Final verdict: Better than some, worse than others. Buy when it goes on sale. Disclosure: I am coming from a Vivoactive 3 non music, and have previously owned a Series 3 cellular Apple Watch, a Pebble Time Steel and a Pebble Time (normal). Pros: Eye catching design Easy to use Light and comfortable Functions work well Solid battery life Great band out of the box (and uses universal 20mm bands) Garmin Connect app is fantastic Plenty of complications to choose from Cons: -Touch screen is the only way to operate the watch, and it can be finnicky. -Not as many functions or usability as the similarly priced Venu or Vivoactive 4S -Overpriced -Crystal is only Gorilla Glass 3 on the HR, and Style models (prone to scratches more than Gorilla Glass 5) -Battery life falls short of the quoted 5 days even with additional functions turned off (I'm getting around three and a half with auto exercise turned off, and vibration set to low) -Alarms need to be set using the Connect app on your phone (what the heck?) -No illumination of hands, night time visibility of the hands is zero. -Proprietary charger that is ancient Final verdict: When the hands move out of the way automatically so you can view a text message, it certainly is impressive and sure to attract oohs and ahhs of those paying attention. This watch needs work though. Just a single small pusher on the side (like the digital crown on the Apple Watch) would add much more functionality. A small spot of tritium paint on the end of the hands would allow night time visibility without needing to engage the smart features. At the end of the day though, this is arguably the best looking hybrid watch at the moment with the offerings from Withings and Fossil being less attractive on the wrist. Gorilla Glass 3 is equal parts okay scratch resistance and okay drop resistance. I dont foresee people dropping this watch in effect to crack it, so Gorilla Glass 5 with its lower drop resistance but much better scratch resistance would be a better choice. Though I'm disappointed, I like it enough to not return it. It does its job well enough, just 300 bucks is crazy.

I had a 2019-ish model of the vivomove HR which is similar but less impressive. Compared to other smart/ hybrid watches, I have no idea how this matches up.. however if you're familiar with the hybrid idea and design that Garmin has and the app, this is much improved and I'm happy I bought it. (Personally i ordered custom thru Garmin's site but that does mean I miss out on Total Tech protection. The personalization was worth it imo)

I do not use this watch for the fitness tracking, but if I am wearing it during physical activity it has excellent tracking. Tapping the screen takes some getting used to but it is a great watch with a good screen. The only downside is the battery notification when it is low. I get about 3 days of battery life and whenever the battery is low the watch will vibrate to remind you whenever you get a notification, until it is charged.

Great watch. Very comfortable and nice looking. I love that even if I forget to charge it for the smart watch function it still works as a normal watch. I have had lots of smart watches and really love the garmin ones.

Love my watch! Has all the features you need. It is somewhat accurate when it comes to reading vitals. Super light, comfortable and strong!