After the awful-looking VIVOSMART HR Garmin have just announced the confusingly similarly named VIVOACTIVE HR (not to be confused with the also-announced VIVOFITT 3)
Don’t get the two err three (or is it two?) confused.
The VIVOACTIVE HR ticks ALL the right boxes. GPS, optical HR (ELEVATE technology), many sports, proper activity tracking and a smartphone link. It will even rebroadcast ANT+ HR to, say, your Forerunner 630 or Edge 520.
Look at the possibly-photoshopped screen below…NICE resolution. Look at the strap..nice.
To top it all off, it would even get my “seal of aesthetic approval” – should such a thing exist; which it doesn’t. It’s a wearable wearable. Garmin have struggled with the aesthetics of several devices previously. The VIVOACTIVE HR is nice, real nice.
Although if you look at the VIVOFIT 3 variants of today’s other announcement, you will see they didn’t entirely change the design team.
So this may be one of the reasons for a nice spike in Garmin’s share price over the last week or so after the Q4 earnings call – actually it’s not, the real reason was that analysts’ expectations were exceeded NOT that the results were better/worse than prior quarter or same quarter last year – now you know.
You’ll have to wait until late Spring 2016 and you’ll fork out $250/£180 or thereabouts to get hold of the Vivoactive HR. That’s superficially not too bad a price, fair in fact. It will probably fall £/$50 relatively quickly and stabilise. It will be a great XMAS2016 present as, by then, all the bugs will be ironed out. I might even buy one.
Garmin® introduces vívoactive® HR – a GPS smartwatch with wrist-based heart rate
We’re excited to today announce vívoactive HR, a GPS smartwatch with Garmin Elevate™ wrist heart rate technology. The vívoactive HR helps keep track of active moments throughout the day, counting steps and floors climbed, intensity minutes, monitoring sleep and featuring built-in GPS-enabled sports apps for walking, running, biking, swimming, golfing, paddle boarding, rowing, skiing and snowboarding. The vívoactive HR uses 24/7 wrist-based heart rate data to calculate calories burned information as well as the intensity of fitness activities, providing proper credit for users’ array of workouts. With the Connect IQ store, users can easily personalize their vívoactive HR with free apps, widgets, watch faces and data fields. The vívoactive HR is being announced in conjunction with Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and will be showcased at the Garmin booth #CS 90.
“The vívoactive HR builds on the incredible versatility and multi-functionality of its predecessor by adding wrist-based heart rate and a barometric altimeter – allowing it to track even more data essential to workouts and day-to-day activity,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. “All your efforts to stay active are accounted for from taking the stairs at the office to going on a run or ride.”
Measure Daily Activity
Featuring Elevate wrist heart rate technology1, the vívoactive HR provides 24/7 heart rate monitoring and eliminates the need for a chest strap. Using the heart rate data the vívoactive HR quantifies the intensity of fitness activities and allows users to monitor their progress against aerobic activity goals recommended by leading health organizations like the American Heart Association.
The vívoactive HR’s always-on, touchscreen, sunlight-readable Garmin Chroma Display™ lets users track activity and stay connected anytime, anywhere. Its built-in GPS-enabled sports apps include:
- Running – Using a built-in accelerometer and GPS users can track runs either indoors or out. Additional features include Auto Lap®, Auto Pause®, and vibration alerts for heart rate, pace, run/walk intervals, and more. Post-run summaries include stats such as total mileage, calories, average pace and overall time.
- Cycling – The cycling app measures time, distance, speed and calories. It is compatible with speed and cadence sensors, and the Varia® lights and radar (sensors and radar are sold separately).
- Pool Swimming – In addition to tracking total and interval time, distance, pace, stroke count and stroke type, the swimming app also features easy pausing for rests, complete with rest timers, and can calculate swolf, a measure of swimming efficiency.
- Golfing – Users can view a simplified view of the green, measure shot distance and be pointed in the right direction with PinPointer while golfing on one of the 40,000 course maps worldwide available for download from the Garmin golf course database.
- Stand Up Paddleboarding and Rowing – Users can easily track and view pace, time, distance, stroke count, stroke rate and distance per stroke. When using an indoor rowing machine, users can track time, stroke count and stroke rate.
- Skiing and Snowboarding – The skiing and snowboarding app measures 3-D speed by calculating the speed and distance on an incline versus latitude and longitude. It also provides splits automatically and features Auto Pause, which freezes the timer automatically when users stop or ride the lift.
The vívoactive HR also includes Garmin Move IQ™, a new feature that continuously monitors for periods of sustained activity. With Move IQ, the vívoactive HR automatically recognizes walking, running, biking, swimming and elliptical training. Users can easily track their exercise throughout the day without needing to start a timed activity. Once synced with Garmin Connect™, users can review their full day of activity in a convenient Timeline view.
Stay Connected
With up to eight days’ battery life2 in watch/activity tracking2 mode (with 24/7 heart rate monitoring, no GPS) or up to 13 hours using GPS, the vívoactive HR keeps up with users’ active lifestyles and keeps them connected. The vívoactive HR will send any notification from a compatible smartphone3, including incoming calls, texts, emails, calendar reminders, social media alerts and more, to the device with a vibration alert so users don’t miss a beat. Additional on-device smart capabilities allow users to check weather information, control music on their smartphone, control a VIRB action camera, locate their smartphone, and allow friends and family to track activities in real time with LiveTrack.
The vívoactive HR is compatible with the Connect IQ™ platform for endless customization options. Through the Connect IQ store in the Garmin Connect mobile app, users can download any of the free apps, widgets, watch faces and data fields so their vívoactive HR can suit their individual needs.
Throughout the day the vívoactive HR automatically syncs with paired mobile devices through the Garmin Connect Mobile app, so users can see a complete picture of daily activities. In Garmin Connect, a free online fitness/golf community, users can track workouts, sleep patterns and trends, join online challenges to compete against friends and earn virtual badges. They can also view Garmin Connect Insights, smart wellness insights that provide cues to help them reach goals, shout-outs when milestones have been met and relevant healthy tips from experts. Insights also show users how they are doing in comparison to people like them for extra motivation. The vívoactive HR is also compatible with corporate wellness offerings from Garmin.
The vívoactive HR will begin shipping in Q2 for a suggested retail price of $249.99. It will be available in regular and extra-large fit black bands. Accessory bands will be available in black, white, force yellow and lava red for a suggested retail price of $29.99 each.
The ever-expanding Garmin fitness segment develops technologies to enhance and promote healthy and active lifestyles. Whether users are runners, cyclists, swimmers, multi-sport athletes, or simply looking to stay active throughout the day, there is a product that can help them reach their health and fitness goals.
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