From four prototypes to 100 beta units - the real challenges of building hardware for swimmers. Inside our development process.
2025 was a pivotal year for BeatBuddy Pro — our programmable metronome designed specifically for swimmers and athletes. At its core, it's still a metronome — just engineered for sport, not music.
We focused on building our first four prototypes, then planned to produce 100 more units to test key assumptions in real conditions. Over time, the most important aspect of this process became simplifying production — reducing complexity, removing unnecessary elements, and preparing the solution for repeatable, scalable manufacturing.
This was also a year of real challenges:
A critical priority from day one has been retaining knowledge within the company. We ensure that all documentation, data, and design decisions stay in our infrastructure.
Working with suppliers often meant fighting resistance to extract information and prevent knowledge silos. This is essential if we want to develop BeatBuddy independently and consciously.
In parallel, MusicTech Lab supports BeatBuddy by developing the mobile app and web components — so that hardware and software grow together as one cohesive system.
Today, over 500 swimmers and coaches are waiting to test BeatBuddy Pro when it's ready.
Building hardware is very difficult. Finding the right partner who can truly help — is even harder. This year showed us that very clearly.
We're preparing the first batch of 100 devices for beta testers. Each unit will go to trusted swimmers and coaches to collect real, everyday feedback.
Thank you to everyone following this journey and supporting BeatBuddy.
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Eight Months Into BeatBuddy Pro: No Wins Yet, But We're Not Giving Up
Building something real takes time. For eight months, we've been pouring energy into BeatBuddy Pro. We've hit roadblocks. Tested. Tried again.
First Real Tests: What Swimmers Say About BeatBuddy Pro
We took BeatBuddy Pro to the pool for its first real user tests. Here's what swimmers discovered — from haptic feedback to nail tip challenges.
