Garmin Debuts ‘Vívoactive 3’ Smartwatch With Garmin Pay

Garmin is known for making great fitness smartwatches, but they face stiff competition when compared to watches from Apple, Samsung, and Fitbit. Its latest wearable, however, has a more affordable price.

According to a new report from Ars Technica, Garmin today announced three new wearable devices that it will debut at IFA 2017 in Berlin, including the vívomove HR, vívosport, and vívoactive 3.

The Garmin vívoactive 3 closely resembles Apple Watch in terms of features, with Garmin’s device tracking heart rate, packing in 15 indoor and outdoor activity apps, and supporting a new “Garmin Pay” contactless payment solution.

“Anyone who is out and about being active can relate to the struggle of where to stash a credit card or cash, and has had to forgo a post-workout snack or coffee as a result,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales.

“We’re solving that dilemma with Garmin Pay, an exciting feature on the new vívoactive 3. Use it pretty much wherever contactless payments are accepted, and give yourself one less thing to remember when you’re leaving the house.”

Basically, users will tap their Garmin at an NFC payment terminal, and the he or she can check out without having to swipe his or her credit card or even have your phone on their person. Garmin said Garmin Pay supports Visa and MasterCard debit and credit cards “from major banks” at launch, but more are coming.

The vívoactive 3 is available in three colors: black/stainless and white/stainless ($299.99 USD), and black/slate ($329.99 USD). There are also various bands users can purchase to attach to the smartwatch.

All of Garmin’s new wearable devices connect to the Garmin Connect app, which saves the user’s activity stats, connects them to a community of workout enthusiasts, provides more detailed graphs, tracks sleep patterns, and more. For more information on all of Garmin’s new smartwatches, visit the company’s website.

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