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Garmin Vivosmart 4 Review

Garmin vivosmart

Above all, the Garmin Vivosmart 4 is proof that the brand doesn’t just cater to the athletes. Of course whilst this capable smartband doesn’t have the bells and whistles present on other Garmin smartwatches, it could still be the perfect everyday wearable.

In addition, it has a selection of band colours and stylish metal accents, including the highly acclaimed rose gold, give this slim-profile fitness tracker a high-street fashion twist.

Therefore if you’re wondering if it’s the right smartband for you, read on to find it out.

Garmin vivosmart 4, Activity and Fitness Tracker w/Pulse Ox and Heart Rate Monitor, Gold with Berry Band
Garmin vivosmart 4, Activity and Fitness Tracker w/Pulse Ox and Heart Rate Monitor, Gold with Berry Band
  • Slim, smart activity tracker blends fashionable design with stylish metal accents and a bright,...
  • Includes advanced sleep monitoring with REM sleep and can gauge blood oxygen saturation levels...
  • Fitness and health monitoring tools include estimated wrist-based heart rate, all-day stress...
Check Amazon Price

Background

As we know, Garmin is best known for its high-end sports-specific devices, such as the Quatix 5 or Approach S60. Although these are expensive wearables designed for the wannabe athletes.

But you don’t really need high athletic ambitions at an eye-watering price to get your hands on some Garmin smarts.

As such, the Vivosmart range, together with the Vivofit and Vivosport, are Garmin’s answer to the Fitbit devices. More, these are a range of affordable trackers for the everyday user rather than the aspiring sportsperson.

Subsequently, the Garmin Vivosmart 4 is a slimline, swim-friendly wearable loaded with a wealth of well-being and some fitness features. And it’s designed to help you stay healthier and ward off stress and burnout while becoming more active.

Features

Firstly, the Vivosmart 4 is a smartband designed to keep you connected while you’re active. So you don’t have to stop walking or running to pull the smartphone out of your pocket.

Secondly, like most smart wearables, it features Bluetooth connectivity and delivers calls, texts, and social media notifications directly on your wrist. And you can see what app the notifications come from, but not what that notification says.

Next, pairing the smartband with an Android device gives you the possibility to reply with preset text responses, though. The device also lets you control your phone’s music and access weather forecasts.

Additionally, interacting with the smartwatch through the touchscreen is a bit harder than imagined. Plus, the Vivosmart 4 doesn’t have a conventionally responsive display, and tapping requires some force if you want to get a response.

Finally, a physical button at the bottom of the screen makes it easier to return to the main menu or to access the settings, but it has limited functionality. No doubt, this isn’t your standard fitness tracker, but it’s still a quite nice device if you take the time to get used to it.

Design

Garmin Vivosmart 4 has nothing to do with the ugly-looking, chunky fitness tracking devices you might be used to. In fact, it’s a comfortable wearable that doesn’t look out of place at the office.

It’s almost as fashionable as the Fitbit; the only downside is the unibody design that doesn’t let you swap bands or change the sporty style. This isn’t an issue, though, as you’ll have plenty of colour choices.

The Vivosmart 4 comes in two sizes and five colours. Specifically, metallic accents around the display and on the band clasp boost up the aesthetic factor. Subsequently, the eye-catching rose gold accents on the unisex band give it a feminine touch.

Not to mention, it’s much thinner than the Fitbit Charge and the Fitbit Alta HR, but all this style has a price. Garmin compromised on the display, which is truly tiny and quite hard to use.

Fitness Tracking

Furthermore, depending on your purpose, Garmin Vivosmart 4 can be the best activity tracker you’ve ever worn or one of the worst.

Notably, the device has pre-installed fitness profiles for a handful of activities, including running, walking, swimming, elliptical training, and cycling. However, it doesn’t excel in tracking any of these.

As well as that, it lacks a GPS and doesn’t even have tethering capabilities to log mileage, which sometimes results in estimates that can be off even by a mile.

Then again, while it falls short when it comes to tracking activity, the Vivosmart 4 is a surprisingly capable health monitor.

For example, it features sophisticated heart rate-based tools, including a SpO2 sensor that measures blood oxygen level while you sleep. Similarly, the heart rate sensor also measures stress level, a useful feature that helps you understand which are your major stressors.

Finally, a Body Battery function estimates your energy reserves, and even if it’s not accurate at all times, it really is a useful feature.

Garmin Vivosmart next to Vivofit
Garmin Vivosmart next to Vivofit

Advantages

  • The OLED display is easily visible in all light conditions
  • Advanced sleep and stress level metrics
  • A fashionable takeover compared to other Garmin smartbands
  • Swim capabilities
  • Long-lasting battery

Disadvantages

  • Small and sometimes unresponsive screen
  • No GPS or GPS-tethering options
  • Sometimes inaccurate

Competition

  Garmin
Vivosmart 4
Garmin
Vivoactive 3
Fitbit
Charge 3
Fitbit Alta
HR
Display Polycarbonate Corning Gorilla Glass Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Gorilla Glass
Resolution 48×128 pixels 240 x 240px Not specified Not specified
Size 15×10.5 x197mm–S/M
15×10.5×197 mm–L
43.4 x 43.4×11.7 mm 12.7 x 28 mm 15.24 x 41 mm
Weight S/M: 16.5 g L: 17.1 g 43 g 30 g 29 g
Band material Silicone Silicone Silicone / Woven Silicone / Leather
Water resistance 5 ATM 5 ATM 5 ATM Splashproof
Connectivity Bluetooth Smart, ANT+ Bluetooth Smart, ANT+ Bluetooth Bluetooth
GPS No Yes Tethering No
Heart rate monitoring Yes Yes Yes Yes
Smart notifications Yes Yes Yes Yes
Sleep tracking Yes Yes Yes Yes
Stress levels Yes No No No
Body Battery Yes No No No
Calorie count Yes Yes Yes Yes
Multi-sport profiles Yes Yes Yes Yes
Interchangeable bands No Yes Yes Yes
Battery life Up to 7 days Up to 7d Up to 7d Up to 7d
Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker, Graphite/Black, One Size (S and L Bands Included)
Fitbit Charge 3 Fitness Activity Tracker, Graphite/Black, One Size (S and L Bands Included)
  • Better measure calorie burn, understand resting heart rate & more with 24/7 heart rate tracking and...
  • Choose from 15 plus exercise modes like run, bike, swim, yoga, circuit training and more, set a...
  • Automatically record time spent in light, deep and REM sleep stages, see Activity trends, healthy...
Check Amazon Price

How We Tested

In order to test all the functions of the Vivosmart 4, we wore the smartband uninterruptedly for a week. The battery didn’t last up to 7 days, but that’s because we used all the features, including the Pulse OX advanced sleep tracking.

With the Pulse OX on, we got about five days of uninterrupted use; it charges fast and is ready to use again in about 2 hours.

While it wasn’t the most accurate for fitness tracking, it impressed us with its advanced health monitoring. No doubt, a great choice for the fitness-savvy yet not performance-obsessed individuals.

Summary

Garmin Vivosmart 4 is an amazing smartband that excels in pretty much all areas. It lacks a GPS; thus, it’s not quite as accurate as other Garmin wearables. It also has a really tiny screen. But as long as you can get past these two drawbacks, you’ll realise it’s one of the most stylish fitness trackers out there.

Garmin vivosmart 4, Activity and Fitness Tracker w/ Pulse Ox and Heart Rate Monitor, Black
Garmin vivosmart 4, Activity and Fitness Tracker w/ Pulse Ox and Heart Rate Monitor, Black
  • Slim, smart activity tracker blends fashionable design with stylish metal accents and a bright, easy...
  • Includes advanced sleep monitoring with REM sleep and can gauge blood oxygen saturation levels...
  • Fitness and health monitoring tools include estimated wrist based heart rate, all day stress...
Check Amazon Price

Whether this is the right device for you comes down to a few simple questions. Do you just want to keep tabs on your daily activity or need some motivation to work towards your fitness goals, or are you looking for advanced tracking features?

If you need advanced features, move on. In the other case, the Garmin Vivosmart 4 could be the right smartband for you.

Last Updated on November 29, 2020

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By Leave a Comment Filed Under: Fitness & Sports Watches, Reviews Tagged With: blood pressure smartwatches, cycling watches, Garmin, luxury smartwatches

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