Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs. Fitbit Sense
5 min read
Health trackers are all of the development at present. Other than the athletic market catering to those who want to observe and measure their workout routines and chart progress, there’s moreover a burgeoning market opening with seniors adopting the trackers for effectively being causes.
As frequent, with additional market share comes additional rivals. Whereas Fitbit was considered one of many first out of the gate and ready to dominate publicity and promoting and advertising circles, completely different companies jumped into the market with smartwatches and bands.
Immediately, we consider two well-liked well being trackers: The Garmin Vívoactive and the Fitbit Sense. We’ll put them by the use of the paces and see how they differ, the place each one excels, and what they supply. You might also check out completely different selections, like the simplest Garmin smartwatches, or be taught which Fitbit is best for you.
Specs comparability
| Garmin Vívoactive |
Fitbit Sense |
|
| Show measurement | 34 mm (1.34 inches) | 40.5 mm (1.58 inches) |
| Decision |
260 × 260 pixels |
300 × 300 pixels |
| Touchscreen | Sure | Sure |
| Coloration present | Sure | Sure |
| Weight | 50.5 Grams | 33.1 Grams |
| Depth | 12.8mm | 12.3mm |
| Interchangeable strap | Sure | Sure |
| Coronary heart charge | Sure | Sure |
| GPS | Linked GPS | Linked GPS |
| SpO2 | Sure | Sure (in a single day solely) |
| Waterproof | Sure – 50m | Sure – 50m |
| Battery life | as a lot as 8 days | as a lot as 6 days |
| Stair Counting | Sure | Sure |
| Swim Lap Counting | Sure | Sure |
| Guided Exercises | Sure | Sure |
| Music Storage | Sure | Sure |
| Value | $349 | $299 |
| Availability | Now | Now |
| Overview | Coming Quickly | Full Overview |
Design and display screen/interface
The Garmin Vívoactive 4 has a round face with a transflective memory-in-pixel show. It additionally contains a touchscreen. There’s a built-in alarm, timer, clock, and stopwatch. Garmin additional provides you dawn and sundown instances, in addition to auto-sync for if you journey. Garmin Pay can be utilized for contactless funds. You’ll additionally be capable of management your smartphone music with the watch and settle for or reject calls to your cellphone.
The Fitbit Sense has a square-shaped face with rounded corners and has an AMOLED full-color show, with a touch-screen for simple navigation. It’s potential to vary the watch face by the Fitbit app as a substitute of a secondary app like Garmin. There’s each a stopwatch and a timer at your fingertips, and you may stream music by the Fitbit Sense and use Fitbit’s personal NFC faucet cross, which lets you pay instantly with the watch.
Winner: Fitbit
Each watches have actually comparable options on this class, however Fitbit takes it because of their AMOLED display screen and bigger show.
Metrics
The Garmin Vívoactive 4 tracks steps and distance and has a built-in sports activities app to trace particular forms of train. It additionally has an animated on-screen exercise operate to information you thru yoga, cardio, and Pilates exercises. It additionally has sleep monitoring, which tracks completely different phases of sleep, and Pulse Oxygen knowledge.
The Fitbit Sense tracks steps, distance, flooring climbed and energy burned as a part of its fundamental metrics. It additionally tracks 4 phases of sleep (awake, gentle, deep, and REM). Lively Zone monitoring additionally lets you already know if you’re coming into an optimum coronary heart charge zone, personalized to your peak, weight, and age. Its built-in GPS may also measure “non-workout,” monitoring steps and coronary heart charge whilst you’re transferring round the home or workplace.
Winner: Tie
Each of those health trackers deal with the fundamentals equally effectively. There’s not lots separating them.
Additional metrics
The Vívoactive 4 is able to measuring SPO2 (Pulse Oxygen) each whereas sleeping and on-demand. It additionally has a “physique battery” stage that tracks your total vitality stage. The Vívoactive 4 stress ranges are primarily based on coronary heart charge sensor knowledge. It would monitor day by day fluid ranges in the event you enter them, and it’ll additionally monitor menstrual cycles, in addition to your common respiration. Notice that each the stress and respiration monitoring are primarily based on coronary heart charge monitoring.
The Fitbit Sense measures SPO2 whereas sleeping and on-demand and information day by day ranges. It additionally has an EDA Scan that detects electrodermal exercise in addition to measures EGC (electrocardiogram). The Fitbit Sense additionally tracks VO2 to present you a cardio health rating. This model additionally incorporates a pores and skin temperature monitor to give you a operating monitor of your temperature vary in the course of the day.
Winner: Fitbit Sense
GPS high quality/monitoring
The Garmin Vívoactive 4 has no GPS chipset inside it, nevertheless it makes use of what’s known as “related GPS,” relying in your cellphone’s GPS functionality. It will likely be as correct as your cellphone’s GPS, nevertheless it additionally means monitoring is much less correct than you’d like with some actions like biking.
The Fitbit Sense makes use of an onboard GPS, although that may even have some points. Although some customers have skilled delays with the GPS connection, the monitoring is usually extra correct than with the Vivoactive 4.
Winner: Fitbit Sense
Onboard GPS at all times beats Linked GPS.
Battery life and why it issues
Garmin claims the Vívoactive 4 lasts as much as eight days in smartwatch mode (which suggests most monitoring turned off), 18 hours in GPS mode with out music, and 6 hours in GPS mode with music.
Fitbit claims the Sense can final six days with GPS disabled and 12 hours with steady GPS.
It’s necessary to remember the fact that you’ll seemingly need to use the options in your health tracker, so the very best gauge of battery life is with every part turned on.
Winner: Garmin Vívoactive 4
It simply edges out the Fitbit Sense, lasting a number of extra hours.
Value
The Garmin Vívoactive 4 sells from the Garmin web site at $349 with free transport (at time of writing.)
The Fitbit Sense sells for $299 with free transport (at time of writing.)
Winner: Fitbit Sense
The value is considerably lower than Vívoactive 4, although we’ll point out that sale costs often carry them a lot nearer collectively in value.
Total winner: Fitbit Sense
After evaluating the 2 health trackers, it appears clear that whereas they’ve many options in frequent, the Fitbit Sense does a bit of extra a bit of higher. At half the price of the Vívoactive 4, this one is a no brainer. Make sure to learn the total assessment of the Fitbit Sense right here for our sincere and detailed evaluation.
