Garmin Vivofit 3 offers automatic activity tracking and one year battery life
Following on from this week’s announcement of the Vivoactive HR, Garmin also announced the Vivofit 3. This is a entry level activity tracker that offers no HR. The tracker is designed for 24/7 wearability, it is water resistant, has one-year battery life and can be personalized with an array eye catching interchangeable accessory bands.
Garmin made several changes with the Vivofit 3, the most obvious being a slight redesign. The display on the new model is noticeably smaller (10 mm x 10 mm), although on the whole the device looks a bit more bulky.
Aside from the look, the big new features are the Intensity Minutes and Move IQ. The tracker can now measure how long you rack up in moderate to vigorous intensity activities. With Move IQ, it can automatically recognize certain activities, including walking, running, biking, swimming and elliptical training. This means that there is no more need to push buttons in order to start tracking an activity.
You get all the other features that you would expect from a basic fitness tracker such as the amount of steps you take, calories burned, distance traveled and your sleep at night. All of these metrics, along with the time of day, can be viewed on the tracker’s always-on backlit display.
Other features include a stopwatch function and audible alerts to remind users when they have been inactive for too long. Unfortunately the tracker doesn’t include vibration, which means that you cannot use it as a silent alarm to wake you up in the morning.
“Once again our vívofit has set itself apart from the pack as a leader in helping users develop lifelong healthy habits with its latest edition the vívofit 3,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales.
“Key features including one-year battery life, water resistance and our move bar are paired with exciting new developments like Move IQ to offer a full package to people wanting to take a step toward a healthier lifestyle.”
The whopping one year-long battery life means you can wear it 24/7. It uses the a standard coin cell battery you put inside a watch. It is also water-resistant down to 50m so you can take it into the pool as well as the shower.
 | Vivofit 3 |  |
The Vívofit 3 will begin shipping in Q2. It will be available bundled with a regular or extra large sized black or white band for $99.99. More stylish bands will cost a little more depending on the design.
