Garmin · 2017
Vivoactive 3Size, Dimensions & Wrist Fit
The Garmin Vivoactive 3 sits best on flat wrist widths of about 46–62mm (≈ 12.3–16.6cm wrist circumference). Adjust the slider below to check your wrist.
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The vívoactive® 3 in short
The figures that decide whether this watch suits you, pulled out of the full specification sheet further down.
- Between 13 hours and 7 days per charge depending on the power mode — smartwatch at best, gps at worst.
- Water rated to 50 m.
- 11.7mm thick. Thinner than 87% of 43mm watches, so it slides under a cuff more easily than most of its size.
- 1.2" (30.4mm) diameter LCD display, always-on capable.
- Takes 20mm bands, so third-party straps fit without an adapter.
Does the Vivoactive 3 fit your wrist?
Drag the slider to your wrist width and see the Vivoactive 3 overlaid at true scale. Lug-to-lug — not case diameter — decides whether a watch overhangs your wrist.
Watch Fit Tool
For sports watches, lug-to-lug (L2L) is what matters most — it decides whether a watch overhangs your wrist. Bulky is fine; overhang is not.
Measure at the point where you wear your watch — typically just below the wrist bone.
Flat width — lay your arm on a table, palm facing up, and measure straight across the top of your wrist with a ruler. Bone to bone; do not follow the curve down the sides.
Around — wrap a tape measure snugly round the wrist. No tape? Wrap a strip of paper, mark the overlap and hold the strip against a ruler.
Width ≠ circumference. They are different numbers — around 170mm is about 64mm across — so set the toggle to whichever one you actually measured before you type it in.
Garmin vívoactive® 3
Case 43.4mm · Lug-to-lug 43.4mm · Thickness 11.7mm · 43g
Balanced Fit
43.4mm on a 55mm wrist
Comfortably inside the edges of your wrist, and it seats and sits low enough to wear without thinking about it.
On a 55mm wrist the sweet spot is 47–53mm lug to lug. This one is 43.4mm, so you could go bigger.
Measure where you wear it, just below the wrist bone. Either of these works — the tool converts between them.
- 1. Flat width — arm flat on a table, palm up. Measure straight across the top of the wrist, bone to bone, ignoring the curve down the sides.
- 2. Around — a tape, or a strip of paper marked and held against a ruler, snug the whole way round.
Leather: Attaches at the lugs, so the case back rests on your skin. Thins and softens with wear. Typical figures, not this model’s own.
Show the measurementsHide the measurements
- Across the wrist5.8mm spare each side
Comfortable, with visible skin either side.
- Off the wrist11.7mm off the skin
Normal sports-watch height for a wrist this size. (11.7mm case, back against the skin)
- How it seats~4.5mm under the rim
Seats well, with the case back following most of the wrist.
- Weight on the wrist43g
Light enough to forget you have it on. (0.8g per mm of wrist)
Happy with the fit? Check current availability for the Vivoactive 3.
Check offer2D Dimension Schematics
The vívoactive® 3 drawn to scale — from above, and in profile against the wrist.
- Garmin vívoactive® 343.4mm · 11.7mm thick
3D preview
Garmin vívoactive® 3 on a wrist
On an arm sized to your own wrist — the view a product photo never gives you.
Shapes are built from published measurements, not manufacturer 3D models — accurate proportions, generic dial.
How long the vívoactive® 3 lasts, by power mode
Runtime changes by a factor of 13 depending on what you leave switched on. Bars are scaled against the longest mode.
- Smartwatch7 days
- GPS13 hours
How the vívoactive® 3 ranks on battery
Against the 296 Garmin watches in our database, ranked on each figure Garmin publishes.
- Everyday use7 days#241 of 285
- GPS tracking13 hours#230 of 267
What size band does the vívoactive® 3 take?
Lug width
20mm
Any 20mm strap fits, so you are not restricted to Garmin's own bands. Quick-release pins let you swap without tools — check that a replacement lists 20mm and quick-release before buying.
Affiliate disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, WatchFitTool earns from qualifying purchases. If you buy through links on this page, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
vívoactive® 3 specifications
The figures that decide a purchase, followed by every line Garmin publishes.
- Battery life
- 7 days
- Display
- 1.2 inches
- Resolution
- 240 x 240 px
- Water rating
- 5 ATM
- Case material
- fiber-reinforced polymer with stainless steel rear cover
- Bezel
- stainless steel
- Glass
- Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
- Strap
- 20 mm
- Storage
- 7 timed activities, 14 days of activity tracking data
- Charging
- 1 hours
Full specification sheet
230 published lines across 25 groups, unedited
Overview
- Family
- Garmin
Design
- width
- 43.4
- height
- 43.4
- volume
- 22.04 cm³
- weight
- 43 g
- thickness
- 11.7
- ATM rating
- 5 ATM
- resolution
- 240 x 240 px
- screen size
- 1.2 inches
- Display type
- LCD
- Has a display
- pixel density
- 282 ppi
- width of band
- 20 mm
- water resistance
- Waterproof
- Always-On Display
- has a touch screen
- waterproof depth rating
- 50 m
- Watch band is replaceable
- Has sapphire glass display
- has branded damage-resistant glass
Battery
- charge time
- 1 hours
- battery life
- 7 days
- has wireless charging
- has a removable battery
- battery life with GPS on
- 13 hours
- Has a solar power battery
- has a rechargeable battery
General
- Battery life
- Smartwatch mode: Up to 7 daysGPS mode: Up to 13 hours
- Display Size
- 1.2" (30.4mm) diameter
- Case material
- fiber-reinforced polymer with stainless steel rear cover
- Color display
- Lens Material
- Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3
- Bezel Material
- stainless steel
- Memory/History
- 7 timed activities, 14 days of activity tracking data
- Strap material
- silicone
- Display resolution
- 240 x 240 pixels
- Quick Release bands
- yes (20 mm, Industry standard)
Sensors
- GPS
- Compass
- GLONASS
- Galileo
- has GPS
- Thermometer
- yes (tempe™ sensor required)
- Accelerometer
- has a compass
- Has a barometer
- has a gyroscope
- Barometric altimeter
- Has a cadence sensor
- has an accelerometer
- Monitors perspiration
- Has a heart rate monitor
- Has a temperature sensor
- Monitors blood oxygenation levels
- Garmin Elevate™ wrist heart rate monitor
Features
- release date
- 2017-09-01
- Has a stopwatch
- Has smart alarm
- warranty period
- 1 years
- Has call control
- Has silent alarm
- has HRV tracking
- measures VO2 max
- Has notifications
- Has ECG technology
- Locates your phone
- has a front camera
- has fall detection
- has voice commands
- Acquires GPS faster
- Has vibrating alerts
- number of microphones
- 0
- shows readiness level
- Can be used to answer calls
- measures resting heart rate
- has irregular heart rate warnings
- has fast/slow heart rate notifications
- Has a built-in camera remote control function
Connectivity
- has NFC
- supports ANT+
- supports Wi-Fi
- supports Galileo
- Bluetooth version
- 4.2
- has a cellular module
- Is compatible with iOS
- Is compatible with Android
Product Info
- Main SKU
- 010-01769-09
- Product ID
- 571520
- Product Name
- vívoactive® 3
- Release Date
- 8/31/2017
- Product Variation
- White with Rose Gold Hardware
Miscellaneous
- has aptX
- Has auto pause
- Available on PC
- maximum Bluetooth range
- 10 m
- Is compatible with Windows
- Is compatible with Mac OS X
- has an external memory slot
- Compatible with smart scales
- has a battery level indicator
- has a socket for a 3.5 mm audio jack
- Compatible with external heart rate monitors
App & Software
- Ad-free
- Free app
- Tracks BMI
- Has coaching
- Includes maps
- Supports routes
- Has achievements
- Has goal setting
- Has live tracking
- Has exercise diary
- Predicts ovulation
- Can be personalised
- Has weight tracking
- Predicts start date
- Tracks water intake
- Has inactivity alerts
- Has period notifications
- Has temperature tracking
- Doesn’t require account
- Provides activity reports
- Displays fertile window notifications
- Counts how many calories you've burned
Clock Features
- Timer
- Stopwatch
- Time/date
- Alarm clock
- GPS Time Sync
- Sunrise/sunset times
- Automatic daylight saving time
Cycling Features
- Compatible with Varia™ lights
- Speed and cadence sensor support (w/sensor)
- Compatible with Varia™ radar (rear-facing radar)
- Alerts (triggers alarm when you reach goals including time, distance, heart rate or calories)
Golfing Features
- PinPointer
- Digital scorecard
- Garmin AutoShot™
- Round timer/odometer
- Yardage to layups/doglegs
- Hazards and course targets
- Green View with manual pin position
- Yardage to F/M/B (distance to front, middle and back of green)
- Stat tracking (strokes, putts per round, greens and fairways hit)
- Measures shot distance (calculates exact yardage for shots from anywhere on course)
- automatic
Running Features
- Run workouts
- Foot pod capable
- GPS-based distance, time and pace
- Cadence (provides real-time number of steps per minute)
What You'll Love
- Garmin Pay™
Activity Profiles
- Gym
- Strength, Cardio and Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing, Indoor Rowing, Yoga
- Swim
- Pool Swimming
- Cycling
- Biking, Indoor Biking
- Outdoor recreation
- Skiing, Snowboarding, XC Skiing, Stand Up Paddleboarding, Rowing
Activity tracking
- Measures pace
- Tracks distance
- Tracks elevation
- Designed for golf
- Tracks your sleep
- Tracks steps taken
- Designed for diving
- Has a route tracker
- Has exercise tagging
- Has multi-sport mode
- Tracks calorie intake
- Provides sleep reports
- Detects activities automatically
- Has a stroke counter for swimming
Swimming Features
- Time and distance alerts
- Basic rest timer (up from 0) (pool swim only)
- Stroke type detection (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly) (pool swim only)
- Pool swim metrics (lengths, distance, pace, stroke count, swim efficiency (SWOLF), calories)
Outdoor Recreation
- Back to start
- Fish forecast
- yes (via Connect IQ™)
- Area calculation
- yes (via Connect IQ™)
- Total ascent/descent
- Sun and moon information
- yes (via Connect IQ™)
Daily Smart Features
- Calendar
- Connectivity
- Bluetooth® Smart and ANT+®
- Find My Phone
- Find My Watch
- VIRB® Remote
- Weather forecasts
- Smart Notifications
- Smartphone compatibility
- iPhone®, Android™
- Controls smartphone music
- Pairs with Garmin Connect™ Mobile
- Text response/reject phone call with text (Android™ only)
- Connect IQ™ (downloadable watch faces, data fields and apps)
Activity Tracking Features
- TrueUp™
- Move IQ™
- Step counter
- Floors climbed
- Calories burned
- Distance traveled
- Intensity minutes
- Automatic rep counting
- Garmin Connect™ Challenges app
- yes (optional Connect IQ app)
- Move alerts (displays on device after a period of inactivity)
- Auto goal (learns your activity level and assigns a daily step goal)
Workout and Training Plans
- Cardio workouts
- Strength workouts
Health & Wellness Monitoring
- Sleep
- yes (advanced)
- Hydration
- yes (in Garmin Connect™ and optional Connect IQ™ widget)
- Fitness age
- yes (in app)
- All-day stress
- Women's health
- yes (in Garmin Connect™ and optional Connect IQ™ widget)
- Resting heart rate
- Abnormal heart rate alerts
- yes (high)
- Relaxation breathing timer
- Wrist-based heart rate (constant, every second)
Kid Activity Tracking Features
- Toe-to-Toe™ Challenges app
- yes (optional Connect IQ Toe-to-Toe™ Challenges app)
Training, Planning and Analysis Features
- % HR max
- HR zones
- HR alerts
- Manual lap
- Auto scroll
- HR calories
- Physio TrueUp
- VO2 Max (Run)
- Advanced workouts
- GPS speed and distance
- Customizable data pages
- Touch and/or button lock
- Activity history on watch
- Downloadable training plans
- Customizable activity profiles
- Auto Pause® automatic timer halt
- Auto Lap® interval tracking feature
- HR broadcast (broadcasts HR data over ANT+® to paired devices)
Alternatives to the vívoactive® 3
Watches that cover a similar amount of wrist, with the measurements that separate them.
Garmin
Approach® S42
- Width
- 43.4mm
- Thick
- 11.7mm
- Weight
- 43g
Garmin
Approach® S40
- Width
- 43.4mm
- Thick
- 11.7mm
- Weight
- 43g
Garmin
D2™ Air
- Width
- 43.2mm
- Thick
- 12.4mm
- Weight
- 46.3g
Garmin
Venu®
- Width
- 43.2mm
- Thick
- 12.4mm
- Weight
- 46.3g
Garmin
Venu® 2 Plus
- Width
- 43.6mm
- Thick
- 12.6mm
- Weight
- 51g
Garmin
D2™ Air X10
- Width
- 43.6mm
- Thick
- 12.6mm
- Weight
- 51g
vívoactive® 3 — Frequently Asked Questions
Will the Garmin Vivoactive 3 fit my wrist?
The Garmin Vivoactive 3 looks balanced on flat wrist widths of roughly 46–62mm (about 12.3–16.6cm circumference). Drag the slider above to check it against your own measurement.
What size band does the Garmin Vivoactive 3 take?
20mm. Any 20mm strap fits, so you are not limited to Garmin's own bands — look for a quick-release fitting if you want to swap without tools.
How long does the Garmin Vivoactive 3 battery last?
Between 13 hours and 7 days per charge, depending on the power mode. Garmin rates Smartwatch at 7 days and GPS at 13 hours; the chart above lists all 2 modes.
How does the Garmin Vivoactive 3 battery compare with other Garmin watches?
At 7 days in everyday use it ranks #241 of the 285 Garmin watches in our database — below the middle of the range. The full ranking, including GPS and power-saving figures, is on our Garmin battery life comparison.
Is the Garmin Vivoactive 3 thick for a 43mm watch?
At 11.7mm, thinner than 87% of 43mm watches, so it slides under a cuff more easily than most of its size. Thickness, not case width, is what decides whether a watch catches on a shirt cuff.
What other watches are the same size as the Garmin Vivoactive 3?
OnePlus Watch 3 43mm, Oppo Watch X2 Mini, Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Stainless Steel / Black Meteorite / Bracelet, Zenith Defy Extreme Diver Shadow / Bracelet all sit within half a millimetre of the Garmin Vivoactive 3's 43.4mm case, so they cover the same amount of wrist.
