Expert review of the Garmin Vivoactive 5
Garmin Vivoactive 5
- You'll receive an explanation about the effect of your workout, stress level, and sleep on your health.
- Listen to your favorite music or podcast via your smartwatch.
- The battery lasts up to 11 days.
- You don't have an accurate height sensor and you can't see the number of steps and floors you've walked, for example.
First impression of the Garmin Vivoactive
The Vivoactive 5 is only available in 42mm. The watch suited me fine. It's not too big, and I had no problem keeping it on while sleeping. The AMOLED screen is bright and colorful. I can easily read it in the sun and see every detail of the menus and graphs. According to Garmin, the battery lasts up to 11 days. That's true, but only if you don't exercise much. With 2 to 3 runs per week, the battery lasted about 7 days.
Useful health functions and tips via the app
I can quickly check my steps on the Vivoactive, but I also receive notifications. Sometimes it's because I haven't moved for too long. But after a stressful day, I was also advised to slow down. Thanks to the Body Battery function, I can see how much energy I burn every day and whether I give myself enough time to recharge. In the morning, I get tips to improve my sleep. So I don't have to think about what to do with all that health data, I get advice about that.
Enough sports functions for beginners
The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is great for recreational sports. The smartwatch kept track of all my running sessions. It also automatically registered intensive effort throughout the day, such as cycling over the Erasmus Bridge. The Garmin Connect app contains additional data, such as your route and speed per kilometer. The Vivoactive has a less accurate altimeter and heart rate monitor. After a flat run, the watch indicated that I had climbed 24m, for example. The heart rate reading was accurate while running, but may deviate during very intensive workouts.
Smart functions: receive messages and play music
You receive all kinds of notifications on your Vivoactive, but you decide which ones. I've turned off most of them, but I do get a Google Calendar notification 10 minutes before I have a meeting at work. Because of this I'm (almost) never late again. I had trouble putting music on my smartwatch the first time, but I can do it quickly now. So I no longer need my smartphone while running. I tried to use Garmin Pay, but I don't have a bank account at the right bank for that.
Conclusion
With the Garmin Vivoactive 5, you get a lot of insight into your health and the effect of your workout. As a beginner athlete, you have more than enough functions. You also receive advice via the Garmin Connect app. If you exercise more intensively, you'll miss certain functions like an accurate altimeter or extra recovery data. Whether the Vivoactive 5 suits you, depends on what kind of athlete you are. The bright AMOLED screen, long battery life, and built-in music player make the Vivoactive 5 a complete smartwatch.
