But the Vivosmart 4 is much easier to wear all day and all night than any Fenix watch, making it an ideal device to monitor breathing and oxygen levels during sleep. The $129 Garmin Vivosmart 4. If you spend a lot of time outdoors exploring, this is the kind of free face to have loaded up onto your Garmin. Compatible watches: Fenix 5/6 series, Fenix Chronos, Marq, Vivoactive 3/4, Venu.

To access your device settings through Garmin Connect web: Go to connect.garmin.com from your personal computer. Select (upper right corner) Select the specific Vivo device. Select Device Settings. Update the settings and select Save. NOTE: Notifications are always displayed in landscape format on the Vivosmart and Vivosmart HR.

Fitness tech companies, particularly Fitbit and Garmin, want to monitor the level of oxygen in your blood. It's a metric that could help spot signs of sleep apnea and other breathing-related problems, so companies have been scrambling to perfect their SpO2 sensors and incorporate this data into their ecosystems in a meaningful way.

Fitbit still hasn't activated its SpO2 monitors in its wearables (although that feature should roll out in beta in November), but Garmin has. Its newest fitness tracker, the $129 Vivosmart 4, includes an SpO2 monitor and measures Body Battery, which lets you know when you should plan your next intense workout session and when you should take a rest day.

Those two features, in addition to an all-new design and an affordable price, attempt to push the Vivosmart 4 above the rest of the fitness tracker crowd. As we saw with Fitbit's Charge 3, trackers have fallen into a boredom trap as of late, so companies are trying to find unique ways to capture the attention of potential customers who aren't fully sold on smartwatches. While Garmin achieves a certain level of differentiation with the Vivosmart 4, it's unlikely that everyone who prefers fitness bands to smartwatches will gravitate toward this device.

Design

Garmin consistently one-ups itself when it redesigns wearables from scratch. The Vivosmart 4 is leaps and bounds more attractive than the Vivosmart 3, which was an unnecessarily bulky band. Garmin shaved off 3mm from the new device's width and nearly 1mm from its thickness. That, combined with the lightly textured silicone band, the new 0.26×0.70-inch OLED display, and the striking aluminum bezels, make the Vivosmart 4 feel like a totally different device, rather than just the next in the Vivosmart line.

It's the most comfortable Garmin device I've ever worn thanks to the updated design and its new 0.6-ounce weight. Download ultraman fighting evolution 3 ps2 iso download. Unless you secure the band too tightly around your wrist, you won't feel the Vivosmart 4 when you're wearing it. Since it's safe to swim and shower with, you may forget it's on when you go to do one or both of those activities.

But like the Vivosmart devices to come before it, the Vivosmart 4's module is stationary in the middle of the continuous piece of silicone that makes up its band. You can't change the bands out, so you'll be stuck with the color you initially choose. That restriction will hurt Garmin (and probably already has), because most other trackers like those from Fitbit allow users to switch bands out for new ones. Not only does that increase the longevity of the device, but it also lets users feel like they're wearing a customizable accessory rather than an electronic device.

In addition to the standard array of activity-tracking sensors, the Vivosmart 4 includes an SpO2 monitor to measure blood oxygen saturation. We'll get into the details of this data in the next section, but the Pulse Ox sensor (Garmin's name for its SpO2 sensor) is a great addition to such an affordable device. Garmin previously only included it in its Fenix series of smartwatches, all of which are much more expensive than the Vivosmart 4. But the Vivosmart 4 is much easier to wear all day and all night than any Fenix watch, making it an ideal device to monitor breathing and oxygen levels during sleep.

Fitness: Body Battery, SpO2, and more

Body Battery

The two stand-out features of the Vivosmart 4 are Body Battery and SpO2 monitoring. The former quantifies everything that both drains and powers your body, giving you a score that shows how much 'battery' your body has throughout the day.

Body Battery takes stress levels, heart rate variability, and sleep and activity data into account when adjusting your score—an intense morning workout could deplete your Body Battery by 20 or 30 points, but a restful period after that could increase it by 15 points. The score constantly changes throughout the day as you do different things, and at the end of the day, you can see the highest and lowest Body Battery scores you achieved.

I found Body Battery to be the most interesting for me when it changed due to stress. Garmin devices recognize stress through your heart rate—a pulse that's elevated for long periods of time (when not exercising) shows signs of stress. These stress periods can lower your Body Battery just like exercise can, although you likely won't see a 30-point loss from stress unless you were experiencing a tragedy.

In the Body Battery page in Garmin's Connect mobile app, you can toggle between the overall Body Battery graph and stress data. It puts stress into perspective because it shows exactly when your pulse spiked throughout the day. The Vivosmart 4 considered me 'stressed' during a few pockets of my day, many of which were right when I woke up and was rushing to get ready for work or the gym. While I may not consider myself stressed during those times, it's illuminating to see just how often my pulse spiked throughout a normal day.

Those new to daily activity will get the most out of Body Battery. It can be difficult to assess your body's state when you're just starting to incorporate daily exercise or more intense workouts. Body Battery can help those users see how much their workouts affected their bodies, as well as how other factors like stress did, that they may not take into account on their own. That knowledge could help new users make more informed decisions about training days, intensity levels, and rest periods.

When buying a fitness tracker, many things will be on your mind, such as compatibility, app variety, and fitness tracking. Both the Garmin Vivosmart 4 and Fitbit Charge 3 have quite the capabilities in these areas, making the competition tough.

Since both of these watches have almost identical features, nitpicking the minutest differences is a must to understand which one will be the best for you. Generally speaking, the Fitbit brand has been leading the fitness tracking arena for a great while now. However, Garmin’s Vivosmart 4 strikes a good bargain.

So, should you choose the Garmin Vivosmart 4 or Fitbit Charge 3? Let’s find out.

Garmin Vivosmart 4 vs. Fitbit Charge 3: Which Is Better?

Simply put, this depends on your exact needs. The Garmin Vivosmart 4 has a compact, sleek design. In fact, that’s what makes it so special compared to other smartwatches. So, if you’re looking for a light and small fitness tracker that you can almost forget that you’re wearing, you should go for the Garmin Vivosmart 4.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for better readability for notifications, a bigger screen, and better navigation, you should pick the Fitbit Charge 3.

Design

This is the one definitive feature for both trackers. Vivosmart 4 has a sleek design so light that you would often forget you’re wearing it. This is precisely why a lot of people opt for this fitness tracker. Nonetheless, if small displays can be eye-straining for you, then you should steer clear from this one.

In contrast, the Fitbit Charge 3 is bulkier and even chunkier. However, you’ll be able to read notifications more easily than you would on Vivosmart 4. The square screen adjusts the texts to be easily read instead of Fitbit Charge 3’s small rectangular screen.

All in all, the Vivosmart 4’s design is made to fit in and be discreet, while the Fitbit Charge 3 stands out.

Winner: Tie. It depends on your preferences.

Read also: Suunto vs Garmin

Battery Life

At first glance, you’ll find that both fitness trackers promise a 7-day battery life. However, this duration can and will fluctuate depending on your usage.

For instance, the Vivosmart 4’s battery life drops to around 4 days when using one of the unique features like the OX pulse. The same goes for Fitbit Charge 3, though it drops only to 5 days after constant usage.

However, when you think about it, the Garmin Vivosmart 4 sports one of the largest and most durable batteries considering its incredibly compact size. In fact, it contains a lot of unique features, and it all fits perfectly into this small watch, which is regarded as a feat compared to Fitbit Charge 3.

Winner: Fitbit Charge 3.

Fitness Tracking

Overall, both watches track your steps, stairs climbed, calories burned, movement, and heart rate, as inaccurate as that might be in some cases. They also track a host of other activities, though you might find that the Fitbit Charge 3 tracks more activities than Vivosmart 4.

Although both watches can track an array of fitness exercises and activities, they’re not highly accurate when it comes to their heart rate sensors, especially the Garmin Vivosmart 4.

Despite that, the Vivosmart can accurately measure the blood oxygen saturation thanks to its Pulse Ox sensor. However, it might be a bit inaccurate when it comes to run-tracking.

Winner: Fitbit Charge 3.

Ltz 250 manual. Read also: Garmin Fenix 5x Vs 5x Plus

Connectivity

Phillies font free. The Vivosmart 4 can practically be paired with any device without worrying about it not syncing to the device. But make sure that you’ve downloaded the latest version of the Garmin Connect app, as not all the watch’s features will work on your phone if you don’t.

Vivoactive 4s Watch Faces

Although navigating the app might be a bit tricky, it’ll give you more control over your watch and even provide you with some useful customization options, like sleep times, watch faces, and more.

As for the Fitbit Charge 3, syncing it with your smartphone is much easier. All you have to do is turn on your Bluetooth; however, you might face some connectivity issues. In fact, your watch might not sync with your phone sometimes, which is why you’ll have to download the compatible Fitbit app with your device.

Winner: Tie.

Water Resistance

If you often dip your hands in water or forget to take off your watch while showering, there’s no need to worry because both Vivosmart 4 and Charge 3 have a high degree of water resistance!

Actually, Garmin has been doing a pretty good job of keeping all their devices water-resistant. The Vivosmart 4 is no different, as it has a water resistance rating of 100 meters, which means that you can wear your watch while doing a variety of activities, including swimming. It can also provide you with valuable metrics while swimming.

On the other hand, the Fitbit Charge 3 is water-resistant up to 50 meters. While this rating can still give you readings on your performance while swimming, it doesn’t beat Vivosmart 4’s 100-meter rating.

Garmin Vivosmart 4 Watch Faces

Winner: Vivosmart 4.

GPS

Vivosmart 4 Watch Faces Chart

Unfortunately, the Vivosmart 4 doesn’t have a built-in GPS, but it uses your smartphone’s GPS to track your outdoor activities and give you accurate readings of your health, which you can access through the watch’s app. Of course, this feature doesn’t substitute a built-in GPS, but it’s still useful in a way.

Likewise, the Fitbit Charge 3 doesn’t contain a built-in GPS as well, and it can track your outdoor activity, similar to how Vivosmart 4 does. So, make sure that you turn on the GPS on your phone every time you go exercise outside.

Winner: Tie.

Female Health Tracking

One of the best features that Fitbit Charge 3 has over the Vivosmart 4 is female health-tracking, something that’ll appeal to our female audience.

This feature basically tracks your menstrual cycle and incorporates that into your fitness data so you have a better understanding of which exercises should suit you best.

It’ll also help you set goals, connect with your friends, and help you better understand your health and body overall.

Winner: Fitbit Charge 3.

Garmin Vivosmart 4 – Pros & Cons:

Fitbit Charge 3 – Pros & Cons:

Garmin Vivosmart 4 vs. Fitbit Charge 3: Which One Wins?

Both of these fitness trackers are great; they have a lot of similarities, but they can also be different in various aspects, just as we’ve highlighted in this review. To sum it up, if you’re looking for a budget-friendly compact smartwatch with various features, the Garmin Vivosmart 4 is your best bet.

If you’re looking for a useful smartwatch with an excellent display and better navigability, the Fitbit Charge 3 is a great option for that purpose!