We tested Garmin’s GPS-enabled fitness trackers and found the perfect picks for casual hikers, backcountry skiers, and more.
From there, you can move up to the Vivomove line, which has a hidden display and no onboard GPS; to the midrange Vivoactive line; or to the premium Venu line. (Garmin still offers the Vivosport, but that launched in 2017 and is pretty old.) When it comes to Garmin’s lifestyle lineup, the Vivoactive 6 offers the best value in terms of features and price, with a gorgeous, clear AMOLED touchscreen and access to all of Garmin’s proprietary and excellent sensors and algorithms.
It has onboard satellite connectivity, a heart rate monitor, blood oxygen monitoring, a compass, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, a thermometer, and an ambient light sensor. It’s rated for water resistance at 5 ATM, so you can track water sports, and it has incident detection to alert your emergency contacts if you fall on a hike. This is Garmin’s lifestyle watch, so the activity profiles are geared more toward golf and racquet sports. You can also use Connect+, Garmin’s AI-enabled subscription service, for $70 a year.
One of the biggest pluses with Garmin is that its Connect software has always been free. I don’t think you need Connect+ to take full advantage of the Vivoactive 6’s capabilities, especially since this is an entry-level tracker. However, Garmin recently introduced new features, like meal tracking. As befits Garmin’s expertise, Connect+ does offer the only useful AI-enabled fitness service I’ve tested so far.
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Photograph: Adrienne So
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Photograph: Adrienne So
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Photograph: Adrienne So
Garmin
Venu X1
The Venu X1 is Garmin’s answer to the Apple Watch Ultra (and priced comparably), with a few big differences. The first is battery life. While the Apple Watch Ultra can now stay powered on for a full three-day weekend, the Venu X1 lasts about a week without the always-on display. The case is also significantly thinner, measuring about 8 mm in depth compared to the Apple Watch Ultra’s 12 mm. The 2-inch AMOLED display is also slightly bigger, if a little less crisp than the Apple Watch Ultra’s wide-angle OLED. Like all Garmins, it works with both iOS and Android.
