Skilled's Ranking
Execs
- Light-weight
- Good display
- First rate battery life
Cons
- Extremely laggy software program
- Costly for what it offers
- Wonky GPS monitoring
- No music storage
Our Verdict
The Polar Ignite 3 is an effective trying health tracker disguised as a watch, with strong primary health options which might be marred by laggy software program at too excessive a value.
Value When Reviewed
$329.95
Greatest Costs Right this moment: Polar Ignite 3
$319.95
The Polar Ignite 3 is the primary Polar watch ever with an AMOLED display, and it’s actually a glow up in comparison with the monochrome screens the model’s units usually sport.
The watch additionally has a neat set of health options in a light-weight physique that made me sit up and listen, having used a number of Polar trackers beforehand.
However the software program on the Ignite 3 is so primary and lags a lot that it's arduous to advocate. Add to that the truth that at $329.95/£289/€329.90 it’s costlier than the Apple Watch SE, and Polar is combating a dropping battle with the informal, fashion-conscious purchaser it’s attempting to draw right here.
Then once more, you may want the Polar’s options to these on an Apple Watch. It makes the Ignite 3’s flaws all of the extra irritating as a result of this might have been a killer health watch.
Design & construct
- Very light-weight
- Good AMOLED display
- 4 color choices
The Polar Ignite 3 is a really merely designed watch with a round touchscreen and only one button on the left edge to open and shut menus or pause and finish exercises.
It is available in black, sand, purple, or brown copper colors. All of them, oddly, have totally different casing finishes with grooves, lattice, clean, and scored respectively, so you should definitely take a look at which one you favor.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
All of the straps are silicone with a conventional buckle and a loop to tuck the top into when carrying. They're clean on the within however have a patterned texture to the skin that I dislike because it feels coarse and collects mud and (sorry) pores and skin particles that make it look soiled.
They're 20mm measurement and are straightforward to change out if you wish to use different ones from Polar’s on-line retailer. I reviewed the black mannequin which is extremely plain however your best option for a delicate look.
The Ignite 3 is amazingly light-weight and is barely 35g with the strap. That is very spectacular contemplating the watch has a coronary heart charge sensor and inbuilt GPS, and it’s one of many foremost causes to purchase to it as you may neglect you’re carrying it – it’s probably the most comfy watch I’ve worn to mattress for sleep monitoring, the place different, bulkier smartwatches are a ache (actually). It’s positively one of many thinnest watches with GPS on the market.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
That featherlike really feel is all the way down to the very fact the watch’s 1.2in show is pretty small, however I nonetheless discovered it massive sufficient to simply learn the time and stats when out and about monitoring walks and runs.
It’s additionally waterproof as much as 30 metres.
Efficiency & software program
- Frustratingly laggy
- No cellular funds
- Easy tile-based data
I’ve reviewed different Polar watches earlier than this one, however the expertise is extra irritating on the Ignite 3. Although the Ignite has an AMOLED touchscreen that feels premium in comparison with the monochrome reminiscence in pixel (MIP) display on one thing just like the Polar Pacer, the shortage of buttons and laggy software program make the Ignite irritating to work together with.
The place the Pacer and different Polar watches have buttons to allow you to shortly cycle by means of Polar’s software program menus within the absence of a touchscreen, the Ignite 3 insists you employ contact. However the low-powered internals can’t sustain, leading to a really delayed and laggy really feel to the watch which, frankly, ruins it.
Even merely swiping as much as view notifications ends in stutter, and I don’t like which you could’t contact the display to wake it up. You need to elevate the watch to wake, or press the facet button.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
This doubles the frustration once you’re really exercising, coupled with the very fact there’s no full always-on show possibility. So, when you find yourself working for instance, it's a must to elevate the watch to your face to view your time, tempo, and different helpful stats, however the watch both doesn’t realise it has been raised or is gradual to show the display on.
In comparison with different working watches that both completely present stats or are responsive, the Ignite 3 is wearisome to make use of as a result of it will possibly’t sustain with my easiest calls for.
It’s solely obtained a 192MHz CPU and 5MB of RAM, the naked minimal that works high quality on watches with decrease decision screens however with the Ignite’s brilliant AMOLED it’s merely not sufficient to maintain up.
Fortunately scrolling left and proper of the clock face is clean, which cycles by means of full display tiles of exercise, climate, sleep, and different features, together with a ‘right now’s suggestion’ panel.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
You will get smartphone notifications to ping the watch however they're very primary and you'll’t work together with them or use them to answer to a message, for instance.
Audio controls seem once you’re enjoying music or a podcast so you may management what you’re listening to from the watch, however solely as a cellphone distant – you may’t load tracks onto the watch itself. For those who run to audio, your cellphone must include you each time.
As with each Polar watch, it's a must to maintain down the button to manually sync your newest knowledge along with your cellphone. I nonetheless discover this annoying and don’t know why Polar can’t get computerized sync to work like the vast majority of different manufacturers can.
Additionally, contemplating Polar is attempting to attraction on to a extra vogue or way of life aware purchaser with the Ignite 3, the absence of any type of cellular fee possibility is extra obvious than on the corporate’s extra hardcore coaching units.
Well being and health monitoring
- Barely wonky GPS monitoring
- A number of exercise modes
- Detailed sleep stage monitoring
The Ignite 3 shouldn't be a smartwatch. It’s a health tracker with GPS monitoring and a strong set of wellness options and nice-to-have issues like customisable watch faces.
It will possibly observe working, strolling, biking, HIIT classes, swimming, indoor biking, treadmill working, energy coaching, climbing, and mountain biking particularly however you may as well choose basic indoor or outside exercise if what you’re doing isn’t listed. It will nonetheless guarantee your coronary heart charge and GPS actions might be tracked if vital to permit to you to log that train.
I used the watch extensively over a number of weeks as my on a regular basis watch and to trace walks, lengthy hikes and runs. Except for the efficiency points I’ve talked about, the Ignite 3 does a great job with the precise monitoring. However once I zoomed in to the GPS path overlay for a few of my runs, the route minimize corners, suggesting I ran over greens that I didn't, or gained the flexibility to run by means of partitions.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
As a lot I’d like, that’s an influence I don't have. The Apple Watch SE and Polar Pacer (each cheaper than the Ignite 3) did a greater job in my testing. It’s a disgrace particularly contemplating the Polar has dual-band GPS that's supposedly extra correct.
The Polar Circulate app you sync the watch with on Android or iOS requires a small studying curve because it’s not probably the most intuitive app, however once you view your exercises you may get a strong granular view of information reminiscent of coronary heart charge and zones, tempo by distance, elevation change, energy burned, and a full GPS map with distance markers.
I discovered the GPS to lock on nicely and it hardly ever if ever disconnected. Trying on the end in Polar Circulate, I belief the Ignite 3 to trace what I'm doing precisely, which fits a good distance in the direction of desirous to proceed carrying it and trusting the info it provides.
The extra you train, the extra helpful the app and watch change into to you. Though most particulars are simpler to view on the app, the ‘right now’s suggestion’ tile, when tapped, reveals you beneficial coaching for the day that’s primarily based in your latest exercise masses and high quality of sleep.
Polar’s no-subscription inclusion of primary coaching applications primarily based on utilization knowledge is nice to see, and is preferable to related options from Fitbit, which require a Fitbit Premium paid subscription to get at related teaching perks.
It's also possible to get non-compulsory voice steering when understanding however as a result of the watch has no speaker, that is solely heard out of your cellphone speaker or Bluetooth headphones related to your cellphone. For those who get it arrange it’s fairly helpful although since you will be guided by means of coaching classes with out having to have a look at your cellphone or watch, however it’s solely primarily based on coronary heart charge zones fairly than particular train actions – so there’s no run teaching, for instance, simply basic exertion.
There are additionally useful apps reminiscent of Serene, which guides you thru respiration workouts to encourage mindfulness, Fueling, which helps you to set customized reminders to eat and drink in step with coaching applications, Timers, and Assessments, which take a look at your baseline strolling, working, and health ranges.
I actually like Polar’s sleep monitoring. Put on the Ignite to mattress, and it’ll provide you with a strong abstract of how nicely you slept and inform you straight up if that’s ‘VERY POOR’ or one thing a bit higher. There’s a great breakdown of sleep phases too, estimating once you have been in gentle, deep, or REM sleep and if you happen to had any interruptions.
Henry Burrell / Foundry
Battery life & charging
- Multi-day battery life
- Proprietary cost cable
- No wall plug in field
The Ignite 3 has fairly good battery life. I must cost it each 4 days or so, which normally included one or two exercises of over half an hour. Utilizing the GPS for outside actions will use extra battery however the watch will final not less than three days, in my expertise.
The battery life began out a bit erratic however steadied out after a number of weeks. It drains a bit at evening, however that’s to be anticipated when it’s monitoring coronary heart charge and motion. It’s extra annoying that it drained at an analogous velocity even when I wasn’t carrying it.
It fees by way of the included USB-A proprietary cable that clips onto the again. There’s no wall plug within the field however you may cost it with a charger chances are you'll have already got or in a pc’s USB-A port.
Value & availability
The Polar Ignite 3 prices $329.95/£289/€329.90 direct from Polar.
That is fairly costly contemplating the Polar Pacer has a lot of the identical options for $199.95/£169.50/€199.90, although it lacks the Ignite 3’s AMOLED display.
The Apple Watch SE is a robust competitor and a greater purchase for its $249/£259/€299 asking value and much superior smartwatch options, however the battery solely lasts a day. You might additionally contemplate the $449/£399 Garmin Venu 2 Plus in order for you a great mixture of health and smartwatch and have a bit more cash to spend.
Verdict
The Polar Ignite 3 is a slim and succesful GPS health machine for individuals on the extra informal finish of the exercise spectrum. It’s obtained a pleasant light-weight design and a gorgeous AMOLED show, and first rate multi-day battery life.
However the software program is so annoyingly laggy that it ruins the entire expertise of utilizing the watch day by day. It may be unresponsive and downright irritating to make use of, with day by day annoyances like being gradual for the display to wake once you elevate your arm to view the time or your exercise. The shortage of absolutely always-on show is a disgrace too at this value and with OLED tech.
It’s a good selection in order for you one of many slimmest health watches with GPS and worth not having to cost every single day however there are higher choices on the market for the cash.
Specs
- 1.2in 416×416 AMOLED touchscreen
- Gorilla Glass
- 192MHz CPU
- 5MB RAM
- 32MB storage
- Polar’s OS
- GPS
- Glonass
- Galieo
- QZSS
- Bluetooth 5.1