Polar Vantage V3 vs Polar Vantage V2

The new Polar Vantage V3 has landed—and we can’t stop talking about it. It’s our most ambitious watch to date and represents an incredible leap forward in our biosensing technologies. That’s a bold statement, so you might be wondering what’s new compared to its predecessor, Polar Vantage V2.

Polar Vantage V3 is naturally more capable, feature-rich, and powerful than Vantage V2. While the design principles and core functionalities remain, this is far from a modest update. We reevaluated every aspect of our flagship multisport watch and introduced major changes in its design and technology. Follow along for a deep dive into Polar Vantage V3 vs Vantage V2 for all the differences.

TL;DR: Explore Polar Vantage V3 or check out our comparison tool for a complete Polar Vantage V3 vs. Polar Vantage V2 head-to-head.

POLAR VANTAGE V3: GAME-CHANGING PERFORMANCE

When you first hold Polar Vantage V3, the brilliantly bright display will immediately strike you. This is the most glaringly obvious difference between Polar Vantage V3 and Vantage V2. This time, we chose AMOLED display technology over MIP (memory-in-pixel). While MIP screens do a lot of great things (they’re very power efficient, for example), AMOLED technology provides a brighter, more colorful and vibrant display that performs better in most lighting conditions, including low-light environments. Looking at the Polar Vantage V3 touchscreen is comparable to seeing your smartphone screen. For those who want to know, the screen has a resolution of 462ppi. Google it and you’ll realize this is an impressive number. No wonder the display of Polar Vantage V3 is so sharp.

AMOLED brings other benefits, too. By using this display technology, we were able to extend the display closer to the edges of the watch case, giving more room for content. Compared to Polar Vantage V2, the screen of the new Polar Vantage V3 has 35% larger visible area.

The new processor in Polar Vantage V3 marks a significant leap in performance compared to its predecessor. It’s 129% faster, providing smooth animations and swift UI transitions.

What about battery life, you might be thinking. Yes, we did mention that MIP technology is more efficient, so you’re correct in assuming that a power-hungry AMOLED display would drastically reduce battery life. Well… no.

Here’s the good news, Polar Vantage V3 retains battery life that lasts for days, so you don’t have to worry about charging your watch every night. How? A bigger battery paired with more energy-efficient tech minimized the impact of a more demanding display, allowing Polar Vantage V3 to offer even more hours of continuous training time than Polar Vantage V2. With Polar Vantage V3 you get up to 53 hours of training, and up to 140 hours with power save options, or up to 8 days in watch mode.

MORE METRICS THAT MATTER WITH POLAR VANTAGE V3

Other upgrades aren’t that visible but are equally important. Polar Vantage V3 brings notable improvements to the very core of the device: our biosensing technologies.

Since its first generation, we have designed our Vantage V series for high-performance and endurance sports and training. We believe that every athlete, from beginners to world-ranking pros, deserves the best possible tools to train efficiently and monitor progress easily, reliably, and conveniently. We also understand that the Polar community values meaningful metrics over just numbers, so to improve on Polar Vantage V2, we aimed to create a device that accurately measures more from the human body than ever before. And that’s exactly what we did.

With Polar Vantage V3, we’re introducing the next generation of Polar’s biosensing technologies, Polar Elixir™. This is the source of power, an innovative fusion of sensors that analyzes a spectrum of biological markers at phenomenal speeds to provide the best, clearest, and most actionable insights in the industry.

As a result, Polar Vantage V3 three key additional sensing capabilities compared to Vantage V2:

Pulse oximetry technology to measure blood oxygen saturation with an root-mean-squared error of less than 3.5% compared to direct arterial blood oxygenation measurements.
Automatic detection of skin temperature at night to provide valuable insights into overall wellbeing, and even menstrual cycles.
ECG testing capabilities to allow users to take an electrocardiogram in 30 seconds and get readings of their heart’s electrical signals to unlock pro-level recovery insights with orthostatic test.
That’s not all. Polar Vantage V3 and Polar Elixir™ also introduce the fourth generation of optical heart rate monitoring, which provide 25% more accuracy in many of the most popular sports, including running and cycling.

Here’s everything to know about Polar Elixir™.

ADVANCED NAVIGATION WITH OFFLINE MAPS

There’s one more new feature that our users have long awaited for, and that is offline maps. The sharper screen along with the faster processing power of Polar Vantage V3 allowed us to include the option of uploading detailed maps to the watch. You can now leave your phone behind and still have precise location information.

What’s more, with 32GB of storage, you can download many different regions on your watch at once. Polar Vantage V3 comes with pre-installed maps of Europe and North America, but you easily download more regions for free on the Polar Flow app.

POLAR VANTAGE V3: WHAT ELSE IS NEW?

Besides Polar Elixir™, the stunning new design, the faster processing, the brilliant display (phew, that’s already a lot), Polar Vantage V3 has many other upgrades than wouldn’t be possible without its improved performance and sensing capabilities.

Here’s a summary of other features new to Polar Vantage V3.

Dual-frequency GPS
Orthostatic Test and Recovery Pro (without needing heart rate chest strap)
Work-Rest Guide
Customizable dashboards
Quick-Access Widgets
Flashlight
Full-compatibly with standard 22mm wristbands without needing extra adapters
Polar Charge 2.0 USB-C