Garmin Vivoactive 6 assessment: For the informal fitness-goer

As somebody who does primarily weightlifting and never a lot operating, Garmin smartwatches all the time appeared out of attain to me. They all the time felt like fanatic watches for runners or outdoorsy varieties, neither of which I’m. Additionally, the buttons and complicated UI made them tough to choose up. However, the Garmin Vivoactive 6 appears to be a treatment to this, providing a reasonably reasonably priced different with a easy design and a extra user-friendly UI.

The Vivoactive 6 seems like the right entryway into the world of Garmin watches, particularly in case you’re not likely a runner. You might not get all the most recent and biggest options or specs, as anybody searching for these must spend considerably extra on a watch. However, the Vivoactive 6 is nice for getting the fundamentals, monitoring exercises, and holding you lively.

Garmin Vivoactive 6: Price, availability, and specs

The Garmin Vivoactive 6 was introduced in April 2025 and went on sale the identical month. The watch retails for $299 and is on the market in a number of colorways: Slate, Lunar Gold, Metallic Jasper Green, and Metallic Pink Dawn.

The Vivoactive 6 solely is available in a 42.2mm case dimension and helps 20mm quick-release bands.

Garmin Vivoactive 6: What I like

The Vivoactive 6 is a surprisingly well-built smartwatch. It’s on the smaller aspect, which can not swimsuit you if in case you have bigger wrists, however the plus aspect is that it is neither thick nor heavy. In truth, the watch could be very mild and comfy to put on. This is nice not solely in on a regular basis use, but in addition when carrying it to mattress, as I hardly discover it is on, in contrast to different smartwatches.

It’s pretty robust, too, though in all probability not as sturdy as pricier fashions. You nonetheless get stable water safety with 5 ATM, that means the watch might be submerged as much as 50 meters deep, which ought to enchantment to informal swimmers. Gorilla Glass 3 safety must also assist preserve the show intact, whereas the aluminum bezel and fiber-reinforced polymer case give the watch a mushy really feel.

The OLED show could be very vibrant and pretty simple to maneuver, regardless of the moderately giant bezels. It’s extremely responsive and vibrant sufficient to make use of open air. At simply 1.2 inches, I want the show had been bigger, however it nonetheless serves its function.

One factor I observed instantly after establishing the Vivoactive 6 is that the UI is a big enchancment over the Venu 3, which is the one different Garmin watch I’ve used. It’s not excellent, however menus really feel extra logical, and different UI adjustments make extra sense, equivalent to accessing notifications by swiping down from the house display screen after which Glance shortcuts by swiping up. Quick settings are accessible by swiping down, or you’ll be able to press and maintain the principle energy button. Settings can be accessed by holding the again button.

I believe a part of what makes this simpler to navigate, other than the revamped software program, is that you just solely have two {hardware} buttons. As I discovered having a 3rd button on the Venu 3 to be complicated, I respect the simplicity.

Overall, the UI feels considerably extra inviting for informal health fanatics and anybody seeking to buy their first Garmin watch.

Battery life is kind of stable on the Vivoactive 6. Garmin claims you’ll be able to stand up to 11 days of battery life per cost, which I do not doubt. I persistently get a full week of battery life, with one or two exercises tracked per day and the show set to gesture activation. You’d get much less battery with the always-on show activated, however I discover the gesture choice to be completely ample.

Garmin Vivoactive 6: Fitness

The Vivoactive 6 would not include Garmin’s newest Elevate sensor expertise, that means you will not get the improved accuracy discovered on fashions just like the Forerunner 970 and even the Venu 3. That mentioned, the watch nonetheless gives loads of health options and with sufficient accuracy that the older sensor mustn’t delay informal customers.

I performed two separate step assessments, strolling 5,000 steps and evaluating the top outcomes between the Vivoactive 6, Pixel Watch 3, Venu 3, and Oura Ring 4. For the needs of the check, I wore the Pixel and Venu on separate days, and I wore every machine on the identical arm in order that they may detect the identical motion whereas I walked. I additionally used a handbook counter, tapping it for every step I took till I reached 5,000.

The Vivoactive 6’s step depend was surprisingly low throughout the first check, and I could not decide the reason for this discrepancy. However, it carried out a lot better throughout the second check, coming in considerably nearer than the Venu 3 or Oura Ring 4.

I additionally wore the Vivoactive 6 and Venu 3 throughout a couple of exercises, primarily to check coronary heart fee information. The information is from two HIIT (high-intensity interval coaching) exercises and 500 steps on the stair stepper:

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I observed throughout my exercises that the readings from the Vivoactive 6 would usually keep fairly near these of the Venu, however typically I might see it nonetheless attempting to catch up when my coronary heart fee rose quickly.

As you’ll be able to see from the charts, the Vivoactive would have a couple of random dips earlier than taking a couple of seconds to match the Venu, or it could take longer to register the rise in coronary heart fee.

The Morning Report function is just like Morning Brief on the Pixel Watch, offering a breakdown of the morning, together with climate, sleep rating, and physique battery. It additionally comes with advised exercises, though you will not get rather more than advised walks. It’s ultimate for informal health fanatics and serves as a great way to encourage customers to stand up and transfer all through the day.

I want the advised exercises had been a bit extra assorted, particularly for somebody like me who actively engages in HIIT, weightlifting, and energy yoga six days every week. That mentioned, it is clear that this watch is extra targeted on encouraging customers to be lively than on pushing them, which, once more, can be extra attribute of a Forerunner.

The watch options built-in Location Services and helps varied navigational techniques, that are fairly correct and useful for monitoring your route on runs or hikes. Keep in thoughts that you do not get an altimeter, which is a draw back in case you benefit from the open air and climbing. You can also’t obtain maps to the watch, which can be a draw back for some.

You do, nevertheless, have entry to exercise movies straight on the watch, which is useful when following the pre-made exercises created in Garmin Connect. You can even curate your personal exercise inside the app, though this seems like a really time-consuming and tedious job, and I’d give up midway by.

If you are a weightlifter like me, you may doubtless be happy with the exercise monitoring. It can routinely detect reps and relaxation between units. It’s not excellent, however it’s fairly useful and extra correct than Galaxy smartwatches in my expertise, and considerably extra correct than you may get with a Pixel Watch.

Otherwise, the watch comes with quite a lot of exercise modes, which ought to please most customers.

Sleep monitoring has been pretty correct, even when in comparison with my Oura Ring 4. The solely occasions I’ve observed any misses are after I would get up for a bit and fall again asleep for a couple of hours, which my ring would account for however the watch would seemingly ignore.

There’s no physique temperature sensor, which is probably going a cost-cutting measure, though I can not say I miss it. There’s additionally no ECG, however you may get nearly each different well being monitoring function that one ought to count on on a smartwatch.

Garmin Vivoactive 6: What I do not like

The UI on the Vivoactive 3 is far improved, however it nonetheless comes with some quirks that I really feel are typical for Garmin. Notifications can usually take up the whole display screen, which might be fairly annoying if you’re really attempting to do one thing on the watch. Furthermore, the vibration depth cannot be altered, so you may get a reasonably jarring buzz except you flip the vibration off.

Speaking of vibrations, the watch includes a Smart Alarm that makes use of sleep monitoring to wake you up on the optimum time, so you’re feeling much less groggy. It sounds nice in concept, however I’ve discovered this function fairly ineffective or annoying. Oftentimes, I get up forward of my set alarm, so the Vivoactive finally ends up simply being late to the celebration when the good alarm lastly goes off. It additionally solely has a 30-minute window, which does not look like sufficient time to reap the benefits of a function like this, particularly in case your sleep schedule is as erratic as mine.

The Vivolively additionally has Move Break alerts to remind you to stand up and transfer, which is smart. However, I’ll be actively standing and transferring round or cooking, and the watch will nonetheless buzz me with a transfer alert, which I discover annoying.

Finally, regardless of the improved UI, Garmin nonetheless appears to cover options and settings underneath a mountain of menus, making it tough to find sure issues. That’s whether or not you are on the watch or within the app. Using the Garmin Connect app might be overwhelming, and I usually needed to check with Android Central senior editor and wearables professional Michael Hicks to determine tips on how to do issues on the watch or within the app.

The smartwatch UI is a big step in the best path, however I really feel that the app might use some enchancment.

Bonus: I briefly used the Connect Plus subscription whereas testing the Vivoactive 6, however truthfully didn’t discover it helpful sufficient to warrant sticking with it. A stay view of my exercise coronary heart fee was neat, as had been a few of the AI-based insights, however I do not assume it is price paying for.

Garmin Vivoactive 6: Competition

In this worth vary, one other watch chances are you’ll wish to think about is the Pixel Watch 3. It includes a extra streamlined UI, quite a few apps, and a incredible design, together with LTE help for individuals who require it. That mentioned, health monitoring is probably not fairly on par, battery life is not as nice, and the bottom mannequin will price extra.

The Galaxy Watch 7 is one other smartwatch price contemplating at this worth. It additionally runs Wear OS, so you may get most of the identical perks because the Pixel Watch with some Samsung aptitude. That mentioned, it additionally comes with the identical downsides, regardless of its fairly strong Samsung Health app.

Garmin Vivoactive 6: Should you purchase it?

You should purchase this if…

• You’re new to Garmin.
• You’re an off-the-cuff fitness-goer.
• You need a smartwatch with lengthy battery life.

You should not purchase this if…

• You’re a severe runner or biker.
• You need a smartwatch expertise that is simple to make use of.
• You need a watch that pushes you to do extra.

The Vivoactive 6 has been a surprisingly refreshing expertise for me after coming from the Venu 3. Sure, it isn’t precisely a premium watch, and also you miss out on some options and specs, however it will get you a lot of what you’d count on from a Garmin machine with out the worth tag related to watches just like the Fenix 8.

Since I’m not a runner or biker, this seems like an ideal watch for somebody like me, who simply desires to trace my exercises. The Vivoactive 6 will not push you to do something you do not wish to do, however it’s going to be sure you’re at the least staying lively, which is nice sufficient for many people.

This is a perfect smartwatch for anybody interested by Garmin however involved about what it entails, and it is platform-agnostic, so each Android and iOS customers are welcome.