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, having a better range of fitness tracking abilities, however, the Vivosport does cost about a hundred bucks less.

Performance Comparison

To determine which tracker came out on top, we bought all of the best models on the market today and pitted them head-to-head in our quest to find the top fitness tracker. We ranked and scored the Garmin Vivoactive 3 and its peers on their performance in five weighted rating metrics: Fitness Impact, Health Impact, Ease of Use, Ergonomics, and Display. The performance of the Vivosport 3 is detailed in the sections below.

Fitness Impact

To evaluate the fitness impact of each tracker, e compared and scored the accuracy of the Vivoactive 3 at counting steps taken and stairs climbed, as well as the quality of cycling and other workout tracking to determine scores. Additionally, we also looked at how easy it is to compete with your family and friends and compare with other members of your community online. The Vivoactive 3 scored a 7 out of 10 for its performance, putting it in the upper half of the group in this metric, which comprises 30% of the overall score for each tracker.

The Vivoactive 3 was highly accurate at counting steps in our tests, only deviating from the true manual count by about 0.33%. However, the Vivoactive 3 does not calculate distance, hurting its slightly.

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 does calculate the number of flights of stairs climbed, but it did miss a handful compared to our manual count.

Health Impact

For our next metric, accounting for 25% of the total score, we evaluated how well each tracker could monitor your heart rate, track sleep, stick to a diet, and implement lifestyle changes, as well as if it had an alarm clock. The Vivoactive 3 performed reasonably well, earning a 6 out of 10 for its above average performance.

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

Responsible for 20% of the overall score, our Ease of Use metric graded each fitness tracker on its companion app, its battery life, ease of navigating menus, its level of water resistance, ease of putting it on, and how well it syncs fitness data to your phone. The Vivoactive 3 delivered an above average performance in our tests evaluating ease of use, earning it a 6 out of 10.

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 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

Our Ergonomics metric evaluated the comfort, aesthetics, and profile design of each wearable, accounting for 15% of the overall score. Continuing a trend, the Vivoactive 3 again scored a 6 out of 10 for its performance.

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

For our final test metric, we rated the display of each product and what is one it. This metric accounts for the remaining 10% of the total score, with the Vivoactive 3 delivering a phenomenal performance, earning a 9 out of 10.

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