Garmin Vívoactive® 3 GPS Smartwatch

The New Vivoactive 3 Garmin completely redesigned the Vivoactive into the Vivoactive 3. This new version features an entirely different look (as noted below in the comparison photos, with the newer version shown on the left and version we tested on the right). The watch now features a heart rate monitor, the ability of load credit cards onto the watch, and a host of other options like a music player, stress tracking, and fitness level monitor apps. Here is a brief summary of the updates to the new watch. Aesthetic Updates — The new watch, shown above on the left, features a circular watch face. Heart Rate Monitor — The Vivoactive 3 boasts a built-in wrist-based heart rate monitor. Garmin Pay — You can now load payment options such as debit and credit card numbers onto the watch so that you can make purchases without carrying your wallet along. New Features — The Vivoactive 3 comes with a whole host of new features not included on the original watch, such as a compass, barometric altimeter, gyroscope, and thermometer, to name a few. For an extra $30, you can get a version of the watch that holds and plays up to 500 songs. Hands-On Review of the Vivoactive The Garmin VivoActive melds the basic versions of three different devices into a package that should have wide appeal but doesn't score highly in any one category. It is a basic smartwatch, with simple GPS recording attributes, and it also works like an activity monitor to track daily steps and sleep patterns. The VivoActive is not a top of the line product, nor is it a bargain. It is not comprehensive, but it omits very little from the full-service products. This contender is an excellent choice for both daily use and specific event tracking. Ease of Use Garmin has come a long way in terms of the ease of use of their products. They are a long-time contender in the general GPS market. As a big, older company in the field, they used to seem relatively slow-moving and late-to-adapt as compared to the rest of the field, especially among new "start-ups" that emphasized the slickness of their products' user interfaces. Garmin, especially with the VivoActive, has handily come "up to speed" and now offers a user experience that meets or exceeds that of the newer outfits. This model has a touchscreen, fast app sync, and an app interface that is intuitive yet comprehensive. Our only wish is that the device could be locked completely. With a simpler set of features and functions, the VivoActive is inherently easier to use than the Editor's Choice Garmin Forerunner 935. They both use the same app, so that part is the same. On the device though, there are simply far fewer options on the VivoActive. The touchscreen is also unique to the VivoActive in this comparison. The on-device experience of the VivoActive is similar in intuitiveness and simplicity to the Fitbit Surge. The Ambit3 Peak is intuitive, but far more complicated overall. The electronics of the Polar m400 are slow, hindering that product's usability, while the Nixon Mission is clumsy and complicated, as compared to the Garmin. Features In some ways, the VivoActive has just the right feature set for broad appeal. One of our testers grabbed right ahold of this for over a month of the review, using it as her daily watch, activity monitor, and fitness tracker. For daily use, the Garmin is rivaled only by the Top Pick Apple Nike+. Clear time-keeping and simple, clean smartwatch attributes appeal for daily use. Seamless step counting and sleep monitoring make the VivoActive replace your dedicated activity tracker. Finally, the sport-specific GPS tracking (which, of course, is the reason we've reviewed it here) of the Garmin lets you use the same device for monitoring and recording your runs and bike rides. The VivoActive is a device that one can use 24/7. In dedicated sports tracking, there are compromises made with the VivoActive. There is no barometric altimeter for accurate altitude tracking in steep terrain, for instance. Also, the navigation feature is very basic. All you can do is navigate, within an exercise mode only, in a straight line back to where you started the exercise. Regarding features, the Editor's Choice Garmin Forerunner 935 and its bulkier sibling, the Fenix 5, are at the top of the heap. These models have almost everything we could imagine in a GPS watch, with only a little room for improvement in smartwatch functionality. This, however, is the least important of the potential features in a product like this. In addition to what the VivoActive does, the Forerunner 935 and the Fenix 5 have extensive navigation options, barometric altimeters, and wrist-mounted optical heart rate tracking. The Top Pick Apple Watch also has more features than the VivoActive. It does all that the VivoActive does, plus wrist-top heart rate and extensive smartwatch features, including customizable app suites. The VivoActive has some features that the Best Buy Garmi