Polar Ignite 3 vs. Polar Ignite 2: What’s Changed?

Polar Ignite 2 or Polar Ignite 3? Need help choosing? It’s time to check the differences between our Polar fitness watches.

If you want to start your journey towards a healthier life and are looking for a little guidance, the Polar Ignite series of watches is the place to start. You have two great options: Polar Ignite 2, and the NEW Polar Ignite 3, which takes the all the capabilities of our beloved fitness watch, further.

Both watches will help you track your activity, sleep, and daily calories, plus give you the training apps and tools you need. But, as you can imagine, 3 is more than 2, so the new generation of Polar Ignite adds some fantastic improvements and upgrades that make Polar Ignite 3 our most advanced fitness and wellness watch yet. Oh, and did we say it looks gorgeous?

Let’s take a look at the main differences, starting with the design.👇

Polar IGNITE 3: All-new Design: A Pop of Color

The obvious difference between the new and old Polar Ignite is the way they look and feel. Polar Ignite 3 really is a beautiful watch, featuring a stunning AMOLED high resolution display. It’s bright, vivid, and color-rich, ideal for any situation, outdoors and indoors.

When we set about designing Polar Ignite 3, we wanted to enhance the roundness of the watch, so we used a curved lens that provides a contemporary and playful look. Made of Gorilla Glass, the lens is durable and long-lasting. The display size is also slightly bigger in Polar Ignite 3. It’s 1.28 inches (compared to 1.2 in Polar Ignite 2), which translates in 20% more screen.

For Polar Ignite 3, we created four different color variants, so you can choose the Polar Ignite 3 that suits your lifestyle. Like its predecessor, Polar Ignite 3 is compatible with standard 20mm wristbands that you can easily swap.

With the launch of Polar Ignite, we also introduced a whole new collection of 20mm changeable wristbands, so you can personalize both Polar Ignite 3 and Polar Ignite 2 for any style and any need.

Perhaps when you read high-resolution display, you thought of another power-hungry device that you must charge every day. Nope! Polar Ignite 3 features the same battery life as its predecessor – that’s up to 5 days on a single charge or up to 30 hours of continuous training time with GPS and heart rate tracking enable.

Beautiful outside… and inside

What’s inside a Polar Ignite 3 has also changed. The stunning design is matched by the power technology inside. With up to 2x faster CPU processing compared to the previous generation of Ignite, Polar Ignite 3 brings a massive leap in performance. This extra power allowed us to implement a few extra features. More on that later.

We also added dual-frequency GPS to measure distances and route data with more precision and less interference from tall buildings and bad weather.

New views and customizable quick-access widgets

This is where the new, high-resolution display excels. To make the most out of such a beautiful display, we had to rethink how we display the information on screen.

For that, we added a new watch face that you can customize with a variety of color themes and quick-access widgets. This allows you to see the information that matters the most at a glance: current heart rate, calorie count, battery life, or access to functions like timers and Serene™. With all these options, you can design a Polar Ignite 3 experience of your own.

What’s more, the always-on mode continuously displays time and a flick of the wrist will lighten up the screen and give you access to a set of views that show your activity goal and daily step count, weather, music controls, your weekly training summary, and more. All you have to do is to cycle through all the views by swiping left or right.

All day (and all night) long

Our fitness and wellness watches are so versatile and comfortable that you’ll want to wear them all day, and night, long. Both Polar Ignite 2 and Polar Ignite 3 track your daily activity and count the steps you take and the calories you use. Plus, they wouldn’t be Polar watches without best-in-class 24/7 heart rate tracking: Ignite 2 and Ignite 3 are equipped with Polar Precision Prime™ OHR technology for accurate heart rate measurement.

In Polar Ignite 3, we improved the way the watch shows your daily calories used. Now, you’ll see how many calories you burned in three different categories: activity, training, and metabolism (the calories your body burns while performing the most basic functions).

At night, you can track your sleep and recovery with the new Polar Ignite 3 and the old Polar Ignite 2. Both feature automatic sleep tracking apps, including an all-new feature, SleepWise™, that tells the impact of sleep on the day’s alertness levels and the optimal moment to go to sleep. SleepWise™ will come to Polar Ignite 2 later this year.

Get active

Whether you’re a yoga enthusiast, you want to start running, get stronger at the gym, or simply, you’ve decided to walk towards better health, Polar Ignite 2 and Polar Ignite 3 are loaded with tools to track your workouts and keep you motivated. Pick any sport – there are over 150 sports profiles available – and get all the tools to track it. Alternatively, FitSpark™ offers you daily workout suggestions tailored to your body’s condition.

Here’s a round up of all the training features you’ll find in Polar Ignite 2 and Polar Ignite 3.

• 24/7 Activity Training
• FitSpark™
• Smart Calories
• Energy Sources
• Fitness Test
• Over 150- sports profiles

So, what’s new in Polar Ignite 3?

We’ve already talked in length about the screen, the all-new design, and the remarkable hardware improvements of Polar Ignite 3. Plus, we’ve also mentioned quick-access widgets and new ways of customizing the watch face. Not enough, you think? There are some additional features that make Polar Ignite our best fitness and wellness watch to date.

Listen up! With the new Voice Guidance feature in Polar Ignite 3, you can stay focus and limit distractions during workouts with audible alerts through headphones or other speakers paired to your phone. Rather than look at the screen to know your progress, you can simply hear essential metrics while still enjoying your favorite music or podcast. You’ll receive audible alerts when you reach certain distance, complete a lap, meet a training goal, change heart rate zone, and more.

To fine-tune your training, we’ve added a set of performance test. With Walking Test, you can easily estimate your aerobic fitness by going for a 15-minute brisk walk. If your fitness level is higher, the Running Performance Test is a maximal test that helps you estimate your VO2max and your maximum heart rate.

One more thing… if you’re doing interval workouts, Polar Ignite 3 adds the possibility of marking laps with a tap on the screen.

At a glance: Polar Ignite 3 vs. Polar Ignite 2

As you can see, Polar Ignite 2 and Polar Ignite 3 are two excellent watches for anyone that wants to start living a healthier life. You get plenty tools to track your workouts and lead and active lifestyle. Let the watch capture the data of your body and transform it into key insights so you can make necessary adjustments.

The easiest way to round this all off is to put the new and old Polar Ignite watches head-to-head in a simple comparison chart. See a detailed comparison here or check out the summary below.

So, here you go: Polar Ignite 3 vs Polar Ignite 2.

Want to know more about how Polar Ignite 3 can help you live a life in tune with your lifestyle and your circadian rhythm? Check out our blog post: Find your Rhythm with Polar Ignite 3.

Please note that the information provided in the Polar Blog articles cannot replace individual advice from health professionals. Please consult your physician before starting a new fitness program.