https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/08/garmin-launches-new-vivoactive-3-smartwatch-with-garmin-pay/ >Ahead of this year's IFA conference, Garmin announced new additions to its Vivo family of wearables. Most notable is the new Vivoactive 3, an update to the Vivoactive HR, that turns the device into a true smartwatch with a round case, NFC payment system, and more. This fall seems to be ripe for new, higher-end wearables: Fitbit just announced its Ionic smartwatch, and rumor has it that Apple will launch a new model of its Apple Watch soon as well. >Garmin's new Vivoactive 3 takes what Garmin does well and adds some necessary smartwatch features into the mix, in the hopes that it will be seen as a competitor for Fitbit's and Apple's devices. The company has transformed the boxy Vivoactive HR into a friendlier-looking timepiece that falls more in line with its Fenix family than before. The Vivoactive 3 has a new circular case and a Chroma display, along with a new mechanism called "side swipe" on the left side of the case's circumference. Users can run their finger over this textured portion of the case to scroll up and down on the display.