I always remember Garmin as a brand big on GPS; I even had one of their non-coloured ones that I used to take with me whenever I go fishing or off-roading. When Garmin announced their new range of wearables including the new Vivoactive, I was pretty hyped up to take it for a spin.
Let’s start with the looks. The Vivoactive comes with interchangeable rubber straps, which can be swapped out for other coloured watchbands or its leather variant. It is surprisingly slim and doesn’t look bulky even on my girly wrists, yet it isn’t so small that will look feminine on a man.
When it comes to smartwatches, most people have the same complaint: the batteries don’t last long enough. If you have this issue, then you will be really amazed at how long the Vivoactive battery lasts. On a full charge, it amazingly lasted a good 14 days! I suspect one of the reasons the battery can last so long is because the backlight for the screen is usually not on. It works something like your G-Shock, where you need to press a button to get the screen lighted up. You can still see the screen in lighted places anyway, and if it’s too dark, then just press the button on the side to light up the screen.
Other than telling the time, which you can customise the colours of the digits, the Vivoactive come with an activity tracker. Instead of just counting your steps, the tracker also allows you to keep track of other activities such as cycling, swimming, running, walking and golfing. However, to see your scores, you need to check them all through the Garmin Connect app, which you have to install on your phone to pair your Garmin wearables. And should you misplace your phone, just use the Find My Phone option and your phone will ring really loudly.
Most of us tend to be couch potatoes, either by choice or due to work. What the Vivoactive does is gives you a buzz to get you to move once the inactivity bar is full. How to clear the bar? Just walk a few steps, and a few steps meaning at least 100 metres. This buzz is not too annoying since it just vibrates once to let you know that you sat too long and it’s time to move a little.
What I loved most about the Vivoactive is how it discreetsly notifies me. No annoying sounds or continuous vibrations, but just one short buzz and I know ’ve got something going on. My only gripe is its Bluetooth connection being a little wonky. At times it connects perfectly well and easily, and at times I actually need to restart my phone to reconnect. I hope they will fix this in a firmware update, since other than that, this is a solid smartwatch in the wearables market.
VERDICT
Impressive battery life, packed with useful features.
SPECS
DIMENSIONS: 43.8 mm x 38.5 mm x 8.0 mm
DISPLAY: 28.6 mm x 20.7 mm, 205 x 148 pixels
WEIGHT: 38g
CONNECTIVITY: Bluetooth via Garmin Connect
COMPATIBILITY: Android, iOS via Garmin Connect
WATER RATING: 5ATM