Garmin is finally bringing Spotify to the Vivoactive 3 Music

If you bought the Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music, you may have found yourself a bit disappointed by the lack of music. It’s not that the device didn’t let you play tunes, it’s just that it was very prescriptive as to how – and if Spotify was your main way of listening, then you were out of luck.
Well today, 253 days after its release, the Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music now officially supports Spotify. If you have a Spotify Premium account, you’ll be able to download up to 500 songs to your watch to listen offline, meaning workouts should become a whole lot less tedious for those that refuse to take their phone into the gym.
Related: Best running watches
Just create a playlist, sync it with the watch via WiFi and then download it through the Vivoactive 3 Music’s Spotify app, which is available through the Garmin Connect IQ store. All pretty straightforward.
What’s baffling is why it’s taken so long for the Vivoactive 3 Music to fully live up to its name. The Fenix 5 Plus series and the Forerunner 645 Music both got access to Spotify last October, which is a bit harsh on those that bought the Vivoactive 3 Music expecting, well, music.
Related: Best fitness trackers
We haven’t reviewed the Music model, but we did take quite a shine to the vanilla Vivoactive 3 when we reviewed it. Indeed, one of the things keeping it back from a full five-star review was its lack of onboard storage for tunes.
Otherwise, it was all good with Richard praising its easy-to-read display, accuracy and stamina, comparing it favourably to the similarly priced Fitbit Ionic. “A well-featured sports watch with just enough smartwatch functionality,” he concluded.
Are you a Vivoactive 3 Music owner itching to get Spotify? Let us know how you find it on Twitter: @TrustedReviews.