Garmin vivomove Style Hybrid Smartwatch with Real Watch Hands and Hidden Colour Touchscreen Display, Black Pepper Nylon with Slate Hardware

Vivomove Style: I really wanted to like it, naively thinking, that the new HR sensor would perform better than the prev. gen. one in Vivomove HR. Reasonable expectation at double the old price, don’t you think? No such luck. The HR monitor is as inaccurate, as ever, on top of serious glitches reported by others. A real shame – how one mediocre internal software module can ruin a brilliant and passionate product design. All advanced metrics work off that HR sensor. It’s a deal breaker.Pros:- Elegant and light.- Sharp design and passionate engineering e.g. hands moving out of the way and two hands forming an analogue needle.- Step counting is accurate and on par with Fitbit.- Straightforward setup and more or less intuitive menu.Cons:- HR monitor is not accurate at all: 20 points higher than fitbit’s- Stairs/floor counting improved over the prev. gen., yet not as accurate, as Fitbit’s.- Sleep duration is off one hour compared to Fitbit.- Pseudo-advanced features like stress level and body battery are gimmicks, especially pathetic, since they work off the inaccurate HR monitor.- Plasticky look of black models (the Style I bought), $550 to get the decent looking model (Luxe) w/ overkill features like Sapphire glass and clearly overpriced “Milanese” band.- The mobile app could have been simpler and slicker (again, compared to Fitbit’s).Conclusion: wait until Garmin fixes its software glitches: the HR monitor module, and the touchscreen sensitivity. I suspect there’s more to it, as it shouldn’t be too sensitive. The other commonly reported issue: screen image glow is probably related to Sapphire glass in Luxe models (not noticeable in Style w/ Gorilla glass). Which further proves that dual-display Style should have been more stylish and practical (bright hands on black face, etc.), instead of Garmin reserving those looks for the top model at additional $200. Gorilla glass is enough for a watch that’s expected to last for 5 years anyway - like any other mobile device due to the battery charge cycle issues.IMO both serious issues are fixable via a firmware update – the main reason I am writing this review. It only depends on Garmin’s willingness to listen and fix them. Unfortunately, according to their official support Web pages, they like to blame the user, and even the skin tone and tattoos for the poor HR detection. I don’t have tattoos, but I have moderately hairy arms and live in Cali, meaning tan. Somehow, it’s never been an issue for Fitbit.If you want more details, here’s the full story. I never cared about smartwatches due to the tiny screen, I stopped wearing an old-school watch 10 years ago in favor of a smartphone. Upon returning to the corporate world with its boring meetings I felt the need for a watch I can discreetly glance at instead of my phone.I’ve also been a big fan of fitness trackers, though unfortunately lost my first Fitbit 5 years ago. So, I bought another one: Charge 3 recently and have been very happy with it feature-wise. It functions as a watch, counts steps, measures HR, tracks sleep, has connected GPS, automatically recognizes common activities like running and biking, and acts as a phone companion showing notifications: texts, calendar reminders, etc. I’d love music control, though it’s a nice to have. I am not comfortable with electronic wallets (not even in my phone). As for SpO2, “body battery”, stress level, and other gimmicks, an average diet-conscious fitness-minded individual, who periodically runs and road/mountain-bikes, can live w/o them. Neither Fitbit Charge, nor Vivomove are athlete gadgets.Then comes the form factor. For the life of me I do not understand, why a digital watch should be round. More so “tactical” and other dedicated GPS ones – Garmin’s specialty. It’s way more natural browsing a map or viewing critical data on a square or rectangular screen. But, those utilitarian watches (namely Apple’s) look anything, but pretty – a square screen on some strap. Fitbit and other trackers (not their failed attempt at a full smartwatch) look better because they are basically just straps/bracelets themselves instead of an awkward piece of glass on a strap.However as refined and state of the art it is internally, Fitbit Charge is low-tech screen-wise with its huge bezels in our age of curved edge to edge phone screens. If the current (and hopefully next) Charge had such bezel-less screen, fitting a bit more text horizontally, I wouldn’t be looking for a more traditional smartwatch – that is not a copycat of Apple’s, nor an LCD panel inside a round housing. That led me to the only analogue smartwatch with digital display on the market: Vivomove. The only smartwatch that deserves to be round. Everything else e.g. LG is a joke. Garmin nailed it - unfortunately, only aesthetically.Vivomove is nothing, but a Fitbit-like tracker, overlaid on an average looking analogue watch. I’d call it Fitbit+, and pay up to $100 for its additional features not found in the current Fitbit Charge. Not so much for gimmicks like “body battery”. Styling-wise, don’t get me wrong, it is stylish (the few clean versions w/o the bling). And there is nothing remotely comparable on the market like I said. But feel- and materials-wise it is not even a poor imitation of the most conservative Rolex or Bvlgari. Which brings my next point – target demographics.Did you notice how everyone here starts his/her review with something like “I’m glad I went the Luxe”. Like if they weren’t really sure it was worth it. Neither am I. Since the basic 3/3S look plasticky, and due to the Luxe being the only one available initially (until that tiny supply ran out anyway), it was clear Garmin wanted to steer buyers away from Style. Is Sapphire glass worth $200 over already pricy $350 with virtually impossible to scratch Gorilla one? I’ve never ever had a phone case. I take care of things I buy with my hard-earned money.Which is my point here. The one-percenters who got richer in the last two decades, are going to stick to their Rolexes. Now, if Garmin makes something in that league (provided it works at least as well, as a $100 Fitbit), I’ll consider paying $2K+ for a truly upscale hybrid watch, Vivomove Luxe is not. Otherwise, stuck in the middle class with 20-year salary stagnation (that in absolute numbers, not adjusted for inflation) I am watching every penny unlike 20 years ago, when six-figure income meant something. Watches are jewelry, plain and simple. Want to be smart – get a well-engineered fitness tracker like Fitbit.I’m sure Garmin spends a lot on marketing. Here’s my honest customer feedback. A $350-550 watch is going to attract techy middle-class e.g. software developers like myself. A few of us, employed by Google and the handful of top tech employer, do enjoy late-90s upper middle-class compensation, indeed adjusted for inflation, meaning doubled. Others – like me: corporate IT employees, startuppers, etc. live on low six-figure salaries, comparable to 1999’s $70K. $550 (Luxe) is a lot for a lower and middle middle-class income. For $350 (Style) I’d be willing to cut Garmin some slack, if let’s say the HR readings were 5 counts off Fitbit’s instead of 20. How do I know, that Fitbit is accurate? Because I counted my heart rate manually. And because a relatively fit person doesn’t have a resting 120 heart rate. At $550 though I am going to scrutinize everything: from a 5 point HR error to 10-minute sleep detection one. Now of course if I wasn’t wearing Fitbit on my other wrist for the last day and night, I would have never known, just like someone buying a $16 Chinese fitness tracker that claims to measure the blood pressure (apparently by using a random number generator) wondering why to pay a $100 for a Fitbit.Lastly the colors. I’ll skip the female-targeted bling: copper and gold. White text on silver is unreadable. That only leaves black faces with silver markings and hands. I hoped the “graphite” Style I bought would be readable during dawn/dusk. Not really. I can care less about the 200% marked up Milanese band. And how much more stainless-steel costs? Make that $550 silver on black Luxe available as $350 Style (w/ Gorilla glass), and I’ll think about buying it. Or fix the HR software: the internal module that interprets the sensor readings adjusting for the skin tone, hair, irregular/skipped heartbeat (my case), which $100 Fitbit cleverly does behind the scene, and I’ll think about parting with $550 for a Luxe. The click responsiveness is clearly a software glitch too, though unlike the flawed HR module shared by I believe all Garmin watches, it is unique to Vivomove. I cannot believe a company that makes serious athlete gadgets didn’t figure out the HR issue. Or perhaps athletes don’t have irregular heartbeat like people with mild heart conditions trying to exercise and live a healthy lifestyle.Thanks for reading. I am returning my graphite Vivomove Style to Amazon.

Con questa recensione voglio raccontarvi tutte le qualità e i compromessi di questo orologio, sarò sincero!Premessa 1: Sono già un possessore dell'orologio Garmin Vivomove HR, ho ad oggi quasi due anni di utilizzo alle spalle.Premessa 2: Ho utilizzato il vecchio orologio e utilizzerò questo modello associato al telefono Huawei MATE 10 PRO.Premessa 3: L'ho comprato venduto e spedito da Amazon a €316.Cosa deve avere un orologio Smart secondo me? Deve essere comodo, la batteria deve durare almeno 4 giorni, deve essere impermeabile e l'ora deve essere sempre visibile. Inoltre non deve essere complicato sennò se devo perderci troppo tempo per usarlo mi conviene tirare fuori il telefono.Non sono un malato di notifiche e non sono nemmeno uno sportivo agonistico, faccio sport esclusivamente per il mio benessere che sia una corsa o una pedalata.Il primo consiglio che vi voglio dare va al di là di questa recensione: se dovete scegliere un prodotto che andrete ad indossare tutti i giorni per molto tempo vi consiglio di sceglierne uno che vi trasmetti qualcosa, deve essere un oggetto che vi faccia piacere metterlo. Questo non è uno strumento di lavoro, è uno strumento di piacere, non siamo obbligati ad indossarlo.Il mercato oggi offre una vasta scelta e diverse categorie di orologi 2.0, gli smartwatch e gli sportwatch (escludendo tutto il mondo band).Questo Garmin Vivomove Style si posiziona esattamente nel mezzo, offre entrambe le caratteristiche in un semplice ed elegante orologio analogico.Le funzionalità 2.0 sono celate, a prima vista non si notano, dentro il quadrante sono nascosti due piccoli schermi AMOLED a colori che solo se attivati (con la rotazione del polso o col tocco dello schermo) mostrano un sacco di funzioni.Adesso proverò ad elencarvi tutte le funzionalità che offre e cosa monitora, poi proveremo a tirare due somme e capire i pro e i contro.Offre la lettura delle notifiche e risposta con messaggi preimpostati*, risposte alle chiamate, sensore cardio, conta passi, piani saliti, minuti di intensità, calorie bruciate, rilevamento dello stress, distanza percorsa, controllo della musica sul cellulare, meteo, sveglie, qualità del sonno, monitoraggio attività fisica e sport specifici. Inoltre offre funzioni come il calendario (si può visualizzare quello Google), monitoraggio dell'idratazione, si può monitorare il ciclo mestruale, GPS**, Garmin Pay...*ad oggi si può rispondere solo a chiamate ed SMS, non ancora a Whatsapp, Telegram, Messanger..**sfrutta il GPS dello smartphone, non ha un GPS proprietario. Tradotto: per sfruttare il GPS devi avere sempre il telefono con te durante le varie attività fisiche.Rispetto al vecchio modello Vivomove HR ci sono un'infinità di funzionalità in più.Alcune funzionalità possono sembrare limitanti, non ha un microfono integrato, non ha un altoparlante, alle si chiamate si può quindi solo rispondere o mettere giù.Vi faccio un esempio in merito: sono in bici con le cuffie bluetooth, ricevo una chiamata, rispondo dall'orologio e posso parlare al telefono direttamente dalle cuffie. Questo è un esempio per farvi capire quali possono essere le sue possibilità.Per chi invece pratica sport ed è indeciso su quale Garmin acquistare vi posso dire che NON si possono caricare allenamenti sull'orologio e ovviamente NON si possono visualizzare le mappe. Lo schermino LED si accende alla rotazione del polso, le informazioni che vengono trasmesse sono solo 4 (cronometro, km percorsi, andatura media e calorie briuiate, oltre all'ora, il giorno e lo stato della batteria.Tutte queste informazioni sono riportate nello schermo inferiore, sullo schermo superiore invece si può visualizzare sempre lo in quale zona cardiaca ci troviamo + frequenza cardiaca in tempo reale, indicata dalle lancette fisiche dell'orologio come un tachimetro (vedi foto).Cerchiamo di tirare due somme, quali sono i pro e i contro?Per chi vuole uno smartwatch ci sono tantissimi contro, per chi vuole uno sportwatch pure.Per chi ha pretese ma non troppe e vuole comunque al polso un prodotto elegante allora va benissimo! Ma bisogna sposare la via di mezzo! Il pensiero è legittimo..con 300 euro di spesa uno deve pretendere il meglio! Ma secondo me lui è il meglio della sua categoria, la categoria degli orologi ibridi! Sicuramente posso dirvi che avrei pagato volentieri un 50 euro in meno..Note importanti per chi possiede uno Smartphone Huawei:fateci un pensiero prima dell'acquisto, sappiate che per farlo funzionare dovrete navigare un po' nelle impostazioni del vostro telefono, dovrete lasciare sempre aperta l'applicazione Garmin Connect e dare tutte le autorizzazioni per fare girare l'applicazione sempre in background.Se avete dubbi e volete contattarmi scrivetemi pure!Se volete proteggerlo un po' di più nonostante il vetro in Gorilla Glass vi consiglio di acquistare una PELLICOLA e non il vetro temperato. Quest'ultimo infatti non riesce ad adattarsi bene al quadrante essendo un po' curvo lungo la circonferenza. Andate a vedere le altre recensioni sul mio canale, ho parlato di entrambi i prodotti.

I was a Fitbit user for years. Not a daily runner or athlete, so have been satisfied with the Fitbit app and tracking. Have not been happy with the quality or appearance of their devices. Add in the data slurping Google buy-out and the arrival of the next vivomove meant it was time to move on (well, and my ugly Ionic breaking, again). My review is based on my priorities for the device which are watch first, tracker second, and smart device last.As a watch I love it. I love the clean and simple style. I love that's it not a chunky/heavy slab on my wrist. It's surprisingly small actually. The face and body are almost perfect for my tastes, and being made of aluminum makes it half the weight of the stainless steel models. The minute hand silently ticks every 10 seconds. Now for the bad. The strap itself is ugly, stiff, and just all around crap. I expected that though, and planned to order some watch straps. I wasn't expecting just how bad it is though. It has zero give, so it either cuts in to your skin since it so thin and stiff, or it just dangles and slips. I have smaller wrists and only have 2 holes left in the strap, so it seems short. If buying this model (nylon strap) I would highly recommend buying some 20mm straps at the same time. The only real (unexpected) disappointment for me is the white tipped hands. I assumed they would be visible in the dark, but they are not. It's difficult to read in minimal darkness without activating the display. Since I'm not interested in wasting space by having a digital watch on top of an analog watch, I've set it so that my 2nd widget displayed when swiping is the clock/battery level. Not something I am happy about, but it seems a compromise for easiest way to check the time in the dark.As a tracker I am still getting used to it. I have only had it a few days. It definitely seems to be either less sensitive or more accurate than the Fitbit. It logs less steps in a day, but right now I'm assuming that is just because the Fitbit tended to log some hand movements. I like the app, but it will definitely take some getting used to coming from the Fitbit. I would like to see more customizable goal tracking included (weight management, calorie intake, distance, etc.), but I may just not have found those features yet. I love the calendar piece. I wish that could be exported/synced to a private xcal though. The HR monitor seems equivalent to the Fitbit. I have not yet used the website.As a smart watch it works fine. I don't want interactive features (such as replying to texts/emails or answering phone calls). For me, I mainly want to see notifications. Half the alerts I get I need to know about but don't need to respond to immediately so my phone can stay in my pocket or I don't have to exit media/game apps. My only current issue is that it won't let me setup Garmin Pay. The app says it is connected, but then when I try to setup Garmin Pay it says not connected. I'll have to contact support to see what's going on.Other than a few minor details, so far I am pleased with the device. Again, I haven't had it long so my opinion may change based on things like customer support or durability. The daily "please write a review" emails from Garmin are a bit annoying though.UPDATE:OK, after rebooting my phone the Garmin app setup Garmin Pay no problems.One of the things I was concerned about was the glass. The more expensive models have the Sapphire glass and I wasn't sure if I was going to regret not paying for it. So far I have bumped into enough things to think I'll be OK. My Fitbit Ionic was scratched on day 1, and seemed to acquire a new scratch weekly. So far my Garmin glass looks brand new.I have noticed that the auto activity detect is not nearly as accurate as the Ionic. I've had it start and stop anywhere from 30 seconds to 12 minutes after the schedule (detect after 10 minutes). Was testing this for a week on a treadmill, so it was very regular movement which should have increased it's detection accuracy. At this point I don't rely on auto activities at all. Minor annoyance, but probably should be starting/stopping manually anyway.The biggest complaint I've had so far is that it was VERY insensitive to double-taps on the watch face to wake it. I usually have to double-tap two or three times. SUPER annoying. I dealt with it for a month before finally contacting support (who were fantastic BTW). A reset seemed to resolve the insensitivity, and I was happy. Until after I customized the appearance and the issue returned. Anyway, got it narrowed down to the weather complication. I had that set on the top. When I switched to the day/date complication on the top the double-tap began to work on the first try again. Submitted the issue to support, so hopefully resolved in the future. At this point I'm just glad to have found the problem and gotten it working better using a different complication.I really liked the appearance when I first got the watch and it has only grown on me since. Definitely satisfied with the purchase. Upping from 4 to 5 stars. Now I just hope it lasts longer than the 1 to 2 year average of my previous Fitbit devices.

However, I have a few gripes. The blush pink band is sadly more beige than pink in my opinion. And the watch band is very dirty after a few months. I haven't found anything yet that will clean it. It's a shame because I do like the texture of the band except that it is a little like Velcro on the edges. It picks up lint from my clothes. I have to pick out lint daily. The battery lasts about 3.5 days, but it will completely charge quickly in less than an hour. The tap motion to open the menu is inconsistent. Often I have to tap several times, and turning my wrist usually won't light up the face either. The get-up-and-move reminder is inconsistent. I can be sitting, get up and do a chore or something then sit down and then I get a reminder to move. It's not sensitive enough to count every time I go up and down the stairs at home unless my arms are empty and at a full swing. I do wear it in the pool for water aerobics and water jogging. I use the "cardio" setting during my workout and it counts all my steps too. Use in the pool is the main reason for my choosing this watch. If you need a good starter smart watch that's waterproof, this is a good one.

After about 6 weeks, I’m loving my new Garmin. It is a good looking hybrid style that works for me. It took some getting used to the controls, as my old garmin watch was purchased at least 8 years ago.Average battery life does seem short. But if I remember to charge every day while I’m in the shower, that has worked for me.Every now and then the screen locks up and no matter what I click, nothing happens. Usually when I’m trying to start an activity, which is a really inconvenient time.