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The downside here is that there aren't any banks that support Garmin Pay in the UK yet, and Apple iOS restrictions mean that replying to notifications is limited to Android only. The other is the ability to reply to messages, not just view notifications. One of those introductions is Garmin Pay, a contactless payment system. A couple of times during testing, we woke up because we'd moved our arm and accidentally activated the backlight. One frustration we found a couple of times is that this can happen at night when you're sleeping. This works more like classic sports watch backlight, delivering a cool white, almost blue illumination that comes on when you tap the screen or raise your wrist. When it's dark you'll need the built-in backlight to see the watch face. It's no smartwatch rival, nor is it meant to be. By nature, this type of screen has a low refresh rate, and so they can appear stuttery. However, this screen type means you don't get smooth animation. In other words: it doesn't need a backlight throughout the day, unlike the LCD and OLED panels you get on "traditional" smartwatches. In fact, the brighter the light, the easier it is to see. Its resolution of just 240 x 240 pixels is some way short of what you'll find on more traditional OLED and LCD based smartwatches, meaning you're not going to see super-sharp lines or smooth curves here.īeing transflective means that ambient brightness is sufficient to make the watch face visible. It's a colour transflective e-ink screen, similar to what's found on virtually every other Garmin watch. It's a slim, 20mm strap which feels a little cheaper and slightly more crude than the straps you might get on something like the Apple Watch or even the Samsung Gear Sport. Above that is the proprietary Garmin four pin charging connection point.Īs for the all-important strap, here's one area you can tell Garmin saved a little on costs in the Vivoactive. On the underside of the watch you'll find some now-standard Garmin features, including a metal base with a built-in optical heart-rate sensor. The touch panel on the Vivoactive 3's left edge reduces this frustration somewhat, but at the same time it's too easy to brush it accidentally. Those who are used to traditional sports watches and being able to just press a button while working out to set a lap, or skip through different screens to few different data won't like trying to use a touchscreen while exercising. We think this design decision will be divisive some users will love it, others will hate it. Instead of multiple buttons for extra and exacting controls, there's a touch-sensitive panel on the left edge, as well as a touchscreen for interacting with the watch. This is perhaps the biggest indication that the Vivoactive is going for the simple-but-functional fitness watch approach.
While some other smart and sports watches have multiple physical buttons on both sides, Garmin has opted for just one in the Vivoactive 3.
It's also designed to be water resistant to 5 ATM, or 50 metres deep, and has Corning Gorilla Glass 3 covering the watch face. The Vivoactive's case is also built from fibre-reinforced polymer, just like the Fenix. The main body, at 11.7mm thick, isn't anywhere near as big as its sibling, the Fenix 5. The round bezel around the screen is made from stainless steel and has lines engraved around the circumference to denote the hour positions.
Is the Vivoactive a truly great multi-sport smart sports watch for sub-£300? Which is where the new Vivoactive 3 comes in: it promises to be a wearable that can compare with the likes of the Fenix 5, but in a device that costs almost half as much.
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If anything has held you back in the past, it's likely been the price, as the high-end Forerunner or Fenix series don't come cheap.
Whether you're a runner, cyclist or general outdoors lover, there's a high probability you've already purchased or considered purchasing a Garmin watch. (Pocket-lint) - Garmin is well known for producing highly regarded wearables, specifically those for tracking sports activities.