All You Should Know About Vivosmart 4
When it comes to fitness tracking, the new Apple Sentry Series 4 is all the rage, but not anybody wants or needs a smartwatch. There's still a market for dedicated fitness trackers, and that'southward where the Garmin Vivosmart four comes in. At $129.99, the Vivosmart four tracks everything from steps and calories burned, to heart rate and blood oxygen saturation levels for far less coin than virtually smartwatches. Factor in a sleek design and long battery life, and the Vivosmart 4 is a compelling option if you lot're looking to quantify your active lifestyle.
Slim and Sleek
The Vivosmart 4 ($109.31 at Amazon) closely resembles the Fitbit Alta 60 minutes in both look and feel. Its strap is made of silicone and comes in small/medium or big. The small/medium measures 0.iv by 7.7 by 0.vi inches (HWD), while the big is slightly longer at 9.two inches. In the center, you'll detect an oblong OLED impact display, bordered by an aluminum bezel. The master divergence betwixt the Alta HR and Vivosmart 4 is versatility. You lot can modify the Alta 60 minutes's band for a dissimilar look, merely you lot don't have the luxury with the Vivosmart 4. You take to make a more concerted decision about which color you want prior to purchase.
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Speaking of color, the tracker comes in gray with a rose gilt bezel, drupe with a lite gold bezel, light blue with a silver bezel, or an all-black model. These options are a vast comeback over the irksome Vivosmart three. I tested the gray version, and institute it to exist quite versatile for both coincidental and professional person situations. Information technology's likewise pretty durable. You can vesture information technology in the shower and pool, and the screen didn't prove a scratch afterwards I accidentally knocked it into a chiffonier.
Despite the overall improvements to the Vivosmart 4's blueprint, I still have a few minor gripes. First, information technology relies on a proprietary charger, which ways yous'll take to buy a new ane if you lose it, or if you want an extra one for your bag.
I also don't love the swipe-based interface. You have to swipe up and downward to navigate through menus and notifications. One time in a specific bill of fare or screen, you can swipe left or right for greater detail. The problem is that swipes don't e'er register the first time. This was also an issue with the Vivosmart 3. Though it's noticeably improved this fourth dimension effectually, it'due south still non as responsive as it should exist.
It'due south What's Inside That Counts
On the inside, the Vivosmart 4 sports an optical heart rate monitor, a barometric altimeter, an accelerometer, an ambient calorie-free sensor, and Sp02 sensors. It connects to your smartphone via Bluetooth, and is too uniform with ANT+ equipment (which is most typically found in gyms). Battery life is pretty terrific, at up to 7 days on a single charge with continuous heart charge per unit monitoring and push notifications enabled.
The Garmin Connect app (bachelor for Android and iOS) offers a lot more information than your typical fitness tracker companion. For case, when you look deeper into a run, you get stats like pace, average moving speed, cadence, and stride length.
Every bit for activities, you tin can track a whole host of exercises beyond the typical running, biking, and weight lifting. For example, you tin differentiate betwixt indoor, outdoor, obstacle, treadmill, or trail running. The same is true for cycling, in which y'all can specify between BMX, downhill biking, or fifty-fifty cyclocross. At that place are also more exotic options similar horseback riding, motocross, whitewater rafting, and hang gliding.
Fit for Data Nerds
When it comes to self-quantification, Garmin trackers have always had an edge over the competition, and the Vivosmart 4 is no exception. In addition to steps, calories burned, distance, height, slumber, and heart charge per unit, you tin can also track stress, claret oxygen levels during sleep, and even something Garmin calls your "body bombardment."
Compared with the Vivosmart iii, the new and/or improved metrics here are enhanced sleep tracking, stress monitoring, and body recovery levels. I really similar the stress and trunk recovery tracking. During periods when your heart rate is elevated, the tracker volition suggest that you accept a guided breathing break. This characteristic worked well to help me calm down when needed, though it tin can sometimes be triggered past a conditioning. Torso recovery is the aforementioned Trunk Battery feature. You can view how much juice you have left for the day based on your time spent active or at rest.
For slumber, the tracker is equipped with Sp02 sensors that measure blood oxygen levels. It tells y'all the high and low of your "pulse ox" level, which is a metric that's sometimes used by medical professionals to make up one's mind whether someone has sleep apnea. Information technology'due south cool to accept this information, merely it's up to you to contextualize what it actually ways, and so information technology might not necessarily exist all that helpful.
Encounter How We Test Fitness Trackers
Every bit for accuracy, the Vivosmart 4 acquitted itself quite well in testing. On a one-mile treadmill walk at three.5mph, it logged 1,999 steps to the two,097 steps logged by a Yamax Digiwalker SW-200, for a respectable difference of 4.seven percent. On a one-mile treadmill run at 5.0 mph, information technology logged an excellent i,927 steps to the Yamax'southward ane,927 steps, for no departure at all. It delivered proficient results in distance tracking too, recording the walk as 0.98-mile.
For centre rate monitoring, I wore the Vivosmart four simultaneously with the Polar H10 chest strap monitor and the Fitbit Versa spotter. During each test, the Vivosmart 4 was on par with the Versa, and within five to x beats per minute of the H10.
Fitness Start
The Garmin Vivosmart 4 might exist fashionable, but fettle is its first priority. On top of continuous center rate monitoring and detailed stress and sleep information, Garmin provides you with more trackable metrics than near companies. And with roughly seven days of battery life, you lot won't have to worry about charging information technology all the time.
For the same cost, the Fitbit Alta Hr has a similar wait, feel, and functionality, only with more flexible fashion options thanks to its swappable bands. Information technology also has a more responsive touch screen and a better user interface, but less detailed metrics. If you lot're deciding between the 2, your choice should come downwards to whether you place a greater priority on data (in which case yous should get the Vivosmart 4) or lifestyle versatility (the Alta HR wins here). For notifications and apps, y'all're better off with a smartwatch like the Fitbit Versa or the Apple Watch. At the end of the mean solar day, the Garmin Vivosmart 4 is one of the best affordable trackers for the primarily fitness-minded.
Garmin Vivosmart 4
Cons
The Lesser Line
The Garmin Vivosmart four is an bonny fitness tracker with accurate, in-depth metrics and up to a calendar week of battery life.
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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/garmin-vivosmart-4
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