The vivoactive 4 is Garmin's latest mid-priced smartwatch, and it has all the features that you'd expect from a top-end fitness watch.
The app can track almost any sport or gym activity. From strength training to yoga. It also has some workout animations for beginners. There's even a breathwork mode that uses a mindful breathing technique to help you improve your oxygen intake and lower stress levels.
What's more, it has a lot of useful fitness tracking abilities as well, including VO2 max, heart rate monitoring and a pulse oximeter that can detect your breathing rate (see FirstBeat). The battery life is also good, lasting up to 8 days in smartwatch mode or 16 hours with GPS and music.
Vivoactive 4's water-resistance is up to fifty meters, making it perfect for swimming and other aquatic adventures. Gorilla 3 is used as a protective layer to avoid scratches and dents.
The touch screen on this smartwatch looks as if it could withstand the abuse of a fitness center. It's a good design, and it's certainly better than the last model in the range which has an uninspiring plastic body.
Garmin has some impressive sports tracking options, and their heart rate monitors are reliable and consistent. It's not perfect though - heart rate data is usually smoothed out a bit more than I would prefer, but it isn't too bad.
The vivoactive 4 has a good range of music capabilities, with support for offline playlists and local storage for up to 500 songs. However, music service integration is a little clunky. The vivoactive can be used with Spotify and Deezer. However, you'll need to connect your account via a smartphone. You also cannot add songs from the watch.
When it comes to fitness tracking, the vivoactive 4 is well ahead of the pack. It is able to log more than 100 different health and fitness metrics, including hydration, stress, calorie burn, sleep and menstrual cycle.
With all this tracking ability, it's no wonder that the vivoactive 4 is so popular among Garmin fans. It has a wide range of fitness features.
What's more, it can display a map of where you've been as a summary when you finish your run, and it can also play music on Bluetooth headphones.
It is worth noting, however, that the vivoactive 4 does not have an integrated speaker or microphone so you'll need to have a smartphone nearby to use it. You can also connect an ANT+ cycling sensor/cadence and footpod to improve accuracy when in areas where GPS reception is poor.
The vivoactive 4 is a big step up from the vivoactive 3 in a few key ways, including a new touch screen that is easier to navigate and more responsive. It features a button that allows you to add or remove activities. You can also display multiple pages simultaneously.