Garmin Vivoactive 4 Specifications, Comparisons & Opinion – Venu too
Further below is a detailed feature-by-feature comparison of the detailed specs of the 3 (2? 5?) new Vivoactive models, also showing the improvements from the earlier Vivoactive 3 Music. Don’t forget that recent announcements like support for AmazonMusic will work equally on the old Vivoactive 3 as on the new Vivoactive 4.
Garmin Vivoactive 4, 4S and Venu (4v) – The Headline Changes & Commentary
Sizing – Garmin has obviously realised by now that some people have thin wrists. Garmin’s sales volumes justify the introduction of the smaller-format Vivoactive 4s alongside the regular-sized Vivoactive 4.
Premium Versions – Garmin will continue to face pressure at the lower end of its ranges and must continue to position itself as a ‘generally premium’ vendor. To that end, we’ve seen the introduction of the MARQ version of the Fenix and so the VENU is the exact same move for the Vivoactive 4. The interesting point of difference with the VENU is Garmin’s first foray into AMOLED screens. These screens are essentially ‘the pretty ones’ that you often see around town. In my opinion this is a MASSIVE strategic step for Garmin that is long overdue and I suspect that this awesome screen will gradually spread through Garmin’s ranges, certainly initially to the models that are more ‘smart’ than ‘sport’, essentially competing on LOOKS against the like of the Apple Watch. The battery lives are now good enough for Garmin to properly support AMOLED, so that old chestnut of an argument appears to be no more.
LTE – The notable absence is LTE (a mobile phone connection to the internet within the watch). This is not on the Vivoactive 4 at present but I would be very surprised if this is not added in with another VA4 model within 6 months. Indeed I would expect other lines within Garmin to also have LTE in 2020. The VA3 achieved this with a link-up with Verizon in the USA and the problem here for taking this functionality forwards is that Garmin will have to get multiple agreements with many cellphone companies worldwide and it is that which will limit the global rollout of LTE rather than Garmin’s ability to make the kit that can do it (which clearly they can).
Music – There is also a notable absence of watches branded as a ‘music version’. All you can read here is that music is becoming standard, just like Garmin Pay and maps.
Garmin Vivoactive 4, 4S and Venu (4v) – What’s Different
Price:
- Vivoactive 3 $250, Vivoactive 4/4S $350, Venu $400
- This is getting expensive and you’ve got to really want a round, sports-focussed watch to avoid buying an Apple watch at these prices. The stakes get higher as the prices get higher.
Display:
- Vivoactive 4 1.3″ (260 x 260px), Vivoactive 3 1.2″ (240 x 240px), Vivoactive 4 Venu 1.2″ (390x390px), Vivoactive 4s (218x218px)
- So the VA4 has a BIGGER screen than before and the Venu has a better, more colourful and dense display.
- The physical case sizes & weights are all in line with those proportions and shown below for those who want the exact details
Battery Life
- GPS+Music of 6 hours for the VA4 and Venu, with 5 hours for the VA4s and VA3M
- Smartwatch mode is even 5 days for the Venu and better still for the others. So this is ‘sensible territory’ for where smartwatches need to be these days…and you even get that for the Venu’s AMOLED screen don’t forget.
Other
- PulseOX on all of 4/4s and 4v (Venu)
- Same music systems (Deezer, AmazonMusic, Spotify) via the same WiFi with the same max of 500 songs (2000 on Fenix)
- Body Battery Energy Monitor on all new models (not VA3)
- Yoga, Pilates and Workout animations on all new models (they just look better on the Venu)
- Respiration rate (day & night) on all new models (not VA3)
- Automatic golf club tracking (not VA3)
- Underwater HR via oHR (not VA3)
- New ELEVATE sensor (not VA3)
- New Sony low-power GNSS/Galileo chip (not VA3)
Garmin Vivoactive 4 – Q: Is it worth the upgrade?
A: No
No, it’s not worth the upgrade unless you specifically want either a better AMOLED screen or a smaller format (VA4s)
Garmin Vivoactive 4, 4S and Venu (4v) Pricing & Availability
The prices vary by options and more options will be introduced over time. Broadly it’s this:
Garmin Vivoactive 4 Specifications
| Venu™ | vívoactive® 4S | vívoactive® 4 | vívoactive® 3 Music | |
| $399.99 USD | $349.99 USD | $349.99 USD | $249.99 USD | |
| GPS smartwatch features AMOLED display, built-in sports apps, contactless payments, music and all-day health monitoring | Smaller-sized GPS smartwatch features built-in sports apps, contactless payments, music and all-day health monitoring | GPS smartwatch features built-in sports apps, contactless payments, music and all-day health monitoring | GPS smartwatch with built-in sports apps, wrist-based heart rate, Garmin Pay™ contactless payments, and music | |
| General | ||||
| Lens Material | Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 | Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 | Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 | Corning® Gorilla® Glass 3 |
| Bezel Material | stainless steel | stainless steel | stainless steel | |
| Case material | fibre-reinforced polymer with polymer rear cover | fibre-reinforced polymer with polymer rear cover | fiber-reinforced polymer with polymer rear cover | polymer |
| Quick Release Bands | yes (20 mm, Industry standard) | yes (18 mm, Industry standard) | yes (22 mm, Industry standard) | yes (20 mm, Industry standard) |
| Strap material | silicone | silicone | silicone | silicone |
| Physical size | 43.2 x 43.2 x 12.4 mm | 40.0 x 40.0 x 12.7 mm | 45.1 x 45.1 x 12.8 mm | 43.1 x 43.1 x 13.6 mm |
| Fits wrists with a circumference of 125-190 mm | Fits wrists with a circumference of 110-175 mm | Fits wrists with a circumference of 135-200 mm | Fits wrists with a circumference of 127-204 mm | |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Display size | 1.2″ (30.4mm) diameter | 1.1″ (27.9 mm) diameter | 1.3″ (33.0 mm) diameter | 1.2″ (30.4mm) diameter |
| Display resolution | 390 x 390 pixels | 218 x 218 pixels | 260 x 260 pixels | 240 x 240 pixels |
| Display type | AMOLED | sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) | sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) | sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) |
| Weight | 46.3 g | 40.0 g | 50.5 g | 39.0 g |
| Battery life | Smartwatch mode: Up to 5 days | Smartwatch mode: Up to 7 days | Smartwatch mode: Up to 8 days | Smartwatch mode: Up to 7 days |
| GPS mode with music: Up to 5 hours | GPS mode with music: Up to 6 hours | GPS mode with music: Up to 5 hours | ||
| GPS mode with music: Up to 6 hours | GPS mode without music: Up to 13 hours | |||
| Water rating | Swim, 5 ATM | Swim, 5 ATM | Swim, 5 ATM | Swim, 5 ATM |
| Colour display | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Memory/History | 7 timed activities, 14 days of activity tracking data | 7 timed activities, 14 days of activity tracking data | 7 timed activities, 14 days of activity tracking data | 7 timed activities, 14 days of activity tracking data |
| Clock Features | ||||
| Time/date | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GPS Time Sync | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic daylight saving time | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Alarm clock | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Timer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Stopwatch | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sunrise/sunset times | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sensors | ||||
| GPS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| GLONASS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Galileo | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Garmin Elevate™ wrist heart rate monitor | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Barometric altimeter | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Thermometer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pulse Ox | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Connectivity | ||||
| Connect IQ™ (downloadable watch faces, data fields, widgets and apps) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Smart notifications | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Text response/reject phone call with text (Android™ only) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi® | Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi® | Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi® | Bluetooth®, ANT+®, Wi-Fi® |
| Calendar | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Weather | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Controls smartphone music | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Plays and controls watch music | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Music Storage | up to 500 songs | up to 500 songs | up to 500 songs | up to 500 songs |
| Find My Phone | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Find My Watch | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| VIRB® Camera Remote | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Smartphone compatibility | iPhone®, Android™ | iPhone®, Android™ | iPhone®, Android™ | iPhone®, Android™ |
| Compatible with Garmin Connect™ Mobile | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Garmin Pay™ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Safety and Tracking Features | ||||
| Incident Detection during select activities | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Assistance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| LiveTrack | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Activity Tracking Features | ||||
| Step counter | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Move bar (displays on device after a period of inactivity; walk for a couple of minutes to reset it) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Auto goal (learns your activity level and assigns a daily step goal) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep monitoring (monitors total sleep and periods of movement or restful sleep) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Calories burned | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Floors climbed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Distance travelled | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Intensity minutes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TrueUp™ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Move IQ™ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fitness Age | yes (in app) | yes (in app) | yes (in app) | yes (in app) |
| Body Battery™ Energy Monitor | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| All-day Stress Tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gym & Fitness Equipment | ||||
| Available gym activity profiles | Strength, Cardio and Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing, Indoor Rowing, Yoga, Pilates and Breathwork | Strength, Cardio and Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing, Indoor Rowing, Yoga, Pilates and Breathwork | Strength, Cardio and Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing, Indoor Rowing, Yoga, Pilates and Breathwork | Strength, Cardio and Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing, Indoor Rowing and Yoga |
| Cardio workouts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Strength workouts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Yoga workouts | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Pilates workouts | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| On-screen workout animations | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Automatic rep counting | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Training, Planning and Analysis Features | ||||
| GPS speed and distance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customizable data pages | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customizable activity profiles | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Auto Pause® | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Advanced workouts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Downloadable training plans | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Auto Lap® | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Manual lap | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| V02 max | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Touch and/or button lock | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Auto-scroll | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Activity history on the watch | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Physio TrueUp | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Heart Rate Features | ||||
| HR zones | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HR alerts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HR calories | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| % HR max | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| HR Broadcast (broadcasts HR data over ANT+™ to paired devices) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Respiration rate (during exercise) | yoga and breathwork only | yoga and breathwork only | yoga and breathwork only | No |
| Respiration rate (all-day and in sleep) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Running Features | ||||
| Available run profiles | Running, Indoor Track Running, Treadmill Running | Running, Indoor Track Running, Treadmill Running | Running, Indoor Track Running, Treadmill Running | Running, Indoor Track Running, Treadmill Running |
| GPS-based distance, time and pace | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Run workouts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Foot pod capable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Golfing Features | ||||
| Yardage to F/M/B (distance to front, middle and back of green) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Yardage to layups/doglegs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Measures shot distance (calculates exact yardage for shots from anywhere on course) | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Digital scorecard | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Stat tracking (strokes, putts per round, greens and fairways hit) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Garmin AutoShot™ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Green View with manual pin position | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hazards and course targets | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| PinPointer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Round timer/odometer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic club tracking compatible (requires accessory) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Outdoor Recreation Features | ||||
| Available outdoor recreation profiles | Skiing, Snowboarding, XC Skiing, Stand Up Paddleboarding, Rowing | Skiing, Snowboarding, XC Skiing, Stand Up Paddleboarding, Rowing | Skiing, Snowboarding, XC Skiing, Stand Up Paddleboarding, Rowing | Skiing, Snowboarding, XC Skiing, Stand Up Paddleboarding, Rowing |
| Back to start | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Total ascent/descent | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cycling Features | ||||
| Available cycling profiles | Biking, Indoor Biking | Biking, Indoor Biking | Biking, Indoor Biking | Biking, Indoor Biking |
| Time/distance alerts (triggers alarm when you reach goal) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Compatible with Varia™ radar (rear-facing radar) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Compatible with Varia™ lights | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Speed and cadence sensor support (with sensor) | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| Swimming Features | ||||
| Available swim profiles | Pool Swimming | Pool Swimming | Pool Swimming | Pool Swimming |
| Pool swim metrics (lengths, distance, pace, stroke count/rate, swim efficiency (SWOLF), calories) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Stroke type detection (freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly) (Pool Swim Only) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Basic rest timer (up from 0) | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Time and distance alerts | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Underwater wrist-based heart rate | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Garmin Vivoactive 4 – Is it worth the upgrade?
A: No
No, it’s not worth the upgrade unless you specifically want either a better AMOLED screen or a smaller format (VA4s)
Garmin Vivoactive 4, 4S and Venu (4v) Pricing & Availability
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I am still not sure who the market is for the Fenix 6 (non-pro), but won’t the VA4 eat straight into the profits of that watch? Almost any missing functionality (multisport, power meter support, can be added via ConnectIQ apps.
there will always be some degree of canabalisation between garmin products. the fenix does have better button/case options
I agree with the sentiment of what you suggest and would throw in to the mix that the VENU might be a bigger problem because of the screen
The Fenix 6 exists solely to up-sell people into buying the 6X Pro and to distract from the price increase over what the 5 Plus’ cost at its launch.
If you want a watch that uses Stryd w/GPS, providing distance & pace from Stryd and Garmin Pay, you have the cheapest but outdated option of 645M and then you go to 945 or F6 (non Pro), where the difference is maps(+features related to maps) +music vs bigger screen; aesthetics is in the eye of the beholder. But in both cases you opt for 600 euro, which is too much. Vivoactive 4 would have been a winner if it could properly support Stryd (or any other footpod for that matter). Unfortunately we have to wait Garmin to fill in the gap.
Think the vivoactive 4 is worth an upgrade from the VA 3m? I’ve had mine for a year and really enjoy it. Prime day is coming up with rumored discounts around 50% for garmin watches and I’m pondering getting one. VA 5 is likely to come out fall of 2021. Do you think it’s worth grabbing on prime day or waiting for the 5 to come out?
prime day
i think we will see some good garmin bargains esp on va
yes VA4 *IS* in Amazon Prime Day sales – i’ll post the link when it’s live.