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Garmin’s Vivoactive watches are some of my favorites for casual fitness tracking. The Vivoactive 6 is the newest version, but right now you can get a steal on the Vivoactive 5 for just $179.99 in Amazon’s Big Spring Sale.
The Vivoactive 5 originally launched at $299.99 in 2023. When the Vivoactive 6 came out, the 5 dropped to $229.99. It’s been hovering around the $200 mark since the holiday season, but is now at $179.99, give or take a few dollars depending on which color you choose.
For more about why I like the Vivoactives, check out my comparison of the Vivoactive 5 with the Pixel Watch 3, where the Vivoactive pulls off an underdog win. It’s cheaper, the fitness features are faster and easier to access, and it has more than a week’s worth of battery life. While I don’t have a dedicated review of the Vivoactive 5, I’d recommend reading my review of the Vivoactive 6, a similar watch. The 6 added more coaching options, and a more robust navigation system, but otherwise the differences are mostly superficial. The core features are the same on both.
Those core features include a 42-millimeter body (that’s on the smaller size for smartwatches); a touchscreen for most features but physical buttons to start, stop and lap workouts; Garmin’s always-excellent workout tracking and analytics; and everyday conveniences like hydration and relaxation reminders, a morning report, weather forecasts, and incident detection. The Vivoactive watches also have a mode for wheelchair users that counts pushes rather than steps, and includes wheelchair and hand-cycling activities.
