Garmin is a well-established name in the fitness tracker market, known for producing high-quality devices that cater to both casual users and serious athletes. The Garmin Vivosmart 5 is the latest addition to their lineup, arriving nearly four years after the Vivosmart 4. With a host of new features and improvements, the Vivosmart 5 aims to provide a comprehensive fitness tracking experience. In this review, we’ll delve into its design, health and fitness tracking capabilities, smart features, and how it stacks up against the competition.
Design and Display
The first noticeable change in the Vivosmart 5 is its larger, brighter OLED display. This upgrade makes it easier to read and navigate through the interface, especially in bright conditions. The device also features a physical button, which simplifies interaction, particularly when your hands are wet or you’re wearing gloves—perfect for divers and outdoor enthusiasts.
One of the most appreciated design enhancements is the swappable bands. Unlike the Vivosmart 4, the Vivosmart 5 allows users to change bands easily, providing a touch of personalization. The tracker is lightweight and comfortable, making it suitable for all-day wear, whether you’re hitting the gym, exploring underwater worlds, or embarking on an adventure hike.
Health and Fitness Tracking
The Vivosmart 5 excels in health and fitness tracking, offering a range of features to monitor your well-being:
- Heart Rate Monitoring: Continuous tracking with alerts for abnormal rates ensures you stay within safe limits during intense activities.
- Pulse Ox Sensor: This feature measures your blood oxygen saturation levels, which is particularly useful for divers who need to monitor their oxygen levels.
- Body Battery: This metric tracks your energy levels throughout the day, helping you optimize your activities based on your current energy state.
- Respiration Tracking: Monitors your breathing patterns, providing insights into your respiratory health.
- Hydration and Stress Tracking: Logs your daily fluid intake and stress levels, offering reminders to stay hydrated and relax when stress levels are high.
- Women’s Health Tracking: Allows for detailed logging of menstrual cycles or pregnancy-related information.
Fitness and Activity Tracking
Garmin has equipped the Vivosmart 5 with robust fitness and activity tracking features:
- Activity Tracking: Monitors steps, calories burned, distance, and intensity minutes, ensuring you stay on top of your fitness goals.
- Sleep Tracking: Offers advanced sleep monitoring with light, deep, and REM sleep stages. The on-device sleep score and morning wakeup report give you a comprehensive overview of your sleep quality.
- VO2 Max and Fitness Age: These features measure your cardiovascular fitness level and estimate your fitness age, providing insights into your overall fitness. this is one of my favorite metrics on the Vivosmart I am always challenging myself to improve me fitness age.
- New Activity Profiles: Includes Breath Work, HIIT, Pilates, Treadmill, and Indoor Rowing, catering to a wide range of fitness activities.
- No On-Board GPS: The Vivosmart 5 relies on GPS connected to your phone, which might be a drawback for those needing accurate tracking during outdoor activities without carrying their phone.
Smart Features and Usability
The Vivosmart 5 is designed to keep you connected and safe:
- Smart Notifications: Displays calls, texts, and app alerts directly on your wrist, so you never miss important updates while on the go.
- Safety Tracking: Features incident detection and emergency assistance, making it easier to get help when you need it most.
- Garmin Connect Compatibility: Syncs with the Garmin Connect app for detailed data analysis and insights without any subscription fees.
- Customization: The device offers interchangeable bands and customizable data fields to suit your personal style and preferences.
- Battery Life: With up to 7 days of battery life, the Vivosmart 5 ensures you stay connected and tracked throughout your adventures. However, the battery life may vary depending on usage, especially with SpO2 monitoring enabled.
Comparisons and Market Position
When comparing the Vivosmart 5 to its predecessor, the Vivosmart 4, several key improvements stand out:
- Larger Display: The 66% larger display is easier to read and navigate.
- Enhanced Usability: The addition of a physical button and swappable bands makes it more user-friendly.
- Advanced Health Metrics: New activity profiles and on-device sleep scores add to the comprehensive tracking capabilities.
Against competitors like the Fitbit Charge 5, the Vivosmart 5 holds its ground with better heart rate monitoring during workouts and no subscription fees for accessing data. However, the lack of an internal GPS is a notable drawback.
Also, the activity tracking isn’t the most responsive; I find that I have to tell the Vivosmart 5 that I have started an activity; otherwise, more often than not, it will not detect the activity. I also find the screen very hard to use to track a streght training routine or doing a Hitt or Tabata routine I find it almost impossible to enter my sets or intervelse using the touch screen.
I am also sad to find out that the Vivosmart 5 won’t sync with my Garmin chest strap, which was the Garmin HRM Dula heart rate monitor.
Finally, I also found the app on the phone and the whole interface to be not the most user-friendly when compared to Fitbit or Whoop Strap, my other fitness tracker.
If you want to read my Whoop strap review, click here.
Conclusion
The Garmin Vivosmart 5 is a significant upgrade over its predecessor, offering a larger display and a host of advanced health and fitness tracking features. It is particularly well-suited for divers and adventurers who need a reliable, all-day wearable device that provides comprehensive insights into their health and activity levels. While it may fall short in certain areas such as workout tracking, App interface as well as not pairing with all other Garmin products, compared to its competitors, the absence of subscription fees does make it attractive for a simple healthy lifestyle tracker, but I wouldn’t recommend it for a serious fitness enthusiast.
Call to Action
Ready to take your fitness tracking to the next level? Check out the Garmin Vivosmart 5 on Amazon. Share your experiences with the Vivosmart 5 in the comments below and join the conversation!