Swimming laps can get repetitive. Andrew Hough knows that feeling, which is why the idea behind SollaWave caught his attention: what if the same goggles could track a swim and play music at the same time?

He did not test them in a standard 25-metre pool, either. After taking them into the ocean, Andrew moved to a pool that was only six metres long, short enough that almost every few strokes ended in another turn.

That made for a slightly unusual review, but also a useful one. Instead of simply showing that music works underwater, Andrew went through the parts swimmers actually deal with: choosing the right ear tips, loading audio before leaving home, finding the controls with wet hands and checking whether the app made sense of all those rapid turns.

“This is not a studio review,” he explains in the video description. It is a real swim test, and it feels like one.

Watch Andrew’s complete ocean and pool test below.

First Stop: The Ocean

Andrew’s first swim took place in the ocean. There was no formal test protocol; he simply put the goggles on and got in the water.

That immediately made the fit more important than any specification. SollaWave includes sealed in-ear headphones, so Andrew had two things to get right: the goggles needed to seal around his eyes, and the ear tips needed to stay comfortable and secure while he swam.

The supplied ear tips come in four sizes: S, M, L and XL. Andrew tried different options instead of assuming the pair already fitted to the goggles would work for him. It is a small part of the setup, but probably one of the most important. An ear tip can feel fine on dry land and become uncomfortable after several turns, while one that is too small may not give the same sealed-in sound underwater.

His experience is a good reminder to test the fit in the water before making a decision. Bigger does not automatically mean more secure; the best size is the one that stays in place without creating pressure.

Getting Music Onto the Goggles

SollaWave does not stream music from a phone underwater. Before swimming, Andrew connected the goggles to his computer and transferred the files he wanted to hear.

That may feel old-fashioned if you are used to opening Spotify and pressing play, but Bluetooth signals do not travel reliably through water. Storing the audio directly on the goggles means the phone can stay onshore while the music continues.

Andrew tested both music and spoken audio. That is a more useful comparison than it might sound. A song with a strong beat can still be enjoyable when some detail is lost, whereas a podcast becomes frustrating very quickly if the voices are difficult to follow.

The goggles have 32GB of storage and accept MP3, WAV and WMA files, so there is room for playlists, podcasts and audiobooks. The trade-off is simple: you need to decide what you want to hear and load it before the swim. Our guide to underwater MP3 players for swimming explains why local playback works better than phone streaming below the surface.

Then Came the Six-Metre Pool

A six-metre pool is not where most people do their regular training. Andrew barely had time to settle into his stroke before reaching the wall again.

That made the swim look very different from a normal lap session. There were constant push-offs, short bursts of swimming and repeated changes of direction. For the motion sensors inside the goggles, it was also a demanding situation: the system had to separate actual swimming from stopping, gliding and turning, over and over again.

Andrew entered the pool length in the HoloSport App before starting and checked the recorded session afterwards. The app showed the usual swimming metrics, including laps, pace, strokes and SWOLF. SWOLF combines the time and stroke count for a pool length, giving swimmers one way to compare efficiency under similar conditions.

The results are interesting precisely because the pool is so unusual. They should not be treated as a formal accuracy test for a 25- or 50-metre pool, but they do show how SollaWave responds when turns happen far more often than normal.

If you swim in a short hotel, apartment or backyard pool, this part of the video is likely to be more useful than a perfectly controlled test in a standard lane.

Using the Controls With Wet Hands

Andrew also tried the physical controls while he was in the water.

This is the kind of detail that rarely looks important during an unboxing but matters once a swim begins. With wet hands, and without wanting to stop for long, it helps to know where each button is before pushing off.

The easiest approach is to choose the audio and set the volume before getting into the pool. Once playback starts, the goggles do not need to remain connected to a phone. The buttons are there when an adjustment is needed, but Andrew’s test makes a good case for learning them on dry land first.

Music and Swim Feedback in the Same Place

SollaWave is built around sound rather than an in-lens display. Music, podcasts and selected swimming updates all come through the same in-ear audio system.

That is also the clearest difference between SollaWave and HoloSwim 3 Pro. SollaWave is for swimmers who want underwater audio, spoken feedback and pool tracking. HoloSwim 3 Pro is the better fit for swimmers who want to see their data in the lens or use GPS and compass features in open water.

Neither approach is automatically better. Some swimmers want numbers in front of their eyes; others would rather keep looking ahead and hear an update when they need one.

So, Did SollaWave Make Swimming Less Boring?

That was the question Andrew started with, and it is a better way to judge the product than simply asking whether it can play music underwater.

His test shows that SollaWave can bring music and swim tracking into the same piece of equipment, but it also shows what living with that setup involves. You need to find the right ear tips. You need to load audio files before swimming. You need to learn the buttons.

If those steps fit naturally into your routine, the reward is a swim without a phone at the poolside and something to listen to between the first length and the last.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can SollaWave Stream Spotify or Bluetooth Audio Underwater?

No. Music needs to be transferred from a computer and stored on the goggles before swimming. Once the files are loaded, playback continues without a phone nearby.

Which Audio Files Can SollaWave Play?

SollaWave supports MP3, WAV and WMA files and has 32GB of local storage. Andrew tested both music and spoken audio during his review.

Does Andrew’s Six-Metre Pool Test Prove Tracking Accuracy?

No. The unusually short pool created far more turns than a standard 25- or 50-metre pool, so the session is a useful real-world example rather than a controlled accuracy test.

What Is the Main Difference Between SollaWave and HoloSwim 3 Pro?

SollaWave focuses on underwater audio, spoken feedback and pool tracking. HoloSwim 3 Pro uses an in-lens display for real-time data and adds GPS and compass functions for open-water swimming.

If Andrew’s music-first setup sounds close to the way you want to swim, review the SollaWave features and current options before deciding whether the file-transfer and in-ear workflow suits you.