Garmin Vivoactive 3 Review 2023

The Vivoactive 3 is the first Garmin sports tracker that uses Garmin Pay giving you the ability to pay from your wrist!.

But that’s not all! with high-end features this fitness tracker can monitor your heart rate, sleep, stress levels, and VO2 Max, as well comes with GPS/GLONASS included. With smartwatch functionalities and 7 days of battery life, the Vivoactive 3 is a full-featured tracker that can deliver quality and help you improve your health and fitness levels and take it to the next level.

You can track a wide range of sports such as running, cycling as well as extreme sports such as skiing and snowboarding with dedicated built-in apps that will keep tabs on your fitness stats and record all your movements.

Summary: Features GPS, smart notifications, high end sports tracking, NFC payments and a cool and sleek design

Garmin Vivoactive 3: Design

When it comes to looks the Garmin Vivoactive 3 has a rounded and traditional design.

With a thick silver bezel that surrounds the circumference of the screen, that could be used to scroll down the menu but instead, this tracker uses the trademark ‘Side Swipe’ controls, that uses a gesture sensor that allows you to scroll up and down the menus when you brush your finger against the edge of the screen.

There’s also one button on the side of the body that gives you access to the menus. So most of the actions and commands are going to be through the touchscreen which is great when it comes to working out since you don’t want to be going through too much hassle when exercising. The SideSwipe interface is also great when you try to swap between different metrics during a run.

When it comes to colors you can choose between 2 types of blacks as well a white version and all the models come with a silver bezel.

It’s also really comfortable to use and is light as well as weighing only 43g. With swappable bands that have a quick-release silicone strap.

The Screen is one of the most important parts of a watch, and this is where Garmin always makes the difference. The Vivoactive 3 comes with a big screen that features an always-on touchscreen display with a 1.2-inch transflective screen. In terms of resolution comes with a 240 x 240, which is pretty common, and the colors that are not that bright. If well is not super colorful or radiant the screen is not too heavy when it comes to battery life which is a plus on its way.

But don’t worry about having problems looking at your stats on the screen the display is really easy to understand and perfectly readable in most situations even outdoors. There even a backlight that kicks in when you rotate your wrist.

On the back of the body, you will find the heart rate monitor and a pogo pin-style connection for attaching the charger.

Another good news for the Vivoactive 3 is that can be submerged in water up to 50m, so you can take it to track your swims as well as to dive or take a shower.

Garmin Vivoactive 3: Sports and Fitness

Is true that the Vivoactive 3 has some important smartwatch features, but the tracker still has fitness as its core focus.

With a wide range of workouts that are called apps on the watch, you will be able to set your favorites ones by just pressing the button on the side so you can easily access them in the future with no hassle. You can choose different sports such as running, cycling and swimming but as well as sports such as weightlifting, golf or skiing, just to name a few.

In the extreme case that you practice a special sport that is not featured on the watch no worries! you can customize your own sport by using the ‘create’ mode that will allow you to tweak the settings and create your own sport to track and decide which screens and alerts you want to be activated as you work out.

Starting your workouts is really easy, once you already defined which ones are your favorite exercises you just need to press the button on the side, tap on one, wait for the GPS to start (unless you are working out indoors) and then press start.

Garmin Vivoactive 3: Software and Smartwatch Functions

As we mentioned before you can navigate the Vivoactive 3’s menus by swiping up and down the touchscreen or using the Side Swipe.

The menus are organized in a vertical way so you can easily swap from the main clock screen to your data like daily activities, progress, stairs climbed, heart rate data, calendar, or even the weather.

When it comes to smartwatch functions you can easily access the different modes such as media controls and a list of the latest notifications. You can get all your smartwatch notifications on your wrist like calls, messages, and WhatsApp.

If you are scrolling between apps by just clicking the side button you will be back on the watch screen. If you press the button from the home screen you will be taken to your workouts menu. In case you tap and hold the screen for just 3 seconds you will be into a quick menu, or to another menu, if you just hold the side button. In the beginning can be a little bit too much information, but once you are adapted to use it you realized how easy and intuitive it is.

Alotuhg to get the best user experience you will need o sync the tracker with the companion Garmin Connect app that works for both iOS and Android. You will not only be able to sync all your activities and workout data, but you will be also able to install new watch faces from the Connect IQ store.

By using the Garmin Connect you will be also able to configure different settings, like which wrist you prefer to wear the tracker on and which way round during the initial setup. You can also manage which screen you prefer to check when you swipe up and down, allowing you to reorder or add and remove ‘Widgets’, as well as add new apps from the Connect IQ store.

And last but not least from the App, you will also be able to set up Garmin Pay, allowing you to input your card details.

Garmin Vivoactive 3: Battery life

The Vivoactive has a 7-day battery life that is pretty good compared with most trackers but is not the best from the Garmin bunch having in mind the latest trackers can go up to 2 weeks without the need of a charge.

Even that 7 days mark is maybe more like 6 days, or at least that was our experience with the tracker with regular use and 1 hour a day of tracking exercising the tracker was up for just 6 days instead of 7, even 6 days is better than most trackers out there is not the best.

A cool thing that you get with this tracker is the 13 hours with GPS enabled that will give you al this time of GPS use with put a problem, this is really good compared with other trackers as well, but the same thing here when comparing with the high-end Garmin’s, for example, the Fenix 5 that can deliver close to 24 hours of GPS tracking.

Although you will have to have in mind that they cost around 2 times what the Vivoactive 3 cost.

Verdict

The Garmin Vivoactive 3, is the first intent from Garmin to put on the market a smartwatch that can be used by a wide audience, with a good mix between smart features, fitness functions as well overall health to improve your lifestyle. This makes it one of the most versatile trackers on the market that can suit a wide range of people.

With the cool addition of Garmin Pay, the Vivoactive 3 is competing with the high-end smartwatches on today’s market such as the Apple Watch 3 and Fitbit Ionic for a place on your wrist

As you can expect the Garmin Vivoactive 3’s exercise and heart rate tracking, are really detailed and super accurate, so for those trying to improve their fitness level, this tracker can do wonders.

Related:

• Garmin Vivoactive 5
• Garmin Reviews
• Garmin Forerunner 935
• Garmin Fenix 5X review
• Garmin Vivofit 3 Review
• Garmin Instinct Review

Resources:

• Garmin – Vivoactive 3
• Techradar – Vivoactive 3 Review
• Bestbuy – Buy Vivoactive 3