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Garmin Targets Sports Lovers With Vivoactive HR Smartwatch

 & Angela Moscaritolo Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

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Need a smartwatch that can track all your outdoor sports activities? Garmin might have just the thing.

The company on Friday introduced a new addition to its smartwatch lineup—the Vivoactive HR, aimed at sports lovers, and the more affordable Vivofit 3.

The $249.99 smartwatch, which is slated to begin shipping in the second quarter, has a built-in heart rate monitor and features GPS-enabled sports apps for walking, running, biking, swimming, golfing, paddle boarding, rowing, skiing, and snowboarding.

The Vivoactive HR provides 24/7 wrist-based heart rate monitoring, eliminating the need for a chest strap, and uses this data to calculate your calories burned as well as the intensity of your activities. The watch also helps you monitor your progress against aerobic activity goals recommended by health organizations like the American Heart Association.

It has an always-on, sunlight-readable touch-screen display and thanks to Garmin's Connect IQ store, you'll be able to personalize the wearable with free apps, widgets, watch faces, and data fields.

"The Vivoactive HR builds on the incredible versatility and multi-functionality of its predecessor by adding wrist-based heart rate and a barometric altimeter — allowing it to track even more data essential to workouts and day-to-day activity," Garmin's vice president of worldwide sales, Dan Bartel, said in a statement. "All your efforts to stay active are accounted for from taking the stairs at the office to going on a run or ride."

Garmin Vivofit 3Runners, cyclers, and swimmers will be able to track their time, distance, and speed, among other metrics, while golfers can get a simplified view of the green and shot distance measurements. For paddleboarders and rowers, it also tracks your stroke count and stroke rate while the skiing and snowboarding app measures 3D speed by calculating the speed and distance on an incline versus latitude and longitude.

The watch offers up to eight days of battery life on a charge in watch/activity tracking mode (with heart rate monitoring, but no GPS) or up to 13 hours when you're using GPS. It's more than just an activity tracker too, capable of connecting to your smartphone and showing notifications for incoming calls, texts, emails, calendar reminders, and social media alerts. You can also do things like check the weather from your wrist, control the music on your smartphone, control a Garmin VIRB action camera, and locate your phone.

The Vivoactive HR will be available in regular and extra-large fit black bands with additional "accessory" bands in black, white, yellow, and red available for purchase separately at $29.99 each.

Garmin also revealed the Vivofit 3, a daily tracker that promises one-year of battery life. It supports Garmin Move IQ auto activity detection and intensity minutes for activities like walking, running, biking, swimming, and elliptical training. It's water-resistant to 165 feet and supports colorful accessory bands, including new styles from the Jonathan Adler + Garmin line.

Vivofit 3 starts shipping in Q2 for $99.99 with a white or black band or $109.99 for a dark camo band. A small black quilted band or white waves band will be $119.99.

Garmin Vivofit 3

This article originally appeared on PCMag.com.

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade. 

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes. 

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app. 

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth. 

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light. 

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

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