Announcement: vívosmart 3

Today we announced the vívosmart 3, an activity tracker with an ultra-slim design and a hidden display that’s only on when you need it. The vívosmart 3 brings high-end fitness monitoring tools such as VO2 max and fitness age, and wellness monitoring with all-day stress tracking, to the popular vívosmart family. Thanks to Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate technology, the vívosmart 3 provides 24/7 heart rate monitoring and automatically tracks activity including steps, floors climbed, calories burned, intensity minutes, sleep and more. It also features smart notifications to keep users connected while on the go. The vívosmart 3 boasts a battery life of up to five days, and can be worn while swimming or showering.

“Health conscious customers are becoming more interested in the meaning behind their activity stats,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. “As in, I like seeing the data, but how does it correlate to my overall wellbeing? With its new fitness and wellness monitoring tools that tell you things like fitness age and stress level, the vívosmart 3 is able to provide users with those answers, and that is a game changer for the activity tracker industry.”

The vívosmart 3 introduces exciting fitness monitoring tools designed to provide customers with a better understanding of their body’s overall physical performance. It’s the first product in the Garmin vívo family to estimate VO2 max, a measurable indication of aerobic performance previously available only in higher- end Garmin running watches. Users will see their VO2 max score translated into a fitness level, ranging from poor to superior. VO2 max is also used to calculate fitness age, a relatable metric that puts a user’s fitness level in terms of an age. Through hard work and exercise, users can increase their VO2 max and reduce their fitness age. The vívosmart 3 also includes a new Strength Training activity that lets users stay focused on their form and does the rep counting for them. Strength Training keeps track of reps, sets and even rest times during user’s free weight and bodyweight exercises. This data gets sent to Garmin Connect where it can be reviewed later in greater detail.

For those seeking to live a healthier life, improving one’s emotional wellbeing can be as important as increasing time spent at the gym. To this end, the vívosmart 3 adds wellness monitoring with the all-day stress tracking feature. When users are not on the move, the vívosmart 3 tracks heart rate variability, which in turn is used to calculate and measure stress level, displayed as a wedge graph right on the device. Stress levels high? The vívosmart 3 features a breathing exercise that users can access from the device to encourage relaxation and help lower stress level. A longer timeline of stress level is accessible on Garmin Connect which can help customers identify patterns and make lifestyle changes to avoid or better cope with stress-inducing situations.

In addition to tracking steps, heart rate, floors climbed, calories, distance and sleep, the vívosmart 3 also measures activity intensity through Intensity Minutes which are measured against goals recommended by leading health organizations. And thanks to Garmin Move IQ, users don’t need to worry about starting or stopping a particular timed activity for it to get recorded. Move IQ automatically recognizes activities like walking, running, biking, swimming and elliptical training without any action on the part of the wearer. Once synced with Garmin Connect, these recorded activities are viewable as part of a detailed timeline.

The vívosmart 3 automatically syncs with the Garmin Connect mobile app throughout the day to save stats for easy access later. In Garmin Connect, a free online community, users can track their workouts, strength training activities, stress levels, sleep patterns and join online challenges to compete against friends and earn virtual badges. They can also receive Garmin Connect Insights, smart wellness insights personalized to each user that provide cues to help them reach goals, a pat on the back when milestones have been met, and relevant healthy tips from experts. For extra motivation, Insights also show users how they stack up in comparison to other people like them.

Connection meets convenience with smart notification vibration alerts delivered right the wrist for emails, texts, calls, calendar reminders, app alerts, social media updates and any other notification from a compatible smartphone. Users will also benefit from the ability to control music on their smartphone from the vívosmart 3, send an alert to locate a misplaced smartphone, and remote control a Garmin VIRB camera (sold separately).

With its inconspicuous band and new slimmer profile, the vívosmart 3 complements every athleisure style. The device features a hidden display only visible when activated via gestures, alerts or notifications. When not in use, the screen disappears from view. Available in black (small/medium and large) and purple (small/medium), the vívosmart 3 is the perfect companion for the office, the gym, the pool, the studio and everywhere in between. The vívosmart is shipping now, and has a suggested retail price of $139.99.