Garmin Vivoactive 3 Black/Silver
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According to our smartwatch expert
The Garmin Vivoactive 3 helps you move more every day and take your sport performance to the next level. The smartwatch has an integrated heart rate monitor and GPS receiver, which give you accurate insight into your workouts. That way, you'll know exactly how quick your kilometer splits are or how high your heart rate is. The Vivoactive 3 also counts your steps, stairs climbed, and calories burned and shows notifications from your smartphone. The color screen shows to what extent you've achieved your predefined exercise goal. Is the bar not completely full yet? Take the stairs one more time instead of the elevator.
Note: an adapter isn't included. Do you want to charge the watch via a socket? If so, order an adapter separately.
This watch is suitable for a wrist circumference of 17 to 19cm.
Compatible with operating system | Android, iOS | |
Recommended for wrist circumference | 17 - 19 cm | |
Battery life in time mode | 168 hours | |
Type of heart rate measurement | Optical heart rate measurement | |
Required iPhone model | iPhone 4S or later | |
Independent music player | ||
Width | 43,4 mm |
5 stars
380
4 stars
368
3 stars
18
2 stars
3
1 star
2
User friendliness
Battery life
Wearing comfort
Design
Options
Let me start by saying that I was already a user of the Vivoactive HR before purchasing the Vivoactive 3, so this review will also be based on this. The design of the Vivoactive 3 is in my opinion a big improvement over the previous vivoactive HR. Thanks to the interchangeable straps, you can turn it into a stylish watch that can be worn at all times. The display is still a Croma display that is always on, unlike many competitors where the display only turns on on demand. A Croma display is also always easy to read in a lot of sunlight. On the other hand, the contrast is much lower than with LCD/LED/amoled screens. The user-friendliness of the watch is more than sufficient for me, and all operation is done via the touchscreen, the button on the side or the 'sliding' on the other side. I mainly use the watch for tracking walking and (indoor) swimming. When walking, the built-in GPS is used to show the route on a map after synchronizing with the app. This is all accurate and detailed. When swimming, no GPS signal is used, but you enter the length of the pool and the watch automatically counts the number of laps you have swum. All possible extra information is also collected, such as number of strokes, average speed, max speed, swolf, ... and this is synchronized with the app after the activity. I haven't tried other sports yet, so I can't comment on this one. Climbing stairs/counting floors is very inaccurate for me, hopefully this will change after a software update. The Garmin app used to be the big disadvantage of Garmin in my opinion. This one was really only focused on sports and was quite cluttered. In the meantime a lot has been improved and all the things you would expect (sleep, heart rate, health statistics,...) are kept up to date. Since a few weeks there is now also a beta version that provides a handy day/week overview and leans more towards the Fitbit. Last but not least, there is Garmin Pay which should ensure that wireless payments can also be made with the watch, but this is not yet active so nothing can be said about it yet. For me, the Vivoactive 3 is an improvement over the previous model, but it also comes with a more expensive price tag.
Wouter Bijnens
1 October 2017
Automatically translated from Dutch
I bought the Garmin Vivoactive 3 (VA3) to measure my daily heart rate and because I like a smartwatch. Garmin has hit exactly the line where these two dimensions intersect with this VA3. It looks sleek, but it is an (ultra) multi-sport watch. A lot of sports options.
I am a serious cyclist (+-15h/w) and I use another Garmin device for this which, just like the VA3, synchronizes with the Garmin Connect app. After my purchase I encountered a serious problem that makes the watch completely unusable for me.
My activity data is not supposedly synced from the app back to the watch. So it is not cross device. The watch calls all day that I have to move and indicates that I have exercised for 0 minutes (while for example I do 100+km for 5 days).
To keep an eye on my heart rate, this VA3 builds a 24/7 graph, but where I "cycle" I have gaps in the graph, but the activities are visible.
Other providers parse this data so that you get a correct whole, only Garmin can only do this with the so-called wearables (VA3. Fenix etc) by means of. TrueUp. This is extremely disappointing and has been the reason for me to return it.
If you practice different sports, this watch is extremely suitable and I would recommend it. I was so pleased that if Garmin solves this software problem, I would order it again.
About the product itself:
Martijn de Jonge
19 April 2018
Automatically translated from Dutch
in use for 2 weeks now great watch with many possibilities, I usually use it for cycling and hiking. the gps is found quickly AND accurate! ..Touch screen works very well, even with gloves! I never actually use the side swipe, but it is a nice function in itself. I am also pleased with the water resistance. you can adjust many things to your liking and appearance ( watch faces , fields , colors , etc etc ) . charging is fine and FAST. in ''normal'' watch smartwatch mode, the battery lasts for a day or 6 with workouts and GPS a little shorter, but I have to charge my smartphone more often! .in GPS mode for an hour or so (but it is never on for that long.. it is advisable to turn off Bluetooth, and only turn it on if you want to sync with your phone.. Also the screen lighting is at max 30% (is the choice of a watch face CAN (not necessarily) also affect battery life the watch faces on the vivo 3 itself are fine in terms of battery consumption, downloaded ''Can'' require a little more from the battery ..... everywhere a stylish, modern functional smart/sport watch and the better in its segment!.... would have preferred a Fenix 5s, but unfortunately my wallet did not want this.
saab van der linden
31 January 2018
Automatically translated from Dutch
Thanks to Garmin Pay, it's possible to pay contactless with your Garmin Vivoactive 3 Black/Silver. Even without having a wallet or smartphone with you. Want to know more about Garmin Pay and how to install it? Read this article.
Product number | 791806 |
Manufacturer code | 010-01769-00 |
Brand | Garmin |
Warranty | 2 years |
Processing of your defect | Carry-in warranty |
Compatible with operating system | Android, iOS | |
Required iPhone model | iPhone 4S or later | |
Operating system | Brand-specific | |
Guaranteed support with updates | Unknown |
Watch case color | Gray | |
Watch case material | Stainless steel | |
Watch case shape | Round | |
Width | 43,4 mm | |
Depth | 11,7 mm | |
Weight | 43 g | |
Size watch case | Large | |
Recommended for wrist circumference | 17 - 19 cm | |
Water resistance | 5 |
Watch strap material | Plastic | |
Watch strap color | Black | |
Closure type | Buckle | |
Interchangeable watch strap | ||
Compatibility watch strap | Product specific | |
Minimum wrist circumference | 12,7 cm | |
Maximum wrist circumference | 20,4 cm |
Screen type | LCD | |
Always-on display | ||
Data display | Digital | |
Touchscreen | ||
Color screen | ||
Type of glass | Mineral |
Battery life in time mode | 168 hours | |
Battery life in sports mode | 13 hours | |
Battery/battery capacity | 0,16 Ah | |
Wireless charging |
Bluetooth | ||
ANT+ | ||
Independent music player | ||
Music controls | ||
Built-in microphone | ||
Built-in speakers | ||
Smartphone notifications | Caller ID, Music controls, Notifications, Receive messages, Send messages | |
App installation possible | ||
Camera operation | ||
NFC | ||
Contactless payment | ||
Contactless payment system | Garmin Pay | |
Country contactless payment | Belgium, The Netherlands |
Pedometer | ||
Speedometer | ||
Calorie counter | ||
Measures stairs climbed |
Heart rate measurement | ||
Heart rate zones | ||
Heart rate sensor | Integrated pulse sensor | |
Type of heart rate measurement | Optical heart rate measurement | |
Heart rate measurement moment | Continuously | |
Notification exceedance heart rate zone | Yes | |
Irregular heartbeat notification | ||
Heart rate measurement under water |
Oximeter | ||
Average heart rate during sleep |
Recommended for sports | Biking, Fitness, Hiking, Mountaineering, Outdoor, Running, Swimming, Tennis, Water sports, Winter sports | |
Adjust sport profiles | ||
Save personal records | ||
Measure fitness age | ||
Recovery advice | ||
Interval training | ||
VO2 max measurement | ||
Automatic pausing | ||
Measures minutes of intensive training | ||
Measures average speed during activity | ||
Lap counter | ||
Race prognosis | ||
Measures step distance | ||
Measure running cadence | ||
Measures swimming distance | ||
Measures swimming speed | ||
Swimming lap counter |
Built-in GPS receiver | ||
Global satellite navigation system | GLONASS, GPS | |
GPS application | Route registration |
Compass | ||
Altimeter | ||
Type of altimeter | Barometric | |
Accelerometer | ||
Thermometer |
Fall detection | ||
Alarm function | ||
Emergency button | ||
Geofencing |
