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As somebody who does primarily weightlifting and never a lot working, Garmin smartwatches all the time appeared out of attain to me. They all the time felt like fanatic watches for runners or outdoorsy sorts, neither of which I’m. Moreover, the buttons and complicated UI made them troublesome to select up. Nevertheless, the Garmin Vivoactive 6 appears to be a treatment to this, providing a reasonably inexpensive different with a easy design and a extra user-friendly UI.
The Vivoactive 6 looks like the right entryway into the world of Garmin watches, particularly in the event you’re probably not a runner. You might not get all the most recent and biggest options or specs, as anybody in search of these must spend considerably extra on a watch. Nevertheless, the Vivoactive 6 is nice for getting the fundamentals, monitoring exercises, and retaining you energetic.
Garmin Vivoactive 6: Value, availability, and specs
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 was introduced in April 2025 and went on sale the identical month. The watch retails for $299 and is obtainable in a number of colorways: Slate, Lunar Gold, Metallic Jasper Inexperienced, and Metallic Pink Daybreak.
The Vivoactive 6 solely is available in a 42.2mm case dimension and helps 20mm quick-release bands.
Class | Garmin Vivoactive 6 |
|---|---|
Measurement | 42.2 x 42.2 x 10.9 mm |
Supplies | Fiber-reinforced polymer case Anodized aluminum bezel Silicon strap |
Safety | Gorilla Glass 3 5ATM |
Weight | 36g (with included band) |
Show | 1.2-inch (390×390) AMOLED |
Reminiscence | 8GB |
Battery life | Smartwatch mode: 11 days Battery saver: 21 days GPS-Solely GNSS mode: 21 days All-Programs GNSS mode: 17 hours All-Programs GNSS mode w/ music: 8 hours |
Sensors | Elevate v4 HR, pulse oximeter, accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, exterior thermometer |
Monitoring | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS, BeiDou |
Connectivity | Bluetooth, ANT+, NFC |
Colours | Slate, Lunar Gold, Metallic Jasper Inexperienced, Metallic Pink Daybreak |
Garmin Vivoactive 6: What I like
The Vivoactive 6 is a surprisingly well-built smartwatch. It is on the smaller aspect, which can not go well with you if in case you have bigger wrists, however the plus aspect is that it is neither thick nor heavy. In truth, the watch may be very mild and cozy to put on. That is nice not solely in on a regular basis use, but additionally when carrying it to mattress, as I hardly discover it is on, in contrast to different smartwatches.
It is pretty powerful, too, though in all probability not as sturdy as pricier fashions. You continue to get stable water safety with 5 ATM, which means the watch will be submerged as much as 50 meters deep, which ought to attraction to informal swimmers. Gorilla Glass 3 safety must also assist maintain the show intact, whereas the aluminum bezel and fiber-reinforced polymer case give the watch a mushy really feel.
The OLED show may be very vibrant and pretty simple to maneuver, regardless of the somewhat massive bezels. It is extremely responsive and vibrant sufficient to make use of open air. At simply 1.2 inches, I want the show had been bigger, nevertheless it nonetheless serves its objective.
One factor I seen instantly after organising the Vivoactive 6 is that the UI is a major enchancment over the Venu 3, which is the one different Garmin watch I’ve used. It isn’t good, however menus really feel extra logical, and different UI modifications make extra sense, resembling accessing notifications by swiping down from the house display screen after which Look shortcuts by swiping up. Fast settings are accessible by swiping down, or you possibly can press and maintain the primary energy button. Settings can be accessed by holding the again button.
I feel a part of what makes this simpler to navigate, apart from the revamped software program, is that you simply solely have two {hardware} buttons. As I discovered having a 3rd button on the Venu 3 to be complicated, I respect the simplicity.
Total, the UI feels considerably extra inviting for informal health fans and anybody trying to buy their first Garmin watch.
Battery life is sort of stable on the Vivoactive 6. Garmin claims you possibly can rise up to 11 days of battery life per cost, which I do not doubt. I constantly get a full week of battery life, with one or two exercises tracked per day and the show set to gesture activation. You’d get much less battery with the always-on show activated, however I discover the gesture choice to be completely sufficient.
Garmin Vivoactive 6: Health
The Vivoactive 6 does not include Garmin’s newest Elevate sensor know-how, which means you will not get the improved accuracy discovered on fashions just like the Forerunner 970 and even the Venu 3. That stated, the watch nonetheless presents loads of health options and with sufficient accuracy that the older sensor shouldn’t delay informal customers.
I performed two separate step assessments, strolling 5,000 steps and evaluating the tip outcomes between the Vivoactive 6, Pixel Watch 3, Venu 3, and Oura Ring 4. For the needs of the check, I wore the Pixel and Venu on separate days, and I wore every machine on the identical arm in order that they might detect the identical motion whereas I walked. I additionally used a guide counter, tapping it for every step I took till I reached 5,000.
Step counts | Garmin Vivoactive 6 | Garmin Venu 3 | Google Pixel Watch 3 | Oura Ring 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Day 1 | 4,482 | ✖ | 5,002 | 5,114 |
Day 2 | 5,064 | 5,174 | ✖ | 5,294 |
The Vivoactive 6’s step depend was surprisingly low in the course of the first check, and I could not decide the reason for this discrepancy. Nevertheless, it carried out significantly better in the course of the second check, coming in considerably nearer than the Venu 3 or Oura Ring 4.
I additionally wore the Vivoactive 6 and Venu 3 throughout a number of exercises, primarily to match coronary heart fee knowledge. The info is from two HIIT (high-intensity interval coaching) exercises and 500 steps on the stair stepper:
Picture 1 of 3
I seen throughout my exercises that the readings from the Vivoactive 6 would typically keep fairly near these of the Venu, however typically I might see it nonetheless making an attempt to catch up when my coronary heart fee rose quickly.
As you possibly can see from the charts, the Vivoactive would have a number of random dips earlier than taking a number of seconds to match the Venu, or it will take longer to register the rise in coronary heart fee.
The Morning Report function is just like Morning Transient on the Pixel Watch, offering a breakdown of the morning, together with climate, sleep rating, and physique battery. It additionally comes with urged exercises, though you will not get far more than urged walks. It is excellent for informal health fans and serves as a great way to encourage customers to rise up and transfer all through the day.
I want the urged exercises had been a bit extra different, particularly for somebody like me who actively engages in HIIT, weightlifting, and energy yoga six days per week. That stated, it is clear that this watch is extra centered on encouraging customers to be energetic than on pushing them, which, once more, could be extra attribute of a Forerunner.
The watch options built-in GPS and helps numerous navigational methods, that are fairly correct and helpful for monitoring your route on runs or hikes. Needless to say you do not get an altimeter, which is a draw back in the event you benefit from the open air and climbing. You can also’t obtain maps to the watch, which can be a draw back for some.
You do, nonetheless, have entry to exercise movies instantly on the watch, which is useful when following the pre-made exercises created in Garmin Join. You may also curate your individual exercise throughout the app, though this looks like a really time-consuming and tedious process, and I might give up midway by means of.
Should you’re a weightlifter like me, you may seemingly be happy with the exercise monitoring. It might robotically detect reps and relaxation between units. It isn’t good, nevertheless it’s fairly helpful and extra correct than Galaxy smartwatches in my expertise, and considerably extra correct than you may get with a Pixel Watch.
In any other case, the watch comes with a wide range of exercise modes, which ought to please most customers.
Sleep monitoring has been pretty correct, even when in comparison with my Oura Ring 4. The one occasions I’ve seen any misses are after I would get up for a bit and fall again asleep for a number of hours, which my ring would account for however the watch would seemingly ignore.
There is not any physique temperature sensor, which is probably going a cost-cutting measure, though I can not say I miss it. There’s additionally no ECG, however you may get nearly each different well being monitoring function that one ought to anticipate on a smartwatch.
Garmin Vivoactive 6: What I do not like
The UI on the Vivoactive 3 is way improved, nevertheless it nonetheless comes with some quirks that I really feel are typical for Garmin. Notifications can typically take up your entire display screen, which will be fairly annoying once you’re truly making an attempt to do one thing on the watch. Moreover, the vibration depth cannot be altered, so you may get a reasonably jarring buzz except you flip the vibration off.
Talking of vibrations, the watch includes a Sensible Alarm that makes use of sleep monitoring to wake you up on the optimum time, so you’re feeling much less groggy. It sounds nice in idea, however I’ve discovered this function fairly ineffective or annoying. Oftentimes, I get up forward of my set alarm, so the Vivoactive finally ends up simply being late to the occasion when the sensible alarm lastly goes off. It additionally solely has a 30-minute window, which does not appear to be sufficient time to benefit from a function like this, particularly in case your sleep schedule is as erratic as mine.
The Vivoenergetic additionally has Transfer Break alerts to remind you to rise up and transfer, which is smart. Nevertheless, I will be actively standing and shifting round or cooking, and the watch will nonetheless buzz me with a transfer alert, which I discover annoying.
Lastly, regardless of the improved UI, Garmin nonetheless appears to cover options and settings underneath a mountain of menus, making it troublesome to find sure issues. That is whether or not you are on the watch or within the app. Utilizing the Garmin Join app will be overwhelming, and I typically needed to seek advice from Android Central senior editor and wearables skilled Michael Hicks to determine how you can do issues on the watch or within the app.
The smartwatch UI is a major step in the appropriate path, however I really feel that the app might use some enchancment.
Bonus: I briefly used the Join Plus subscription whereas testing the Vivoactive 6, however actually didn’t discover it helpful sufficient to warrant sticking with it. A stay view of my exercise coronary heart fee was neat, as had been a few of the AI-based insights, however I do not assume it is value paying for.
Garmin Vivoactive 6: Competitors
On this value vary, one other watch it’s possible you’ll need to take into account is the Pixel Watch 3. It includes a extra streamlined UI, quite a few apps, and a unbelievable design, together with LTE assist for many who require it. That stated, health monitoring might not be fairly on par, battery life is not as nice, and the bottom mannequin will value extra.
The Galaxy Watch 7 is one other smartwatch value contemplating at this value. It additionally runs Put on OS, so you may get most of the similar perks because the Pixel Watch with some Samsung aptitude. That stated, it additionally comes with the identical downsides, regardless of its fairly strong Samsung Well being app.
Garmin Vivoactive 6: Do you have to purchase it?
You can purchase this if…
- You are new to Garmin.
- You are an informal fitness-goer.
- You need a smartwatch with lengthy battery life.
You should not purchase this if…
- You are a severe runner or biker.
- You need a smartwatch expertise that is simple to make use of.
- You need a watch that pushes you to do extra.
The Vivoactive 6 has been a surprisingly refreshing expertise for me after coming from the Venu 3. Positive, it isn’t precisely a premium watch, and also you miss out on some options and specs, nevertheless it will get you a lot of what you’d anticipate from a Garmin machine with out the worth tag related to watches just like the Fenix 8.
Since I am not a runner or biker, this looks like an ideal watch for somebody like me, who simply needs to trace my exercises. The Vivoactive 6 will not push you to do something you do not need to do, however it can ensure you’re a minimum of staying energetic, which is nice sufficient for many people.
This is a perfect smartwatch for anybody concerned about Garmin however involved about what it entails, and it is platform-agnostic, so each Android and iOS customers are welcome.
Keep energetic
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 is a good smartwatch for anybody new to the Garmin ecosystem and beginning their health journey.
