On the downside, the Vivosmart 4’s step counter isn’t exactly accurate, although this tends to be a common problem with fitness trackers. The body battery feature is perhaps the most useful tool within this tracker, as it lets you know when you need to take it easy and when you have more energy available to spend. I was in the process of moving while testing the Vivosmart 4, and I could watch my stress levels rising as I went through the stresses of packing, moving, and buying and selling my homes. There’s also a stress monitoring widget you can place right on the tracker’s interface, which I also found incredibly useful.
The Vivosmart 4 has some cool perks, like a pulse ox sensor that can track blood oxygen saturation levels, and a body battery feature that uses a variety of data (oxygen, sleep, heart rate, etc) to determine how much energy you have available. The Garmin Vivosmart 4 performs exceptionally well in some areas and mediocre in others, making it a decent device for runners or everyday users who want a device to track their general health and wellness, but a not such great device for fitness buffs who want seamless and accurate workout tracking.
Performance: Body battery and stress monitoring You really only have to take off the Vivosmart to charge the battery. The Vivosmart 4 is waterproof, and you can wear it in the pool, wear it while showering, and in the rain without damaging the device.
The buckle doesn’t press into the skin or cause irritation, but the sides of the silicone band do leave indents on the wrist after long periods of wear.
The band’s side edges are rounded off, making it feel more comfortable against the skin. Most of the time, I’d forget I was even wearing the tracker until it vibrated. The Vivosmart 4 is one of the more comfortable fitness trackers I’ve tested. Lifewire / Erika Rawes Comfort: You’ll forget you’re wearing it Other trackers, like the Fitbit Charge 4, come with both a small and large band. The small/medium size fit my wrist well, but when I had my husband try on the band, it wouldn’t fit around his wrist. The band also comes in small/medium or large sizes. Unfortunately, you can only choose one-grey with rose gold trim, berry with light gold trim, azure blue with silver trim, or the band I tested, black with midnight trim. I was somewhat disappointed to see that I couldn’t switch out the bands for other colors and styles, especially considering Garmin has such attractive band options. The Vivosmart 4 has a unibody design, and you cannot remove the tracker portion from the band. The tiny screen measures a mere 0.26 inches wide by 0.70 inches tall. But, the slim design isn’t particularly functional, as the screen is extremely small and somewhat hard to read from a distance (especially if you have poor vision like me). Now, this is great for style purposes, as the band looks great on the wrist. It has a very slim profile, with the silicone band measuring only about a half of an inch in width. The Vivosmart is lightweight, weighing only 16.5 grams (for the small/medium size). I tested the Garmin Vivosmart 4 for a month to see how it performs compared to other similarly priced fitness trackers on the market. The Garmin Vivosmart 4 is priced in about the mid-range, and it offers a few cool perks in addition to the standards like calorie counting and step counting.
Keep reading for our full product review.įitness trackers have come a long way over the last few years, and you can find options in a variety of shapes, sizes, styles, and price ranges. We purchased Garmin's Vivosmart 4 so our expert reviewer could thoroughly test and assess it.