What to expect from the new Garmin Vivoactive 5
Back in 2015, a square fitness tracker made its debut as one of the biggest hits from the Garmin Company, a full-featured fitness tracker that could track with outstanding precision a variety of sports and activities such as walks, runs, swims, golf, and overall tracking of our health and fitness levels.
But that wasn’t it! The Vivoactive Line kept pushing new models with new and improved features and functions up to 2019 when they released the last Vivoactive model: the 4.
The Rumor is that we will have the new and improved Vivoactive 5 by the end of this year, 2022. But there’s some internet hubs and forums that are a bit more skeptical about the final release, or even if there’s going to be one at all.
With the new flagship models Venu 2 and the more affordable version the Venus Sq, Garmin gave us a new direction. Although the consumers are still hooked with the Vivoactive 4 for the price and battery life that are still until today unbeatable.
So in the article below we are going to discuss every doubt that you can have about the release date, the new designs, and the features that we are all still waiting for.
Contents
Garmin Vivoactive 5 :Release Date And Price
On Garmin’s official page they announced that the new Vivoactive is coming soon, but they didn’t announce an official date. So we are guessing that they can release it by the end of the year, having in mind that the previous Garmin the Vivoactive 4 was launched in September 2019 and the Vivoactive 3 was announced also in September 2017, following that logic we can expect the Vivoactive 5 to be on the shelves by the end 2022.
When it comes to price we expect the Vivoactive 5 to be around the same price as the Vivoactive 4, when it was launched back in 2019 a $349.99. This seems to be a pretty standard price for the Garmin watches.
Even today 2 years later the price didn’t change that much tag at $329.99.
It’s worth mentioning that for almost the same price range the Venu 2 Offer a full-color AMOLED touchscreen display and includes almost the same features when it comes to fitness tracking.
Design
Having in mind that the last Vivoactive models come with a circular design and a round display We expect that the new model bring us more of the same in terms of shape.
We are not expecting that the new Vivosmart comes with a square design since they have already tried it and they leave it behind after the Vivosmart 3. Although it’s important to mention that the newest Garmin model the Venu watch has switched to a square body.
We can also presume that they will follow the same line as with the previous Vivosmart 4, which came in 2 different sizes a 45mm stainless steel one and a 40mm model for small wrists (dubbed 4S), giving us more options to fit different types of wrists.
There’s some hope in that they can add an AMOLED display in the new Vivoactive 5 watch, although it’s a bold move on their part since the AMOLED displays are brighter and drain the battery way faster than the regular OLED.
But having in mind that the latest Vivosmart 4 Garmin added a 66% larger OLED screen compared to the previous model, we are expecting new features and changes when it comes to screen size and resolutions.
Garmin LTE
With the Vivoactive line, Garmin already introduce LTE connectivity on the Vivoactive 3 back in early 2019, although the problem was that is only available through Verizon.
From that time on there hasn’t been any other Garmin watch that comes with that untethered life, but having in mind that most of the competition is already offering LTE support, it could be time for the newest Vivoactive to be connected, but on a new level.
Adding LTE connectivity could be a huge selling point for those folks that don’t like to carry their phone during an outdoor activity. It’s also a plus to don’t need to have smartphone connectivity to use safety tracking features. So for us, it could be a step in the right direction if they add LTE.
Battery Life
Having in mind that both the sensors and the battery technology are evolving fast year after year, we should expect a larger capacity battery.
The Vivoactive 4 can last up to 8 days in smartwatch mode and six hours if you are just using the GPS or the music mode. One of the newest models the 4S comes with a smaller battery since the body of the watch is not big enough, so it lasts only 7 days using the smartwatch mode and 5 hours in GPS and music mode.
We are expecting a Battery juice that can hold up to 14 days, but we can only hope at this point.
Features that We are Expecting
Some Great features are already part of the VIvosmart experience such as the SpO2 sensor that keeps track of blood oxygen readings and spits out estimated respiration. Having this data can help you with problems such as sleep apnea and order sleep disorders.
Other important features that come already along with the latest model are the built-in GPS that will track your movements with exact precision, and the NFC Garmin pay for payments on the go straight from your watch.
And last but not least the Vivoactive 4 also added the Body Battery function, a great way to read abnormal heart rate signs that will create an alert using the upgraded heart rate sensor (which also tracks heart rate underwater),
But for some other features, we are still on the bench, just waiting for them.
Daily Workout Suggestions
When Garmin announced the launch of the Forerunner 745, and after they gave us the 735XT they introduced a new Software with new features and functionalities, one of those was the daily workout suggestions that was a winner from the beginning.
This feature is the best fit for athletes, runners, cyclists, and marathonist, that will need heart-based analytics to keep track not only of their heart rate but also the different states that they put it through during the exercise.
Not that long ago Garmin acquire Firstbeat a company that supplies advanced performance analytics for stress, recovery, and exercise and now it powers the stats that your Garmin watch will track and record.
It could be a feature that they introduced to the Vivosmart series since it’s long overdue having in mind that they first add it to the 745 and from there on, they included also to the Fenix 6 and the Forerunner 945. It could be a feature that Garmin will only use on the Forerunner series but it feels like it could be a great addition to the Vivoactive series and to any other watches as well.
More Training Metrics
It’s true that the Vivoactive tracker already comes packed with activity tracking features and functions, it comes with the standard tracking activity features and it seems like there’s a little scope for improvement.
Although if they add the Firstbeat type of metrics we can have different tracking features such as recovery time, Training Load, Training Effect Real, Time Performance Condition, and more. On the latest Vivoactive, they add the VO2 max features but that’s pretty much all that they include in terms of training metrics.
Animated workouts 2.0
A feature that can really change your daily workouts and trackings is the animated workout feature where you can follow different activities such as Pilates and yoga just to name a few.
On the new Venu and the Vivoactive 4 they already included animated workouts, but it lacks some features and sports,having in mind that Fitbit includes over 20+ Exercises on the animated workouts seems like Garmin is lacking on this front.
On the latest Vivoactive 4 you can create custom workouts, although we need a greater collection of different sports and workouts that we can follow with animations to show the exercises so we can have a clear scoop of what the exercise is like.
New sensors (ECG, blood pressure, glucose, thermometer)
Some new sensor seems like long overdue, one of those sensors is the ECG one, that we already tested on the Fitbit Sense, the latest Apple watches and some Samsung models.
Having an ECG smartwatch can be really helpful since it can detect if you have atrial fibrillation, a condition that causes an irregular heart rate, and is a leading cause of strokes.
So it could be a great addition to a lineup such as the Vivoactive.
Some other sensors that can also be beneficial are the blood pressure monitoring, a feature that we already test it on different Fitbit models, rather than measuring your temperature it will establish a Baseline, and from there will know if your temperature is above or below the normal rate. There’s a rumor that the Apple Watch 8 will reportedly be getting this feature soon.
Smart assistant
Besides the LTE another feature that Garmin needs to introduce is the smart assistant, having the possibility of talking to your watch and giving instructions it’s truly amazing.
We really enjoyed this feature on the Fitbit models with the Alexa integration. The Apple watch already had it and even the latest Amazfit comes with the Huami’s smart assistant
Having a smart assistant while doing a sport will help you track correctly your workouts without the need to reach for your phone. To be honest, there’s been no indication that Garmin will take this road, but we think it’s a good idea and it could be a real Improvement to not only have a fitness tracker but also the smartwatch experience.
Related:
- Best Garmin Watch Review
- Garmin Reviews
- Garmin Forerunner 935
- Garmin Fenix 5X review
- Garmin Vivofit 3 Review
- Garmin Instinct Review
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