The Garmin Vivoactive 5 Is on Sale for $220 Right Now.
The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is currently on sale for $219.99 on Amazon—down from the original $299—and it’s a pretty good deal for a mid-range fitness smartwatch.
You get a bright 1.2-inch AMOLED display, all-day comfort, and robust health features that feel useful rather than gimmicky. This is the fifth generation of the Vivoactive line, and this time Garmin has added sleep tracking, a better “Body Battery” metric that shows how exhausted or rested you are, and even a wheelchair mode for more comprehensive activity tracking. You still get standard metrics like heart rate, SpO2, and sleep monitoring, and the watch works great whether you’re walking, lifting weights, or just trying to hit a step goal. (In a direct comparison to the Pixel 3, our own health editor Beth Skwarecki named the Vivoactive the 5 best fitness watch.)
Now there are some trade-offs. Garmin has ditched the stainless steel bezel with the Vivoactive 4 , so this model has a lighter, more casual aluminum design. They also cut out the barometric altimeter and on-screen workout animations, which may be disappointing for people who rely on altitude data or do exercises directly from their watch. However, it still tracks over 30 workouts, offers guided meditations, and provides detailed recovery information. The touchscreen is clear and colorful, with a lift-to-wake option that works quite well. Gorilla Glass 3 adds some protection and is 5 ATM water-resistant – meaning you can swim in the pool, but don’t go scuba diving.
The Garmin Vivoactive 5 smartwatch features are also good. It handles notifications from both Android and iPhone, although only Android users can respond from the watch. You can also use Garmin Pay, stream music from Spotify, and share your real-time location from the watch. As for battery life, Garmin says it’s 11 days, but in real-world use with a couple of GPS workouts each week, it’s closer to eight, PCMag’s review notes, which is still much better than most all-screen smartwatches. If you’re considering alternatives, the Garmin Venu Sq 2 offers a similar combination of features and health tracking tools, and is currently priced lower at $177 (down from $249.99).