Verdict
The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is a substantial and more affordable AMOLED sports vigil choice to Garmin ’s pricier Venu , which might not match it for smartwatch smart , but still offers a swell experience all around .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is the successor to theVivoactive 4 , which set up in 2019 , so it ’s a petty surprising that five years later , Garmin has decided to bring it back .
The headline word is the introduction of an AMOLED exhibit as Garmin continues to pad the rank of watch in its appeal that pack more colourful , more smartwatch - like screen .
Along with a more colourful display , Garmin has also added new and improved detector , new breeding features to make it more utile for lick out with , and even boosted the battery life despite adding a more world power - athirst display .
It comes in inexpensive than Garmin ’s AMOLED - jam Venu 3 and watches like theForerunner 965andEpix , while it is also competing with smartwatches like theApple Watch SEand theSamsung Galaxy Watch 6 . So does the Vivoactive get you a better sportier smartwatch ? Here ’s my take .
Design and screen
The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is a in full round watch that packs a polymer fount and is couple up with one of Garmin ’s pretty standard 20 mm , flying release silicone picket shoulder strap . There are four colour choice in aggregate and the all - black version I had on my wrist is definitely the more understated version up for grabs .
It ’s a pretty low-cal , goody and very minimum - looking watch , weighing in at 36 guanine , so it ’s around the same weight as something like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 . Garmin is now only offer it in a 42.2 mm vitrine size compared to the two sizing options available with the Vivoactive 4 .
You ’ve find two physical buttons on the correct side of the case , which joins the new 1.2 - column inch , 390 x 390 resolution AMOLED exhibit as your means of interact with the Vivoactive 5 . That bright , colorful and vivacious screen is a exit from the transflective screen used on the Vivoactive 4 . It ’s also one that can be set to remain on at all times , but that does invariably see the watch stamp battery fall quicker .
Along with that added colour , Garmin has also tweaked the software UI with the aim to make it a better fit for using that touchscreen display on a more veritable basis . It ’s go the smartwatch feature of speech menu in with the workout tracking screen for instance , while hard pressing the bottom physical button gets you into the independent background menu . Have the change been a achiever ? I ’m not 100 % won over by everything here and it feels like Garmin still needs to do a bit of work on this front .
Something that has n’t change is the degree of waterproof here . It ’s a 5ATM rated design , crap it safe for showering and swimming ( both pool and overt water ) and I can sustain it ’s slip by the showering and swim trial .
Software and features
The Garmin Vivoactive 5 gives you memory access to most , but not all , of Garmin ’s smartwatch ecosystem . It still process with Android and iOS , with some add functionality on offer for Android telephone owners . Along with being able to respond to calls via textual matter , you’re able to now also view effigy direct through message in notifications as well .
You still have access to Garmin Pay , which is n’t as satiny as some other requital system . you’re able to control medicine playing on your phone and there is 4 GB of storage used to lay in apps from the Connect intelligence quotient Store and offer way for the built - in music participant , which is compatible with cyclosis serve like Spotify and Deezer to store playlists for offline use .
Garmin has added its quite handy Morning Report , which can be customize in the Garmin Connect app to show the entropy you ’d like to see when you first rouse up .
Adding an AMOLED screen makes interacting with the latest Vivoactive feel more smartwatch than before and while it lacks the voice - enabled features included on Garmin ’s latest Venu series , these are n’t the variety of features that felt sorely omit on a Clarence Shepard Day Jr. - to - day basis . It ’s a in effect smartwatch overall and one that will satisfy most , with a few squeamish extras for Android user .
Fitness tracking
The remit for the Garmin Vivoactive 5 remains the same as the last Vivoactive and is reasonably consistent with most Garmin watches . It wants to track your exercise with run , cycling , swimming and golf game the core tracking mood . There ’s also profile for the likes of skiing , HIIT and standup boat paddle embarkment . It also want to behave like a seaworthiness and rest tracker and offer some of the physical exercise and wellness - based analysis you ’ll find on pricier Garmin scout .
Garmin has append and upgrade the sensors that unlock those tracking powers too . It now let in one of Garmin ’s Gen 4 Elevate heart charge per unit sensors , though that ’s not the recent Gen 5 detector that ’s presently uncommitted on the Venu 3 . The GPS support has been elevate to let in a multi GNSS apparatus to improve outdoor tracking truth . There ’s an tot up Pulse Ox sensor to monitor descent atomic number 8 intensity at Nox or be enable to deliver 24/7 monitoring .
While the Vivoactive 5 does n’t include Garmin ’s newer nerve charge per unit or GPS engineering , it still does deliver solid event on the accuracy front . The GPS operation , up against the fantabulous treble - band support on theApple Watch Ultra 2 , make out well for core metrics for activities like running . For heart rate , it fall into that class of sensor that can deliver good truth for steady paced workouts , but can post barbaric ear for high-pitched intensity level workouts .
Outside of those core tracking modal value , Garmin has decided to bolster up the strength breeding support with a new brawniness physical exertion map feature article , to better interpret if you ’ve been tone all areas of your body . While that feature is in , the animated exercise have that Garmin added with the Vivoactive 4 is croak , which does seem like a ignominy .
The Garmin Vivoactive 5 simply wo n’t give you the level of training analysis that its pricier Forerunner watches are subject of , but it does aim to give your data point some context . Those are led mainly by the workout benefit and retrieval insights and HRV ( heart rate variability ) condition , which is captured during sleep .
The workout benefit insights appear after lumber physical exercise and tender some jolly bare explanations for how that workout can be good for thing like salvage stress or hike up vigor levels . The HRV position feel a piffling more complex in closing off from the Training Readiness scores that it accompanies on other Garmin watches and ultimately feel a bit out of billet here .
As a fitness tracker , the Vivoactive 5 will count daily gradation , prod you to move more and will automatically adjust day-to-day step goals . It does n’t , unluckily , include an altimeter sensor , which means you ’ll need to live without suffer data on floors climb during your daylight .
It ’ll also track your heart charge per unit , accent , respiration charge per unit and sopor , with the latter adding in a sleep omnibus to suggest on optimal sleep time based on sleep history . It performs well for tracking steps and Garmin ’s heighten Body Battery Energy Monitor sense more involved than previously , giving you updates during the daylight when Energy levels have been boosted by less stressful period .
Sleep trailing has its upright and bad present moment , however . Garmin still has the habit of transcription slightly longer sleep full stop compared to reliable rest trackers like theApple Watchand theOura Ring Gen 3 . you may absolutely get beneficial eternal sleep data with some utile albeit basic coaching insights , but it ’s not always double-dyed .
Battery life
Garmin states that the Vivoactive 5 can last for up to 11 Day , up from 8 days on the Vivoactive 4 when you ’re using it mainly as a smartwatch . If you prefer to flip-flop the ‘ raise to wake ’ financial support to ‘ keep the concealment on at all sentence ’ , that drop to 5 days .
I ’d say that my time spent with the Vivoactive 5 has look it last a good week between charges . If you perplex the display to always - on , that battery fall is noticeable . Throw in some GPS economic consumption and music streaming during that time and it ’ll be less than the 5 daytime that Garmin states .
When you do put the Global Positioning System to honest use , the most accurate mode promises 17 time of day of battery spirit . summate music streaming into the equating and that drops to around 8 hours . If you ’re happy to go with the standard GPS mode , that jumps to 21 hour . I used it mainly in that more accurate GPS mode and found that electric battery drop was around 5 % on average for over an hour ’s utilisation .
When it is time to charge you ’ve got a charging cable that is used on pretty much every Garmin see these day . It sits relatively securely around the back of the watch , and while not the zippest charger in Garmin ’s collection , it does n’t take too longsighted to give you enough shelling to get tracking again .
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Should you buy it?
If you ’re looking for a watch at a mid range price that performs well for sports tracking and offers honorable core smartwatch features , the Vivoactive 5 delivers that .
If you ’re looking for all of Garmin ’s most advanced training insight and metrics , the Vivoactive 5 sadly miss out on them . Check out the Garmin Venu 3 instead .
Final Thoughts
It feel like a strange move for Garmin to recreate the Vivoactive , especially now that it has the Venu .
What the Garmin Vivoactive 5 has done is given us another very well - rounded sports sentry with good smartwatch feature than most sports watches , along with an AMOLED display that competes and betters a slew of smartwatches at a similar price .
Check out ourBest SmartwatchandBest Fitness Trackerguides for more options .
Trusted Score
How we test
We thoroughly try every fitness tracker we critique . We employ diligence standard examination to compare feature properly and we use the vigil as our main gadget over the revaluation period . We ’ll always tell you what we rule and we never , ever , accept money to look back a mathematical product .
FAQs
Yes , the Garmin Vivoactive 5 does have build - in GPS and has upgrade from the single band GPS on the Vivoactive 4 to a multi GNSS setup .
Yes , the Garmin Vivoactive 5 is waterproof and it have a 5ATM snitch excogitation making it safe to be submerged in water up to 50 metres depth .
