Live Science Verdict
Garmin upgrades its Vivoactive serial with more training skills and an even slicker interface . It ’s ideal for those just starting out or big gym fans , but some of the Vivoactive 6 ’s more advanced feature could be easier to use , and the Forerunner series is still beneficial for stolon .
Good trailing truth
Bright , shrewd filmdom
The Vivoactive 6 is one of the smallest Garmin smartwatches.
Structured workouts
Basic navigation feature only
Limited version of Suggested Workouts
We were impressed by the display in our Garmin Vivoactive 6.
Older HR / GPS tech impacts stats
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The Vivoactive 6 is one of Garmin ’s lighter watches , in more than one sense . It looks like a smartwatch and has none of the impose stature of a high - conclusion serial like theFenix 8 . At under 40 g , you ’ll blank out you ’re even bear it at times , too .
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 is a great option for all-day wear.
This is a for the most part touchscreen - operated watch that can breezily maneuver you from being someone who does n’t exercise to a minor captain of yoga and the gym . We ’d still advocate a Forerunner - serial sentinel over this one for contrabandist . But the Vivoactive 6 has some absolutely bright coaching features — you just have to dig a small further below the surface than we ’d like to discover them .
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 costs $ 299/£279/€329 . While not cheap , it is among Garmin ’s more affordable vigil , and comes in black , dark-green , Au and pinkish shades .
Garmin Vivoactive 6 review
Garmin Vivoactive 6 review: Design
Screen:1.2 - in , 390 x 390 AMOLED
Connectivity : Bluetooth , Wi - Fi
Water resistance:5ATM
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 features beginner-friendly workout animations.
Storage:8 GB
Battery life : Up to 11 daytime
attribute ( in):1.65 x 1.65 x 0.43
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 can advise you on the duration and intensity of your walking workouts.
property ( mm):42 x 42 x 10.9
Weight:1.27 oz ( 36 g )
Many ofGarmin ’s watchesare imposing things that make you wonder if you ’re even qualified to own them . The Vivoactive 6 is not one of these : it ’s a unmixed watch made in smartwatch style . It ’s low , it ’s light and it ’s fairly sparse . The Garmin Vivoactive 6 is a watch you’re able to well don overnight , and you ’ll want to , as it can traverse your sopor , too .
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 can stream your favorite tunes from Spotify, Amazon Music and Deezer.
While this ticker is n’t quite as expensive - look or as characterful as some rival smartwatches , it has certain touches of class that Garmin ’s more strictly physical fitness - concentre watch miss . The Vivoactive 6 ’s bezel is aluminium , for example , and the top open is Gorilla Glass 3 , a circle of the stuff more or less domed at the margin .
This is not the hard material around , though . We managed to put a light nick in the glass over a few weeks of testing , and that peril is increase by the want of a bezel brim over the display glass .
The screen door itself is great , though . The Garmin Vivoactive 6 has a 1.2 - column inch OLED exhibit of 390 x 390 pixel resolution . It ’s shrewd , it ’s shining and it holds up absolutely well in dazzling direct sun .
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 displayed good accuracy in our tests.
obstinate to how we usually try out Garmin watches , we kept the Vivoactive 6 ’s presentation in its default option mode most of the sentence , where it switches off after a few second base , only turn on with a radiocarpal joint picture , clitoris mechanical press or screen tap . An always - on modality is available too , but this comes with a significant cost in term of assault and battery life . More on that afterwards .
Charging apart , there ’s no major reasonableness to remove the Vivoactive 6 in sidereal day - to - day life . It ’s comfy , and 5ATM water resistance is solid enough for use while showering or swimming in a normal pool .
If you ’re only , or at least principally , looking for a Garmin for fitness use , though , you might desire to consider a more button - force back lookout like the Forerunner 165 . The Vivoactive 6 has two buttons , but to shift between info screen during physical exercise here you have to swipe the touchscreen . While this figure out just all right , during strenuous practice a reliable onetime button press can feel good .
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 can last up to 11 days on a single charge.
Garmin Vivoactive 6 review: Features
The Vivoactive series has for years offered a more approachable entry point to the Garmin range , more so even than the more expensive Venu family . This generation see the Vivoactive 6 gain a crew of utile fitness features .
You get suggested workouts , which are like personal trainer you do n’t have to pay for . The watch also supports structured , gym - style workouts — pick out or custom - made in Garmin Connect on your speech sound — and you could send over class ( basically routes ) for on - watch navigation .
Animations are sustain , too . These show you what everything from sit - ups and squatting to cow yoga poses should actually look like — handy for those who are just getting into gym - like Roger Huntington Sessions , Pilates or yoga .
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 is a great entry-level smartwatch.
Our first impression of the Vivoactive 6 was that it could be a astonishingly hardcore physical fitness spotter , give its Mary Leontyne Price and standing within the Garmin range . There are , however , some important limitation to take down .
The Vivoactive 6 only stomach intimate Workouts for walk , not the running and cycling action that are the common choice . This feature film is where you ’re given a workout each day , base on how well - rest your lookout thinks you are , and the other exercise you ’ve done lately .
The job is , suggestedwalkingworkouts are likely to only be of interest to true exercise newcomer , honest-to-god family line and those recoup from harm , not the median Garmin lookout man buyer . They ’re not that interesting .
We tested the Garmin Vivoactive 6 for over a month.
queerly enough , the Vivoactive 6 does offer far more hardcore guide exercise plans . Using Garmin Coach , the watch can supply you with a marathon preparation programme . you’re able to also use this feature to approximately reduplicate what Suggested Workouts does ( or do a couch - to-5k ) , but it ’s so user - unfriendly that we really had to expect Garmin how to get this to work , and that ’s after critique Garmin watches for years .
On - watch navigation is fairly limited , too . As with every Garmin watch of this level , you do n’t get on - spotter mapping . The Vivoactive 6 also lacks twist - by - turn sailing . During testing , we used the vigil to navigate through a half - marathon course in Tenerife , an unfamiliar region , and proceed on rails was more difficult than it would be with a Forerunner contender . This scout will alarm you when you go off - course , andit point a breadcrumb track of where you should be fail . But you do n’t get an auditory or visual cue when a twist is coming up .
These niggles are n’t necessarily deal - surf for the Vivoactive 6 ’s object consultation . They just mean the watch ca n’t lay claim a total triumph over something like theForerunner 165or265 , which are more exercise - obsessional - favorable .
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 also miss an altimeter , used to measure the number of stairs you climb ( or alternate ascents ) each sidereal day . Such a feature film is ideal for a lighter physical fitness tracker like the Vivoactive 6 .
These thing apart , though , the experience of using the Vivoactive 6 is large . It has a slipperiness and pretty intuitive user interface that relays your casual stats attractively and handles phone notifications well .
There ’s solid sleep trailing , Garmin ’s excellent Body Battery characteristic , a wealth of physical exercise modes and support for music . The Vivoactive 6 does not have a loudspeaker build up - in , but it can institutionalize euphony to Bluetooth earphone , from locally put in trail or ones pour from Spotify , Amazon Music or Deezer . The lookout has 8 GB of storage , 5.3 GB of which was accessible on our review watch .
It has Garmin Wallet too , for wireless payments with supported bank . Check Garmin ’s website to see if yours is on the list .
This was also Garmin ’s first sentinel to get sassy alarms , which analyze your sleep cycle to heat you up when you ’ll find most refreshed , up to 30 bit before your actual alarm clip .
Garmin Vivoactive 6 review: Performance
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 does not have every latest techy standard among physical fitness watches , but what it does have is mostly tilt - satisfying . GPS location trailing is reliable , consistent and has as degraded a lock - on as Garmin ’s far more expensive watch , taking just a few seconds .
Its essence rate detector grow good readings both during exercise and while conk out about your day . This also feeds into believable stress stats , which are viewable on your daily stats as a graphical record track tension degree over the last four hours .
However , compared to the Fenix 8 , the watch ’s heart rate reader is slower on the intake during weight lifting solidifying . And on a dyad of retentive runs during which we take a short break , the sentinel would sometimes struggle to interlace on to the right reading , typically registering about 20 metronome marking lower than the real figure for a few minute .
Once or doubly , the Vivoactive 6 ’s pace stats were off during a foot race when under obtuse Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree cover , suggesting a slender GPS fumble . Why might this be ? What you ’re missing out on here is Garmin ’s very recent multiplication warmness pace proofreader regalia and duple - band GPS . We ’re on equation with models a few age onetime .
While the Vivoactive 6 ’s HR accuracy is still broadly speaking solid , this previous hardware rules out being able to ever take ECG reading with this serial . That ’s a way to seem for sign of arrhythmia , but it does require alive participation , typically a 30 - second manual recitation session .
The scout does n’t have Garmin ’s very best hardware or its top accuracy , but for the price ? It ’s still one of the dear performer .
Garmin ’s barrage fire estimate of up to 11 days of manipulation between rush is potential to be a fleck optimistic if you use the sentry ’s GPS a sight . An hour of tracked running take away 6 % off the shelling level , and with our level of usage , a charge lasts around six to seven days .
This dropped to a little under four solar day with the “ always on ” CRT screen musical mode switched on . However , we were guide for up to six hours a hebdomad during testing , with several tracked gymnasium sessions on top . 11 day is belike still accomplishable with lighter consumption .
Garmin Vivoactive 6 review: User reviews
Garmin ’s Vivoactive 6 received mostly positive reviews from buyers , sitting at a solid 4.1 out of 5 rating atAmazonat the clip of writing .
Complaints from commentator include the lack of support for YouTube Music , which has been present as a music provider in premature watches , and a deficiency of customisation .
There was also some literary criticism regarding how the Vivoactive 6 grip notifications . It will forward on any notifications your phone receives , but there ’s no power to confine the apps on the invitee list .
Should you buy the Garmin Vivoactive 6?
The Vivoactive 6 is an easygoing vigil that coalesce Garmin ’s latest silklike , smartwatch - similar port with some fairly telling workout feature . you’re able to create your own routes and routines , and be contribute along them by this vigil .
It ’s not quite a equal for the Forerunner series when you attend deeper into this fitness side , as you ’d expect . But for beginners and those just dipping a toe into the weewee of integrated workouts and properly planned exercise , it ’s ideal .
We observe the Vivoactive 6 ’s electric battery life a niggling short than claimed when it was subject to a demanding workout schedule . But if that ’s your elan , then you may ( and we do only stand for may ) require to consider a Garmin Forerunner instead .
If the Garmin Vivoactive 6 isn’t for you
Garmin ’s step - up model from the Vivoactive 6 is theVenu 3 , a much more expensive sentinel from 2023 . The Vivoactive 6 is likely better value for most people , though , render it still has a wide array of features and admirable trailing attainment . And the Venu 3 does not support transport of itinerary for seafaring either — the Vivoactive does .
If you are put off by some of the limitations mentioned above , then check out theGarmin Forerunner 165 . It ’s less clean - looking , but it offer arguably the dependable economic value for money in the entire Garmin dividing line - up .
How we tested the Garmin Vivoactive 6
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 was tested over the course of just over a month , during which it was used as our basal physical fitness tracker and wear off nearly 24/7 .
examination include more than 250 km of tracked outpouring — including a couple of parkruns — a dozen or more gym sessions , several outside swim and even a trek up a mini long - torpid vent .
Over that period , the Vivoactive 6 was used both in its powerfulness - draining always - on screen mode , and how it comes refreshed out of the box seat . This provides the best horizon of real - humans assault and battery life .
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