Garmin seem to be very prolific with their introduction of new devices. Each device has a specific targeted audience. The newly introduced vivosmart HR+ is no exception.
The vivosmart HR+ is an upgrade on the popular vivosmart HR which we reviewed late last year with the addition of a GPS. Alongside the GPS is the addition of the Garmin Move IQ auto activity detection. The vivosmart HR+, like the HR before it, is able to provide 24/7 heart rate monitoring, track steps, distance, calories, floors climbed and activity intensity. The display is a simple always-on sunlight readable grey scale display. The new HR+, which is slightly wider than its predecessor, is shower and swim water-proof with a water rating of 5 ATM.
The vivosmart HR+ is able to connect to your smartphone to send notifications from your phone to your wrist for any app you desire. The vivosmart HR+ has “up to five days of battery life in full watch/activity mode (with HR monitoring on but GPS off) and up to 8 hours with GPS on.
The vivosmart HR+ will be available in Australia this month with an RRP of $349 and will be available in regular size black/shark fin grey, imperial purple/kona purple and midnight blue/bolt blue. For those with Hodor-sized wrists it also comes in an extra-large black/shark fin grey band.
Anyone out there still favour one of these fitness-style watches over an Android Wear smartwatch? There is certainly a place for them, as evidenced by the sheer number of them out there and the vast demographic of those using them.
I like my Moto360 but I’ve been looking at getting a Vivosmart HR because I have a lot of nice watches that I’d like to wear but still be able to track my steps & get basic notifications rather than a noisy ringtone.
My reason for going Garmin is it works with my bike’s GPS so I don’t have to wear a chest strap & all my data is in one place rather than separate apps.
I thought you needed GPS for step tracking but clearly not. So what do you use GPS for on these devices?
Shame it drains the battery so much – from 5 days down to 8 hours!
run tracking, hiking, bike riding etc I would assume (i do not partake in any of the above myself)
Bought a Vivoactive HR a week ago over buying a smartwatch.
Smartwatches are still way behind in terms of features I want. You’d think there would be androidwear folks trying to compete in the fitness watch space, but so far theres been nothing aside from the pretty poor 360 Sport.
I agree with you mate- i actually went out and bought one for my wife after reviewing the HR so you’ve made a good choice. I am surprised that no one has attempted android wear on a fitness device- although maybe that has something to do with the design guidelines??
I think battery life issues is one thing that gets in the way. Certainly it limits any smartwatch to have sleeptracking if you need to charge it every night.
And maybe what androidWear can do pre 2.0 without a phone has limited it too.
I don’t think it’s even necessary. I used to work at a fitness store and you’d honestly be surprised at how many people prefer fitness dedicated watches to full blown smart watches. Besides, a lot of the higher end models have capabilities for notifications for text messages, emails and answering calls. That seems to be more than enough for most. I even had people turn down watches for having “too many features”.