The vivoactive 4, Garmin's mid-priced smartwatch has all of the features you would expect from a high-end fitness tracker.
It has a variety of workout animations to help beginners get started. It has a breathing mode which uses a mindful breath technique to improve oxygen intake and reduce stress.
It also has many useful fitness tracking features, such as VO2 Max, heart rate monitoring, and a pulse-oximeter which can detect your breathing rate. (See FirstBeat). Battery life can last up to eight-days in smartwatch and 16-hours when GPS, music and other features are active.
Vivoactive 4 has a water resistance of up to 50 metres, which makes it perfect for swimming or other aquatic activities. Gorilla 3 is used as a protective layer to avoid scratches and dents.
The touch screen on this smartwatch looks as if it could withstand the abuse of a fitness center. It has a nice design and is a lot better than the previous model, which had drab plastic.
Garmin sports tracking features are impressive. The heart rate monitor works reliably and consistently. It's not perfect though - heart rate data is usually smoothed out a bit more than I would prefer, but it isn't too bad.
The vivoactive4 has a great range of features, including support for offline music playlists and up to 500 local songs. The music integration is not as smooth as it could be. It's possible for the vivoactive to be used with Spotify or Deezer. To link your account you need to have a smartphone, and you cannot add music directly from the watch.
When it comes to fitness tracking, the vivoactive 4 is well ahead of the pack. It can log over 100 different health metrics including stress, hydration and calorie burn.
Garmin fans love this device for its tracking abilities. It has a wide range of fitness features.
In addition, you can listen to music with Bluetooth headphones while the map shows you where you've run.
The vivoactive 4, however, does not come with an integrated microphone or speaker. You will need to use a smartphone to make calls. It's also possible to connect an ANT+ cycling speed/cadence sensor and footpod, which can help improve accuracy in areas with poor GPS reception.
The vivoactive4 is a major upgrade over the vivoactive3 in many ways. It features a new touchscreen that is easier and more responsive to navigate. It has a button for adding and removing activities and is capable of displaying multiple pages on the screen at the same time.