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Polar
Polar Vantage V3
Our prime choose
Top-of-the-line well being and wellness screens on the market
The Polar Vantage V3 comes packing a complete host of latest and improved options, together with an enormous battery life, crisp AMOLED and a brand new suite of well being sensing applied sciences. It’s a strong smartwatch that comes wrapped in a smooth and trendy package deal.
Professionals- Glorious well being monitoring suite of tech
- Large battery life
- Brilliant new AMOLED
Cons- Solely WR50
- Not examined to navy requirements
- Heavier than earlier than
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Polar
Polar Vantage V2
A troublesome alternative
Examined to navy requirements, that is one robust cookie
Though overtaken by the Vantage V3 by way of the suite of well being sensing tech it packs, the Vantage V2 stays a stable outside smartwatch with built-in toughness. That mentioned, you do not get offline maps, neither is the battery life as sturdy. However if you happen to detest touchscreens on a watch, it is a stable alternative.
Professionals- Display screen simpler to make use of within the moist
- WR100 score
- Examined to destruction
Cons- Lacks offline mapping
- Well being monitoring not as sturdy
- A clunkier UX
Polar won’t be the primary identify you consider when contemplating a health and outdoors smartwatch, however its Vantage collection harnesses a few years of expertise in coronary heart fee monitoring and basic health-sensing expertise with a view to create a high-performance health and outside system on your wrist.
The Vantage 3 landed earlier this month and Polar claims it’s its “most formidable watch up to now,” packing a spanking new AMOLED, versus the MIP of its predecessor, in addition to a bigger useable show space.
There’s additionally a brand new processor inside Vantage 3, making it a staggering 132 per cent quicker than earlier than, plus it has an improved battery life and a complete host of further exercise, well-being and way of life options.
Looks as if a no brainer to improve then? Maybe not, as a result of Polar Vantage V2 could be snapped up at a discount value now. So is it definitely worth the further outlay? Learn on.
Worth, availability and specs
The Polar Vantage V3 was introduced in early October 2023, with the power to preorder it for £519/$599.90. Orders are set to ship on October 25, 2023. It is available in plenty of colors. Night time Black sees every little thing lined within the inky hue, whereas Sky Blue and Dawn Apricot function silver bezels accented by both blue or white bands.
Apart from the varied shades, there aren’t any different choices by way of specifying different bands or bezel sizes. What you see is what you get. Nonetheless, you may go for a bundle that features Polar’s H10 coronary heart fee monitor for an extra £40/$40.
The Polar Vantage V2, then again, has been closely lowered, seeing as it’s about to be usurped by substitute with heavy-hitting tech specs. Polar’s personal web site listed it at £293.40, though it’s out of inventory on the time of writing.
In, the USA, we now have discovered it for $499.95 at Walmart, however we might anticipate that value to drop as quickly as Vantage V3 begins transport.
Under are some key specs for a fast comparability between the 2.
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Polar Vantage V3 Polar Vantage V2 Model Polar Polar Coronary heart Fee Monitor Sure Sure Colour Display screen AMOLED MIP Well being sensors Coronary heart fee, pores and skin temp, ECG, SpO2 Gen 3.5 Optical Coronary heart Fee Onboard GPS Twin-band Sure Customizable Strap Sure, 22mm customary Requires adapters Case Materials Aluminium Aluminium Case dimension 47 x 50.8 x 14.5mm 47 x 47 x 13mm CPU 275MHz 120MHz Storage 32GB 32MB Battery 488mAh Li-Pol 346mAh Li-pol Connectivity Bluetooth 5.1 Bluetooth BLE
Design and construct
The Vantage V3 retains the smooth, minimalist design language that Polar has turn into recognized for. It encompasses a light-weight, aluminum casing with a high-resolution touchscreen show, whereas the identical basic styling and button format stays. The important thing factor to note is alleged show is now an AMOLED, somewhat than the MIP unit Polar used earlier than.
The show decision is now at 454 × 454, versus 240 × 240 of the Vantage V2, whereas a bunch of latest sensors have been in-built to Vantage V3 for extra correct well being, health and 24-hour wellness checking. We are going to get on to {that a} bit later.
Apart from the flowery new show, the bodily look hasn’t modified all that a lot, however the Polar Vantage is now heavier, 57g of Vantage V3 performs 52g of its predecessor. Heavier additionally equates to a bigger watch normally, the V3 measuring 47 x 50.8 x 14.5mm in comparison with 47 x 47 x 13mm.
Nonetheless, these pretty new options do include a robustness penalty, because the Polar Vantage V3 hasn’t been examined to navy spec customary and is simply water resistant as much as 50 metres, that means it is not a terrific dive watch.
The Polar Vantage V2, on the opposite, was examined towards navy requirements and is water resistant to a WR100 score, making it a way more proficient smartwatch if you happen to plan to dive to the depths of the ocean.
That mentioned, it may solely face up to temperatures as little as -10°C, somewhat than the -20°C touted by the most recent Polar Vantage V3. Hats off to you in case you are commonly understanding in these sorts of circumstances, however we think about it will solely make a distinction to a really small handful of hardcore Arctic explorers on the market.
{Hardware}
The important thing distinction between the 2 watches lies beneath the pores and skin, and the quantity of latest {hardware} Polar has added to the Vantage 3 is spectacular.
All of it revolves round Elixir, which is the corporate’s identify for its refreshed suite of bio-sensing expertise. That is made up of a pulse oximeter, pores and skin temperature detection, ECG testing capabilities and the fourth technology of optical coronary heart fee monitoring, which is alleged to supply 25 per cent extra accuracy in most of the hottest sports activities, together with operating and biking.
In comparison with the earlier technology, this package deal of expertise is all-new, with solely the accelerometer, compass and barometer the shared elements. Even the guts fee sensors are utterly up to date. Bluetooth connectivity has been up to date to five.1 within the Vantage V3, whereas the proprietary charging system packs a USB-C on its finish, bringing it proper updated.
What’s extra, house owners of the Vantage V3 will discover the person interface to be a hell of so much slicker because of a brand new CPU, clocked at 275MHz and packing 37MB of reminiscence. This helps the AMOLED touchscreen to be quick and conscious of instructions.
Polar / Pocket-lint
Options
Polar has outfitted the Vantage V3 with upgraded efficiency and options. It presents enhanced GPS accuracy because of dual-frequency GPS, making it a wonderful alternative for out of doors actions. Offline maps are additionally now half and parcel of the package deal, with the choice of importing detailed maps to the watch. Now you can go away your cellphone behind and nonetheless have exact location data.
Moreover, it consists of extra superior coaching and restoration options, making it a worthwhile instrument for athletes looking for to optimise their efficiency. This consists of issues like an Orthostatic Take a look at and Restoration Professional options (with no need a coronary heart fee chest strap), which might decide how effectively recovered you might be and the way prepared your physique is for the following exercise or occasion.
Further wellness options in Vantage V3 embody nightly pores and skin temperature monitoring, for improved sleep evaluation, whereas voice steering throughout a exercise now comes straight from the wrist, providing insights into tempo and efficiency.
There’s additionally the addition of a flashlight with Polar Vantage V3, in addition to compatibility with customary 22mm wristbands with no need additional adapters, making it a lot simpler to personalise.
The one function Vantage V3 lacks is the extra robustness that we talked about earlier than. It isn’t as water resistant, nor has it been examined to the rigours of navy requirements, leaving some query marks over its capability to deal with actually harsh environments.
Battery life
Once more, this has been vastly improved on its predecessor, with the Polar Vantage V3 packing a next-generation Li-Pol, 488mAh for improved battery life. That is notably essential for these athletes and explorers trying to partake in final endurance occasions, the place operating out of juice may show harmful.
In line with Polar, battery runtime is now as much as 61 hours with all of the bio-sensing and GPS tech operating at full chat. That is an enchancment on the 40 hours touted by Vantage V2.
Along with this, it’s going to run for 288 hours in customary watch mode and as much as 140 hours in energy save mode, which depends much less closely on GPS and bio-sensing readings. Watch mode is up virtually 100 hours on its predecessor, whereas energy save mode presents an additional 40 hours over Polar Vantage V2.
All-in-all, the Polar Vantage V3 is the superior look ahead to battery life, regardless of boasting a a lot brighter, quicker and extra responsive AMOLED.
Polar Vantage V3 vs Vantage V2: Which ought to I select?
Seeing because the Polar Vantage V2 is commonly out of inventory, or it hasn’t been closely discounted but, it is difficult to suggest it in case you are pondering of dipping a toe in Vantage waters for the primary time.
The Vantage V3 has a far superior display, the battery life is a lot better and the sheer weight of health and wellness metrics it now tracks blows its predecessor out of the water. For that cause, we might even recommend upgrading out of your Vantage 2 with a view to profit from these new options.
Polar
Polar Vantage V3
Editor’s Selection
The one query mark nonetheless hanging over the most recent technology of Polar Vantage is its robustness, and whether or not it may deal with the very excessive ends of the setting spectrum. The discount in waterproofing score may additionally concern these commonly taking their smartwatch into the drink. In our expertise, AMOLED touchscreens can typically show cumbersome when working with gloved arms, they usually generally come unstuck after they get moist. With that in thoughts, grabbing a discount Vantage V2 may show standard with those that desire a robust, dependable outside smartwatch with out all of the well being and health bells and whistles.
Polar
Polar Vantage V2
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