Garmin Fenix 3 Reviews || Best Fitness Tacking Smartwatch 2015
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Garmin Vivoactive smartwatch
Design
Garmin has opted for a square design for the Vivoactive. We prefer the look of circular smartwatches but wouldn't say that the Vivoactive is unattractive. It's available in either black or white, and is fairly thin at 8mm though perhaps too large overall for those with dainty wrists.
Its display is 1.13 x 0.8in, and has a resolution of 205 x 148 pixels. It's a full colour touchscreen designed with outdoor use in mind, apparently readable in sunlight but we'll have to wait until we can get one outside to test that.
There are interchangeable bands available for the Vivoactive watch so you can pick a design that suits your style. With the band included, it weighs 38g.
Garmin says that the Vivoactive can last for up to three weeks on one charge, unless you use the GPS, which reduces the battery life to 10 hours. GPS is a power-hungry feature, that's for sure.
Garmin's Vivoactive smartwatch is set to arrive in the US in March, and in the UK later in the year. There's no offical UK price yet, but expect it to be around the £200 mark.
If you're interested in smartwatches, you should also check out our hands-on review of the Withings Activite Pop smartwatch from CES 2015. Also see our Sony Smartwatch 3 review.
Garmin Vivoactive smartwatch hands-on review: Verdict
We came away from the Vivoactive Smartwatch feeling suitably impressed. It will certainly appeal to runners, cyclists, swimmers and golfers thanks to its built-in and feature-full apps, and GPS is a real boon, particularly if you don't want to have to carry around your smartphone while out for a jog, for example.
It's a shame that the design isn't the best – we'd prefer a circular watchface or at least something a bit smaller, but we still think the Vivoactive is a solid new entry into the ever-growing wearables market.
