Faisal Ghaffar 
The Vivoactive 4 was introduced back in 2019 and Garmin has now launched the successor of its first smartwatch-style sports watch called the Vivoactive 5.
Design and Build
While its predecessor was available in two sizes, the Vivoactive 5 is only available in one case size of about 42mm. The case is polymer, as is the case with most Garmin watches, but it comes with an aluminum bezel instead of the steel one found in the Vivoactive 4. It comes in four different colors and there is a 20mm quick release band available with it.
The sports watch is very comfortable to wear throughout the day, during exercise and even in bed. The transflective display has now been replaced with a 1.2-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 390 x 390. This means the screen is punchier and you get better colors, which leads to improved visibility. The touchscreen also comes with a sizeable black bezel that takes away from its overall streamlined look.
There are two physical buttons included, while the charging port is on the back. There is also an optical heart rate sensor that has been upgraded.
Health and Fitness Tracking
Since it is a multi-sportswatch, the Vivoactive 5 can track swims, runs, cycles and golf is also part of its sports profiles. You will also find tracking profiles given for indoor workouts, such as the Elliptical. In fact, workouts for wheelchair users have also been added. The watch will keep track of your daily steps, monitor your sleep time and encourage you to move more. A new sleep coach feature has also been introduced for offering suggestions on how to improve your quality sleep time.
There is a pulse ox blood oxygen saturation sensor available. The sports tracking is solid and the accuracy is also very impressive. The optical heart rate sensor has also been updated and its performance is also worth noting. Garmin has also expanded the sleep metrics the watch can track, but this is a hit and a miss. You will also find training analysis features, such as building workouts, intervals for running and more.
Smartwatch Features
The Vivoactive 5 has been designed to be a sports watch as well as a smartwatch. It works with both Android and iOS devices. Notifications can be checked and Android users can also view images that are sent via messages. There is also a virtual keyboard for responding to messages. 4GB of storage is available for the onboard music player.
It can be plugged into a PC for transferring your music, or it can be synced from streaming music services like Spotify. Garmin Pay has also been incorporated for making contactless payments. You can also connect to Garmin’s Connect IQ Store for downloading apps, widgets, data fields and watch faces.
The Verdict
Priced at $299.99, the Vivoactive 5 also comes with decent battery performance. It is a solid multi-sports watch that comes with an AMOLED screen and it performs just as good as a smartwatch as you would expect from a device in this price range.
