About 40 bpm to low! I think I have answered my own question. I am missing music in the gym and while running, but using the phone is not that bad. It seems like Garmin picks-chooses SW updates based on release timing over quality hierarchy. I am looking at this (and possible the 245 but same question) and am unclear on how data from multiple devices is used in creating firstbeat metrics. I was considering the 245 but the lack of altimeter really annoys me, as I already have a 235. Max 112 despite 1500m of climbing. – Smartphone notifications from iOS/Android Good to see Garmin continuing to evolve these and make updates and new workouts. Purely a case of how much you like $50 for a prettier screen, that’s it. However, I requested a refund anyway because I’m still planning to get the Venu instead. On the activity screen, select an acitivity (e.g. I wondered the same as well. Yup, all of them. IOW they’re intent on not angering buyer of new release in the last 12 or 18 mnths, Can’t say I disagree..no easy answer and wherever you draw the line there will be haters lining up. Which I suppose is sorta the gist of things on the Sony chipset across the board, including Suunto and Polar (in fact, if you look at the linked data set, you’ll notice the Suunto 9 cuts a corner in the parking lot a bit too). As the price will be nearly the same for both right now here in Germany, I would really appreciate your opinion and experiences. my weekly podcast - with GPLAMA, which is packed with both gadget and non-gadget goodness! For this post I’m mostly focusing on the new things. A new VA4 with a crazy high price point, that they’ll probably refuse to allow it to work with all the sensors. Garmin MARQ Expedition. I’ve had excellent results with it. I was surprised to see that the PacePro feature is available in Garmin Connect (web) independent of the watch model. Do they have an altimeter? I am pleased that nothing major really happened and i will be able to stick with my watch for a little bit more. Heck, don’t say a certain watch doesn’t have the hardware for processing; let the Connect app do the work! To clarify: Single press bring up the Sport Menu. On an Apple watch, it almost seems that the vibration has a very short but gentle startup period before it reaches its peak vibration. The segments will show up then. They both have the added appeal of working with Strava. Wrist based heart rate monitors aren’t usually any good at this type of activity. The concept was really nice. If they made a touchscreen watch with at least 2 buttons and all/most of the features of the 945, I’d buy it in a heartbeat, and I’d pay $600+ and wouldn’t want any fancy bezels or materials. The display remains on the entire time I’m in my workout, so I don’t have to worry about waiting for it to illuminate when I glance at my wrist. – Added Breathwork Exercises (way different than simple breathing stress features) In your opinion, are the running functions in this watch enough for someone like me? I swim, bike and run. Agreed on the pricing concern. So you can get something a little more stylish that will also track your workouts. Vivo. I wasn’t exactly keeping track). And combinign running + these features = Fenix 6? There's still limited customisation of the data faces, and you can't view workout history from the watch itself, but much of what makes Strava worthwhile is provided through the companion app, so we don't consider this a reason to avoid the smartwatch. Does the Hydration feature sync with the water consumption data on MyFitnessPal? I can only assume this is a firmware bug. It’s because at this juncture I don’t believe the firmware is final, and thus, it’s not representative of the units going to consumers. Released along the Garmin Fenix 6 Series is the Vivoactive 4 Series, while the later is made up of 3 members; Vivoactive 4, 4S and Venu, the former is made up of 6 members; Fenix 6, 6S, 6 Pro, 6S Pro, 6X Pro, 6X Pro Solar.Each of these three features the latest of Garmin technology which includes more activity tracking and battery saver modes features. Thank you! I’m getting annoyed at how segmented Garmin is. But wait, are you a female and feel like these things might not apply to you? I’m headed to Washington DC – what do you recommend for training? It temporarily shows correct elevation right after I do a workout with the GPS, but within a couple of hours, the altitude reverts too negative. Do these watches have a pre-defined (or user-adaptable) watchface that shows date+time, steps + climbed floors? Pretty much all of Garmin's watches are built to play nice with Strava, from budget watches like the, And after initial accuracy issues, this can now be considered a strong addition to the watch's third-party mix, Just like Garmin, Polar makes sure that watches like the, Best Strava compatible heart rate monitors, Best waterproof smartwatches to buy in 2021. Are you willing to review or test beta products? It took some time, but we do have a standalone Strava app that's compatible with the Apple Watch and it continues to improve over time. Again, works great. My weather app stays in “waiting for data” and all my location services are on. Music is great, but I’ve switched to audio books recently, particularly for longer runs/hikes. 299€ in Germany for the 645music and the new vivoactive 4 will be pirced the same (big version in grey). Just in case. I download this to my garmin watch and go workout. Does that stupid lock symbol still block most of the display when you go to look at the time or did they do something less silly with it now? Fortunately, pretty much any device rocking Google's new OS can get involved including the Fossil Sport. Given you originally said September and it’s not there yet + comments of early purchasers are so-so I’m wondering if I can safely order one now (i.e. It’s not enough for me. – Vivoactive 4 is 40mm and includes a touchscreen display I am doing basic walking, running, cycling activities, so I was wondering which could or rather should be my next smart watch. does the vivoactive 4 provide features the forerunner 645 music does not have? Now the overall poses/animations concepts are essentially the same whether you’re in yoga, Pilates, cardio, or strength. You will of course need to sync workout data to the Coros app first, but it's one of the quickest at doing it based on experience. You’ll see each step listed with the number of seconds next to it: If you tap on a given item, it’ll go ahead and show you a short animation of that action: But let’s go ahead and actually start the workout. Ray has said previously that PacePro is not coming to the 645. But where it could be more interesting is on the higher end watches (which it’s coming to shortly) in terms of longer endurance workouts. . Vivoactive 4S: €279 & €299 depending on bezels/buttons At this price point, I don’t think that separation makes sense anymore. off on Black Friday/Cyber Monday on CT & Amazon. Art imitating life or something like that. Strava Live Segments Bekijk je prestaties in real time op de Garmin tijdens je favoriete segmenten. If it did it would seem perfect. I think it likely depends on the popularity of which model you chose. The main differences between the VA3 Music and the VA4 are price, newer generation HR sensor, two buttons vs one button, guided breathing exercises, and guided animated exercise routines. We swim, but don’t track and the same goes for our weekend spins. Still have the Forerunner 920xt (former triathlete) but these days spend more time playing tennis, or the occasional run but sometimes other stuff like last weekend when I cycled from London to Paris. The screen is wet. Minimum is 1.35″ now, but I will buy 1.39″ ~ 1.4″, no less, so my options are limited, but there are options and new one is coming very soon. This is after a software update. I also like to use it for activities like hiking, cardio or strength training. The Vivoactive 4, like most other 2019 watches from Garmin, are just so much better at music than older Garmin watches. This is why I returned my va3… Garmin said this is a non issue but I’ve bought on Amazon and they let me return it. There seem to be a lot of reports of the housing degrading fairly rapidly. En Garmin, nos asociamos con empresas realmente increíbles que nos ayudan a hacer realidad funciones avanzadas e innovadoras diseñadas para que disfrutes más de tus pasiones y conseguir que estés encantado con tu dispositivo Garmin. Strava really makes it easy to dive into looking at your performance levels, and in our experience, does a better job of showing improvement than many of its rivals. My budget for a watch is around this pricerange. I own the Fenix 3 and it is due for a replacement, but I do think the Fenix 6 is too expensive. We’ll first look at these new features, and then from there dive into a quick accuracy check-up on some runs and such. Click "Create a Segment". I’ve used several versions of it over the years and it’s still my go-to method of listening to music when running. Zooming by buttons is pain in the butt. An odd thing for a consumer to complain about but maybe cause some paralysis by analysis. Stability and accuracy trump features for me. Turns out that wasn’t the case; the 4S is already shipping, and I received mine yesterday. Within that there are small little animated peoples that you can see the exact steps of the workout. And in the case of both Venu and the Vivoactive 4, I’ve had a far rougher stability experience than I’d find acceptable at this point in time. (My wrists are on the smaller side.). Here's a few other variants or sibling products that are worth considering: And finally, here’s a handy list of accessories that work well with this unit (and some that I showed in the review). Vivoactive 3 Music), and one for non-music (Vivoactive 3) – plus Venu, now that’s all under a single umbrella with all units having music onboard. thanks a million for all the info here and everytime you do a review. We have been using a TomTom Spark 2 (with music) and a Garmin F235 for the last few years and these were fine. Thanks again Power meters are a premium feature and one of the things they use to differentiate products. Note that I have had a unit for the last couple of weeks. MicroLED display will address efficiency contrast and resolution. Long press brings up the Controls Menu. I am unclear if the I set the watch to broadcast HR if i will get the HRV data to the edge 530 for things like Respiratory Rate. If we zoom into one, we do see the laggyness of the Vivoactive 4 & Venu optical HR sensors though: You can see the delay of both in comparison to the chest strap and Polar OH1, which more quickly adapt to the increased heart rate through each interval. I have built an extensive list of my most frequently asked questions. Update! I just purchased the Vivoactive 3 a couple of months ago to replace my Vivoactive HR! If price difference is no longer a major consideration, which makes more sense for someone interested in metrics but not really into competition and NEVER gonna run a triathlon. I legitimately got better tracks on my Vivoactive gen 1, than a 245 I ended up returning. What a bad Elevation on the data set you published. I believe if you are following a course, to use Strava segments the route must be created in the Strava route planner. Since the Hydration Tracking, Sweat Loss, Breathwork Exercises and Yoga & Pilates Workout are widgets or Connect IQ Apps, will they be also available on higher end watches such as Fenix 6? You can see, that they moved both sensor holes to the top, next to where the band is attached. Thanks for all the help, as a result I now understand what I need in a training watch, which looks like its going to be Vivoactive 4! Does anyone know if the vivoactive 4 will work with airpods? Thankfully, you can link your account with the app for seamless syncing of runs, cycles and swims. I like the more sports activities on the VA4 but what I have seen in the reviews that the trainings status on the 645 is something thats very nice and motivating and helping to improve and not overpace. This is from CNET’s site. Unfortunately non of fbbrown apps work, all freeze, need to restart the watch. I am waiting it before purchasing one unit. It looks rather difficult to choose between VA4 and 645M. However, the differences are most visible compared to the Venu when you put them side by side in some of the widgets. The features on the watch check everything I wanted just a bit disappointing. Yes, i suspect the same issue. They’re mixing and matching. If I keep Ox constant monitoring, can go charging it every 2 days for sure, maybe some update will reduce Oxygen check frequency, I left it now for night only, still goes quite a lot. I looked at the Venu review and it seemed to say that the standby mode just displayed a digital time. No power meter support in the Vivo product line. Here we are shifting towards later 2019 and the Vivoactive 3 Music along with various other music competitors are hanging out in that $250-$300 range (at most). I note in the specs that the swimming features include “underwater wrist-based heart rate”? What incentive would anyone have to buy a 645 over a cheaper 245 at this point? My Vivoactive HR couldn’t have handled a 15% grade. I was on a hunt for a new watch couple of months ago, but i ended up sticking with my vivoactive3. Dołączając do tej społeczności, będziesz mógł rywalizować z innymi kolarzami i biegaczami “na żywo”. Strava Routes on Garmin Vivoactive 4? In my case, I just did a manual workout, though the Vivoactive 4 (like the Vivoactive 3) does support structured workouts. However, when I lock the screen, the screen still lights up when touched? hi. Obviously the specific for each workout are different, but the way the Garmin unit works is the same. Looking to upgrade from a Vivoactive HR which has served me well but is getting a bit long in the tooth after 3 years. I don’t bike or swim but I do Strength Training and weights too. Hi Ray, are you going to have a write up about the new Vivomove range? Will you test our product before release? It’s a nice touch, and really makes navigation so much more efficient. The reason isn’t because I haven’t compiled tons of workouts on it or worn it a bunch. In the feature overview you mixed up the 4 and the 4s in regard to the sizes. But other audiobooks providers like overdrive, rbdigital or borrowbox, via the web application will allow you to downlaod the book as a mp3 file. You can still pick it up from other retailers. Suunto's watches are falling better in line with Garmin and Polar's top end devices, led by the Suunto 9, its more affordable Suunto 3 and its Wear OS-packing Suunto 7. (PulseOx, Heart Rate, Move IQ). I wonder if Garmin is having production problems… CleverTraining still doesn’t have the VA4 in stock that I ordered almost 2 weeks ago. Venue and Vivoactive 4 all the time to high. On the vivoactive 2 & 3 HR it is not possible to set the swimming pool size smaller than 17m…I have requested this feature change to garmin more than once to be able to set it to smaller swimming pool like 14m or even 12m….We not all have access to bigger swimming pools. I really don’t understand music on a watch. That was the pink color, but if I had chosen the white/rose gold color it said availability was 5-8 weeks out. I know they held back Venu due to the software stability. That’s a lot more than inflation. That’s another weird choice by Garmin, as the other “compatible” devices are all in the FR_45 series. Now finally, as I noted early on in this post, this isn’t a review. Bob, with audible and audible files it will be really complicated to get it to work. No problem, the product comparison data is constantly updated with new products and new features added to old products! Really hope so, is it makes logging the cycle commute easier in winter, where the watch is hidden under jackets and gloves…. And after initial accuracy issues, this can now be considered a strong addition to the watch's third-party mix. Update! These features coming to the 945 but not the 245. Would make it ideal for use with Zwift on Apple TV, or even the new Tacx desktop app which is Bluetooth only on Mac or pc. 2016 Vivoactive HR $249 – Optical heart rate sensor in watch link to firstbeat.com In Garmin’s case for four workout types (Strength, Cardio, Yoga, Pilates) with some 41 different structured workouts between them. I see the Samsung watch lists push-ups but have been unable to determine how accurately. I requested a return. I mainly used the Strava Routes app so that live segments would work whilst following a route (they don’t show if you choose a course from the Garmin). I wonder if you could provide a link for that price? My current Gear S3 Frontier has such a custom-made watchface, very useful for me. Thanks for reading! What about the Workout Animation for Pilates, is it only for Vivoactive 4 or will it also transition to higher-end watches? For the record, I got a firmware update which solved the battery issue and I’m now getting about the advertised battery life (6ish days, I think? It’s as simple as that. Oh, and you can sign-up for the newsletter here! Ultimately though the Vivoactive 4 and Venu watches are *identical* in features and functionality. underwater wrist-based heart rate is also new. I thought that the vivoactive 3 screen had a standby mode and it would display an ‘always on’ customisable watch face including (for example) an analogue watch face with step counts and so on. The route should be Vivoactive -> Garmin Connect phone app -> Garmin on the web -> Strava ... all segments etc. I get the 645 is more of an in-between watch, but still. It’s a nice break from the day to day sports-tech talk, and I hope you get something out of it! – Vivoactive 4S is 45mm and includes a color touchscreen display. what a dedicated person to sport tech to do the two blog posts with a lot of pics of two watches who are quit ethe same ! After a week of struggling with its arcane documentation it still doesn’t work. I wish they would take it out of all watches other than the Approach series (which are already golf specific) and strip it from having such a high prominence in the Connect app. Think my written reviews are deep? What would be the best value for money ?? And being awesome is what it’s all about! VA3 did around 12%. Maybe 3-4 models, very distinct, and they’d have a perfect lineup… It can’t just be me… I think Garmin is playing a marketing game to keep new watch sales going strong, and that’ll work for a while, until A) people get tired of it or B) another company makes “the” watch with it all! Is that in Aus? after reading multiple positive reviews on this device, I purchased a vivoactive 4 on Amazon. then you can just upload the file (files) to the phone via usb connection. For example, right now if I have a moderate bike ride and go do yoga (or whatever) the recovery time on my edge 530 is only based on that moderate bike ride, not any other activities I’ve done, or how crappy my sleep is or wacked out my HRV is. I also just put together my complete ‘Gear I Use’ equipment list, from swim to bike to run and everything in between (plus a few extra things). Man, these guys have now filled every single gap between $200 and $1,000 ++. My full long-term in-depth review of the Garmin Vivoactive 4/4S is over here, with tons of accuracy data and months of testing.Dive in! You get a number of tracked sports, with outdoor workouts tracked by GPS that passed muster in terms of accuracy. The 245 has it beat in too many other features/updates the 645 won’t get. Also note that like the two Venu & Vivoactive 4 watches, my two posts on these watches at this point are incredibly similar. In the UK/EU/Australia/New Zealand? Yeah, I think so. I went ahead and ordered a Vivoactive 4S. I agree that it would be nice to at least hide any activity you don’t use from the lists in the watch and software, but removing it entirely from the line is just selfish. Will the FR 245 Music get the new features as well? Click above for all the details. Hello, But either way, things are definitely rough there. Something almost jawbone like would be great. I gave up. Alternatively, for everything else on the planet, simply buy your goods from Amazon via the link below and I get a tiny bit back as an Amazon Associate. Ok, with all that out of the way, we’ll dive into the details. I’ve mostly been focusing on the Venu & Apple Watch. Garmin Forerunner 35: $134.99 | Amazon | Garmin, Garmin Forerunner 45: $199.99 | Amazon | Garmin, Garmin Vivoactive 4: $349.99 |Amazon | Garmin. Some reviews are over 60 pages long when printed out, with hundreds of photos! Swapped around, and I cleaned up a few of the comments relating to it. Why would anyone at Garmin ever think it makes any sense to delete an activity after x amount of time? I can see the new PacePro feature in garmin connect (web) despite having an older watch model. Both of us love running, and we mainly do it around Dublin (Ireland). A little more far afield, presumably since the 2019 watches seem to have the same HR sensor they are all doing HRv under the hood, so would something like respiration rate suddenly be visible in my edge 530 (since firstbeat says it is an available metric) even if I can’t see that on the V4 watch? Might have to go with a VivoSmart 4 but was hoping it would be updated around now. Previously there was one button – but now there’s two of them. Could I ask you for some simple advice? There's also the Ionic, the company's true GPS running watch, though that has recently been removed and retired from Fitbit's own website. Looking at firstbeat I see those two different watches get 4, and 11 firstbeat metrics respectively. However where it really starts to get interesting is that you can create your own workout with Garmin Connect/Garmin Connect Mobile: Though, at present you don’t see the animations on the Vivoactive – but hopefully that’s where things end up. link to firstbeat.com. Odd, almost all smartwatch screens are 1.3″ and smaller, and I see plenty of people using them. What’s the best price you have found for the 645M? now that the VA4 is announced I am not sure which one to get. All of this can be customized to metric instead of cups, by the way. It's a … That means you get full Strava Segments, KOM and records. The whole point of this is largely water tracking. Considered Marq…waiting for Fenix 6, Vivoactive… On the flip-side, you’ve now got two different sized units, and things cost more. Anyone else remember that two weeks or so that the VA HR (the strange rectangle one) had training effect? As part of your in-depth review, will you check on altitude capability? Any chance you could add0 comparison pictures of the VA3, VA4, & VA4S (side by side)? Both sub-$150 options have square screens with the Bip S ($149.99) using a more vibrant full color screen. Seriously, this is extremely annoying! GPS time (no-music on): 18 hours for the VA4, 15 hours for the VA4S Do VivoActive 4 crash sensors like Sigma watches? It's become my go-to speed sensor. I don’t expect the more involved features (breathwork, yoga exercises, etc.) Thanks in advance! I would buy Fenix 6X, but 51mm is to big at my wrist, although doable in worse case scenario. I wrote Garmin support to ask if the hydration widget would come to FR645 and they would not give an answer to the question. I did a two hour mostly flat rollerski workout, 23 laps, minor change in elevation, and I checked with atmospheric pressure same time, it also dropped 1 mb, so if I take into account that, then it was perfectly precise! Vivo is a major cellphone manufacturer in China. – Added PulseOx for 24×7 blood oxygen tracking Then the watch requires you to confirm that the workout is over by tapping a button on the touchscreen. Can you add the full list? Also, did they do anything to improve the self-lock and “my watch turns into a vampire and changes automatically during the night and other stories of the crappy touchscreen’ issues yet? During our testing both on the bike and running, accuracy has matched up well to the both bike computers and running watches too so it's becoming one of the better apps to download to your Apple smartwatch now. Ray is being silent on the VA4 and until he posts a review, I’d be very hesitant about purchasing it. I have been known to go see mates in the Netherlands: Should I be coming to Amsterdam to buy from you? Garmin says the more premium bezel materials is one reason it’s more expensive, but I’m not sure if that’s really going to help here. And as always, feel free to post comments or questions in the comments section below, I’ll be happy to try and answer them as quickly as possible. No audible beeps. It will also work with some built-in heart rate monitors. I like my VAHR, apart from the battery duration which is now down to 4 days, and was expecting the VA4 to be its replacement. I have the non-music 645, and while I see it in Garmin Connect (Training > PacePro Pacing Strategies), I get a “No compatible devices found” error if I try to send a strategy to my watch. Here is my observation. Sure, the Vivoactive 3 music started off around $300 when it first launched, but that was some 15 months ago. Other watches, most notably Fitbit, have been doing this for years in the strength and core workout realm. That gets you an ad-free DCR, access to the DCR Quarantine Corner video series packed with behind the scenes tidbits...and it also makes you awesome. I’m not sure going to the Venu is worth it just for that, considering battery life when compared to the VA4. Like previously mentioned, the Vivo Active has a lot of similar features as the Spartan Sport: long battery life, VO2 tracker, and many sports trackers. You could hold the two watches side by side and go through every button press the exact same way and achieve the same results. Thanks all on the sizing catch! Zegarek multisportowy Garmin Vivoactive 4S sprawi, że nie będziesz musieć zabierać ze sobą telefonu, by podczas treningu słuchać muzyki, a także portfela, by od razu po wielokilometrowym biegu móc szybko zaopatrzyć się w coś do picia czy przekąskę, by uzupełnić spalone kalorie. I currently use a vivoactive 3 (previously used a forerunner 235) and now I am trying to decide between a new Vivoactive 4 and a used Forerunner 645 Music. GREAT! Within the breathing exercises you’ll also get respiration rate data. Looking around at firstbeat, i saw that Vivoactive compared to 245 (which I was keen to buy) has many features missing. I was just about to buy the FR 245 music, to get the extra running features because I have been missing them with these watches I’ve tried. The pricing is as follows: US Pricing: Note for all these photos in both posts, I’m using the default backlight settings. It always seemed strange to have that available for the snow sports but not have a simple hiking sport option. For you endurance athletes, think of this like the mother of all structured workouts. Pressure sensor seems now much more reliable. The VA3M works great now, including altitude (the non-music has altimeter issues due to ports on bottom of watch). Same could be done in other place like for notifications. Here’s a bunch of random trip reports and daily trip-logs that I’ve put together and posted. with that 2 hour workout and Ox monitor at night I got remaining around 25% now in 36 hours. While optical HR works on some newer Garmin watches, if you're looking for higher levels of accuracy, the HRM-TRI or HRM-SWIM are less expensive than the HRM-PRO, but lack the Bluetooth connectivity and a few other features.