Garmin Vivosmart HR brings 24-7 health rate monitoring to fitness trackers
Garmin just unveiled new smartwatches a few days ago, but the company has now provided a more functional fitness tracker called the Garmin Vivosmart HR. The “HR,” for heart rate, has to do with the device’s 24/7 heart rate monitoring capabilities that always track your heart rate throughout the day. There’s no need to press a button or launch an app in order to find our your heart rate at every moment. This is a definite win for fitness enthusiasts who like to have daily health information at a glance.
Garmin Vivosmart HR fitness tracker has smartwatch-besting battery life
The best feature about Garmin’s new Vivosmart HR fitness tracker is that it has 5-day battery life, even with its always-on display and constant heart rate monitoring. That’s impressive, right up there with the original Pebble, and even the new Pebble Time Round with battery longevity. The Pebble Time Round, like the Pebble Time, Pebble Steel, and original Pebble, all provide 5-7 days of battery life. The Pebble Time Round, like the Pebble Time, features a color display as opposed to the gray E-ink display of the original Pebble.
The 5-7-day battery life of the Vivosmart HR tops the best smartwatches on the market. Most Android Wear watches get somewhere between 18-36 hours of battery life on a single charge, and Samsung’s own Gear S and now, Gear S2, can get 2-4 days on a single charge. Garmin’s new fitness tracker bests even that – and it keeps the display on at all times for notifications without compromising the juice.
Works with the Garmin Connect Mobile app
With all the features and functionality of the Garmin Vivosmart HR fitness tracker, you’re probably wondering whether or not it is a standalone device. Unfortunately, it isn’t; you’ll still have to pair it with either an Android or iOS device (iPhone) before having it transfer notifications to your wrist. Fitness trackers and even smartwatches can’t take off in the consumer market until standalone devices become the norm (not the unusual exception), but perhaps the price tag will entice you.
Vivosmart HR price and availability
Garmin’s Vivosmart HR will cost $149.99, comes in midnight blue, imperial purple, and black colors, and is now available for pre-order. Best Buy, both in retail stores and online, will start sales of the Vivosmart HR on tomorrow, November 1st, and Best Buy Canada will offer the new fitness tracker next month (though no date has been disclosed). Other availability details will become available in January 2016.
Currently, Garmin offers its new Vivosmart HR fitness tracker for purchase at its website.
