NewsBeat
These are the 10 best Garmin watches for running, hiking and everyday wear
The Garmin Vivoactive 6 strikes a winning balance between fitness-tracking firepower, simple style, 24/7 wearability and smartwatch smarts. At just 36g, it’s light, compact and comfortable. The vibrant 1.2-inch AMOLED display is on the smaller side but still does a good job of bringing a huge range of daily insights to life.
Activity tracking is excellent with your core health and activity insights including sleep tracking and coaching, steps, stress, body battery (a kind of energy level metre) and breathing rate.
Beyond that, the Vivoactive 6 is a pretty serious training tool, too. It has more than 80 sport modes, run-tracking tools, fitness benchmarks like VO2 Max estimates, fitness age along with daily suggested workouts and recovery time recommendations.
The battery life impressed for a smaller, AMOLED watch. I got six days of general usage and 8.5 hours GPS training on a single charge, which is significantly better than many smartwatches.
There’s no accuracy-boosting dual frequency GPS tech but in my tests, it tracked well against much pricier watches. Heart performance was solid, too, though I’d expect ECG heart measurements at this price and those are sadly missing.
It’s not as capable as the best smartwatches, but it offers tools like smartphone notifications, weather updates and calendar alerts, offline music with Spotify and Deezer support, plus contactless payments.
Overall, the Garmin Vivoactive 6 is a good option if you’re looking for a smart package that’ll help you hit your health and fitness goals.
Read our full review of the Garmin Vivoactive 6.
Key specifications
- Screen type: 1.2-inch, AMOLED
- GPS: Yes
- Waterproof rating: 50 metres
- Battery life: 11 days smartwatch mode, 21 hours GPS
- Dimensions: W 42.2mm, L 42.2mm, D 10.9 mm
- Weight: 36g