It is almost impossible to think of a running watch without Garmin being the first name that pops into your head, leaders in this field and quite rightly so, the Garmin Vívoactive 3 Music allows you to completely detach yourself from your phone by allowing you to upload up to 500 songs and listen to them via Bluetooth headphones for a free running experience. This GPS smartwatch includes Garmin Pay which lets you make payments with your watch, so that’s the wallet and cash left at home too, and you can personalise the watch face with thousands of options, apps and more from the Connect IQ store. With sport at its heart there are more than 15 preloaded apps ready to use, including running, walking, swimming, strength training and yoga, you can also create your own or download custom ones then, your smartwatch will keep track of the exercises, reps, sets and rest time for you.

To ensure you are performing at your optimum level there is a heart rate monitor, like all wrist placed heart rate monitors accuracy is an issue, however it often seemed to be accurate to about 15-20bpm over, this means with a bit of maths you can work out where you are. You can monitor your VO2 max with this watch but again due to accuracy issues I would take the results with a pinch of salt, I did find the information on stress levels interesting and prompted me to be aware of mindfulness when my levels peaked too high. Other features include the Vicoactive 3 Music, what this has to offer is up to 7 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to 5 hours in GPS with music mode, that accurate built in GPS Garmin is known for, it is fully waterproof for you can take it swimming with you, snowboarding or skiing.

The Garmin Chroma Display makes it easy to read direct sunlight, no longer trying to find a shady spot to read your screen and has been housed under extra-durable glass. You can always remain connected once paired with your smartphone to you can respond to text messages, read emails, get updates when your Uber is arriving and keep an eye on the weather with the AccuWeather app. If you choose to take your phone with you, you can control your music from the watch, you can even find your phone if you misplace it, your friends can track your achievements and ensure you are safe via LiveTrack. For those with a competitive streak you can automatically upload your activities to the Garmin Connect online community or share them on social media. There are so many ways to use and customise this watch, it will take a little while to get your head around all the features, but it has a comfortable and compact design, and easy to use interface, the app provides all the breakdowns of your work out and more customisable settings. If I could make changes I would like to see the battery life increased for when you do many workouts in a week, interchangeable straps would be nice for a different look and the heart rate monitor accuracy needs improvement but that is a universal issue with wrist monitors. After playing with the Vivoactive 3 for a month I loved the fact you could leave you phone behind without compromise, stay connected and enjoy your music whilst digging deep into training, it helped me feel encouragement and confidence during my activities and looked discreet and classy at the same time. RRP £299.99

Current Cheapest Price

4.9 out of 5

Pros

Upload up to 500 songs

Customisable

15 preloaded sports app (more available)

Heartrate monitor- VO2 max and stress level

Contactless payments

Stay connected with notifications, reply to text

Water and weatherproof

Compact, intuitive design

Daily fitness and stress tracking

Easy to read screen

Functions, straightforward app

Accurate GPS

Lightweight

Cons

All this tech comes at a price

Battery life when GPS and music is used, drains quickly

Non-customisable strap