Garmin Vivosmart 5 – Fitness Activity Tracker | Full Review

Vivosmart 5 has just been released. So it will be useful for you to have a complete idea about the device before spending money to buy it. Vivosmart 5 is quiet stylish compared t Vivosmart 4. It comes with the feature to swap bands. So you can match it with your styles.

Garmin Vivosmart 5 review

Price and release date

The Garmin Vivosmart was recently launched. The date was 20th April in 2022 which is 4 years after the launching of Vivosmart 4. The recommended retail price of Vivosmart 5 is $ 149.99. The price is aligning with the standard price of a higher-end fitness tracker. The tracker is available in white, black, and cool mint. 

The battery life

The Garmin Vivosmart 5 has the same battery life as the Vivosmart 4. The users can have seven days of maximum runtime in smartwatch mode. But it will reduce when enabling SpO2 monitoring. The battery will last for four days with all sensors and sleep tracking enabled. 

Design and display

Garmin Vivosmart 5 comes in two different sizes. Small/medium for wrists having a circumference between 122 mm and 188mm. the large one fits the wrists with a circumference between 148mm and 228mm. The versions look similar to the Vivosmart 4. The tracker sits in a soft silicone band/case and comes with a slim build. 

Garmin has done some small but significant changes to the design of Vivosmart 5 to enhance its usability. The physical button added to the tracker allows users to navigate around the watch, pause, and stop an activity. It is a great solution for the occasional unresponsive that occurs in the Vivomart 4. 

The Vivosmart 5 endeavors with a monochrome OLED display. It is 66% larger compared to its predecessor. So it is easy to read messages on the watch. The cutting off of messages is avoided as the text can now scroll across the screen. At least three stats on the screen is visible at a time in Vivosmart 5. 

The size of the screen in small size Vivosmart 5 is 19.5× 10.7 × 217 mm while the large one is 19.5× 10.7 × 255 mm. the display of the tracker is not the easiest to view. When the user is on the move and wants to check WhatsApp messages from the wrist, it won’t be easy. 

The Vivosmart 5 tracker is not much beginner-friendly. 

The user can change bands in the Vivosmart 5. Garmin’s official ones are available at the moment. But third parties will design extras soon. It is easy to swap the band without using tools or screws. The user needs to bend it back a little and pop the tracking unit out.

Garmin Vivosmart 5

Health tracking

Health tracking is one of the best selling points of Vivosmart 5. It also allows GPS tracking through the phone, blood oxygen monitoring, and continuous heart rate monitoring. It also monitors sleep automatically. Every morning the user can get a mini-report that contains a sleep score (based on the sleep duration and time spent in each stage), a tiny weather forecast for the coming delay, and a quick overview of the upcoming calendar events. 

The Gamin’s sleep tracker does not account for naps. The 30 winks in the evening or afternoon can throw out nightly data. We hope that Gamin will update its sleep and recovery algorithms very soon. 

Vivosmart 5 allows enabling SpO2 monitoring overnight, or 24 hours a day. But the impact comes to the battery life. You can enable SpO2 when concerned about oxygen saturation due to suffering from sleep apnea, or training at altitude. Otherwise, it is suitable to leave it off. 

Garmin utilizes data from sleep and daily tasks to create a body battery score. It is an estimate of the amount of energy that you have to tackle tasks throughout the day. The Vivosmart 5 tracker helps to see changes in real-time and adapt plans on the fly. When you are going through hard training sessions but the body battery is running slow, then alter the sessions. 

The graph in the Vivosmart 5 shows the way how body battery score has changed over the last four hours. It also shows a note that informs whether the body battery is charging or draining. Lots of data is accumulated in one place in this case. So you don’t want to open the app on the phone for more data.

Workout tracking

Garmin Vivosmart 5 doesn’t contain an onboard GPS module. It utilizes the phone’s GPS chip to track pace and route during outdoor activities. Remember to use the handset while running or cycling. Otherwise, you will see only the basic workout stats at the end. 

A range of different sports profiles is available to choose from. But Vivosmart 5 can store 10 at once. It is needed to set up the preferred activities in the Garmin Connect app before doing the pavement to the gym or pool. After that, press the button on the tracker’s face, choose activities, and start the workout. 

Automatic activity tracking is also available on the device. You can select the time duration that Vivosmart needs to wait before starting to record. 

Companion app

Just like other Garmin sports watches and fitness trackers, Vivosmart 5 also syncs data with Garmin Connect. The app combines with several devices. No matter what you wear from the Garmin devices, all data will sync in the Garmin connect and display the health data. 

Why do I need to buy Vivosmart 5?

The Vivosmart 5 deals with numbers. It statistically proves data. It is marvelous how the developers have managed data onto such a small display. 

You can use both the  Garmin sports watch and Vivosmart 5. Wear the Vivosmart 5 to gather health stats during the day and change to the main watch for workouts. Data gathered from the two devices will be pooled in the Garmin connect app. 

Why I should not buy Vivosmart 5?

Though the Vivosmart 5 does not look ugly, it is designed for functions only. 

You must be a very caring person to avoid scuffs and scratches on the glass. The Vivosmart 5 display is made with an acrylic lens. It is not hard compared with the Gorilla Glass used in other Garmin devices. The glass is more prone to scuffs and scratches. 

To Sum Up

Vivosmart 5 is wrapped with pros as well as cons. The button of the device is much improved compared to the previous one. Vivosmart 5 tracker is comfortable to wear and also it is stylish. One of the major drawbacks of the tracker is hard to read notifications as it comes with small text. It has also missed onboard GPS. You can buy the Vivosmart 5 tracker comparing its features with your requirements.

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