Garmin Vivoactive 3 Review

The Vivoactive 3 tied with the TomTom Spark 3 Cardio+Music, having a slightly inferior performance in our Health Impact metrics. However, the Vivoactive 3 has a much better display. The Vivoactive 3 performed slightly better than the Garmin Vivosport with a better range of fitness tracking abilities; however, the Vivosport costs about a hundred bucks less.

Fitness Impact

The Vivoactive 3 was highly accurate at counting steps in our tests, only deviating from the true manual count by about 0.33%. However, it doesn't calculate distance.

With the Vivoactive 3, you can compare a decent set of options with your friends, exactly the same as the other Garmin models. You can compare your step count on leaderboards or opt into weekly challenges to provide that extra little nudge to get off the couch.

Continuing its solid performance, the Vivoactive 3 scored very well in our cycling assessment. It records a ton of different metrics, such as both average and maximum heart rate and speed, distance, duration, and elevation. Even better, all of this is displayed on the device itself, precluding the need to pull out your phone.

In addition to cycling, the Vivoactive 3 has a large range of activities that it can track, including running, biking, swimming, treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical, ski, snowboard, SUP, or yoga, along with a handful of others.

This model can calculate the number of flights of stairs climbed, but it misses a handful compared to our manual count.

Health Impact

We weren't particularly impressed with the Vivoactive 3 in terms of heart rate monitoring, finding that it varied a significant amount from our control, chest strap heart rate monitor.

This product also didn't deliver a remarkable performance at helping you maintain a diet, requiring you to use a third-party app, MyFitnessPal to track caloric input, but it does estimate calories burned through exercise and your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR).

The Vivoactive 3 does have a movement bar that will build the longer you are sedentary, reminding you to get up and get active if you have been sitting for too long. This model also has a vibration alarm and some basic sleep tracking abilities, though we found it to be a little finicky, as it didn't work for us the first time.

Ease of Use

The battery life on this model is alright, lasting a claimed 7 days with normal use and 13 hours with the GPS in use. However, we did find that this one died much faster than the Garmin Vivosport and the Huawei Band 2 Pro in our tests.

This model uses the Garmin Connect app like the other Garmin models. It's a decent app, but it can't match the Fitbit app in terms of functionality or ease of use. The Vivoactive 3 is water resistant to 5 ATM, making it suitable for swimming, and it is quite easy to take on or off. It is also very easy to navigate between menus, either using the highly responsive touchscreen or the touch-sensitive strip on the side of the watch.

Ergonomics

The Vivoactive 3 is quite comfortable to wear, being small and light enough to not be noticeable or cumbersome. The design choices are a vast improvement on the prior rectangular models, earning this product some serious points. However, the profile is a little on the high side, making it more prone to catching on a jacket or backpack when putting it on.

Display

This model has a very easy to read screen and displays the time and date, as well as some other basic information on the home screen.

The touchscreen is highly responsive, and this watch can receive push notifications from your phone — even paying for transactions if Garmin Pay is set up correctly. Scrolling through the extensive displays will show you your steps, stairs climbed today, and calories burned, as well as your active minutes per week and a stress meter.

Value

The Vivoactive 3 is a bit too pricey to be a good value, but it is a good compromise if you have been eyeing one of Garmin's higher-end GPS watches and are getting sticker shock at their price.

Conclusion