Garmin is known for its professional sports watches with long battery life and extensive accessories.
Thanks to detailed analyses of fitness and sports data, accessories from Garmin invariably lead the smartwatches World ranking. So, does the new generation Vivo bring improvement? The Vivomove HR, Vivoactive 3, and Vivosport tests will explain this.
What can Vivo devices do?
All gadgets are waterproof and record steps, thanks to the heart rate sensor and pulse, both in everyday use and during training. Based on the collected data, Garmin can calculate the fitness age, stress level, and the value of maximum saturation (VO2 max) essential for an athlete. In addition, they display smartphone notifications on the wrist, although I must say that all tested devices have lost Bluetooth connectivity from time to time.
Despite similar essential functions, Garmin’s novelties are the implementation of entirely different concepts:
- Vivomove HR is a fitness tracker that looks like a wristwatch at first glance. Fascinating: only when the user touches the glass does Vivomove HR shows its hidden OLED display. However, it reacts sluggishly. There is no GPS sensor to record the route, and the watch in the test overestimated the distance run.
- Vivoactive 3 is a better choice for athletes. Visually, it resembles the high-end sports watch Fenix 5S, and with GPS, barometer, and compass, it offers a similar set of functions but costs less. It has various sports modes, and multiple sensors record your training. It allows the pairing of external sensors, for example, for cycling, and is easy to operate with a button, touchscreen, and side-scrolling surface. In addition, Android users can reply to text messages. You can even pay using this gadget, but unfortunately not in all countries.
- The Vivosport bracelet is slim but richly equipped: it has a GPS receiver and a barometer to record stairs. However, the display is small, and the menu structure is too convoluted.
- Only Vivomove HR has an analog dial with a hidden OLED display.
- All three wearable measure your heart rate with an optical heart rate sensor.
- The Connect application presents the data analysis on the smartphone: the user sees the training sessions and the course of the day there: number of steps, sleep details, etc. In addition, the app provides hints of limited use value.
Read also: Garmin Vivoactive 3 vs. 4: Which One Is Better?
Summary
Three new entry-level accessories stand out thanks to their many functions, long service life, and successful design. The Connect app has gained clarity, but device operation is still too complex, and automatic training detection will spare the user more extensive data.
