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Looking for larger watch face

Former Member
Former Member over 6 years ago
Hi all. I am the new owner of a Vivoactive 3. Gotta tell you, I love just about everything about this watch. I don't get my shorts in a knot if the OHR doesn't match my chest strap, or if a device has a few bugs. I am a bit of a techie (my job) and expect electronic devices to have glitches. I'm loving the battery life of this thing, and all the parameters it tracks. The only thing bothers me is the face size. My 55 year old eyes can't read anything but the time. Any extra data fields (which I want) cause me to stop whatever I'm at and don my reading glasses if I want to see my current heart rate, sunset time, or whatever data I chose to have on the watch face. I've loaded about 25 different watch faces now, and some are almost great for me. I know there are widgets I can flip through, but I don't want a smartwatch just to see the time. Anyway, that being said, I'm looking for an alternative. After some researching, I'm considering the new Samsung Galaxy Watch. Feel free to talk me out of it. I am NOT a fan of Samsung phones, but am willing (maybe) to give this watch a try. I'm thinking the OLED screen may be a bit sharper and easier to read. My main question is, how much bigger is the display. No point in telling me that it's a 46mm watch, as my brain doesn't let me decipher that!! How much bigger is the display than the V3? Is it significantly larger. When my V3 arrived I was a little surprised as the watch was a lot smaller than I had figured from looking at internet pictures. I was willing to live with that if I could read it.

Some things I am worried about. Galaxy Watch battery life. I don't expect it to be as good as the V3 that's on my wrist right now. but I don't want to have to charge it every second night either. I know battery usage depends on how you use the watch. But right now I can get 4 days easily from the V3 with my style of usage. Galaxy seems to have all the features I need, plus wifi - which the V3 doesn't have.

I looked at some other watches. For example I probably would have bought the Diesel On Full Guard 2.5, but battery life sucks. Any other good advice or suggestions? I will not spring for the cost of the Fenix 5 line, nor will I step down to the Fenix 3 line. But I don't see a whole lot out there that will suit my needs.

My uses will be for 80% smartwatch function and 20% activity tracking. I am very much interested in sleep tracking, and I like how my V3 has performed there so far. My mobile device is the Essential phone.

EDIT: Waterproof to 3 ATM is mandatory.

Thanks all in advance for any help or guidance you may offer.

GC
  • 0 over 6 years ago
    GC: you want a new watch or a good watch face for the VA3? Pick a lane.
    Many of the questions you ask (screen size/resolution) can be answered by doing simple searches on Garmin website or google.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 6 years ago
    GC: you want a new watch or a good watch face for the VA3? Pick a lane.
    Many of the questions you ask (screen size/resolution) can be answered by doing simple searches on Garmin website or google.


    Read back through the thread. Never once did I ask for resolution. As for size, yep, I can find the specs with Google. But larger doesn't necessarily mean better. Resolution and displey tech (OLED, transflective, brightness, etc.) all play a part. That's why I'm asking on this forum. The best input is from owners. So thanks for advising me not to ask for something I didn't ask for.

    Neil_Rosser that's a cool face. Thanks for that.

    GC
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 6 years ago
    To be fair... size can mean several things. Are you asking about the physical size of the watch face? The size of the display? Resolution? Font size?
    The Vivoactive 3 has a decent size watch face and a nice display size. As others have mentioned the screen size is the same throughout the Garmin watch line.

    If you like the VA3, just find a watch face that uses a larger font. The Garmin Store is full of options.
    If you don't like the VA3... I don't think you'll find what you're looking for with Garmin unless you are simply looking for a physically larger watch like the Fenix line.
  • Former Member
    0 Former Member over 6 years ago
    To be fair... size can mean several things. Are you asking about the physical size of the watch face? The size of the display? Resolution? Font size?
    The Vivoactive 3 has a decent size watch face and a nice display size. As others have mentioned the screen size is the same throughout the Garmin watch line.

    If you like the VA3, just find a watch face that uses a larger font. The Garmin Store is full of options.
    If you don't like the VA3... I don't think you'll find what you're looking for with Garmin unless you are simply looking for a physically larger watch like the Fenix line.


    Yeah I think I'll find a suitable watchface. After hours upon hours of reading and research I'm not sure there is a better option out there for me. Samsung Galaxy reviews show that watch to be a cluster%^$#. From all reports it has an absolutely beautiful display, but tracking features (heart rate, step count, floor count, etc.) are notoriously inaccurate, and although recognized by Samsung, it's not been determined if it's hardware or software related. I've played around with a bunch of Garmin faces that were suggested above, and others, and it'll work. The only issue I've had with the watch functionally is that the heart rate tanks in the middle of a cardio workout (reads anywhere from about 55 to 75). Other than that it's been perfect functionally. Thanks all for your advice, suggestions and guidance.



    GC
  • +1 over 4 years ago in reply to Former Member

    I have the same problem, and I changed my eyeglass prescription.