Smart Goggles consists of 2 main elements- the actual goggle itself and the Smart Coach module- the electronic piece of the device responsible for the digital display and tracking capabilities.

This design aspect allows you to remove the Smart Coach from the actual goggles. This is extremely useful since all swimmers know that goggles tend to wear out and scratch. That way, when it’s time to replace your goggles, you can simply order a new frame instead of having to pay the full price for the entire kit again.

The Smart Coach module can easily clip in and out of your FINIS Smart Goggle frame and provides around 4-6 hours of battery life, allowing you to get about 2-3 practices (or more) out of a single charge. It’s also designed using premium materials and will stand the test of time in the water.

The Goggles themselves are very similar to many other high-end ‘non-smart’ goggles– they have a quality design, are hydrodynamic, and have good comfort. The goggles are constructed using standard but high-quality materials and feature a polycarbonate lens, a comfortable TPR Gasket, an adjustable silicone strap, and 6 interchangeable TPU nose bridges. 

I’ve found the FINIS Smart Goggle to be comparable to the TYR Tracer X, the Speedo Speed Socket 2.0, and the Phelps Xceed goggles- with the main exception being the clip-in module for the Smart Coach located on the left lens of the goggle. The FINIS Smart Goggles are slightly bulkier, but this won’t really be noticeable when training.

Just for comparison, my standard training goggles, the Arena Tracks, weigh roughly 40 grams, while my racing goggles, the Arena Cobra Ultra goggles, weigh around 35 grams. Similarly, the TYR Tracer X’s- one of the lightest goggles available is only 32 grams. 

The entire FINIS Smart Goggle module comes in at just 42 grams- which is really impressive, considering the tech inside. This makes the FINIS Smart Goggles about the same weight as any standard training goggle- and probably even lighter than some.

Our Smart Goggle Pick
FINIS Smart Goggles

The FINIS Smart Goggle is the most innovative smart swimming goggle available.

Directly display and track your laps, splits, set time, rest time, stroke rate, and more in your goggles with the non-intrusive heads-up display while swimming.

Buy Now On SwimOutlet

The CIYE Swim App Interface

To access all of your data and analytics, you can use the CIYE swim app, specifically designed to work with the Smart Coach. The app is available on both IOS and Android and is easily downloadable from the Apple Store or Google Play.

I’ve found the interface to be sleek and minimalistic, displaying only the necessary and useful information and making it easy to adjust settings if needed.

Within the app, you will be able to view all of the tracking metrics we discussed earlier. You’ll also be able to customize your goggles through changing factors like which metrics are displayed when swimming as well as adjusting the digital display view to your preference. 

Furthermore, you’ll be able to set goals and add metrics like your weight and age, which the Smart Coach will use to determine factors such as the number of calories you burn each workout. Additionally, if you use fitness apps like Strava, you can sync them with the CIYE App.

If you ever want to dig into a particular workout a bit more, you can also do that within the app, viewing factors such as splits for specific sets, strokes swam, and much more. In a sense, it is very much like an electronic logbook- except being a 100 times more accurate and insightful. 

Many great swimmers have endorsed logbooks. Some big names include- Micheal Phelps, Caeleb Dressel, Janet Evans, and many more. Now you have one directly on your phone providing an unimaginable amount of data to take your swimming performance to the next level.

My only complaint would be that there currently is no browser app allowing you to access your data from a computer. That said, the technology is still new, and we can expect many updates and improvements to come in the future.

Interested in checking out the FINIS Smart Swim Goggles? You can do so on SwimOutlet by clicking here.

FINIS Smart Goggle Vs Form Smart Swim Goggles

Currently, there is only 1 competitor to the FINIS Smart Goggles, namely the Form Smart Swim Goggles. From my perspective, both are great devices and are taking swimming technology to new heights, but I genuinely believe that the FINIS Smart Goggles are the better option. I have 3 main reasons for this-

Firstly is the fact that the Smart Coach is removable from the goggles. This significantly increases the longevity and cost-effectiveness of the device. You can simply swap the Smart Coach into a new FINIS Smart Goggle frame (which is only slightly more expensive than standard training goggles) if your old one ever gets worn out, badly scratched, or damaged in some other way.

With the Form Smart Swim Goggles, you simply can’t just replace the goggles at the same low-cost price. If your goggles are damaged or scratched, and you need a new pair, then you’ll have to pay the full price for an entirely new set.

Secondly is the digital display. The FINIS Smart Goggle display sits in the corner of your left eye, allowing you only to view it when you want to. It’s not in your sight the entire workout as is with the Form Smart Swim Goggle.

As a competitive swimmer, I find this feature far superior to the Form Smart Swim Goggles. Competitive swimmers, in particular, tend to rely less on technology in workouts and focus more on swimming. I’ve found this design aspect to allow me to achieve an optimal training experience while still getting all of the benefits from these new technological training aids. 

However, I should mention that the Form Smart Swim Goggles allow you to choose which side you want your digital display to be shown, wherewith the FINIS Smart Goggles, you can currently only view metrics with your left eye.

Additionally, I’ve found that many swimmers online have complained about the display of the Form Smart Swim Goggles being in front of you the entire time. Some even claim that it completely obstructs your vision, making the goggles almost unusable. 

Lastly is the actual design of the goggles- and here the FINIS Smart Goggles are undoubtedly the winner. I’ve found the FINIS Smart Goggles to be significantly slimmer and hydrodynamic than the Form Smart Swim Goggles.

For some perspective, in terms of goggle depth, the FINIS Smart Goggles are around 12.7mm across most of the goggles, with 18mm being the widest, and that’s only on the area where the tech sits- which isn’t a major issue. However, the Form Smart Swim Goggles is roughly 20-30mm in depth, which creates a lot of water pressure, often causing them to come off or leak when you do fast swimming- which to me, as a competitive swimmer, is unacceptable. 

Additionally, the FINIS Smart Goggles are also about 2 times lighter than the Form Smart Goggles (42 grams compared to 90 grams).

To me, as a competitive swimmer, the FINIS Smart Goggles feel much more like a pair of racing goggles compared to the Form Smart Goggles- and that’s something I very much prefer.

With all that said, there are some areas where the Form Smart Swim Goggles beat the FINIS Smart Goggle. This is because the Form Smart goggle has some additional tracking metrics, namely- heart rate, GPS, stroke rate, stroke count, and distance per stroke. 

I should also mention, however, that the GPS and heart rate metrics in the Form Smart Swim Goggles will require you to wear additional devices such as a heart rate monitor (specifically from Polar) and a sports watch of your choice for the GPS. This is nice if you have access to those devices, but it will just be an unnecessary expense for most swimmers for providing limited additional insights. 

The Form Smart Swim Goggles also have a far longer battery life of around 16 hours- but this isn’t something that I care about too much as the FINIS goggles make up for it by being much slimmer (and nobody swims for 16 hours straight anyway).

Lastly, I feel like the Form Smart Swim Goggle app is slightly better and more organized in displaying the metrics. That said, both the FINIS Smart Goggles and the CIYE app are still very new. We are likely to see many improvements and new features in the coming months, which will probably address some of the differences between these Goggles- making the FINIS Smart Goggles even more superior.

Our Smart Goggle Pick
FINIS Smart Goggles

The FINIS Smart Goggle is the most innovative smart swimming goggle available.

Directly display and track your laps, splits, set time, rest time, stroke rate, and more in your goggles with the non-intrusive heads-up display while swimming.

Buy Now On SwimOutlet

Swim Smarter with the FINIS Smart Goggles

With new training aids such as the FINIS Smart Goggles powered by CIYE covered in this article, the future of swimming technology certainly seems to be a bright one. 

The FINIS Smart Goggles is undoubtedly a great device that will provide swimmers with many data points to take their training to the next level. The digital display is also extremely useful for making sure you are on track in training, ensuring optimal progress in the water over time.

Overall, I am very impressed with the device, and I’m excited to see where this technology will head in the future.

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I am Benjamin, a competitive swimmer with over a decande of experience in the sport of swimming. I also hold certifications in Exercise Science and Nutrition. I am very passionate about competitive swimming and love sharing everything I have learned about the sport. I specialize in swimming butterfly and my favorite event is the 100m butterfly with the 50m and 200m fly closely following.

A Cheat Sheet for Creating the Perfect Swimming Workout and Routine

Download this FREE cheat sheet to create the perfect swimming workout and routine. Learn how to structure your swim workout and enjoy 9 example workouts, ranging from beginner to advanced.

Swim Workout Cheat Sheet
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