Polar Ignite 2 vs Ingite 3 - What's the difference?

After about a year comes the successor of the Polar Ignite 2: The Polar Ignite 3. A reason to look at the two sports watches or smartwatches in the Comparison and go into the differences between the Polar Ignite 2 and 3.

Comparison Table

Comparison between Polar Ingite 2 and Polar Ingite 3

The Polar Ingite 2 is from 2021 and the Polar Ingite 3 is from late 2022. Generally, there are more upgrades than the comparison between the Polar Ignite and Polar Ingite 2.

Design, size and display

Let's start with the most obvious things: The looks. The design of the two watches is kept quite similar. Both have a size of 43 x 43 millimeters. In terms of thickness, however, the Polar Ingite 2 and 3 differ slightly:
 

• Polar Ingite 2: 43 x 43 x 8.5 millimeters
• Polar Ingite 3: 43 x 43 x 9.5 millimeters

However, this is hardly worth mentioning. The weight is identical with about 35 grams for both models. Depending on the band, the weight is of course higher.

More exciting, however, is the view of the display of the Polar Ingite 3. Here, quite a bit has changed. In the successor, there is a AMOLED touch display. The Polar Ignite 2 has a TFT touch display. As a result, the display is much brighter and clearer. Of course, the higher resolution of the Ignite 3 (416x416 pixels) also contributes to this. The resolution of the Ignite 2 is 240x240 pixels. In addition, the Polar Ingite 3's display is minimally larger at 1.28". The display of the Polar Ingite 2 measures 1.2".

GPS

In the point GPS Polar has also made some progress. Although the Polar Ingite 2 already has built-in GPS on board, but in the third generation, the Polar Ingite 3, there is Dual-Band GPS. Thus, an even higher accuracy is offered in the location by GPS.
 

• Garmin Instinct 2*: GPS
• Garmin Instinct 3*: GPS (Dual-Band)

Waterproof and swimming

In comparison, both the Polar Ingite 2, as well as the Polar Ingite 3, are waterproof. The manufacturer advertises both sports watches with WR30. Thus, the devices are up to 30 meters waterproof. Thus, both are also geeginet for swimming. Both also measure the pulse while swimming.

Battery life

When it comes to battery life, the Polar Ingite 3 performs better despite its AMOLED display. The battery life is up to 30 hours in training mode. The reason for this is the larger battery with 215 mAh. The Polar Ingite 2 creates here only 20 hours with a battery of 165 mAh.
In energy-saving mode, there are still no differences in the comparison according to Polar. Both create here up to 200 hours. The same applies to the smartwatch mode. Here both models create up to 120 hours.

Polar Ingite 2 vs Ingite 3: Battery and battery consumption

	Polar Ingite 2	Polar Ingite 3
Battery capacity	215mAh	165mAh
Training mode	30 hours	20 hours
Energy saving mode	100 hours	100 hours
Smartwatch mode (normal)	120 hours	120 hours

However, most with a Polar Ingite 2 or 3 will be perfectly fine with a battery life of up to 20 hours. Athletes with longer sports sessions will probably rather reach for a Garmin Fenix 7 or comparable sports watches.

Feature set

If we compare the range of functions of the Polar Ingite 2 and 3, the successor can collect a few plus points. New are:
 

• FitSpark: Daily workout suggestions
• Voice guidance: workout guidance by voice
• FuelWise (Energy Sources): Consumption display by macronutrient
• SleepWise: Optimized sleep function
• Performance Test
• Back to Start: navigation to the starting point
• Screen Widgets: Configurable widgets

The selection of new features is not bad. This also justifies the higher price for the successor. By the way, a music control is supported on the Polar Ingite 2 and 3. However, the music can not be loaded onto the watch. In both cases, only the smartphone is controlled.

Which Polar Ingite is better?

Clearly, the Polar Ingite 3* is the better choice of the two watches. There is a much better display (AMOLED), more resolution and even a bit more battery life. The dual GPS also speaks for the Polar Ingite 3.

However, much more important in my eyes are still the new features, which are not available in the Polar Ingite 2. The Polar Ingite 3 is thus clearly more a smartwatch, as the predecessor.

By the many innovations is worthwhile in my opinion even an upgrade from the Polar Ingite 2 to the Polar Ingite 3*.