Polar Ignite 3 Fitness Watch Review

Polar watches are worth it because it looks lovely, it feels nice on the wrist, the way it links sleep to training is great and the software with recommended exercises is brilliantly intuitive. It’s just a bit hard to fully trust the most said recommendations when the GPS accuracy is highly dubious and the heart-rate monitor seems to choose not to work at random.

Ignite 3 is a solid mid-range offering from Polar. It looks a little like Pixel Watch but Polar does fitness and sports better than Google. If that’s your priority, then this is a wearable well worth considering. While the likes of the Apple Watch may dominate the field in Apple-land, there’s still plenty of room for alternatives, regardless of smartphone platform.

Many of these competitors, like Garmin and Polar, focus largely on health and fitness — and the latest of these is the new Polar Ignite 3. The Polar Ignite 3 makes some big changes compared to the Polar Ignite 2. However, it also gets a raised price tag that puts it up against some serious competition — including the Garmin Venu 2 and the Apple Watch SE. Can the Polar Ignite 3 actually go up against that competition?

Polar Ignite 3 design and display

The first thing to notice about the Polar Ignite 3 is its design. It’s a relatively sleek and stylish design overall, with a round face and a removable strap. The watch comes in a few different colors, but for this review, we’re looking at the black model.

What’s nice is that the watch has a generally thin and light profile which should look good on most wrists. Unfortunately, it only comes in one size though so if you have smaller wrists then you might want to consider going with another option.

The big news for the Ignite 3 is the much-improved display. It’s an AMOLED panel, so you can expect deep blacks and bright colors. There are also a number of different backlight options that you can choose from, although if you’re using the watch outdoors then we’d recommend going with the brightest option. The resolution is 416 x 416 pixels, which means it should be plenty sharp enough for most tasks.

Polar Ignite 3 specifications and sensors

The Polar Ignite 3 is being billed largely as a sports watch, and fitness tracking is front-and-center. The watch has a dual-frequency GPS and Polar’s Precision Prime heart rate monitor, which allows for tracking of a range of metrics, including basic heart rate, heart rate variability, and more.

That’s on top of obvious metrics, like steps and calories burned. You can also track sleep with the Ignite 3, and it seems to offer mostly similar readings as the Apple Watch that people normally wear. That’s good news — the Apple Watch is considered among the more accurate consumer sleep trackers out there.

The device has a decent selection of other sensors, but it’s not as advanced as more expensive trackers, which can track things like blood oxygen and take EKG readings. It should do just fine for most people, but if you want those advanced features, you’ll have to shell out for a more expensive tracker.

Polar Ignite 3 battery and charging

One of the big advantages of the Polar Ignite 3 over many other smartwatches out there is the battery life. Unlike the Apple Watch, the Ignite 3 can last up to five days in watch mode — although that will take a hit if you use training mode, with it lasting up to 30 hours. That’s still quite good compared to many other devices out there. Charging is also easy and convenient — though you will have to use the proprietary charging cable.

Generally, I hope smartwatches continue to get better in battery life. While I have gotten into the routine of charging my Apple Watch in the morning and evening, it would be nice to not have to worry about it quite as much.

Polar Ignite 3 software and performance

The Polar Ignite 3 features a 192Mhz processor that Polar says is “high-speed.” Unfortunately, most people found that the performance of the watch wasn’t quite up to where they would have liked it. While performing basic tasks such as opening apps and scrolling through menus, there was a noticeable amount of lag. It wasn’t horrible all the time, but it was definitely frustrating at times when I just wanted to get something done quickly.

The overall software experience on the Polar Ignite 3 isn’t bad — and actually, Polar recently redesigned it. It’s a lot better than it was before. There are new watch faces that show a lot of information at a glance, and notifications are richer and more detailed. There are also better media controls, so it’s much easier to control things quickly and easily.

That said, there is still a lot missing from the Ignite 3 when it comes to software features. Third-party apps, digital assistants, and payment options are all missing, and these are all features that you can find on some of the best smartwatches out there. So if you’re looking for a watch with advanced features like that, this might not be the one for you.

Wrapping Up

The Polar Ignite 3 is an interesting smartwatch that offers good value for money. It has decent battery life, a sharp display, and good tracking capabilities — but it’s lacking in the software department. So if you’re looking for something with more advanced features like third-party apps, digital assistants, and payment options then this isn’t the watch for you. But if you’re looking for a solid sports watch with good tracking capabilities, then the Ignite 3 is definitely worth considering.

The Polar Ignite 3 competes with a range of other sports watches, including the Garmin Venu 2 and the Apple Watch SE. Of these two competitors, the Venu 2 offers many of the same features and better software for less, while the Apple Watch is the best of the three for software features — though neither one has quite as good battery life as the Polar Ignite 3.

How accurate is Polar Ignite watch?

Accuracy. Similar to previously tested budget Polar watches, the Ignite performed more inaccurate than any other watch in our review. The accuracy of distance measurements was extremely variable. Sometimes the Polar Ignite was dead on, and other times, it was up to 5% off.

Can you play music on Polar Ignite?

Set the music controls on from Settings > General settings > Music controls. You can control music from the training display, from the watch face, or both. Choose Training display to control music during your training sessions and Watch face to access the controls when not training from the watch face.