Deepinder Goyal claims his Temple wearable is more accurate than Apple Watch: Here's what the tests show

Deepinder Goyal's Temple wearable is now open for pre-booking in India and here's what Goyal claims about its accuracy, how it works and what buyers get.

Eternal founder Deepinder Goyal's Temple wearable is now open for pre-booking in India and the company is already making some big claims about its performance. Goyal says the head-worn device can measure heart rate more accurately than several popular wearables, including the Apple Watch Series 12. The claim comes from an internal study shared by the company, which compared Temple with devices from Apple, Garmin, Fitbit, WHOOP and Oura. Unlike a smartwatch that sits on your wrist, Temple attaches to the side of your forehead using adhesive patches. It is designed to track physiological signals from this region, with a particular focus on readings that could offer insights during intense physical activity. But can it really outperform established fitness wearables? Here's everything you need to know about Temple's heart rate accuracy claims, how the device works and its India price.

Temple uses optical sensors positioned near the temple to track physiological signals. (AI Generated)

By Sparsh Sharma

Sparsh Sharma is a Content Producer at Hindustan Times Digital Streams, where he covers consumer technology, gadgets, artificial intelligence and the latest trends shaping the digital world. His work focuses on creating research-driven, accessible digital content that helps readers make informed buying decisions and understand how technology is changing their everyday lives.

Before joining Hindustan Times, Sparsh spent over two and a half years at Times Network, where he worked across Times Now Tech and covered a wide range of technology stories, from features, news and product reviews to smartphones, gadgets, apps, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and emerging tech trends. During his time there, he closely followed the fast-moving consumer technology landscape and worked on making the latest developments easy to understand for everyday users.

Over the years, Sparsh has tested and reviewed multiple smartphones, televisions, audio products, wearables and a wide range of consumer gadgets. His approach to technology coverage goes beyond specifications and benchmark numbers. He is particularly interested in how products perform in real-world situations, how useful they actually are and whether they deliver on the promises made by manufacturers.

He is also fascinated by the growing world of artificial intelligence and loves experimenting with the latest AI tools to find new ways of making technology content more engaging. From creating visuals and charts to building diagrams and experimenting with new formats, he enjoys using AI to add a little more fun and context to his stories while keeping the information accurate and useful.

A graduate in Journalism and Mass Communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Sparsh believes good technology journalism should make complicated things feel simple, relatable and useful.

Beyond the newsroom, Sparsh is a massive cricket fan and has been a Virat Kohli fanboy since his childhood.

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Temple vs Apple Watch Series 12: What does Deepinder Goyal claim?

In a post on X on November 1, Deepinder Goyal shared the findings of an internal study conducted by Temple to evaluate its heart rate tracking accuracy. The company compared its wearable with five flagship devices, including the Apple Watch Series 12, Garmin FR970, Fitbit Air, WHOOP MG and Oura Ring 5.

Temple used a Polar H10 chest strap as the reference device. However, instead of wearing it in the conventional manner, the company taped it to the user's chest. Goyal explained that regular chest straps can sometimes lose contact during sprints, potentially missing heartbeats. The devices were tested from resting conditions to maximum exercise intensity, with their readings compared second by second.

According to Goyal, Temple recorded lower measurement errors than the competing wearables, with the Apple Watch Series 12 coming closest. He also claimed that Temple outperformed an untaped Polar H10 chest strap in heart rate Zones 4 and 5, which correspond to high-intensity exercise.

"All the other leading wearables were well behind Temple in our study. Apple Watch Series 12 came closest. Temple also beat the untaped chest strap, the industry's benchmark, in zones 4 and 5," Goyal said.

Goyal attributed the results to two factors: Temple's adhesive-based design, which helps maintain consistent skin contact and its position over a major artery near the temple. He said the company tested the same sensor at four body locations and found the temple to be the most accurate.

However, these findings are based on Temple's internal research. Goyal said the full paper and data are available on the company's website, while an extended study by independent researchers is underway. He has also invited other researchers to replicate the results under different conditions and offered to fund such studies.

Temple wearable price in India, delivery timeline and features

Temple is positioned differently from conventional fitness trackers. It attaches between the forehead and ear using adhesive patches called Grips and uses optical sensing technology. Its proprietary BrainFlow system interprets signals from the temple region, while another metric called Entropy is designed to represent physiological strain on a scale of 1 to 250.

The company says this metric can respond to factors such as exercise, stress, sleep, digestion and caffeine consumption. However, questions remain about how frequently the device updates readings, how much information its companion app will provide and whether it can distinguish physical exertion from mental stress.

The first batch is priced at ₹85,000 in India. Temple follows a made-to-order model, so manufacturing begins after an order is placed. Deliveries are expected to take around three months from purchase and customers can reportedly request a refund until the device is shipped. The package includes lifetime access to Temple's software platform and adhesive Grips.