Polar’s new Vantage V3 watch packs plenty of new sensors to track your vitals

When it comes to the sport smartwatch you’re slapping on your wrist, you want the latest sensors and features. Polar’s new Vantage V3 watch delivers on this front, packing brand-new sensors to track even more of your vitals. You’ll find plenty of other improvements inside as well, making for a product offering in tip-top shape.

• Read more: Best smartwatch 2023: Apple and Android smartwatches reviewed

Headlining Polar’s new Vantage V3 is an array of new fitness sensors that the brand is calling Polar Elixir. In this array, you’ll find an optical heart rate sensor, blood oxygen sensor, ECG sensor, and temperature sensor to track plenty of vitals. It’s a pretty familiar set-up, but offers some of the most extensive tracking around. Polar also reckons the new sensors are 25% more accurate, since they leak less light and are less affected by arm movement. We’ll have to see how true that is when we get one of these on our wrists.

You’ll also find offline maps making their way to Polar‘s latest. Even with no connection, you’ll still be able to see routes on your wrist. And using a third-party service, you can get turn-by-turn directions. The Vantage V3 gets a design refresh as well. Its 1.39-inch AMOLED display with 462ppi resolution is now housed in an aluminium bezel. Around this, you’ll find rugged buttons that you can press with gloves. Plus, the watch is now compatible with standard 22mm bands, so you don’t need any size adapters.

Inside the Vantage V3, you’ll find a new CPU that Polar reckons is 129% faster than the previous-gen V2. It’s joined by a battery that’ll give you 8 days of smartwatch use, or 61 hours in GPS mode. Of course, the smartwatch has plenty of other features you’d expect. You can track over 150 different types of activities, monitor sleep, and view VO2 Max, among others.

Fancy strapping Polar’s latest GPS watch to your wrist? The Vantage V3 is available to pre-order directly from the brand, with full availability from 25 October. It’ll retail for $599.90/£519/AU$899.

• Related: Best fitness trackers 2023: Fitbit, Garmin, Withings and more

Connor Jewiss

About

Connor is a writer for Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website. He has been writing for around seven years now, with writing across the web and in print too. Connor has experience on most major platforms, though does hold a place in his heart for macOS, iOS/iPadOS, electric vehicles, and smartphone tech. Just like everyone else around here, he’s a fan of gadgets of all sorts! Aside from writing, Connor is involved in the startup scene. This exciting involvement puts him at the front of new and exciting tech, always on the lookout for innovating products.

Areas of expertise

Mobile, macOS, EVs, smart home