Garmin Vivoactive 4 Specifications, Comparisons & Opinion - Venu too Garmin's demi-flagship watch is the Vivoactive. Along with the Fenix, this makes Garmin shareholders sleep soundly at night. There should be NO restless nights ahead as Garmin make some predictable moves forward with the Vivoactive range as well as throwing in a few profitable & interesting moves. I'm probably not going to be reviewing the VivoActive 4 series so all questions below, please. Further below is a detailed feature-by-feature comparison of the detailed specs of the 3 (2? 5?) new Vivoactive models, also showing the improvements from the earlier Vivoactive 3 Music. Don't forget that recent announcements like support for AmazonMusic will work equally on the old Vivoactive 3 as on the new Vivoactive 4. Garmin Vivoactive 4, 4S and Venu (4v) - The Headline Changes & Commentary Let's take a brief step back a year or so as we saw the original Vivoactive 3 morph into a MUSIC version and then an LTE version that was tied to work with Verizon. There was also a Mercedes partnership which has some relevance to the present, so let's not forget that even though I didn't cover it on this blog at the time (I had some paint to watch dry). Sizing - Garmin has obviously realised by now that some people have thin wrists. Garmin's sales volumes justify the introduction of the smaller-format Vivoactive 4s alongside the regular-sized Vivoactive 4. Premium Versions - Garmin will continue to face pressure at the lower end of its ranges and must continue to position itself as a 'generally premium' vendor. To that end, we've seen the introduction of the MARQ version of the Fenix and so the VENU is the exact same move for the Vivoactive 4. The interesting point of difference with the VENU is Garmin's first foray into AMOLED screens. These screens are essentially 'the pretty ones' that you often see around town. In my opinion this is a MASSIVE strategic step for Garmin that is long overdue and I suspect that this awesome screen will gradually spread through Garmin's ranges, certainly initially to the models that are more 'smart' than 'sport', essentially competing on LOOKS against the like of the Apple Watch. The battery lives are now good enough for Garmin to properly support AMOLED, so that old chestnut of an argument appears to be no more. Weird branded stuff - We also see the introduction of the MARVEL-branded watches. If it sells...why not? And towards Christmas, we will see some Star Wars versions too. Yay! LTE - The notable absence is LTE (a mobile phone connection to the internet within the watch). This is not on the Vivoactive 4 at present but I would be very surprised if this is not added in with another VA4 model within 6 months. Indeed I would expect other lines within Garmin to also have LTE in 2020. The VA3 achieved this with a link-up with Verizon in the USA and the problem here for taking this functionality forwards is that Garmin will have to get multiple agreements with many cellphone companies worldwide and it is that which will limit the global rollout of LTE rather than Garmin's ability to make the kit that can do it (which clearly they can). Music - There is also a notable absence of watches branded as a 'music version'. All you can read here is that music is becoming standard, just like Garmin Pay and maps. Garmin Vivoactive 4, 4S and Venu (4v) - What's Different The new models are highly similar apart from the size, screen and battery life. The exact details are shown below in the table. I'll summarise them here and also add in some other feature differences for good measure Price: Vivoactive 3 $250, Vivoactive 4/4S $350, Venu $400 This is getting expensive and you've got to really want a round, sports-focussed watch to avoid buying an Apple watch at these prices. The stakes get higher as the prices get higher. Display: Vivoactive 4 1.3" (260 x 260px), Vivoactive 3 1.2" (240 x 240px), Vivoactive 4 Venu 1.2" (390x390px), Vivoactive 4s (218x218px) So the VA4 has a BIGGER screen than before and the Venu has a better, more colourful and dense display. The physical case sizes & weights are all in line with those proportions and shown below for those who want the exact details Battery Life GPS+Music of 6 hours for the VA4 and Venu, with 5 hours for the VA4s and VA3M Smartwatch mode is even 5 days for the Venu and better still for the others. So this is 'sensible territory' for where smartwatches need to be these days...and you even get that for the Venu's AMOLED screen don't forget. Other PulseOX on all of 4/4s and 4v (Venu) Same music systems (Deezer, AmazonMusic, Spotify) via the same WiFi with the same max of 500 songs (2000 on Fenix) Body Battery Energy Monitor on all new models (not VA3) Yoga, Pilates and Workout animations on all new models (they just look better on the Venu) Respiration rate (day & night) on all new models (not VA3) Automatic golf club tracking (not VA3) Underwater HR via oHR (not VA3) New ELEVATE sensor (not VA3) New Sony low-power GNSS/Galileo chip (not VA3) Garmin Vivoactive 4 - Q: Is it worth the upgrade? A: No No, it's not worth the upgrade unless you specifically want either a better AMOLED screen or a smaller format (VA4s) [gallery size="medium" columns="6" link="file" ids="42445,42444,42446,42443,42447,42442"] Garmin Vivoactive 4, 4S and Venu (4v) Pricing & Availability The prices vary by options and more options will be introduced over time. Broadly it's this: Vivoactive 4/4S $349, Eu300ish Venu: $399, Eu350ish Garmin Vivoactive 4 Specifications Venu™ vívoactive® 4S vívoactive® 4 vívoactive® 3 Music $399.99 USD $349.99 USD $349.99 USD $249.99 USD GPS smartwatch features AMOLED display, built-in sports apps, contactless payments, music and all-day health monitoring Smaller-sized GPS smartwatch features built-in sports apps, contactless payments, music and all-day health monitoring GPS smartwatch features built-in sports apps, contactless payments, music and all-day health monitoring GPS smartwatch with built-in sports apps, wrist-based heart rate, Garmin Pay™ contactless payments, and music General Lens Material Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 Bezel Material stainless steel stainless steel stainless steel Case material fibre-reinforced polymer with polymer rear cover fibre-reinforced polymer with polymer rear cover fiber-reinforced polymer with polymer rear cover polymer Quick Release Bands yes (20 mm, Industry standard) yes (18 mm, Industry standard) yes (22 mm, Industry standard) yes (20 mm, Industry standard) Strap material silicone silicone silicone silicone Physical size 43.2 x 43.2 x 12.4 mm 40.0 x 40.0 x 12.7 mm 45.1 x 45.1 x 12.8 mm 43.1 x 43.1 x 13.6 mm Fits wrists with a circumference of 125-190 mm Fits wrists with a circumference of 110-175 mm Fits wrists with a circumference of 135-200 mm Fits wrists with a circumference of 127-204 mm Touchscreen Yes Yes Yes Yes Display size 1.2" (30.4mm) diameter 1.1" (27.9 mm) diameter 1.3" (33.0 mm) diameter 1.2" (30.4mm) diameter Display resolution 390 x 390 pixels 218 x 218 pixels 260 x 260 pixels 240 x 240 pixels Display type AMOLED sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) Weight 46.3 g 40.0 g 50.5 g 39.0 g Battery life Smartwatch mode: Up to 5 days Smartwatch mode: Up to 7 days Smartwatch mode: Up to 8 days Smartwatch mode: Up to 7 days GPS mode with music: Up to 5 hours GPS mode with music: Up to 6 hours GPS mode with music: Up to 5 hours GPS mode with music: Up to 6 hours GPS mode without music: Up to 13 hours Water rating Swim, 5 ATM Swim, 5 ATM Swim, 5 ATM Swim, 5 ATM Colour display Yes Yes Yes Yes Memory/History 7 timed activities, 14 days of activity tracking data 7 timed activities, 14 days of activity tracking data 7 timed activities, 14 days of activity tracking data 7 timed activities, 14 days of activity tracking data Clock Features Time/date Yes Yes Yes Yes GPS Time Sync Yes Yes Yes Yes Automatic daylight saving time Yes Yes Yes Yes Alarm clock Yes Yes Yes Yes Timer Yes Yes Yes Yes Stopwatch Yes Yes Yes Yes Sunrise/sunset times Yes Yes Yes Yes Sensors GPS Yes Yes Yes Yes GLONASS Yes Yes Yes Yes Galileo Yes Yes Yes Yes Garmin Elevate™ wrist heart rate monitor Yes Yes Yes Yes Barometric altimeter Yes Yes Yes Yes Compass Yes Yes Yes Yes Gyroscope Yes Yes Yes Yes Accelerometer Yes Yes Yes Yes Thermometer Yes Yes Yes Yes Pulse Ox Yes Yes Yes No Connectivity Connect IQ™ (downloadable watch faces, data fields, widgets and apps) Yes Yes Yes Yes Smart notifications Yes Yes Yes Yes Text response/reject phone call with text (Android™ only) Yes Yes Yes Yes Connectivity Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi® Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi® Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi® Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi® Calendar Yes Yes Yes Yes Weather Yes Yes Yes Yes Controls smartphone music Yes Yes Yes Yes Plays and controls watch music Yes Yes Yes Yes Music Storage up to 500 songs up to 500 songs up to 500 songs up to 500 songs Find My Phone Yes Yes Yes Yes Find My Watch Yes Yes Yes Yes VIRB® Camera Remote Yes Yes Yes Yes Smartphone compatibility iPhone®, Android™ iPhone®, Android™ iPhone®, Android™ iPhone®, Android™ Compatible with Garmin Connect™ Mobile Yes Yes Yes Yes Garmin Pay™ Yes Yes Yes Yes Safety and Tracking Features Incident Detection during select activities Yes Yes Yes Yes Assistance Yes Yes Yes Yes LiveTrack Yes Yes Yes Yes Activity Tracking Features Step counter Yes Yes Yes Yes Move bar (displays on device after a period of inactivity; walk for a couple of minutes to reset it) Yes Yes Yes Yes Auto goal (learns your activity level and assigns a daily step goal) Yes Yes Yes Yes Sleep monitoring (monitors total sleep and periods of movement or restful sleep) Yes Yes Yes Yes Calories burned Yes Yes Yes Yes Floors climbed Yes Yes Yes Yes Distance travelled Yes Yes Yes Yes Intensity minutes Yes Yes Yes Yes TrueUp™ Yes Yes Yes Yes Move IQ™ Yes Yes Yes Yes Fitness Age yes (in app) yes (in app) yes (in app) yes (in app) Body Battery™ Energy Monitor Yes Yes Yes No All-day Stress Tracking Yes Yes Yes Yes Gym & Fitness Equipment Available gym activity profiles Strength, Cardio and Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing, Indoor Rowing, Yoga, Pilates and Breathwork Strength, Cardio and Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing, Indoor Rowing, Yoga, Pilates and Breathwork Strength, Cardio and Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing, Indoor Rowing, Yoga, Pilates and Breathwork Strength, Cardio and Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing, Indoor Rowing and Yoga Cardio workouts Yes Yes Yes Yes Strength workouts Yes Yes Yes Yes Yoga workouts Yes Yes Yes No Pilates workouts Yes Yes Yes No On-screen workout animations Yes Yes Yes No Automatic rep counting Yes Yes Yes Yes Training, Planning and Analysis Features GPS speed and distance Yes Yes Yes Yes Customizable data pages Yes Yes Yes Yes Customizable activity profiles Yes Yes Yes Yes Auto Pause® Yes Yes Yes Yes Advanced workouts Yes Yes Yes Yes Downloadable training plans Yes Yes Yes Yes Auto Lap® Yes Yes Yes Yes Manual lap Yes Yes Yes Yes V02 max Yes Yes Yes Yes Touch and/or button lock Yes Yes Yes Yes Auto-scroll Yes Yes Yes Yes Activity history on the watch Yes Yes Yes Yes Physio TrueUp Yes Yes Yes Yes Heart Rate Features HR zones Yes Yes Yes Yes HR alerts Yes Yes Yes Yes HR calories Yes Yes Yes Yes % HR max Yes Yes Yes Yes HR Broadcast (broadcasts HR data over ANT+™ to paired devices) Yes Yes Yes Yes Respiration rate (during exercise) yoga and breathwork only yoga and breathwork only yoga and breathwork only No Respiration rate (all-day and in sleep) Yes Yes Yes No Running Features Available run profiles Running, Indoor Track Running, Treadmill Running Running, Indoor Track Running, Treadmill Running Running, Indoor Track Running, Treadmill Running Running, Indoor Track Running, Treadmill Running GPS-based distance, time and pace Yes Yes Yes Yes Run workouts Yes Yes Yes Yes Foot pod capable Yes Yes Yes Yes Golfing Features Yardage to F/M/B (distance to front, middle and back of green) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yardage to layups/doglegs Yes Yes Yes Yes Measures shot distance (calculates exact yardage for shots from anywhere on course) Automatic Automatic Automatic Automatic Digital scorecard Yes Yes Yes Yes Stat tracking (strokes, putts per round, greens and fairways hit) Yes Yes Yes Yes Garmin AutoShot™ Yes Yes Yes Yes Green View with manual pin position Yes Yes Yes Yes Hazards and course targets Yes Yes Yes Yes PinPointer Yes Yes Yes Yes Round timer/odometer Yes Yes Yes Yes Automatic club tracking compatible (requires accessory) Yes Yes Yes No Outdoor Recreation Features Available outdoor recreation profiles Skiing, Snowboarding, XC Skiing, Stand Up Paddleboarding, Rowing Skiing, Snowboarding, XC Skiing, Stand Up Paddleboarding, Rowing Skiing, Snowboarding, XC Skiing, Stand Up Paddleboarding, Rowing Skiing, Snowboarding, XC Skiing, Stand Up Paddleboarding, Rowing Back to start Yes Yes Yes Yes Total ascent/descent Yes Yes Yes Yes Cycling Features Available cycling profiles Biking, Indoor Biking Biking, Indoor Biking Biking, Indoor Biking Biking, Indoor Biking Time/distance alerts (triggers alarm when you reach goal) Yes Yes Yes Yes Compatible with Varia™ radar (rear-facing radar) Yes Yes Yes Yes Compatible with Varia™ lights Yes Yes Yes Yes Speed and cadence sensor support (with sensor) yes yes yes yes Swimming Features Available swim profiles Pool Swimming Pool Swimming Pool Swimming Pool Swimming Pool swim metrics (lengths, distance, pace, stroke count/rate, swim efficiency (SWOLF), calories) Yes Yes Yes Yes Stroke type detection (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly) (Pool Swim Only) Yes Yes Yes Yes Basic rest timer (up from 0) Yes Yes Yes Yes Time and distance alerts Yes Yes Yes Yes Underwater wrist-based heart rate Yes Yes Yes No Garmin Vivoactive 4 - Is it worth the upgrade? A: No No, it's not worth the upgrade unless you specifically want either a better AMOLED screen or a smaller format (VA4s) [gallery size="medium" columns="6" link="file" ids="42445,42444,42446,42443,42447,42442"] Garmin Vivoactive 4, 4S and Venu (4v) Pricing & Availability
