Polar Vantage M3 Review

The starting line is buzzing with energy. Runners around you are stretching, adjusting their gear, and sizing up the course ahead. On your wrist, the Polar Vantage M3 glints in the morning sun—a stealthy, athletic watch built for moments like this. The gun goes off, and as your feet hit the pavement, you kick the M3 silently into gear, tracking your every move. This is where it shines—designed not for rugged mountain peaks but for those focused on performance, endurance, and the thrill of the race.

The Vantage M3 ($399) may not have the deep adventure features of Garmin’s Fenix or Forerunner 965, but it doesn’t have the $1000 price tag either. It’s built for athletes—people like you—who need real-time stats, heart rate tracking, and reliable sleep and recovery data without the fuss. Sure, Polar’s M Series and Vantage lines have a loyal following, and the M3 is packed with improvements that make it a worthy upgrade from the M2. The $100 price bump? It may seem steep, but the AMOLED display, Gorilla Glass, Gen 3 HR sensor, and many other upgrades make this an enticing leap from the M2.

As the miles tick by, you’ll notice the M3’s smooth performance. It’s faster than its predecessors, and the display is clearer even in the glare of the midday sun. The high-resolution colour touchscreen and customizable watch faces offer a blend of function and style. The buttons, recessed to prevent accidental presses, might momentarily distract you mid-race as you try to lock into a zone or change screens—though the instantaneous ‘tap to lap’ feature keeps you on track. Another standout feature is the M3’s smaller-format design, a departure from its predecessor and the larger, high-end Vantage V3.

The M3 isn’t just about looks. Its heart rate monitor, dual-frequency GPS chip, and pro-grade performance metrics are dialled in, delivering data that’s vital for athletes serious about tracking their progress. With the ECG, free training plans, and Recovery Pro features, you’ve got a watch that’s not only durable enough for tough training days but also useful enough as a complete companion for all your health and wellness data needs. But more needs to be done: Polar’s interface is easy to understand and use, but it’s now looking a bit dated. And while the watch faces have recently expanded and improved, they could offer even more choices and personalization.

Now, is the Vantage M3 trying to dethrone Garmin’s Forerunner 965 or Fenix 8 as the ultimate performance sports watch? Not exactly. It knows its place as a sports-first tool, perfect for serious runners and triathletes who demand precision and detailed data—though it still throws in a touch of mapping and adventure features… just in case. For Polar devotees, the M3 offers exactly what they’re looking for: a refined, no-nonsense training companion built to push your athletic limits, not necessarily your geographic ones.

At $400, it’s reasonably priced compared to the feature-packed Forerunner 265 ($450, plastic shell) and sits in line with the Suunto Race S ($350). But if you’re an athlete already deep in the Polar ecosystem and you’re looking for a high-performance watch for races like today’s half marathon and next week’s triathlon, the Vantage M3 just might be the perfect partner for every step you take.

$399/EUR399 or £349.

Polar Vantage M3 Detailed Review

The detailed Polar M3 review starts here!

What is the Vantage M series?

The M series is Polar’s most popular watch, packed with sports capabilities at a competitive price.

Historically, Polar’s M series watches have been priced much lower than those of its high-end V series. The M series tends to be smaller, lighter and made of slightly lower-quality materials. Usually, the M series lacked a few software features, but that was not the case this time.

The result of the M3’s smaller size compared to the V3 is a smaller display and shorter battery life.

Let’s look at that in more detail.

Polar Vantage M3 – What’s New, What’s changed

Here, we compare the much older Vantage M2 with the current Vantage V3. M3 is transformed. See the M3 as a compact V3 rather than an upgraded M2. Regarding software features, M3 and V3 are identical, but nothing is wholly new to M3.

These are the changes and additions, with the important ones in bold.

• Remodelled exterior styling and strap compared to M2
  • Textured bezel and recessed circular buttons
• 1.28-inch AMOLED touchscreen features scratch-resistant Gorilla Glass 3, a pixel density of 325 pixels per inch (PPI) and a maximum brightness of 1500 nits (significant upgrade from 1.2″ MIP-based M2, V3 is larger at 1.39″ 454×454px. I had the V3 as 1050 nits but that may have been a typo)
• Latest Gen 4 Elixir HR with ECG, blood oxygen (SpO2) and nightly skin temperature
  • Body temperature support via GreenTEG Core or Sennheiser Momentum
• Top-end, dual frequency GNSS/GPS chipset and antenna design
• Barometer
• Magnetic Compass
• Water resistance to 50m 
• Offline, pre-installed Topo maps for Europe/North America
• Faster CPU at 275Mhz 
  • 37 Mb memory 
  • 32 GB storage 
• Battery life:
  • Performance training mode (up to): 30 hours (V3 is 43 hours and M2 is 26 hours)
  • Eco training mode (up to): 70 hours (V3 is 140 hours, and M2 was higher at 127 hours)
  • Smartwatch mode (up to): 7 days (V3 is 10 days, and M2 was higher at 8 days)
  • The battery is now factory-replaceable.
• Extreme temperature range of -20 °C (-4 °F) to +50 °C (122 °F)  (same as V3, M2 was -10 °C)
• Dimensions
  • 44mm diameter (V3 is 47.3mm, M2 is 46mm)
  • 12mm deep (V3 is 13.5mm, M2 is 12.5mm)
  • 35g without band (V3 is 39g, M2 is 28g)
  • 53g with band (V3 is  57g, M2 is 45g)
• Athletic Tests: Leg Recovery, Performance tests, Orthostatic, Running Tests, Cycling Tests, Walking Tests
• In-training Features:
  • Running Power from the wrist
  • Voice guidance
  • Work/rest guide
  • Vertical speed  & VAM
• Recovery Pro
• Outdoors:
  • Offline regional Maps with contours (TOPO)
  • Trackback
  • Strava Route sync
  • Hill splitter (like Garmin ClimbPRO)
  • Route elevation profile
  • Route guidance
  • Navigate to POI as a bearing
  • Komoot TBT

Beyond fitness, the watch includes various smartwatch features such as phone notifications, music controls, customizable watch faces, quick-access widgets, and weather updates, blending athletic performance with everyday convenience.

Polar Vantage M3 – A Brief Timeline & History of Polar Watches & Their Competencies

Polar has a rich history in sports technology, building on over two decades of expertise in running watches and a decade in triathlon gear. The brand has taken a bold step into the adventure watch market in the past three years, leveraging its long-standing experience to cater to more extreme athletes.

After a brief and unsuccessful venture into bike computers, Polar wisely shifted its focus back to what it does best—fitness and running watches. This shift allowed the company to expand into the triathlon space with renewed vigour, eventually leading to their strategic move into outdoor adventure with the launch of the original Grit X. The Grit X was a turning point, marking Polar’s entrance into the rugged adventure watch category, followed by the addition of on-watch maps—though they aren’t re-routable yet.

While Polar has dipped its toes into smartwatch features like music control, it still trails behind competitors like Garmin and Apple. Polar’s clever solution of integrating card payments through a smart strap adds convenience, but music streaming remains off the table. There was a brief moment when Polar experimented with Wear OS, which could have been a game changer for smart features. However, that opportunity has likely passed, with Google and Samsung seemingly locking down Wear OS for their own devices.

Polar shines in its market-leading physiological features, lab-grade accessories, and advanced training plans. Polar offers a robust sports ecosystem for serious runners and athletes that rivals Garmin’s, making it a go-to brand for those prioritising performance over flashy smartwatch extras.

Here’s a look at Polar’s recent lineup of watches.

• Polar Grit X2 Pro: Outdoor Adventure Watch with Maps, 2024-03-20
• Polar Grit X Pro: Outdoor Adventure Watch, 2021-10-06
• Polar Vantage V3: Triathlon Watch with Maps, 2023-10-11
• Polar Vantage V2: Triathlon Watch, Oct 2020
• Polar Vantage V: Triathlon Watch, 2018-09-13
• Polar Vantage M3: Triathlon Watch, 2024-10-23
• Polar Vantage M2: Triathlon Watch, 2021-03-24
• Polar Vantage M: Triathlon Watch, 2019-02-27
• Polar V800: Triathlon Watch, 2014-01
• Polar Pacer Pro: Running Watch, 2022-04-13
• Polar Pacer: Running Watch, 2022-04-13
• Polar Ignite 3: Running Watch, 2023-06-14
• Polar Ignite 2: Running Watch, 2021-03-24
• Polar Ignite: Running Watch, 2019-06-26
• Polar Unite: Fitness watch, 2020-06-30
• Polar M600: Wear OS Smart Watch, 2016-10
• Many others.

The Polar Vantage M3 Design

From a glance, many people might mistake it for a Garmin Forerunner—proof that Polar has embraced the popular aesthetics Garmin perfected in outdoor watches years ago. Unlike Suunto, Apple Watch Ultra, or Coros, which all have distinct designs, the Vantage M3 plays it safe with a familiar but effective look. Its five buttons work differently from Garmin’s.

At just 53 grams, the M3 is thoughtfully crafted for those who want a capable watch without the bulk. It strikes a nice balance for users who prefer a lighter feel on their wrists, and with a different strap, even ultra-runners might shave off a bit more weight.

The case design is solid overall, though there are minor areas for improvement. The buttons, while functional, could benefit from being less recessed, and the magnetic charger could use a stronger connection.

Whether using the buttons or touchscreen, the interface is intuitive and logical, but the visuals are beginning to show their age. Still, it does the job for those prioritising function over flash.

Polar Vantage M3 Display: Big Enough And Bright

The Polar Vantage M3’s display sits comfortably at the sweet spot between practicality and performance. Its 1.28-inch AMOLED touchscreen is a step up from the previous M2, boasting a sharp 326ppi resolution. With an impressive maximum brightness of 1500 nits, the screen is bright enough for any lighting condition—though it can be dimmed to conserve battery.

What stands out is the vibrant clarity of the display. The colours pop, and the touch functionality is seamless, with smooth transitions that make navigating the watch a breeze. I used the maximum brightness and always-on display, particularly when running, to make the most of its crisp visuals.

The screen is significantly better than the MIP screen on the old M2, although there does seem to be slightly reduced visibility/reflection at some angles. I’d take the M3’s screen over the M2.

If there’s one thing I’d wish for, it’s more ways to take advantage of this beautiful screen. A broader selection of watch faces, especially ones that pack in more data, would let the M3’s display shine even brighter.

Polar Vantage M3 Sensors + Connections: Adequately Connected

Take Out: The Polar Vantage M3 offers strong support for most common sensors, making it well-suited for runners and triathletes. While it lacks ANT+ compatibility and full support for all cycling sensors, it covers the essentials.

The Polar Vantage M3 has every essential onboard sensor, making it a versatile tool for athletes. However, it connects to external sensors exclusively via Bluetooth, leaving out ANT+ compatibility. Fortunately, popular external devices like power meters, heart rate monitors, temperature sensors, and STRYD are nearly all supported.

The magnetic compass and barometric altimeter are must-have features for adventurers and runners who rely on precision, especially those tracking running power. While it also includes ECG and SpO2 sensors, they lean more toward wellness and sleep tracking than athletic performance. On the other hand, the onboard dual-frequency GNSS/GPS chipset is top-tier, offering accurate positioning. Combined with the optical heart rate sensor and accelerometer, these form the foundation for the Vantage M3’s data collection, enabling valuable metrics like HRV, recovery readiness, and running power.

One thoughtful bonus feature is the ability to broadcast your wrist-based heart rate to gym equipment or a bike computer, a handy tool for indoor workouts. However, dedicated cyclists might feel the absence of FTMS or FE-C, allowing the watch to control resistance and incline on smart gym equipment. But, in fairness, serious cyclists would likely be better served with a dedicated bike computer.

While Polar sticks with Bluetooth, avoiding the ANT+ ecosystem, it’s worth noting that most modern apps and devices—such as those from Apple and Suunto—opt for Bluetooth as their preferred connection. Garmin remains one of the last big players supporting ANT+, so if that’s a deal-breaker, you’ll want to keep that in mind.

Polar Vantage M3 Comparisons and Sports Suitability

I’ll look at running, triathlon and adventure hiking and tell you the gaps where the Vantage M3 fails to deliver.

Q: Is the Polar Vantage M3 suitable for running?

Absolutely. The Vantage M3 is built for runners of all levels, whether you’re training for a 5K or a marathon. It packs all the essential running features plus some advanced ones like Running Power, customized training plans, a Season Planner, and FuelWise for dynamic fueling and hydration strategies. You can set training targets, receive voice guidance, and track metrics like Ground Contact Time. However, it does miss one key feature: the track mode found in Coros, Apple, and Garmin watches.

Regarding pacing, the M3 fully supports Heart Rate Zones and other effort zones, allowing you to tailor your runs and button-lock to your desired intensity with ZoneLock. You can also set workout targets based on calories, distance, pace, power, or time, making it a versatile tool for runners.

Serious athletes can build, favourite and follow complex workouts and schedule an entire season of workouts from your library. As an example of what’s possible, you could create and follow this workout:

15-minute warmup with a power alert range of 150-200w: 5 repeats of 1km with a pace target of 4:00/km each followed by 3 minutes recovery; and then all followed by an open cool down.

Q: What Major Running Feature Will Polar Add Next?

A: The essential running features of  Vantage M3 appear complete in Polar’s eyes. Perhaps Track Mode will be added.

Q: Is the Polar Vantage M3 suitable for Triathlon?

A: Yes, the Polar Vantage M3 is well-suited for triathlons, offering strong features that can handle any distance, including Ironman. However, suppose you’re a serious triathlete who loves tech and plans to compete in multiple races. In that case, you might lean toward a Garmin 965 for specialized triathlon features like auto-transition, ANT+ support, and better indoor cycling capabilities.

The Vantage M3 still has highly configurable multisport profiles straight out of the box. These can be customized in Polar Flow with specific sub-sport and training metric settings.

Q: What Major Triathlon Feature Will Polar Add Next?

A: Swimming. Polar has decent swimming features and is already on a second iteration. But Polar lacks more unusual swim features like a drill logger and compatibility with advanced, race-legal open water swim aids – i.e. FORM Swim goggles.

A: Triathlon plans. These would be hard for Polar to add unless it gets them from a 3rd party (I believe they are coming in Q1.2025 with a Training Peaks plan integration)

Suitability for Adventure Hiking: More on navigation

An adventure hiker has a smartphone backup all weekend. In contrast, an explorer has a backup of a physical compass and a paper map to give reassurance over week-long trips out of cell range, perhaps even a satellite-capable comms device.

Watches like Garmin Epix 2 and Polar Grit X2 Pro are probably best suited for adventure hikers. The AMOLED screen on both watches eats battery over week-long trips. You can take a battery pack, of course. Apart from the battery, both those watches are pro pieces of hardware that can take more than a few knocks and the most inclement weather on longer trips. The suitability of the Polar comes more from your experience and navigational abilities coupled with the complexity and danger of the routes you follow. Furthermore, the Vantage M3 has a less durable shell than the Grit X2 Pro and a smaller screen for your maps.

Polar discontinued its route creation feature, EXPLORE, in 2020. That move made sense for Polar, as running a complex route creation feature is costly. Instead, Polar lets you import GPX route files or automatically sync routes from Komoot or Strava; a subscription is required to create a route with the latter.

You might have to sync Flow with Strava/Komoot and then Vantage M3 with Flow. That’s a few more clicks and taps than I’d like, but it’s not the end of the world.

The route is typically chosen before you start the activity, and once you’re looking at the map screen on the watch, it’s nice. I’ve seen more detailed maps, but these do the job.

IMPORTANT: If you go off route,  Vantage M3 can direct you back to the route as the crow flies, or you can lock onto a bearing and make your way. Only Garmin can navigate you back to the route via known trails. Both Garmin and Polar can retrace steps if you get lost.

In most circumstances where you’ve deviated slightly from the route, a simple map screen quickly gives visual cues to guide you back on course. Polar’s map also includes a breadcrumb trail indicating your route (in red below).

I doubt Polar intend to have on-device map intelligence/re-routing in the foreseeable future. Unlike Suunto, Polar can’t do this with a navigation engine on the smartphone app and doesn’t plan to do so as Explore was retired. Adding re-routable maps to the watch and all the logic that comes with it would be a very significant undertaking for Polar.

With the exceptions of the ‘back to start’ and ‘elevation profile’ screens, Polar has no user-selectable navigational data field. However, the distance to go is shown on the map screen.

Other Map Features: Back to start, map selection, compass calibration, map orientation, reverse route, navigate to the start/end/mid-point, your location, pan and zoom

Q: How does Polar make Vantage M3 better features for outdoor adventurers?

Polar must add more navigation and routing features to compete on equal terms with Garmin at the high end of the outdoor adventure market. Namely, add map intelligence on the watch to permit re-routing, increase its map layers (wind, weather), more richly cover types of POIs (coming Q1.2025), and more widely support turn-by-turn instructions when navigating from different route platforms.

The last of those should be straightforward, but the first may not even be possible in Polar’s ecosystem. The middle two represent a couple of years of work, judging by recent progress at adding features.

The main issue is that Polar is playing catch up with limited resources. It is trying to copy what others have already done rather than re-imagine what is needed, which Apple did to some extent with its automatic detection of Trail Heads, innovative compass, and Waypoint screen.

Navigation Aid: Sunset/sunrise/phase

This information is regularly updated from the FLOW app and appears on either a watch face complication or a widget. Tapping either of those gives sunrise/sunset information for today and tomorrow. Nice

Navigation Aid: Map flow & Altitude

Maps can be accessed through a watch face complication, widget or from within the workout. The high-level map screen is strange and looks unfinished. I would expect to see a zoomed-in local map by default.

That said, the compass, altitude and altitude history screens are fine. Calibrate manually at known points to avoid altitude drift during changeable weather. Polar would benefit from a Garmin feature that automatically associates altitudes with manually determined points like your front door as you leave to ensure frequently corrected altitudes.

When you start any workout, the altitude is determined by 3D-GPS and re-checked using the same method. After that, changes are made based on air pressure chases or manual calibrations. The entire elevation track appears auto-corrected in FLOW based on the recorded GPS position and an offline DEM (Digital Elevation Model).

Navigation Aid: A Pretty Weather Widget

The weather widget screen is one of the prettiest on any sports watch. In addition to current temperature and weather, there are moon phases and temperature forecasts. Wind direction and general weather forecasts for 3 days can be tapped from that widget.

Navigation Aids: No Weather Radar Map or Barometer Readings

There are no weather map visualisations to overlay the current TOPO (contour) maps and no way to read the barometric pressure or see changes in it.

There are no weather alerts linked to pressure changes.

Deep Dive Polar Vantage M3 Sleep, Stress & Recovery Metrics: Physiology

Polar has a whole raft of excellent physiology and sleep metrics. Generally, they work from wrist heart rate and HRV, with some becoming relevant only when you wear the watch most of the time. The features are on the watch or smartphone app, but some can be found on the FLOW web portal.

Sleep

Polar has a complete set of advanced sleep features, including Sleep Stages and publishes the supporting science it relies on here.

Recovery

The most helpful recovery stat for me was the Nightly Recharge shown on the watch; the ANS charge seemed to correctly identify when I felt terrible in the mornings before getting up.

You could delve into some of your recovery details to see if the duration and type of sleep you experienced contributed to poor nightly recharge or if the cause might lie elsewhere with your inability to cope with life’s stresses (HRV). If those stresses are training-related, another screen, Cardio Lod Status, might help your understanding and suggest that you ease off training intensity.

Other stats like breathing rate and nightly temperature changes can indicate stress and are important metrics for female cycle tracking.

A further way to assess recovery for the more athletic types is to use Polar’s waking 4-minute Orthostatic Test. The test involves lying and standing and is validated using RR/HRV recording from a chest strap like Polar H10. A similar Polar test is the Leg Recovery test.

A final recovery feature is ‘Work Rest’, which determines the optimal recovery between intervals by assessing the maximum achieved heart rate and anticipated recovery durations.

Deep dive: Training Plans, Suggestions & Favourites

Polar has a huge set of features that cater to various abilities with running plans for the main race distances. Polar’s plans support much faster athletes than those offered by Garmin.

• Follow a plan: Create and calendarize a plan on Polar Flow for your race distance. You are prompted to follow workouts each day, and the plan includes non-running workouts to support your progress.
• Unstructured suggestions: Polar recommends suitable workouts for today based on your recent training, freshness and abilities.
• Targets for the day – you might want to run a certain distance or pace or achieve another target. You can create a workout for that and save it as a favourite on the watch to reuse multiple times.
• Strava Live Segments – You might want to try to beat your best over your favourite Strava segments.
• Automated Strength workouts include animated graphics to indicate the technique.
• Simple intervals – you can create simple intervals on the watch
• Just run

Deep Dive: New outdoor training metrics

Newly added outdoor training metrics give you insights into your progress vertically and horizontally, adjusting for altitude gain.

The new outdoor training metrics are Vertical speed, Ascent Speed (VAM) and 3D Speed, these being available for the following sports: Hiking, Trail Running, Cycling, Road cycling, Mountain biking, Downhill skiing, Snowboarding, Mountain biking, Orienteering, Ultra Running, Telemark skiing, Backcountry skiing, Snowshoe trekking, Climbing (outdoor), Off-road triathlon, and Off-road duathlon. More: polar.com

Vertical speed is an instant, real-time measurement of ascents and descents used to calculate the ascent rate per minute based on altitude changes. VAM measures your average ascent speed per hour as a 30-second rolling average.

Polar includes these new metrics: VAM (30-sec avg, lap, auto lap, hill, max hill) and Vertical speed (Vertical speed 30-sec avg, avg lap, max lap, avg hill, max hill)

Deep Dive: Watchfaces

The entire point of buying an AMOLED sports watch and taking a battery hit is that you will use it outside of sports. Watchfaces are essential for leveraging the display’s detail and vibrancy to convey smart information.

Polar added more face styles and widgets this time but still needs to go further (more are planned for Q1.2025).

At present, there are four layout templates to choose from

Then, you can choose the background, hands, dials and colours

Finally, you can add up to 4 data complications. Some of these complications are especially useful for hiking: elevation, weather, sunset/sunrise, compass and the virtual flashlight, which are smart shortcuts to other screens.

Competitor Comparisons – Suunto, Coros, Garmin, and Apple

Polar Vantage M3, Suunto Race S, and Garmin Forerunner 265/265s are all similar smaller-format, mid-range athletic watches that support multisports and offer a limited number of smart features – limited compared to Apple. They lag behind the Apple Watch 10 regarding wellness data/feature quality. These brands provide suitable alternatives if you want a dedicated sports/adventure watch to support your fitness and activities. If you want the whole 24×7 smart package but restrictive battery life…get Apple.

Coros does not offer an AMOLED display or a premium case option for a running/sports watch – pace 3 has a low-quality case, and its other watches are marketed toward outdoor adventures.

Surprisingly, Coros, Suunto and Polar have notably better performance/GPS battery lives than Garmin (although Garmin has superior performance with the larger batteried Fenix)

• When to opt for Suunto – Suunto’s strength is adventure-focused activity, producing quality outdoor watches with great sensors. Suunto’s on-watch map features are similar to Polar, but its smartphone app has superior map and navigation support. Suunto also has an app store where you can add unusual features you may need.
• When to opt for Garmin – Garmin has all the features, such as being the leader in navigation and triathlon, but they come at a price; there is usually a price premium for a Garmin watch.  Garmin has re-routable, intelligent maps on the watch and does not need a smartphone during your navigation. Garmin supports the streaming music services.
• When to opt for Coros – Coros is cheaper than Garmin and has many high-level tick box features, but sometimes the details are lacking. Coros’ on-watch map features are broadly similar to Polar’s, with better routing/map support on its app. Coros does not yet offer an AMOLED option.
• When to opt for Polar – Polar’s strength is its runner-focussed and fitness-focussed ecosystem. Its mapping features are relatively new and improving. Polar has many features, more than you probably need, just not as many as Garmin. If you want something that maximises ease of use, then Polar (and Coros) are the ones to go for.

Polar Vantage M3 Accuracy Tests & Performance Review

TL;DR GNSS/GPS is pretty good, and Polar has known for months it needs to improve the performance of its new Elixir optical heart rate sensor further. All other onboard sensors are suitable for the varied needs of hiking and outdoor adventures; however, runners and cyclists who want maximum accuracy will use the best sensors, like Polar H10 and the Stryd footpod.

In my tests, I’m looking for high levels of accuracy in all conditions for all sports. I want positional accuracy to be no worse than 5m, HR accuracy to be +/-2bpm, and elevation accuracy to be +/-5m. You’ll have to make a call on what levels of accuracy you need. If you want a pretty track of your workout on Strava or Komoot, most watches will give you that, but no watch guarantees accurate optical HR in every scenario nor GPS accuracy near tall buildings.

Polar Vantage M3 GNSS/GPS Accuracy Tests Results

Polar uses the latest generation of dual-frequency GNSS chipsets. Unlike Garmin and Coros, Polar chose the Sony chip over Airoha/MediaTek.

The results you experience in your sports depend on several usage factors, antenna design, and algorithms used. It’s worth noting that Polar recently updated its antenna in its last watch.

TL;DR – The results are mostly good but not excellent. GPS tracks aren’t as smooth as expected, including under tree cover. Furthermore, the benefits of dual frequency do not seem to be leveraged when running near tall buildings with the GPS track deviating, indicating it uses reflected signals. There are also other more benign conditions where I would expect more precise tracks.

I’ve performed fewer tests than I’d like so far on this watch. Here is a selection showing images of the overall route and then a point or two of note from the route on the subsequent image(s) in the gallery. There is nothing of concern here…I just want a bit more consistent accuracy.

Polar Vantage M3 GPS Accuracy: Dense overhead tree cover – Ok, but not as good as the comparators

Polar Vantage M3 GPS Accuracy: Road bike – Good, best on test

Polar Vantage M3 GPS Accuracy: Easy GPS run – Good

Polar Vantage M3 GPS Accuracy: Hard GPS run near building – all over the place, better than Apple but not Garmin

Polar Vantage M3 GPS Accuracy: Mixed GPS difficulty suburban run

Polar Vantage M3 Heart Rate Accuracy – Test Results

These test results are from the production firmware incorporating the latest HR algorithms. Some of the results are poor, and others are generally good. There are discrepancies even on the good HR tracks.

In a nutshell, there’s something not quite right here, and there seem to be at least two scenarios that cause errors.

Polar Vantage M3 Elevation Accuracy – Review Test Results

The elevation is more than accurate enough.

Polar Vantage M3 Pro Battery Life: Good

The battery life specs are good, but I don’t think I’m getting anywhere near these figures; admittedly, I have cranked up the brightness and AOD settings to the max.

The Elixir sensor is continually firing up when not on the wrist, and you have to tweak the settings to stop the watch display from lighting up at night.

Battery life claims:

• Performance training mode (up to): 30 hours (V3 is 43 hours and M2 is 26 hours)
• Eco training mode (up to): 70 hours (V3 is 140 hours, and M2 was higher at 127 hours)
• Smartwatch mode (up to): 7 days (V3 is 10 days, and M2 was higher at 8 days)
• The battery is now factory-replaceable.

Q: What is the Polar Vantage M3’s battery life?

A: The Polar Vantage M3 has a GPS battery life of 30 hours, extendable to 70 hours in performance training mode (certain features are either disabled or made less frequent).

Scenario: recording an Ironman will be fine

Scenario: A week’s holiday with 4x 1-hour runs, worn 24×7, will require M3 to be recharged at some point

Scenario: Recording a weekend adventure will be fine if you stop the recording while you sleep.

A Garmin Forerunner 265 has half the battery life of the M3 – 20-hour GPS-Only GNSS mode, 16-hour full accuracy mode.

Technical Performance

I’ve used Polar watches for decades (the s620 was my first ever sports watch), and the latest generation works smoothly in almost all areas. The screens flow nicely from one to the next, and the only exception is a 1-second lag when zooming in/out on the TOPO maps at high zoomed-out levels.

The buttons are tricky to find and feel a response when pressed. The touchscreen works well but sometimes doesn’t respond to a finger drag when wet, which is not unusual for touchscreens. Gesture control is excellent when turning the wrist and can be overridden for always-on in most circumstances.

An often-forgotten feature is slap-to-lap. A tap or palm slap on the watch adds a lap when exercising.

Polar Vantage M3 – FAQs

Q: Is Polar Vantage M3 good?

A: Yes, Polar Vantage M3 is an excellent sports athletic watch great for triathlons and occasional adventure navigation

Q: What is the new Polar Vantage M3?

A: Polar Vantage M3 is a smaller format watch for athletes

Q: Is Polar Vantage M3 waterproof?

A: Yes, you can swim in it, and the watch has 50m waterproofing (50m)

Q: Does Polar Vantage M3 play music?

A: Vantage M3 controls the music on your smartphone

Q: Which Polar should I buy?

A: If you want the best Polar for outdoor adventures, get the Grit X2 Pro. Get the Vantage M3 if you want Polar’s best-featured sports watch, but the more expensive Vantage M3 is identically featured, larger and made from premium materials. Polar Pacer watches are for running-focussed activities, and you might prefer the Polar Ignite as a general fitness watch

Q: Do Polar watches have maps?

A: Yes, Polar Vantage M3, Grit X2 Pro and Vantage V3 have onboard maps

Q: What does a Polar watch do?

A: The Vantage M3 is a sports watch that monitors your sleep, general activity, overall wellness and all your sports activities with high-grade sensors, supported by a pro-grade ecosystem

Q: Do Polar watches have ECG?

A: Vantage M3, Vantage V3 and Polar Grit X2 have ECG but not Afib

Q: Can I wear my Polar watch in the shower?

A: Yes, Polar Vantage M3 is waterproof

Q: Can you answer calls on Polar Watch?

A: Yes. Vantage M3 can answer and hang up calls but has no usable speaker or microphone. It controls the calls on your smartphone which must be within Bluetooth range – ideal when using earbuds.

Q: What is the battery life of the Polar Vantage M3?

A: The headline GPS performance battery life of the vantage M3 is 30 hours of continuous activity recording. The battery life is on par with the best for an AMOLED Watch.

Q: Is Polar Vantage M3 Pro worth the upgrade?

A: Yes, Vantage M3 is a significant upgrade to Vantage M2. It is a significantly improved piece of hardware in almost every respect. Other software features offer modest improvements besides newly added maps and completely revamped hardware.

Q: Should I sleep with my Polar Vantage M3?

A: Yes, sleep with the Vantage M3, as some of the nighttime metrics it collects are useful indicators of wellness and sporting readiness.

Q: Should I charge my Polar Vantage M3 every night?

A: No, it has a multi-day battery life, even in the most intense use cases

Polar Vantage M3 Bands

Bands are standard 22mm pin replaceable.

2024 saw Polar’s first foray into tap-and-go payments. Cleverly, a payment mechanism is included in a special band, with the tech coming from its partnership with Fidesmo. Here is more info. You should be able to link your existing bank to this strap with some financial glue called CURVE (you do NOT have to have a balance on CURVE).

Polar Vantage M3: Should You Upgrade?

I rarely recommend upgrading from one watch to its replacement. Usually, it makes sense to skip one or two generations. However, M3 is a solid update if you currently own an M2.

It is also a solid upgrade for anyone invested in the polar ecosystem who wants a smaller-format watch, so it would also be a sensible upgrade from a vantage V2. Its maps make it an attractive upgrade for a Polar adventurer with an earlier Grit X. However, note that the M3’s case is less durable than the Grit X or Vantage V ranges. M3 represents a more premium version than the Polar Pacer or Ignite ranges, with more features.

Polar Vantage M3 is sensibly priced and very well-featured. It is guaranteed to encourage existing Polar owners to upgrade to a great sports watch, especially if they want a smaller format.
Polar watches compete in areas where it’s tough to stand out from the crowd positively.

Some Take Outs from this Polar Vantage M3 Review

Polar Vantage M3 is sensibly priced and very well featured; guaranteed to encourage existing Polar owners to upgrade to a great sports watch. Especially if they want a smaller format.

Polar watches compete in areas where it’s tough to stand out from the crowd positively.

At the lower and budget end of the price scale, where watches are often essential fitness or running watches, Polar produces good products but is swamped by the competitive options and confusion with crossovers between smart and sports features.

Similarly, at the high end, Polar produces good watches, but they compete against excellent watches, yet Polar prices as if its products are equally featured. Polar offers enough at those price points to keep most of its existing customers in its ecosystem but probably struggles to attract new customers or to get any to switch from other brands.

It’s in the $250-$450 (£200-£400) type range, where Polar’s products stand out more with fewer competitors. Vantage M3 offers a sensible upgrade for many existing Polar owners and perhaps even enough to entice first-time sports tech buyers who are already great runners or competent triathletes.

Polar Vantage M3 is a great product for ‘runners who do other sports’ or for committed runners who aim to improve and want a performance ecosystem to support that – cross-training, weights, high-level plans and pro-grade recovery advice are all nicely covered.

But like Garmin, Polar is somewhat at a crossroads in how they approach the future. The competition is hotting up with Apple’s and Google’s/Samsung’s smartwatches. These watches are super convenient to wear all day for their smart features that work well alongside our smartphones. Sometimes, instead of our smartphones (when taking calls). They also have high-grade wellness and recovery sensors.  They are highly customisable and can be personalised to look great on your wrist 24×7. Sure, they’re not elite sports devices like Polar and Garmin, but how many elite sports people are there to justify Polar and Garmin’s existence? Garmin, Polar, and other companies have known about this for years, but what should they do about it?

Garmin is significantly ahead of Polar in its moves with smart features and personalised appearance. And ahead with niche sports features linked to triathlon, swimming, adventure navigation, and indoor training. But Polar is improving there, too, with a smart band for tap-and-go payments, music control for the watch, and support for audio. You have to start somewhere, and Polar has the advantage of its products being amongst the easiest to use.

What next for Polar? The company needs a visual refresh to its software (Q1.2025) and to add a track mode to give credibility to a pro runners watch. Then, it needs to determine what it wants to do with support for streaming music services and improved map intelligence (heatmaps and re-routable maps).

It’s a great watch and a great sports ecosystem. I’d be more than happy to use it as my daily sports driver.

Polar Vantage M3 – Pricing, Availability & Discounts

Unlike Polar’s high-end models, RRP/MSRP Pricing is ‘about right’ for the Vantage M3. Like all other companies, Polar can always periodically offer a discount if needed.

Initially, availability will only be on Polar’s site, but it will be widely available thereafter. If you’d like to support this site, please buy from Amazon.

$399/EUR399 or £349.