Customer Ratings & Reviews

I love this watch! I decided to switch to garmin from Apple because I mainly needed a fitness watch and I NEEDED longer battery life. This garmin is easy to use and link to my food app and my treadmill. It does a great job tracking my strength training too. I love the vibrating alarm too. The garmin app is also easy to use and personalize. I was also able to get some nice fabric bands in different colors. I’ve worn it consistently for a month now so I feel very good about saying this watch is a winner!

Works very good. Very durable and accurate with its readings. It fits very comfortably on your wrist and doesn’t pinch your skin. I switched from an Apple Watch and it is more lightweight, lasts about a week/week and a half before you have to charge it again, and shows accurate readings!! Highly recommend if you’re looking for a new watch and are wanting to track your health.

The Garmin Vívoactive 6 is one of the best smartwatches under $300. Packed with 80+ sport modes, smart wake alarm, and PacePro pacing, it delivers premium features at a mid-range price. The revamped AMOLED display is sharp and intuitive, and battery life hits an impressive 11 days — leaving the competition far behind. Lightweight, reliable, and packed with value. A must-have for any fitness enthusiast.

I might have a controversial opinion in saying that Apple Watches are too excessive and pointless in what they offer (especially at the higher price tiers) and absolutely atrocious in the pitiful battery life they have to contend with because of all the fancy stuff they put in them. I can not justify buying a watch for over $250 and having to recharge it every half day - to me that's an absurd proposition. This watch by comparison has already been incredible to use so far in it's general functionality and battery life. I'm not sure I'd really call this a smartwatch in the typical sense of the word; it's really more of a grand compromise between a true smartwatch like an Apple Watch and a more fitness-geared watch like the Garmin Instinct line. Pros and perks: - I LOVE the customizability of the watch faces through the Garmin Connect IQ app. It lets me see the fitness metrics and data that I want without having to go through third-party subscriptions. - As mentioned - battery life has been superb out of the box, even with more power-intensive initial setup and setting adjustment, I am on track to get a solid 9 days per charge at this time, and will be making more adjustments to what features I do and don't use to potentially optimize that more. For a non-solar version of a garmin watch, this battery life is excellent in my eyes. - I love the look of this watch - I was apprehensive about sizing up from a fitbit Charge 6 before but this watch has proven to me that I didn't need to be that worried. It doesn't feel obtrusive on my wrist at all and I've yet to have any skin irritation issues with the default band than came with the watch as far as comfort goes. - Connectivity to my iPhone has been quite good to date. I feel like Apple deliberately reduces functionality with non-Apple devices to keep people in the Apple ecosystem but in this particular case I am ok with that. I deliberately turned off text and app notifications because I don't want my watch to constantly be giving me duplicate notifications that I'll eventually get to on my actual phone anyway. It really helps me disconnect from my phone and focus more on what's around me. I don't want a watch that can answer calls for me or text directly from the watch. Generally I don't want a watch that tries to act like a phone replacement, that's the whole point of having a phone. - The general phone music and Youtube Music controls on this phone are superb! Very easy to change songs within a set playlist and adjust volume from my Garmin. - Hopefully will never need to use the crash detection feature, but it is there and you send your emergency contacts a text to give Garmin permission to text them in an emergency. Cons: - The button-based navigation took me a little time to get used to - it wasn't always immediately obvious to me what menus would take me where but over time you get used to it through trial and error. Figuring out what menu would let me adjust my music controls was what took me the longest, but you can eventually just make a shortcut to left-swipe from the main screen to get to your most commonly used features such as music controls. - Music playback through downloaded content on the watch (and without your phone around) is a very nice feature in theory. However I think the bluetooth playback from the VivoActive 5 directly to bluetooth headphones leaves a little to be desired in very specific circumstances. I have trouble with consistent playback when I'm lifting weights at the gym and my arms are moving around and away from my body - how this manifests for me is choppy music playback and the music cutting out periodically. When I keep my hands steady on an exercise bike or handrails on a treadmill and they're not obstructed by my body, they work quite well actually and I do think these will work well once I do eventually take them on a bike ride and try this feature again (although I generally still take my phone on bike rides regardless). All around a great smartwatch compromise. To me, it's a great balance of features, battery, connectivity, fitness tracking, and overall aesthetics. Highly recommend

The watch is great. I love the fact that i do not have to put it on the charger often. The battery life really does last long i charge it every nine days. It tracks my steps and different exercises.

I love the look of this watch. I used to use the Apple Watch and while it worked well, I like that I don’t have to charge this every day. It is a little harder to get used to, but I am figuring it out. I also like the sleek design, it’s round and not square and boxy. I didn’t need anything fancy since I am not a runner, and I appreciate how affordable this model is!

I've used Garmin watches for years. They always get better and better and this one follows that streak. The battery lasts about 10 days without workout and about 5-6 days with daily workouts. Its easy to use and setup very similar to previous vivoactive models, so the adjustment to the new watch was easy to make. Well worth it!

After two months, I'm really happy that I chose the Vivoactive 5! I looked at Coros and Amazefit, but the clincher for me was the Spotify music playlist integration. I love listening to music while running or walking and I can leave my phone behind. This is my first smartwatch, so it took a couple of weeks to get used to all of the features and navigation, but I'm enjoying the Garmin ecosystem. The heart rate monitor and GPS accuracy are very good! I don't sleep with it, so I can't tell you about the sleep score accuracy. It's very lightweight and fits my wrist perfectly. The screen is bright, colorful, and easy to see even on a sunny day. The only downsides so far are the time it takes for the GPS to connect for an activity, even using All Systems, and an occasional disconnection of my Bluetooth earbuds (using JBL). You also have to update your Spotify playlist each month on the watch, even if you don't change any songs. I don't exactly know why, but it's pretty easy to do in the music settings. Overall, I'm really happy with the purchase (even though I've seen recent sale prices for $50 off) and I've even recommended it to my mother (who's not technologically savvy).

Love this watch. Did some research on the Vivoactive 6. Seems to benefit deriously runners only, even then i couldnt justify the cost. More options and data for runners, the top button is slightly bigger, slightly different layout. I went with the 5. User friendly interface. This watch is great for not serious activity tracking, but still provides sunstantial usable data. I love it. And cute with an outfit. If you want activity tracking and style, the Lily is trash. Definitely weird wearing it in the shower as it would be counterintuitve. I recieve email, text, and phone call notifications. Sleep tracking, HR, stepometer, GPS, activity logging, strength training settings that allow you to log live reps, sets, and rest. Everything I want and need. No more no less. I use all the features.

GREAT upgrade from the vivoactive 4. I really do miss the size and stainless steel heft on the bezel. The oled screen, battery life and detailed readings definitely make it worth the purchase. Added new wrist bands and a case for extra flare.

Only been wearing for about a month, but I like it so far. I did not want to watch that was too large and I did not want one that was too small. It appears to be one of the more lower profile watches for one this size, which I like. This Garmin watch is the perfect size. Yet to use the Golf feature, but I am looking forward to that opportunity soon. The tracker measures well and it does a good job of tracking important information, such as heart rate and quality of sleep. Selecting a personalized watch face was not simple and some of my efforts have failed, but I will try again. This tracker is priced right and hopefully will hold up over time. I am not overly clumsy, but I still put a screen protector on it. It has been dinged a couple times so I’m glad I did. The protectors are cheesy little flimsy plastic pieces but so far they are doing the trick. Great battery life. I charge it every eight or nine days. Band is very comfortable. The watch is also lite and easy to forget it is on.

I recently traded in my old apple watch SE for this Garmin and I love it!! My new Garmin does everything I need for working out and tracking my pace on my runs, even tracks my sleep and tells me how much sleep I need based on my workouts. Such a good investment!

I was skeptical about switching brands since i have had an apple watch since they came out but my latest applewatch battery wasnt even lasting through the day. I did a lot of research because i wanted a watch they would be able to stay charged for a while. my watch needs charged maybe once a week now. Just like any other products it depends on usage and all the background apps that are running. I would highly reccomend this watch for everyone! I would highly reccomeend this watch for people wanting to start theit health journey and trying to track sleep and exercise as well!

This watch holds a charge for many days, has a great GPS, dozens of activity trackers, and great for music, countdown timer, stopwatch, and multiple alarms. Even has a keyboard to answer text messages which easily come in from a connection with your phone. I have had this watch for over 10 years in its multiple versions and it's never failed me!!

I’ve been using wearable technology since 2018, when I was working toward my Functional Medicine Health Coach certification. You can’t change behaviors unless you measure them. Recently, I asked ChatGPT to recommend the best wearable technology for my needs, and it suggested the Garmin Vívoactive 5. The amount of insight it provides has exceeded what I learned from a sleep study I completed two years ago. The 24-hour health and stress tracking has given me exactly the information I needed to make meaningful improvements. In just two weeks, I’ve improved my sleep, reduced my anxiety, and decreased inflammation. I’m so glad I made the switch. I was also delighted by the excellent service I received at Best Buy.

I was a little bit more hopeful for this watch than my last one. I definitely looked forward to using it. I loved the interface and how it functions. It was very easy to set up and use. It's very intuitive. However, the things that I didn't like about it outweigh what I love about it. I found that my sleep record was wildly off. I would wake up 2 to 3 hours in the middle of the night and it did not see that as a wake time. I also found that the golf maps did not update as seamlessly as other brands. I was hoping that it would be a little bit more intuitive on that app as well. The golf part is definitely in need of work. There is no time indicated on it when you're in the golf mode and it has to be on all the time. This drains the battery significantly and while I do like a lot of the other features, it definitely needs some updates. The battery life is incredible and overall I do like this watch. I just feel like it is way more expensive than it should be for such basic features. The screen real estate is also not put to use. It looks like about a half an inch is lost on the screen real estate from the actual screen size. Why not use the entire thing?

I’m really enjoying this watch. I have a small size wrist but this watch fits perfectly. I originally got this to track my heart rate only but it does so much more that’s super practice. I especially like the different watch faces. I uploaded one of my own images of the sunset and it looks amazing! It’s easy to use and customize however you want . I’m glad I chose this watch!

Great watch. Has features that I use and have learned more about my health.

If you are looking for a stylish and useful gadget, then the Garmin Vivoactive 5 GPS Smartwatch is a great option for anyone. It was so much so that I bought it for my wife as a Christmas present, and she loves it! It has a slim 42mm size and is constructed from slate aluminum and black fiber-reinforced polymer to be the ideal combination of robust and stylish. She is able to comfortably wear it all day, whether she is working out or just going about her day. It is therefore the best for people who enjoy sporting activities and other outdoor activities because it has a GPS function. It is able to track many forms of activities, for instance, yoga, swimming, running and cycling. This will help her achieve her fitness objectives. Having a heart rate monitor and sleep tracking is really useful because they inform you about your general health and wellbeing. The battery life of the vívoactive 5 is also very good—it lasts for up to seven days on a single charge. This is great for minimalists. Additionally, the bright tablet display is easy to read whether it is being used in a sunny or low-light environment. This review aims to present an opinion on the Garmin Vivoactive 5 smartwatch in terms of design, user friendliness and functionality. This is a wonderful gift, and I am happy that my wife loves it so much.

I've had the Vívoactive 5 for a few weeks now after having the FitBit sense for 2 years.  First thing I noticed while wearing both is the Vívoactive is so much lighter, more comfortable to wear and doesn't get snagged on my sleeves since it lays flat on my wrist.  It was also much easier setting up the account and syncing the device to my phone. The vívoactive also continuously syncs my phone more seamlessly then the sense without ever having to manually sync. Although the option is there if needed.  The best thing about the vívoactive compared to the sense is all the data you get without a premium subscription that Fitbit requires. The data on the vívoactive also appears to be more accurate, especially during workouts. When wearing both and counting steps in my head the vívoactive comes out dead on with the fitbit sense over counting walking around the house doing chores and under counting on elliptical workouts.  I really love being able to see all my stats on the vívoactive watch screen. Sense only really shows details on the phone app. The thing I miss about the sense is voice to text for responding to texts and receiving calls on the watch. The Garmin connect app does let you create custom quick responses for texts which I'm starting to like though. If this was deal breaker I would have got the Venu. Overall both my wife and I are really happy with the switch to Garmin and will never go back to Fitbit.