Verdict
The Polar Ignite 3 is a more likable fitness lookout man and almost a great sports vigil if it was n’t for some software niggles that let it down .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Polar Ignite 3 is what Polar refers to as a fitness watch , and it ’s capable of doing a lot of the same thing as the Pacer and Vantage serial multisport scout .
It will track your indoor and out-of-door workout metre , behave like a smartwatch when you ’re not break a sweat , all while bestow in some interesting features that are totally new to the Polar watch family .
The big one is that this is the first Polar watch to include an AMOLED showing . It ’s also the first to let in a two-fold - frequency GPS manner , joining Garmin , Apple , Huawei , Coros and Amazfit in promising to better tracking of your crusade in the open air .
Those new feature of speech do come at an increase Leontyne Price on the Ignite 2 however , so is that damage rise justified ? Here ’s our verdict .
Design and screen
Polar has been actuate towards a more fashionable and less clean design with the Ignite serial publication and that go on with the Ignite 3 . It ’s a very aerodynamic , unisex design that comes in four eccentric people of colour and can be partner up with silicone , leather and nylon straps to give it a more fashionable edge .
The size of the plastic case remain the same , as is the overall weight of 35 g but it has jump up 1 mm in heaviness . It ’s still a slight vigil with an attractive steel bezel , it ’s just not as lissom as its predecessor .
Polar has , for some reason , opted to change the style of the 20 mm shoulder strap bundled with the Ignite 3 and it ’s emphatically not for the better . We ’re primarily directing our frustrations at the shoulder strap clasp , which is a more awkward and uncomfortable one to get into home .
There ’s just the one physical push alongside the star of the show , which is a unexampled 1.28 - in 416 x 416 AMOLED touchscreen display . That ’s a change in screen technology and slight jump up in screen size as well , and it ’s all for the better . You do still have some not so lovely sieve bezel there , but the curving nature of the exhibit and Polar ’s pick of watch faces do a very good job of masking its front .
It ’s a nicely bright , vivacious and colorful screen and a massive step up from the TFT screen door on the Ignite 2 . Like a mountain of AMOLED screens it can still struggle in brighter sunshine , but visibility on the whole is self-coloured .
you’re able to set that screen to be on 24/7 but as we ’ll get into subsequently , it really does hog the battery . There is a raise to wake motion mode here but it certainly is n’t the most reactive .
Polar has bring Gorilla Glass 3.0 into the mix here to offer an superfluous source of screen protective cover but within a few workweek of testing it ’s already pick up a scratch that runs decent across the silver screen , so it distinctly was n’t enough protection .
While offering a solitary strong-arm button to get you into the independent computer menu covert is welcome , it felt at time that the Ignite 3 could do with an extra button , especially during workout tracking and if you do n’t have the screen correct to always - on . As mentioned , the raise to stir up is n’t very reactive and it means pressing the forcible button to wake up the covert , which can often mean accidentally pausing the workout tracking .
The Ignite 3 ’s water impedance remains the same as the Ignite 2 , give you something that ’s fit to be submerged in water up to 30 metres depth .
Performance and software
With the move to an AMOLED exhibit Polar has seek to make some changes to the Ignite ’s port to well become the higher caliber covert . That user interface in general find bigger and bolder and form the Ignite 3 feel more like a smartwatch than a sports watch with smartwatch - like feature .
It mean you could now have sentry fount with complications ( widgets ) like heart rate , step counting and electric battery status . you could purloin up from the main sentinel face blind to see headphone notifications that wo n’t melt until you ’ve interact with them . Swipe left and right from the same place and you’re able to see full - screened widgets for thing like medicine controls , training brainstorm like Cardio load condition and more detailed atmospheric condition prognosis .
While that port feels well optimised to that more vivacious display , whatever is power thing is n’t so impressive . Polar say the Ignite 3 pop the question two times firm processing than the Ignite 2 and a jump up from 0.64 Mbit read/write memory to 5 MiB Aries the Ram .
In reality , the Ignite 3 is still a little laggy , whether it ’s swiping to view your notification stream , or the response of the physical button to let you jump back a screen , there ’s some not so nice consequence . Polar has seek to address these event with a microcode update already , but deplorably it has n’t had the desired effect .
Tracking and features
Polar bid this a seaworthiness vigil but this is a multisports watch that can trail campaign , cycling , swimming ( pool only ) and has profiles for over 150 sporting modality . It also carries many of the training feature include on Polar ’s Pacer serial publication of watches with less on offer on the piloting front , in comparison .
One surprising cellular inclusion here is a twofold - frequency GPS mode , which makes it the first Polar spotter to include a feature that promise more accurate positioning data when track near marvellous construction or in bad conditions where satellite hitch can increase .
As far as how well that dual - frequency GPS mode performed , we ’d say it did okay in general though does n’t quite match up to similar manner on Apple and Amazfit lookout man with dual - frequency GPS . Against the multiband mode onGarmin ’s Epix 2andMarq Athlete Gen 2watches , core data point like distance trailing and average yard were well match . In those more challenging expanse at risk of greater artificial satellite interference , the Ignite 3 did still have our GPS tracks running through buildings .
alfresco of that dual - frequency GPS mode , Polar includes the same Precision Prime optical kernel charge per unit sensing element technology used on its old Ignite watch and the termination were a small inconsistent on the accuracy front . On some activities average mettle charge per unit and maximum affection rate meter reading were hugely out of sync with an extraneous heart rate monitor . However , you could wirelessly plug in the watch to an external heart rate monitor and that ’s what we ’d do if you care about those heart rate insight .
Polar has also include lineament to appeal to fitness newbies . It still has its great FitSpark indicate exercise based around strength , cardio and supportive exercises , depending on your workout history . It ’s contribute voice direction , which basically just give you update on progress during a physical exercise and is hardly revolutionary . You also now get more of Polar ’s performance evaluation with running and walking tests now let in to better assess your current level of fitness .
On the out-of-door front , Polar ’s bring in in its FuelWise bright refueling reminders , which do sense a bit out of position here . There ’s Training Load Pro and energy sources insights to cut into deeper into your workout data too . While you do n’t get the level of navigation characteristic on offer from pricy Polar lookout , the Ignite 3 does get a back to start mode , to offer a simple and basic hand to return to your start period .
It still performs as a 24/7 activity tracker and will monitor slumber with Polar sum up some new feature on the sleep front . There ’s a novel haptic alarm to gently wake you up though it was n’t available to test . you may now see how sleep influences and boost muscularity spirit level during the sidereal day and a new quietus logic gate will unlock and tell you the idealistic time to go to layer after it ’s captured 7 day of sleep data . While heart sopor stats like continuance and sleep stage were nicely in contrast with the eternal rest tracking on the Oura Ring 3 , those extra insights much like Polar ’s Nightly Recharge measurements could be advantageously communicated and delivered on and off the watch .
Battery life
Polar has n’t budged from the up to 5 - day battery life it promised on the first two Ignite picket and based on our testing time , that ’s exactly what you get here .
If you do n’t have the sieve set to always - on , then the shelling drop - off does average out out at around 20 % a day . A large constituent of that cliff - off happen overnight with that full-bodied sleep go after really sucking the assault and battery .
When you trade the screen to always - on , that battery number drops in a big way and you will get just over a day of battery life here .
In tracking mode , Polar says you’re able to get up to 30 - hour in GPS bombardment life . An hour of outdoor running with the highest Global Positioning System mode in use saw barrage fire drop by 5 % . That would work out to about 20 hours . If you switch to the less accurate GPS mode , you ’re definitely going to get closer to that promised 30 - hour crisscross .
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Should you buy it?
arctic builds on the expression and feature of the Ignite 2 in a really cocksure way to help make this a in effect competitor for similarly price sporty smartwatches .
outdoors of viewing notification and medicine controls and some gracious watch look , you ’ll get better smartwatch features from ticker like the Venu 2 and the Apple Watch SE .
Final Thoughts
The Polar Ignite 3 multitude in feature film we ’re surprised were n’t present on Polar ’s more carrying out - centric watches , but the one that matters here is that AMOLED screen . It avail to build on the much improved feeling we got with the Ignite 2 albeit that silver screen has already picked up a scratch . Those new feature and screen come at a jolly sizable price compared to the Ignite 2 , so if you want that nicer covert and the extra software smarts , you ’re locomote to have to pay more for them . That laggy software program and screen enduringness question mark does take some gloss off what is a solid AMOLED - packing multisports determine .
Trusted Score
How we test
We good examine every fitness tracker we review . We use industriousness stock examination to equate feature in good order and we apply the scout as our main twist over the recapitulation period . We ’ll always tell you what we discover and we never , ever , take over money to review a production .
FAQs
you may shower down with the Polar Ignite 3 thanks to the WR30 urine resistance rating it carries , which imply it ’s safe to be submerged in water up to 30 metre deepness .
Yes , you may transfer the picket nerve on the Polar Ignite 3 by become to the configurations bill of fare on the watch and looking for the watch face choice .
Full Specs
Sustainability
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