vívoactive® 5, Health & Fitness GPS Smartwatch, 42mm, Ivory

I'm coming from an Apple Watch Series 5. I had gotten frustrated with the battery life and sleep tracking and wanted to see if a more fitness-focused watch would be a better fit. I'm not a big runner or someone who does a lot of intense exercise, but I do like to track my exercise and sleep and get nudges to move when I've been sitting down for too long. I also like to get notifications on my wrist without needing to pull out my phone. Compared to the Apple Watch, the first major thing I noticed was this is nowhere close in terms of smarts. I had gotten used to Apple's smooth interface, built in microphone and speaker for voice commands, and often useful apps that can be used without needing to get my phone out. That being said, after a few days I can confidently say that I don't need them. I would argue that Garmin knows what this is and what it is not - it's a fitness device first and foremost, and everything else comes second. And on that basis they nailed it - the fitness tracking has been excellent and noticeably better than the Apple Watch especially in sleep tracking. I also much prefer their approach to goals, which tracks exercise over the course of a week rather than focusing specifically on individual days. Whenever I was sick or had a down day I would feel guilty if I didn't close all of my rings on my Apple Watch, but I don't feel that same pressure with the Garmin. I do miss being able to use voice commands with my watch, but I could have gotten a more expensive Garmin if I really wanted that, and I don't think it's worth it for me. The second thing I noticed: not having to charge your watch every day is a game changer. This was easily my biggest frustration with the Apple Watch since it's marketed as a device you wear 24x7 and yet needs to be charged every day. And considering how long it took to charge my Series 5, this was a major annoyance. I couldn't charge it overnight, because I wanted sleep tracking. I couldn't charge it in the morning, because I like to start off my day with exercise and it doesn't charge fast enough to do it after a workout and before work. And if I charged it in the evening, I would often forget to put it on before bed and miss out on the sleep tracking. The Garmin is a breath of fresh air by comparison - I charge it about once a week, and with my relatively light usage it can probably go close to two. I took a multi day trip recently and I didn't once have to worry about charging my watch, which was a pleasant change. Overall I think this watch is a great fit for a more casual user who isn't running marathons but wants to track fitness and sleep and get some extras like smartphone notifications and see the weather at a glance. If you want something with more smart features and better build quality (i.e. more metal and less plastic), then the Venu might be a better fit. Or they have the Forerunner if you do run marathons. Or a bunch of other models for more specific use cases. But I would highly recommend giving this watch a try if you're looking for the same things that I am.

I have tested numerous “smart watches” in my quest to find a decent replacement for my ever faithful and reliable, Fitbit Versa 4. I purchased it almost four years ago to replace the original Fitbit Versa. But then Google took over Fitbit, and I was looking for a reliable alternative to the Fitbit products. I tried a Samsung Galaxy watch 7 that lost steps by the thousands each day. I tried an Apple Smart Watch that sometimes had to be charged more than once EVERY DAY! I tried a Parsonver (less expensive) but even though it was advertised and labeled IP 68, (indicating that it would withstand submersion in water) I actually received an email from the company before the watch was even delivered advising me to be careful even showering or washing my hands with it on! SERIOUSLY???? And the step counts were not even close to correct! Then I tried an Amazfit BIP6 (also advertised as IP 68, but clearly IS NOT) and thought I had finally found what I was looking for, until it completely malfunctioned after only 3 weeks of use. So Amazon replaced it with ANOTHER BIP6, and that one lasted almost 5 months before it began to seriously malfunction and the touchscreen no longer worked. So my new search began and I decided to give Garmin a try as my walking and swimming buddies swear by their Garmins, and the results that they get with them compare favorably to my old Fitbit. I have now only had the Garmin Vivoactive 5 for about a month, but so far, it is AWESOME! It tracks extremely well with the Fitbit, and I have had no issues whatsoever with water infiltration. If that changes, I will be back to downgrade my rating, but so far, so GREAT! This proves that you don’t have to buy the most expensive models of ANY brand of fitness watch to find one that does what you need it to do. Most of them have more functions than you will ever need or use anyway. I bought separate, different color bands to customize it and love that you have a lot of choices for watch faces, so pick the one that works best for you! (Although - once again, Fitbit has a much better and more user friendly watch face selection portal!) The one potential “glitch” I thought I had finally discovered with my Vivoactive 5, but which turned out not to be an issue, occurred when I was flying internationally. I was returning from Europe to the US on an evening flight where the time in the US was six hours earlier. So both my FITBIT and my Garmin thought that when enough flight time had elapsed, they went past midnight and started their metrics over as a new day - meaning steps completely zeroed out and started over. But not long after I landed at 7 pm US time, my Fitbit picked back up with the previous day’s step tally, but my Garmin still showed the reduced step count tallied as a “new day”. I was disappointed with this until I checked the metrics in the Garmin app and noted that the “two day tallies” indicated on the watch itself were actually (appropriately!) counted and displayed as a single day step counts in the app. So yes, I am sold on the Garmin. But I do still have to wonder why if FITBIT - even early versions - could have successfully addressed ALL of the issues I have found with so many competitor brands, why can’t all the others? Maybe I shouldn’t have been so wary of Google taking over Fitbit when I started investigating other Smart watches, but I learned a lot about different brands and their bogus IP 68 and 5 ATM ratings! So to reiterate, Garmin is exactly what it says it is, and Fitbit is as well. Do your comparisons!

I absolutely love my Garmin watch! It’s sleek, comfortable, and has so many helpful features without feeling overwhelming. I especially love being able to track my workouts, steps, sleep, and daily activity all in one place. The battery life is also amazing - I don’t have to constantly worry about charging it. I also got a different band for it to give it a more elegant look, and I love how easy it is to dress it up or down. The display is bright and easy to read, and it’s comfortable enough to wear all day and night.

I've been using Garmin for running for years now. They've improved a lot! This one does everything I need and more. I like the body battery, sleep info. The 5 syncs up to GPS much faster than my 4 to run or walk. I love the music, however, my headphones sometimes disconnect to the watch while running. Not sure if it's the headphones or the watch. It's pretty easy to use if you've had one before. It has changed on the strength where you hit the bottom button vs tapping the watch to enter weight/reps (don't have to do that anymore, not that it was a problem). Overall I'm super satisfied. Can see it better as well with the new display.

I was an Apple Watch girl for 4 years before switching to the garmin so this review will be based on my opinion compared to the Apple Watch. I loved my Apple Watch and used it heavily, but my main reason for the switch was because I was training for a triathlon and wanted a watch that could accurately track outdoor swimming (the Apple Watch swim tracking was inconsistent & never accurate). Overall I do prefer the garmin for fitness tracking (strength workouts, runs, swims, etc) but there are some features about the Apple Watch that I liked better. GARMIN PROS: - more accurate distance tracking, especially for swimming - looks nicer (in my opinion) - battery life is amazing; I use it daily and only charge it every 5ish days! - not having the “close your rings” feature has been life changing for me in the best way. I used to be obsessed with hitting all my goals on my Apple Watch and HATED if I ever lost my streak of closing my rings everyday. Not having that with the garmin has been very freeing lol. I like how you can set step goals & “intensity minutes” goals but that’s about it. Much less focus on hitting your goals or how many calories you burn, which is a plus for me. - still has the calls & texts feature that allows your to get notifications, you just can’t respond to texts which isn’t a big deal to me. If you like being able to respond from your watch, you might not like this as much. CONS: - I find it often has a hard time keeping track of my heart rate when I’m weightlifting. It seems like it just needs to be on the perfect spot on your wrist in order to track accurately. This was an issue with my Apple Watch too so it might just be a common problem. - I sometimes have to manually connect it to my phone in my Bluetooth settings. Some days I put it on and it connects automatically, and some days I have to do it myself. I’ve heard this is common with garmins. Not a big deal though - I rarely use it for sleep tracking so this doesn’t matter much to me but if you’re interested in regularly tracking your sleep, this might not be your best option. The couple of times I have worn it to sleep, I’ve noticed that the sleep summary showed that I was asleep at times when I really wasn’t (like when I’d wake up to my baby crying - the summary showed that I was still asleep during that time). I never tried tracking sleep on Apple Watch so idk if it’s better or worse than that. If this is important to you, you could probably find something more accurate. - not as easy to navigate as the Apple Watch. I’m okay with this because the garmin’s primary function is clearly fitness tracking, whereas the Apple Watch is sort of meant to be like a mini iPhone on your wrist. So when i consider what each of their primary functions are supposed to be, I don’t mind that the garmin is not as user friendly. It took me a couple days to get used to it but once I figured out how to do everything I wanted to be able to do, I loved it. Overall, I’m glad I made the switch! It’s just very different than the Apple Watch. Hope this is helpful!

This has been a really great fitness tracker so far. After over a decade of using a Fitbit there was a bit of a learning curve, but I've been really happy with it. My only complaint has to do with the app more than anything else. Unless I pay for a subscription I can't track my food in the app (unless I'm just nuts). Overall the vivoactive works well, looks good, and does exactly what I want it to do!

Great so far. I tried another brand the caused a rash from the heart rate monitor (not the band because I swap them for cloth or leather). Garmin Vivoactive 5 has not caused any skin irritation! I am pleased with the metrics it gives. The app takes some getting used to, but it isn't complicated to navigate...just different from fitbit. So far the battery charge lasts for at least 7 days. It charges quickly. I like the screen size, metrics and words are easy to read. The screen reacts well to touch even with a screen protector on. It is easy to access the watches features. I like the wake up summary. It gives me prompts to move and stretch. It gives sleep advice and measures body battery throughout the day. The watch is comfortable to wear and looks great with everything. I swap between a nylon band and leather band. I would highly recommend.

This is my first Garmin. And I'm really liking all the features. Easy to set up, the style is nice, and accurate from what I can tell. Only down side, is the charge holds for a day and a half. A bit inconvenience for me. Otherwise I love it

Opinie piszę po około 3 tygodniach od zakupu, więc zdążyłem już dobrze zapoznać się z zegarkiem. Produkt jest rewelacyjny i spełnia moje wszystkie oczekiwania, a nawet więcej. Świetne wykonanie, zegarek jest lekki, a pasek bardzo miękki, dzięki czemu praktycznie nie czuć go na ręce. Rewelacyjny wyświetlacz, na którym wszystko idealnie widać nawet w pełnym słońcu. Przy ciągłym pomiarze tętna, włączonych powiadomieniach ze smartfona, rejestracji kilku aktywności i dokonywaniu nim kilku płatności dziennie, zegarek wytrzymuje na jednym ładowaniu 7 pełnych dób i zazwyczaj jeszcze jest około 20-30% baterii. Jak dla mnie wynik rewelacyjny. Świetne modyfikowalne tarcze, które możemy za darmo pobrać ze sklepu Connect IQ. Zegarek sprawdzi się w przypadku osoby która chce mieć nieduży i lekki zegarek z płatnościami zbliżeniowymi, z ciągłym monitorowaniem stanu zdrowia i rejestrowaniem aktywności. Oczywiście dla wyczynowych sportowców Garmin ma lepsze urządzenia, jednak dla amatorów jest to bardzo dobry wybór.

I’ve been using the watch for a while now. It’s amazing and well worth the price. Highly recommend

So far good. Size just nice not too big or too small. comfortable to wear all day in and out. For health enthusiasts. Sufficient data work as it is. Not too many unwanted features which could confuse and hard to navigate around. My second simply watch for health tracking purposes

Se demoro un poco en llegar, pero hasta hoy funciona perfectamente

Good product.