Garmin Vivoactive 4, GPS Smartwatch, Features Music, Body Energy Monitoring, Animated Workouts, Pulse Ox Sensors and More, Black

Those of you more interested in fitness first, smartwatch features second, will really enjoy this watch. My Vivoactive HR just died after having it for over 3 years, so I upgraded to the Vivoactive 4. This is a major upgrade in terms of looks and features. Here are all the things I love:1) Two buttons - I originally bought the Vivoactive 3 Music because it was on sale for $200, but I quickly realized that missing the second button was a major pain point for me. Having the two buttons is so much more convenient for overall navigation. Also when you're in a workout, the second button can be used for setting a lap (instead of the vivoactive 3 where you have to double tap the screen). The second button alone was worth the extra spend. The vivo3 had a 20mm band, where the vivo4 is 22mm. The bigger band makes it look a lot better. The extra 0.1in screen space is well utilized also. It does make a difference.2) Touch screen - I also tested out the Fenix 5 Plus for a while; now that is a great watch. The only issue I had with the Fenix was that you had to navigate all with buttons. The buttons are great for fitness and water sports, but when you're in the office, it's a little awkward when you're sitting in a meeting pressing buttons to navigate through texts or emails. Fenix was an amazing fitness watch, don't get me wrong, but it didn't work for my professional life expectations. Because it felt weird to have to press 5 buttons on the Fenix at the office, I wanted to go back to the touchscreen. Touchscreen is so much quicker and easier than the buttoned Garmins. It also looks cooler, and makes it truly feel more like a smartwatch.3) Fitness features - If you're never had a Garmin before, they are amazing tools to help your fitness. The data it collects is leaps and bounds better and more accurate than any other smart watch. This watch has way more than the average athlete would ever need as it pertains to fitness features. There are tons of apps available, and its so easy to navigate and customize to your need. I use it mainly for running, golf and open ocean canoe paddling, using the SUP app. Though it's a touch screen, it still responds decently well when you're using it on the water soaking wet. You just have to kinda dry it off before you try to navigate while on the water. But here's the deal, if you're truly serious about your training, you're probably working too hard to even mess with your watch during the workout anyway, so focus on your training, not tapping away at your watch. I set it to buzz after every mile so I can see each mile pace. It works well for the 5-10+ mile sessions when I'm trying to beat my time. I listen to music when I'm out paddling, and it's a really nice feature. Haven't had any issues connecting to my waterproof earphones, even with all the movement during a workout. I use the Mpow Flame waterproof earphones. Golf app is awesome: front, middle and back of the green yardage.4) Battery life - this is the biggest reason for me to get a Garmin instead of an Apple, Fossil or Samsung. I didn't want to be glued to my charger every night so instead I got this and get a full week's worth of battery. The always-on display is bright enough to see in daylight and at nighttime, but technology is what helps it save energy instead of the higher end amoled screens. It charges really quickly too so if I forget to charge it, I can just juice it up really quickly. A 10 minute charge gets me about 30% of battery.5) Smart features - The fact that Garmin has begun to integrate smart features to their watches is amazing. Yes, you can't do everything one would like to do on a watch like talk to siri, look at pictures, or make phone calls. But why are you looking on your watch for all that stuff anyway? Is it really necessary when our phones are so advanced now? I get all my selected phone notifications, I can read texts and preview emails, and that's really all i need. Remember, fitness first, smartwatch second.All in all, this is an amazing fitness watch, and I'd definitely recommend if you're in the market for a new watch. Totally worth the spend, and for my needs I'd say it is a major upgrade from the apple/samsungs.

I've tried several smartwatches and finally found the one for me with the Vivoactive 4!I started with Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 - terribly short battery life and very slow charging. Tried Amazfit GTR 2 - nice but couldn't get past being tethered to China, and poor app. Fossil Hybrid HR - beautiful to look at, buggy and inaccurate. With Garmin I tried the Venu 2: beautiful screen and great features, but annoyingly buggy, and with erratic battery life. Vivomove Style - worked fine but small and just not enough good features.This is the one. Sometimes I'll compare/contrast Vivoactive 4 (VA4) with Venu 2 (V2).Pros:-Just about the right shape and size and weight for me. Looks nice; I originally wanted the black but the shadow gray/silver bezel was $50 cheaper. I like the silver bezel, looks classy, and I'm happy with it.-Interface smooth and easy to use. Different from the Android-like style of Samsung or Amazfit but easy enough in its own way. No lags. Decently customizable. Decent app selection in the store.-Touchscreen works really well; responsive when I actually want to use it, but rarely picks up accidental touches, or wiping it with my sleeve. (V2 was terrible for accidental touches and always activated when trying to wipe it off.)-Great fitness features for general casual fitness (probably not for pro athletes). Good GPS for hiking (under the Walking activity). Lots of good motivators to be active, and tons of metrics even just for normal daily use.-Excellent battery life, good for a week without GPS activities. GPS uses ~10% per hour, still good. Charges in a little over an hour. (V2 charged even more quickly, but battery life was erratic, and far shorter with always-on display.)-Good selection of watchfaces, stock and third-party.-Transreflective display - I wasn't sure about this, but I've come to really like it! It's certainly not as "pretty" as AMOLED like on a Samsung or the V2, but much more practical, and far better battery life. AOD 24/7 for a week straight, backlight only needed in the dark, very clear and easy to read in sunlight - a much better choice for a fitness-focused watch in my opinion. Very happy with it! (The AMOLED AOD on the V2 was my main problem with it, other than general bugginess. It sapped the battery like crazy. It also couldn't be turned off quickly on the fly, like for a movie or a nap. Not a problem on the VA4!)-I like Garmin Connect. Pretty easy to use and lots of info.Cons:-Transreflective display - I like it, as noted above, but it takes some getting used to at first after AMOLED, and will never be as "pretty" except in bright sunlight which is where it really shines (literally).-Slightly thicker than I might prefer.-Plastic build, other than bezel. I don't mind and it's sturdy and light, but it doesn't say "premium."-Occasional problems getting a GPS lock after traveling to a new location. It helps to sync and then restart the watch.-Connect IQ, the app store, is poorly organized and has a lot of junk in with some gems. Looks like the Android Market 10 years ago.-Sleep tracking. For me this is the major con, especially compared to the V2. Accuracy is only okay, sleep and wake times decent, but sometimes missed when I'm in bed awake, or even got up to go to the bathroom. No sleep score and no insights, and can't view sleep on the watch. Sleep tracking is where the V2 really excels by comparison - impressively accurate, and very helpful sleep score and insights, onboard calculation and widget... the V2 outstrips the VA4 by miles here. I really, really wish Garmin would bring the updated sleep tracking to the VA4 as a firmware update. Or a VA5. I'd buy it!Aside from the lackluster sleep tracking, I'm extremely happy with the Garmin Vivoactive 4. It's (almost) everything I want from a fitness/smartwatch. If Garmin brought the better sleep tracking to it, I'd say 5 stars, solid. As it is, call it a strong 4.5, and the best available for my needs.

This Garmin watch is outstanding! I used to wear Fitbit trackers, but since Google bought Fitbit, the matching app has gone downhill. So, I did some research and opted for a Garmin Vivoactive 4, as it was on sale and closer to my price point. Although there is a newer version of this model, this watch has everything I need and more! My only complaint is that the battery only lasts about 3 days, as compared to the 8 days advertised. But that could be because I downloaded Spotify into it. I haven't used Spotify on it yet, but I can if I want to. The app, Garmin Connect, syncs smoothly and you can customize your home page with all the info you want. This watch tracks everything from steps to different activities and sports, floors climbed and descended, your sleep habits, breathing, heart rate, stress level, and so on. Of course, it also has GPS, and many free watch face options.If you are thinking of purchasing a fitness watch, definitely consider a Garmin.This watch isn't as sleek as my Fitbit sense, but it's nice enough. I changed the silicone band it came with to a leather band because I'm allergic, and it makes the watch look better.