Garmin Vivoactive 3 GPS Smartwatch with Music Storage and Playback – Rose Gold/Granite Blue

10 reviews for Garmin Vivoactive 3 GPS Smartwatch with Music Storage and Playback – Rose Gold/Granite Blue

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   JCJC – April 10, 2024

   Updated July 2019 after 4 months of use – typically training 8+ times a week across multiple sports, including approx. 50km to 60km of running per week:I have long been a loyal user of running watches produced by Garmin and my most recent (and much loved) watch is this Garmin Vivo Active 3. I have also road tested the Polar Vantage M, also being a Multisport watch, is a good side by side competitor for the Vivo Active so in this review I also compare the Vivo Active 3 to this watch.Set Up:- You can set up the watch with or without the Garmin App. It is recommended to use the app and therefore I did (I also love analyising my fitness data so a watch which isn’t syncing with an app is no fun for me).- The watch was easy to set up and both the watch and App were intuitive to use.Charging- The watch was ready to charge on arrival. It comes with a USB charger (note: no mains plug, you will either need to charge via a laptop or a mains to USB charger). The watch attaches to the charger via an each magnetic connection.- The watch went from out of box to being 100% charged in less than 1 hour (via mains).- The charger is a small clip in which attaches to the back of the watch.Aesthetics, general wearability and day to day use- The Garmin looks very good on my wrist, it is a nice small size for day to day wear (it is slightly smaller than the Polar Vantage M)- It is light and as a result it was easy to forget I was wearing it.- The strap is soft and pliable (other running watches such as the Polar watches have quite stiff straps).Ease of Operation:- The watch is operated largely by touch screen (there is only one button on the side of the watch). I really like the intuitive and easy to use touch screen ability – it feels modern and up to date but more importantly it is very quick to navigate.- To start training you select the button on the device and then scroll to find the activity you want to start. You can set the watch up so your most frequently used (or favorite) activities are listed up front for a quick start. There are many pre-programmed activities but I have mainly used the running (outdoors), treadmill running, indoor cycling and strength training activities.- The activity is paused by pressing the same button and then the touch screen gives end and save options.GPS log on- There is nothing more frustrating then your watch taking a long time to log onto the GPS signal when you just want to start running, I was concerned about this having read other reviews of this watch.- I had no siginifcant issues with the GPS link up. I have used the watch in a small town, a city, at the start of many races and in the countryside when trail running and the GPS log on was adequate in all locations (usually almost immediate but on rare and more frustrating occasions up to 1 minute).- It is worth noting that the Polar watch I have road tested often found GPS signal before the Garmin.Activities/Running/Distance Accuracy/GPS- As a runner this is what is most important to me.- The outdoor running accuracy appears to be incredibly good. It has matched (with very small tolerances) with official race measured distances in anything from 5km to 30km races.- On set up I selected automatic pause so when I stop running, for example at traffic lights, the device automatically pauses and then restarts tracking once I am running again. This feature worked well.- I like the strength training rep counter although I don’t always use it (unless I am wanting to deliberately slow down my work rate)Data screens- Along side the accuracy of data the availability of data whilst running is important to me.- Each data screen can hold 4 pieces of data (e.g. pace, distance, time etc.).- You can customise what data you have via the app.- The data was easy to see whilst running and gave me the information I needed to monitor and improve my performance.Display- The display is graphics are not amazing but they didn’t interfere with my enjoyment of the watch.- I really enjoy the fact that you can customise what data you have on your standard watch screen. I have mine set up to show digital time, date and step count.Interaction with other devices and apps- In common with all runners I know I like to be able to analyse my running data and look at details such as my heart rate, pace and so on over the course of a run.- The Garmin uses the Garmin Connect app to do this. The watch is quick to syncronise and does this itself after activities. It can also be forced via the app.- The have my Garmin App (and therefore the watch data) also syncronised to MyFitnessPal so that my calories burnt are sent over to MFP and calories consumed are sent from MFP to the Garmin (watch and app).As a training aide- Being able to pre-program workouts before setting off makes for much easier interval training.- I use the Garmin to write a training plan with specific work-outs (e.g. interval training) and these then become available in the watch on syncing the two together.- The data you get on the watch at the end of the run is not that extensive (the Polar watch may be better for you if you want this on the watch) but the data in the app is extensive and useful for a post race or run postmortem.Battery life- The battery life on the Garmin is very good, but outperformed by the Polar when both had the same features engaged (e.g. continuous heart rate monitoring).Garmin App- The Garmin Connect App is what takes this watch from a very good 4* product to a 5* watch for me.- It is a real life tracker. I track my weight (and my BMI which is automatically tracks), my steps, my menstrual cycle, my calories in (and out, via a link up with MFP), I analyse my run and race results, set and monitor step (and other activity) goals – I must look at the App on average 10 times per day.- The App is easy to use, intuitive and I honestly believe it has contributed to me developing an even healthier lifestyle.- The app is the reason why I can’t see myself moving away from Garmin when I need my next running watch/activity tracker.Other features- The ‘sleep’ feature isn’t very accurate as it seems to think I’m asleep from the minute I get into bed and start reading until I get up in the morning. All sleep trackers I have tried do however tend to have the same issue.- I had the watch paired with my phone all day via the Garmin Connect app so I could receive message etc. notifications – a useful function but it does drain the battery more quicklyIn summary the Garmin Vivo Active 3 is an amazing watch supported by a brilliant app and I would not hesitate to recommend it.Update May 2020: This watch is over a year old now. It is still being worn daily 24/7 (except when being recharged) and the battery life is still as good as it was when new and functioning fine with no damage and even the strap shows only very minor physical wear and tear.Update 21 July 2020: still being used daily. The battery will last 4-5 days without charge at a push if not using the sports activities. If so count on recharge every 1-2 days. Under light usage, expect to charge daily for about 10-20mins. Getting up and having a shower is ideal time if you wear it overnight for sleep tracking.

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Amazon Customer – April 10, 2024

   had the Vivioactive 3 for nearly a month now and have to say this Garmin is truly brilliant and I’ve not been as active as I’d liked to have been or as I have been in the past, I wear it all the time and often forget I’m wearing it and comparing it to others in same Category its the lightest so no surprise there,I’m looking forward to doing gym work outs as the downloaded workouts look great and gives instructions on how to do them if neededI really cant fault it and although I don’t need to wear a chest HR strap I have the option for more detailed workouts particularly indoors but more so when runningusing it pay is spot on ideal works really wellhaving alarms for different things works greattimers and stop watch perfectnot used the golf but plan to as its a great idea especially when doing a round on own, love this ideawhen it needs charging its really quick too or jst an hour and its pretty much charged from near empty, also great for doing ultras (over 24hrs) although you cant wear it whilst charging, a remote quick charge will give you another days worth of run no problem and the connection for charging is strong and firm (not flimsy/loose)love the average resting heart rate display (after wearing for a few days ie 3 )the display is brilliant in sunlight and I got this after my Fitbit charge3 hr display died, so I no longer wear 2 types of timers as I only wore my garmin 630 when running, now I only use my Garmin vivoactive 3 as it gives me steps as well and constant HR and I pretty much only used Fitbit for steps/time/HR hence I no longer need itchangeable wristbands a bonus too nice and simple to do no dramareceiving texts.calls,instant messages, diary notifications and any others I choose to allow such as security cameras notifications this is brilliantthe satnav navigation is useful when you leave your car in a car park in another town/citychanging the watch faces is awesome too altho I like the digi white numbers that turn blue as to reach steps activity target and also has hr and day date oni could go on and on about how good this Garmin is but my final bit is I opted not for the music version as I can use mobile if needed and control it whilst running exercising as I always have mobile with me any way as an emergency if ever neededi’m thankful I got this in an Amazon sale and brand new as I was looking for a Fitbit HR4 due to my Fitbit HR3 stopping working and spotted the Vivoactive3 which after reading the write ups I’m really pleased and it comes with a 2 year guarantee 🙂 so I’m well pleasedI wouldn’t bother with a screen protector I did at 1st and it came off after a short while and the type of glass this Garmin is fitted with (Gorrilla3 I think) its pretty sturdy protectionif you haven’t gathered already I REALLY love this Garmin my favorite in the past was the Garmin 310XT due to battery life but although the Vivoactive is less using GPS its easy to recharge and the stats its produces are really spot on amazing for me anywayhope this review helps someone

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   A. J. Thomson – April 10, 2024

   After owning an Ultrasport Navrun 500 GPS watch (which needed to be connected to a computer to be charged and download activities), I had been on the lookout for a watch with GPS and a heart rate sensor built in that I could use for running, cycling and hikes, which would also sync wirelessly to my phone (and in turn Strava) without having to use a cable or have a computer around. I had seen a number of watches that did some or all of this but were either really expensive, looked awful, or the battery didn’t last long enough. I saw this as a treasure truck deal, had a read around, then threw caution to the wind and bought it!So far I’ve had it for about a month and a half which has given me time to learn about it and discover any niggles. The box contained the watch and a charging cable. Was fairly easy to set up once the app was installed on a smartphone and paired with the watch.What I love:- Step tracking, floors climbed tracking and continuous heart rate tracking. The floors climbed seems to be fairly accurate, I haven’t measured actual steps vs those recorded but its not way off. The watch prompts you to move (via a subtle vibration) when it detects you haven’t moved for a while.- Choice of watch faces which are configurable. I downloaded Actiface which displays loads of stats as well as time, so I can see how far I’m off my daily target. This is a really good motivator as there have been times when I have been a bit off my target, so I ended up walking around the house and garden to bank some more steps (how sad!), but its good having something to give you that nudge to get up!- Sleep tracking seems to be pretty accurate, I’m not sure about the detection of light/deep sleep but the amount of sleep recorded is pretty much bang-on.- The screen is always on (transflective) which is great for being able to tell the time 🙂 but also to quickly glance at step count etc without having to tap a button or the screen. A flick of the wrist switches on the backlight so you can see the screen in the dark. Its nice going out for a run in the sun and see your progress instantly and know that the display is not killing the battery.- Its not bad to look at, and is comfortable to wear. i.e. its not a bulky/hefty piece of kit like some smartwatches/fitness watches I’ve seen. I wear it 24-7 and don’t notice I’m wearing it – its that light! The silicone strap is also comfortable.- Notifications (SMS/Email/Messenger etc, the list of which notifications you can receive is configurable). Nice being able to open an SMS or email without needing to get the phone out, unlock it etc. It isn’t great for replying to messages though – that’s something I’d use the phone for.- After the first GPS fix (which took a bit of time), every subsequent fix has literally taken a few seconds. Gone are the days of waiting around stretching some more and wandering around waiting for a GPS fix, this thing is almost instantaneous!- Very simple to start an activity – press the button, select which one via the touchscreen, and with a GPS fix you’re good to go. Display during an activity is fairly good – time elapsed, heart rate, distance and pace – enough to see how you are doing with a quick glance. It also vibrates at every ‘lap’ (currently mine is set to miles) giving you a quick summary of how long that mile took – I can see that being useful for when I do the next half marathon – to allow you to mentally know if you’re on pace for the target time.- The Garmin connect app (that you need to have installed on an Android/Apple phone) is fairly intuitive and after a while of use, contains a wealth of information that you can browse around. You can also logon to the Garmin connect website to view all the stats/trends/patterns/insights etc.Any downsides?The battery lasts about 3 days, which includes a 30 minute run using GPS. That is less than what I was led to believe by the marketing, but I am using the actiface watch face, which has a lot of information on display at once, so its possible that is causing the watch to use the battery faster than with the out-of-the-box face, and I’m still quite addicted to checking steps/floors and heart rate :-)The watch rebooted itself this week, possibly as a result of an auto-update, after I’d done 8 floors and about 2000 steps, but when it restarted it said 0 floors and 700 steps, which was a bit annoying! This has only happened once though, so I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt.You can’t download any music to the watch and listen to it with a pair of wireless headphones – you need a phone with the music on, but I believe the watch can be used to control the music. This doesn’t matter to me as I don’t run or cycle with music on – I prefer to be aware of my surroundings and hear cars/cyclists/other runners!Garmin pay isn’t yet available in the UK. I don’t have android pay on my phone so I’m not used to using something other than my wallet to pay for things, but it would be really convenient to pay for things at times with a tap of the watch. Maybe Garmin pay will arrive in the UK at some point in the future.Overall I’m really happy with it – it has a level of ‘smartness’ about it, but is also a competent GPS watch that doesn’t look out of place for day-to-day wear. I bought this when it was a treasure truck offer, so got it for a lot less (160) than it normally retails for (230+). I’m not sure I’d be prepared to pay more than the amount I did though.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Archie and Darren and ElliottArchie and Darren and Elliott – April 10, 2024

   This watch is excellent despite a couple of flaws.It looks great in the slate colour compared with the previous version of the watch. No one is going to stop you on the street to congratulate you on an awesome timepiece but neither will they know your wearing an activity tracker. Watch faces look good enough and it’s round, this makes all the difference.Screen : Garmin screens are always fairly low Res and dim compared with other watches until you go outside. When outdoors the screen is always legible and if anything gets better. It could be a bit higher in resolution but not something you notice after a few days of wearing it.Performance : Not had any issues, picks up GPS quickly and maps accurately . Counts steps well and measures your heart rate every second. Notifications are handled well and look good on the round screen. The only thing I really wanted to work was the weight lifting app. For my needs it works ok but is more of a faff than I would like. Until it automatically tracks everything I won’t be using it.Battery : I’m getting about 4 to 5 days on my second charge and I’m hoping to get about 6. It is worse than the Vivoactive before it but the feature set is worth the trade off. It better than most other watches as it is.Overall : Really happy that it works as expected, no real bugs to speak of. It looks nice and fits comfortably. I was tempted by a Samsung Gear and Fitbit Ionic but decided on this and I am not disappointed. They all have their pros and cons.*****Update after a month or so use.Battery life is firmly in 4 to 5 day territory which is fine. There has been an update or 2 that have made some improvements, the main one being to the weights app. It now automatically tracks sets and reps. It isn’t perfect and doesn’t pick up all exercise but it works just about well enough to be useful. At the very least it’s an excellent timer between sets.I have not had any issues with the watch and still love the look and features.I would still recommend this watch. Very impressed and for my usage case is almost the perfect smart watch.To address some of the negative reviews. The renaming of exercises was fixed and didn’t affect English language devices. I haven’t had any issues with a chest strap or the optical HRM. Battery life has always been average with no major drop offs.Everyone has a different usage case and there do seem to be some issues for them. I would call myself the average user that runs, walks and does weights and it works fine for me.Every device has niggles for some users, don’t let that put you off. Compared to the competition this is a great option.Update 17.4.18I have had this watch a while now and it’s a dependable piece of tech. Battery lasts well, it still looks great.I have read other reviews and people do seem to have some issues though these generally seem to be sorted by a return to Garmin.While not perfect it is close, it hasn’t let me down once in the time I have been using it. It’s not a 5 star product, I would say 4.5 but Amazon doesn’t allow 1/2 stars.

5. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Matthew Cramp – April 10, 2024

   Received my watch yesterday lunchtime to use in UK in conjunction with my Sony Xperia Xz2. Surprised how easy and quick it was to set up. Comes with over 50% battery. Turn on, open garmin Connect app on your phone and it syncs via Bluetooth immediately. Took me less than 20mins to set up everything as I wanted even including changing watch face.Preloaded apps OK and cover various activities and you can customise easily. I don’t require half of the tracking apps so have removed from watch / quick menu to make access to relevant apps quicker.Hr very accurate as is the sleep pattern. Steps counter is also accurate although can have extra steps added to tracking pending what activity / movement you make nonetheless its still one of the most accurate and best tracking devices I’ve used.Notifications for calls, texts and WhatsApp come through OK BUT just make sure you have set them up on both your phone, in the garmin connect app and on the watch itself as they don’t automatically set up and sync! Also you may need to adjust phone/watch settings to be able to get notifications all the time as default is set to certain times / activities.Value measurements are defaulted to US non UK standards / metric but they are simple to change either on the watch or via Connect app i.e temp in Fahrenheit not Celsius, kilometres instead of miles etc.Synching is easy via app and iqconnect store which has a number of additional apps, widgets and watch faces so you can customise your watch. These can be downloaded in app and are downloaded to watch when it syncs. The connect app also allows you to see breakdown of daily stats and is easy to use and interpret the data.Overall the Vívoactive 3 is perfect watch for fitness tracking and to receive notifications on the move without having to muck around with your phone. The design and lack of full smartwatch capabilities such as replying to notifications, answering calls on the watch and having speaker to talk or play music to some may seem uninspiring but at the end of the day it’s foremost a fitness tracker with perks of a normal smartwatch which for me is ideal. The watch is comfortable and doesn’t irritate skin like previous watches I’ve had. It is well sized, the screen is clear and you can adjust brightness to suit. You can also turn off setting which causes watch to light up on movement which can be annoying and battery drain. The straps seem sturdy enough and comfortable on the wrist. I had to charge battery last night as went down to 35% from 58% when started but this is because I was mucking around with the watch loads as only just received. From other reviews expect battery life to be at or very near to what Garmin states and improve once used more.Will update after few months with any changes

6. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Chris – April 10, 2024

   Moving up from a tracker band the smart watch market is a minefield. I don’t know how many reviews I read before deciding on this watch. The price did it for me really. This model was £290 when it was launched. At less than half that, it’s a real bargain. I wanted GPS and various smart tracking features that this has. I figured Garmin would be good for GPS since they are famous for their outdoor GPS devicea, I wasn’t wrong. This locks onto satellites in around 20 seconds. (try that on a Fitbit!) Also the battery seems to last longer than many of the others. They quote around a week. I’d say it’ll be more like 4 or 5 days on a charge depending on how you have it set up.The other thing I really like is the App Garmin Connect. It’s very easy to navigate and tells you everything you need and stuff you don’t, but in a very bclear and unmuffled interface.The watch itself appealed to me because it’s thin and doesn’t look clunky at all. Perfectly ok as an everyday watch.However there is one major thing that will divide opinions. The display. If you want the latest superbright smiles display then keep moving. The display on this is perfectly adequate but it won’t impress anyone. Colours are washed out and the low pixel count makes it look dated. BUT the other side of this coin is that because it had a transflective display, go outdoors and it is amazing. In fact the brighter the sunlight the clearer it is (like on a Kindle) This has several benefits, one being you’ll always be able to read the display outdoors clearly, and without any need for backlighting, which saves battery power too. Indoors the always in display is still visible but the backlight will activate when you lift your wrist to view (unless you turn it off and activate it by tapping the screen.So although you won’t impress anyone with the graphics, when you’re using the watch for outdoor use, where it counts , it will leave oled displays standing.Charging takes around 90 mins which is totally fine. It also has NFC and Garmin Pay though there are not many banks in UK that work with this, so of that’s a deal breaker bear it in mind.The watch is extremely comfortable to wear and I honestly find it hard to fault, particularly at this price. Very happy with my purchase and would recommend this to anyone who wants something more advanced than a fitness tracking band but without paying for stuff you don’t need.

7. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Jim – April 10, 2024

   This is a great fitness watch with basic smartphone notifications. I’ve tried android wear but the battery life is two days at best right now and the amount of notifications is annoying. I found myself turning off most of them and just had text, what’s app, reminders and alarms. And vivoactive offers these and any other app you want on your wrist. Unlike android wear you can’t reply with a keyboard or voice dictation but again I found myself reaching for my phone more often than not to action things on android wear so this again isn’t any different.I find (after over 4 weeks of use) that I average 4-5 days of battery life between charges. It take approx 1hr to fully charge too.The screen is great, especially in bright light or sunlight. The transflective display actually becomes clearer the brighter the light in the room or outside is. This is great as my previous wearable devices were lcd screens and out in bright sunlight there were hard to view.The watching is super comfortable to wear. It’s so light you barely feel it on. I’ve not change he’d the staple even though it’s easy to find any replacement you want due to the generic quick release system and size. The stock strap is again super comfortable and the silicon is nice for sports wear as it won’t absorb the sweat like a leather alternative would.Sports tracking is great, I do a mix of strength and cardio exercises. No it’s not as precise as a chest strap but it’s surprisingly not that far off. Strength training work is where I find the gap between chest strap and wrist appears more. When out for a jog/run I find it much more accurate. I don’t do HIIT training and it’s sudden spikes where wrist tracking is often less precise. That’s a problem with wrist based tracking in general due to the location being further to the extremities from my understanding. And the flexing with strength training work and different bloody circulation within the muscles all has an affect on it. But overall the results seemed to even out about the same as the polar strap I have by then end of the workouts. So 👍🏻The Garmin companion app and website are great. There is an absolute shed load of data to digest after training but it’s all great for understanding how your performance is changing. Some reviewers have complained saying there is too much data but more data allows for more insight. It’s one of the reasons I swapped to Garmin. My old ms bans 2 used to give more data than the polar M600 but the band wasn’t as accurate at tracking workouts or very comfortable.Garmins app also links brilliantly with MFP unlike anything else I’ve used before. It’s so good I find I use it’s calorie tracking interface more and just log my food in MFP. Previously I used to get all my exercise data into MFP to the work out the calories. Garmin connect makes its clearer and easier.I could bang on more but ultimately I’m super happy with my device and can’t recommend it enough

8. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   P. BarclayP. Barclay – April 10, 2024

   I have used an exercise tracking watch on and off for many years. In the past, it was the only way to record data from a Polar heart rate strap. More recently, I have worn a Nokia Steel HR but found it to be quite inaccurate when used on long hikes, whilst the small display was only able to provide very limited information.I wanted to get a watch with plenty of fun interactive features that would also track HR accurately during hiking and gym activities, without spending a fortune. This watch cost almost £300 when it first came out, was reduced to £180 pre-Xmas and is now down to £125. At that price, I think it is great value for money.Throughout the day, it keeps an eye on my HR and activity and prompts me to “Move” if I have been sitting down for too long.It has the same optical HR sensor as other Garmin watches, so should work as well as my wife’s Garmin Forerunner when we go hiking.I do a lot of rowing on a Concept 2. Wrist HR sensors do not work well when rowing so I was delighted to see that this watch can use my Polar H10 belt as an alternative HR source, using ANT to connect the two systems. It even records my stroke rate, which is excellent.Very impressed that it can control my music when I am listening to Spotify via my iPhone 12 Pro, allowing me to see which tracks are playing, skip forwards and backwards and even adjust the headphone volume. Battery life is also good. So far, I have worn it for 3 days and the battery is still 47%.My only criticism so far is that the wrist strap is quite short, around 25 mm shorter than my Nokia Steel HR. As a result, I have to wear the watch on one of the widest settings. Fortunately, there are plenty of 3rd party straps in all sorts of material available on Amazon for this watch at very reasonable prices so this is not a problem.The sky’s the limit when it comes to buying smartwatches, which can vary in price from £30 up to £1350. I think £125 seems like a sweet spot that represents excellent value for money for a top brand watch.

9. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Mr. P. Harvey – April 10, 2024

   This is my second health monitor wristwatch. The first wristwatch was also a Garmin model but called a Vivosport and presented the now familiar ‘slim & black’ appearance to the World. The Vivoactive 3 has a different, circular appearance about 1.5″ across, like that of most timepieces. Apart from recharging its battery every 5 or 6 days, there is nothing more to do. It is a quick charger. About 2hrs is all that is necessary using a social cable or dock (preferred). I found it useful to keep a few extra cables available in case one is misplaced or lost. Losing a cable is easily done but they are cheap to buy.I have worn the Vivoactive 3 more or less constantly since purchasing it and I recharge it when the battery charge falls below 30% (every 3 -4 days approximately) and preferably at night when I am least active.I have an Apple iPhone 7+/256 which I used in conjunction with the Vivoactive 3 and the technical readout of my health/performance is nothing short of exceptional. Monitoing of my pulse rate provides a huge amount of data, which is displayed graphically on my iPhone. Both Vivoactive 3 and iPhone update their operating software automatically.If I have one criticism of the Vivoactive 3 it is its control interface and how to set it up for ones personal needs. However, I could probably make this complaint of every health monitor wristwatch I have tried on. Many of the Vivoactive 3’s display capabilities are still unfamiliar to me and I have to refer to its manual in order to change it.The Vivoactive 3 operates under touch control but therein lays another problem. I have found that the sleeves of my garments can rub against the touch screen, albeit lightly, and alter the settings of the Vivoactive 3. This happens often and can be annoying because it has to be reset to its original settings, which in my case often means referring to the manual. It can take quite some time to learn all the Vivoactive 3s operational capabilities.My Garmin VivoSport, my first health monitor wristwatch, was a very capable health monitor wristwatch too but it had one design flaw. Once the narrow, rubberised wristband becomes damaged, replacing it becomes either very difficult or impossible. This happened to my Vivosport and I replaced it with the Vivoactive 3, which has wristbands that can be replaced. The Vivoactive 3 has a larger circular display, which in my opinion represents a more natural and familiar interface to its owner. The Vivosport has a narrow, rectangular display. which requires a thin wristband and therein lys its weakness.The Vivoactive 3 is a very capable health monitor wristwatch and works well with the iPhone. It is expensive but subsequent models are slowly becoming cheaper as more people wear them. I expect it to have a long life. Recommended.

10. 

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Kelly.DKelly.D – April 10, 2024

    I deliberated for some time about which Garmin was going to be right for me. I had previously owned the forerunner 230, but had traded that for the Samsung watch.As a smart watch the Samsung wins hands down, however for me it annoyed me more than I liked it. I looked at the Garmin 645 and fenix range as I wanted a watch that could track my jogs, the occasional game of golf and a few laps of the pool, as well as get notifications.I realised I wasn’t going to sell my kidney so the Fenix range soon got discounted, and the 645, at the time of writing didn’t allow for golf, so the VA3 was the one I settled, and wanting music when I’m jogging I opted for the music version.When it first arrived I did think it was a joke watch due to it being so light. Setting it up and linking it to Spotify was easy. The Garmin app has been updated, it is easy to use and has a whole host of information.The running function is superb, you can change the data field to whatever you want and when you turn your wrist you can easily see the information. The connection to my Bose headphones has never failed or missed a beat. The only slight negative was when I was out in the rain wearing a long sleeved top the touchscreen was activated and would change the screen and give you the occasional vibrate which was off putting but easily rectified, and it couldn’t stop the activity as this done on the one and only button.I was sceptical about the touchscreen but it worked well with sweaty fingers out jogging, wet fingers in the rain and gloved fingers when golfing.When playing golf the display was brilliant, as you can see from the photos very easy to see in direct sunlight and provides all the information I needed. From about 7 rounds the watch has been confused twice and put me on an incorrect hole. I changed this manually which was easy enough and didn’t hold up play. The accuracy has always been spot matching the markers on the course (on the odd occasion I was on the fairway).Swimming is fine, select pool length and off you go, not loads of data but basic and enough for my needs.I wear formal shirts for work, this watch is slight enough that my sleeve can pass over it when checking the time, so no more looking like I’m trying to get out of a straight jacket.Overall I’m really happy with the watch and being back with the Garmin family.I’m sure the biking mode will be great but I haven’t used it as I have a bike specific computer.I would definitely recommend this product.