Garmin Vivosmart Activity Tracker smartwatch

An imperceptible OLED touchscreen shows up when you twofold tap the front of the gadget. The screen can be hard to peruse in a few conditions and I found the twofold tap activity didn't generally wake it up. It is ideal that you can likewise set the Vivosmart to consequently wake up when you raise your hand, a component additionally found on the Samsung Gear Fit . Once the screen is conscious, you can swipe from left to ideal to show your warnings and action following details. 

Much the same as the Vivofit, the Vivosmart is waterproof up to 5 ATM, which means it can be worn while swimming and in the shower. I noticed, notwithstanding, that while in the shower the screen was regularly deceived into turning on when water beads fell on it. 

There is a USB line with a clasp on the finish of it that you use to charge the gadget and exchange information to your PC. It's sufficiently simple to utilize, but since it's a restrictive charging dongle, you must be additional watchful to not lose it. There is additionally Bluetooth on board to associate with your Android or iOS gadget.

As the name implies, the Vivosmart also includes some "smart" features. You will be alerted with a vibration when notifications arrive from your smartphone. I found notifications to be difficult to read. They appear as a single line, requiring you to scroll down multiple times to reach the end.

Computer Setup

1. Connect the charging clip securely to the device (Charging the Device).
2. Plug the USB cable into a USB port on your computer.
   The device turns on and  appears.
3. Hold  on the touchscreen until you see .
4. Go to www.GarminConnect.com/vivosmart.
5. Download and install the Garmin Express™ setup software:
   • If you are using a Windows® operating system, select Download for Windows.
   • If you are using a Mac® operating system, select Download for Mac.
6. Follow the instructions on your computer to pair your vívosmart® device and complete the setup process.

Going into this review, I already knew that Garmin is better at making sports watches than fitness trackers. When I tested the Forerunner 15, a running watch with step-counting thrown in, I came away with the same conclusion as I did here: that the app doesn't offer enough in the way of motivation. In that instance, though, it wasn't a big deal; step counting was just the cherry on top of an already excellent product. But in this case, the Vivosmart is a fitness tracker first, with smartwatch notifications being the cherry-on-top feature. That's a problem, because Garmin's fitness app is not robust enough to carry the experience. Meanwhile, the hardware gets scuffed up easily, and isn't very comfortable to sleep in. Finally, there's the price: At $170 it's 40 bucks pricier than Jawbone's and Fitbit's offerings. And unfortunately, those smartwatch-like notifications aren't useful enough to justify the difference.

All that said, I appreciate what Garmin was trying to do here. There's going to soon come a point when wearing both a fitness band and a smartwatch will be an unacceptable compromise. Even now, I'm not sure it's a sensible solution. I'm waiting for a wearable that's stylish, displays notifications and, at the same time, contains all the same sophisticated sensors as the best fitness trackers. The Vivosmart isn't it, but I'm happy to keep waiting.

Then there's Basis. You may not have heard of this company, but you should: It was purchased by Intel earlier this year, and it happens to offer the most sophisticated feature set we've seen. Thanks to a bevy of sensors that track movement, sweat output, heat dissipation, blood flow and heart rate, the new $200 Peak band can tell when you're sleeping or exercising without you having to enter a special mode. For that reason, it's the most low-maintenance tracker I've tried yet (full review coming soon). As I said before, too, I also like how the app lets you opt in to challenges, which encourage a healthier lifestyle. Additionally, it adjusts your weekly goals based on your recent activity. The trade-off is that even now that Basis is on its second-gen tracker, it still hasn't gotten the hang of design. In fact, the Peak looks more like a smartwatch than a fitness band, what with its wide band and 1.25-inch touchscreen. That's fine if you like smartwatches, but it doesn't really act like one -- not yet, anyway. The device will eventually use the screen to show you incoming calls, texts, emails and other notifications, but that will come as part of a future software update.

Other activity tracking features include a special workout mode to independently track your heart-rate, steps, calories burned, time and distance. There are also inactivity alerts that will remind you to move after long periods of being idle and personalized daily activity goals that automatically adjust each day.

Smart features

As the name implies, the Vivosmart also includes some "smart" features. You will be alerted with a vibration when notifications arrive from your smartphone. I found notifications to be difficult to read. They appear as a single line, requiring you to scroll down multiple times to reach the end.