Garmin now has four different versions of their vivomove hybrid smartwatch: the Garmin vivomove Sport, 3, 3S, and Style. The Luxe version, which we discussed in our vivomove Luxe review, is no longer available from Garmin.com. Our vivomove Sport review highlights the Sport hybrid watch, a perfectly sized smartwatch perfect for someone looking for their first piece of wearable tech.
We’ll talk about some of the notable features of the vivomove hybrid Sport, including the smart tech you’ll find on this watch, what makes the Sport model stand out, and the sleek, classic design that makes this watch the perfect choice for dressing up or down.
The vivomove Sport: Perfect for Smartwatch Newbies
The Garmin vivomove Sport hybrid watch is perfect for those looking to make the transition from classic analog watch to smartwatch. This slim and lightweight watch allows you to switch easily between analog and digital timekeeping and hides its smart functions behind the analog screen.
Another reason the vivomove line of watches is so good for those new to the smartwatch world is price. The vivomove is a more affordable smartwatch than most of Garmin’s other models at $229.99-$419.99. Garmin’s Fenix watches, such as the latest Fenix 7x, may be over $1000, Forerunner models, like the Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE, run $250-$850, and basic sport watches from Garmin still run over $400. The vivomove Sport edition, specifically, sits at the lowest price point of almost any Garmin smartwatch. This is due to its hybrid nature, but low price does not take away from the fact that this small hybrid is still a feature-packed sports watch.
Smartwatch Features on vivomove Sport
Some smart features that could help sway you to give the vivomove Sport a try are Bluetooth capabilities, its ability to connect to your phone’s GPS or music controls, Find My Phone/Watch capabilities, and smart notifications.
Safety Tracking Features
Part of what makes most of Garmin’s smart wearable tech great for sports and outdoor workouts is the brand’s safety tracking features. These use your watch’s Bluetooth connection to your phone, as well as GPS signals, to help loved ones stay in touch with you while you’re alone. The safety features on the vivomove Sport only work while you are tracking an activity with Garmin Connect–this is also where your emergency contact information is stored.
LiveTrack might be the feature you utilize the most on your vivomove Sport: it allows your selected contacts to track your steps and location as you do during workouts. If something happens, you can instantly get in contact with them, and they’ll know exactly where to find you. The Assistance feature is similar, but your contacts aren’t tracking you in real-time; they’ll only get your location if you send it to them. Lastly, Garmin includes Incident Detection on the vivomove. During select activities, this feature sends your location and a pre-written message to select contacts if your watch picks up on sudden stops in tracking or monitoring.
Health Monitoring Features
The heart monitoring features are the same across all four vivomove models, with alerts available for an abnormally high or low heart rate as tracked from your wrist. Extra on the Sport is its ability to track your body’s respiration rate. Respiration tracking can go hand in hand with heart rate monitoring and will aim to track each time you inhale and exhale by actually tracking respiratory sinus arrhythmia. This is a surprisingly advanced fitness feature to receive at the price of the vivomove Sport.
Activity and Fitness Tracking
While you’re engaging in the several activities you can track via Garmin Connect, your vivomove Sport, and your smartphone, there is a lot to watch for on your wrist. You can collect the same data on the Sport as you can on the other vivomove models, including HR Zones, Alerts, Calories, % HR Max, Auto Lap, and VO2 Max. But there are two data sets unique to the Sport model: GPS Speed and Distance, and Physio TrueUp (an in-depth way to organize and analyze your health data across multiple devices).
You’ll find one more Gym Activity Profile than the other vivomove watches in the series: Pilates and Breathwork. These work in conjunction with the watch’s respiration rate monitoring. This is the only activity tracking feature that can set it apart from the other hybrid vivomove watches.
However, there are some additional features that add to the Sport hybrid’s fitness allure.
Women’s Health Features
Females can take advantage of the vivomove series with the watch’s menstrual cycle tracking and pregnancy tracking. The cycle tracker can help you notice irregularities in when your period arrives and allows you to track symptoms and nutritional information. Garmin’s pregnancy tracker gives you space for logging exercise, nutrition, emotional symptoms, and physical symptoms (like nausea or contractions) through every trimester.
The vivomove Sport Hybrid Watch Design
Garmin currently sells the vivomove Sport in three color options: a cocoa case with peach gold accents, a black case with slate accents, or a cool mint case with silver accents. These are new and much softer color options when compared to older Garmin smartwatches and are complemented by a comfortable silicone band. The vivomove series in particular is helping Garmin’s brand stand out in the crowd of smart wearables.
The fiber-reinforced polymer which the bezel is made from on the vivomove Sport is a good shock-absorbent material for protecting the Sport’s chemically strengthened glass. The materials and design of the vivomove Sport also make it, by far, the lightest of the entire vivomove hybrid series (the others feature stainless steel bezels instead of polymer). It is about 5-10g lighter than the other three vivomove watch models.
The glass watch face is a touchscreen with OLED display. The resolution is lower than that of a full smartwatch, since users don’t need a super high-resolution display for the features this hybrid watch offers. The only vivomove watch with high resolution is the newer Style model.
Our vivomove Sport Review Wrap-Up
We certainly think the Sport hybrid watch from Garmin is a great value. For one low price, Garmin gives you a ton of health and safety features, a Bluetooth and GPS connection via your phone, a classic analog option, and a touch screen, all wrapped in a lightweight, durable, and elegant package.
Of course, this hybrid isn’t for every smartwatch or Garmin fan. If you’re looking for a more rugged and durable design or if style and price aren’t big concerns, Garmin offers a huge array of multisport watches that consistently receive high praise. Check out the Garmin Epix 2 or Venu 2 if you’re interested in a full Garmin smartwatch.
Last Updated on March 9, 2022
Bernadette has a bachelor’s degree in Communications from MacEwan University in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada (where she lives). She has a passion for writing and we like her contribution and style to our blog. Bernadette loves the outdoors and things like hiking, camping, and biking. Wishing she could travel more.
Bernadette is an editor, writer and proofreader for Superwatches. Currently lives in Alberta Canada.