With the exception of the Misfit Ray, Fitbit’s Blaze and Alta, and Withings’ GO tracker, the wearable scene has been largely quiet in terms of product releases. So it was a much needed boost when Garmin announced the Vivoactive HR this morning.

I reviewed the Vivoactive fitness watch last year and found it chocked full of features for a small profile device. The Vivoactive HR retains the features of the original Vivoactive while introducing a few new ones that is sure to pique the interest of those who are weary of their old trackers.

The inclusion of a sunlight readable screen with Garmin’s Chroma Display, usually found in Garmin’s higher end tracker such as the Fenix 3, is icing on the cake.

Point to note, the new Vivoactive HR is a mere 10 grams heavier than the ridiculously light weight original Vivoactive.

Skiiers and snowboarders would be happy to know that the Vivoactive HR can measure 3-D speed by calculating the speed and distance on an incline versus latitude and longitude.

The addition of Garmin’s in house “Elevate” heart rate monitoring tech also means there’s no longer a need for chest straps.




When you combine all that with in built GPS capability, smart notifications, estimation of distance when GPS is turned off, pool swim metrics, downloading of golf courses, paddle board metrics, and access to Garmin Connect IQ. You’d be left wondering if there’s anything the Vivoactive HR doesn track!

List of features:

• All day activity tracker. Tracks steps, distance, sleep, calories
• Reads HR from the wrist
• Touch screen sunlight readable screen with Garmin Chroma Display
• GPS and GLONASS enabled
• Built in accelerometer estimates indoor distance without GPS
• Vibration enabled for alarms, smart notifications and move alerts
• Water resistant to 5 ATM
• Battery life of 8 days in smart watch and up to 13 hours in GPS mode
• Pool swim metrics
• Golfing features such as measurement of shot distance and digital scorecard
• Stand up paddling and rowing tracking features such as pace and stroke
• Skiiing and snowboarding features such as 3-D speed and splits
• Connects to Garmin’s VIRB cameras, Varia lights and radar
• The Vivoactive HR is also waterproof to 5ATM and battery lasts up to 7 days in smart watch mode and 13 hours in GPS mode

The new Vivoactive HR will be available in April 2016 and comes in either regular or large size. The RRP is $249.99. The changeable strap comes in black, white, yellow and black and is priced at $29.99.

Source: Business Wire.