Whilst staying on the topic of wearables, this blog is going to focus specifically on Garmin’s latest products. Garmin seem to have been very busy of late introducing new devices to the market, so we’re going to take a more in-depth look at what new and exciting bands they have to offer. Garmin’s latest products to be released on the market was at first, the ‘Approach X40’, followed by the ‘Vivomove’, and now, most recently, the ‘Forerunner 735XT’. The great thing about these wearables is that each one is geared toward different activity types, including golfers, runners and casual users who simply want to make a conscious effort to lead a more active lifestyle. But…that isn’t it! Garmin can now boast their ‘Vivosmart HR+’, a fitness band with a built-in GPS sensor for more accurate distance and pace tracking. I told you that they’ve been busy!
Thanks to that GPS radio, the Vivosmart HR+ will have a few advantages over the former ‘Vivosmart HR’. These advantages will include a virtual pacer mode and the ability to keep track of personal achievements. In addition, this upgrade will let you view a map of your activities via Garmin’s Connect App. From a user’s point of view, design-wise, the ‘Vivosmart HR+’ is nearly identical to its predecessor. Personally, I think this is a good idea, as we (the users) remain familiar with the device. We will already need to master the new features, so by keeping the design similar, Garmin have done well not to over-complicate things here.
Like the original ‘Vivosmart HR’, this new version supports smartphone notifications, together with inactivity alerts to ensure that we are all moving periodically. The ‘Vivosmart HR+’ is water resistant (a must in the UK!) and has a built-in 24/7 heart-rate monitoring system. On-top of all this, it tracks our steps, counts our calories burned, how many floors we’ve climbed and lets us know our “activity intensity” as Garmin calls it.
The only downside I can see to the new ‘Vivosmart HR+’ is that with additional features (GPS being the main culprit for this), there is unfortunately reduced battery life. Garmin suggests you can get up to eight hours with the GPS feature on, compared to five days when it’s turned off – so I guess the advise is, choose your settings wisely. It sounds like a fantastic new product though, and I imagine that it will be a highly competitive wearable on the market at its mid-price range. If you’re interested in getting yourself a wearable, for more competitive reasons, or just to be more aware of your activity levels, this does sound like a great buy. Perhaps I am slightly biased because I recently tried one of these on and gave it a bit of a trial run — I absolutely loved it! However, it won’t be for everyone, so make sure you try the new ‘Vivosmart HR+’ on if you are looking for a wearable, ask all the questions you can think of and make your decision from there… I doubt you’ll be disappointed though!
