Garmin Vivomove Trend review: trending smarter

I had excessive expectations once I first strapped on the Garmin Vivomove Pattern — and I’ve by no means felt that means a couple of Garmin hybrid smartwatch. Because the identify suggests, hybrids mash collectively the look of an analog watch (together with actual fingers!) with the smarts of a health tracker. The factor is, whereas Garmin’s earlier hybrids had been attractive, they had been means too costly. However final 12 months’s wonderful Vivomove Sport bucked that development. The entry-level Sport was the primary time I really felt that Garmin acquired the correct mix of kind and performance. It was cute, fairly priced, and hit all the suitable notes for a primary health tracker. The Pattern (beginning at $269.99, $299 as examined) was both going to maintain that momentum going or slide again into outdated habits.

After about two weeks with the Vivomove Pattern, I’m inclined to say the previous — with a number of caveats.

An important replace with the Pattern is the very fact it helps wi-fi charging. That’s a primary for any Garmin, which is wonderful when you consider it. It’s 2023, and the overwhelming majority of smartwatches way back switched from clip-style pin chargers to teeny inductive pucks (that, infuriatingly, aren’t appropriate throughout manufacturers). It’s yet one more signal that whereas Apple and Samsung are encroaching on Garmin’s turf, Garmin isn’t about to simply let it occur.

Garmin watches have a popularity for being ugly, cumbersome, and thick. The Pattern isn’t any of these issues. Whereas the Vivomove Sport had a cuter Swatch-y design, I’d describe the Pattern as elegantly sporty. It’s the kind of machine I’d count on to see at a high-end yoga studio, worn by an individual who reveals up in an identical ‘match, manicured nails, and impossibly white sneakers.

That’s solely the primary picture that popped into my head — in all probability as a result of that’s the model of me I needed I used to be whereas testing the Pattern. (Alas, my ‘suits are extra sensible than cute, my nails are chipped, and it’s been years since my sneakers had been white.) Garmin says the Pattern is focused towards ladies, however its design isn’t so female that it’s solely for girls. I may simply see it on the wrist of a businessperson in a snazzy swimsuit saying smart-sounding issues about EBITDA margins, particularly since there’s an all-black model, and you may swap the straps out for any customary 20mm band. It’s acquired a 40mm case, however there are many individuals who want that to bigger ones. The Pattern received’t enchantment to anybody searching for a rugged vibe, but it surely’s not supposed to.

The Pattern is supposed to be the midrange choice within the Vivomove lineup. In contrast to the dearer Vivomove Model and Vivomove Luxe, it has a plastic case and a liquid crystal show, and the lens is product of chemically strengthened glass. However I by no means felt the Pattern was a downgrade. It helps that the Pattern has a chrome steel bezel — it’s a small change, but it surely elevates the general look.

Extra importantly, it’s light-weight at 43 grams with the strap, making it splendid for on a regular basis put on. It didn’t weigh my arm down whereas figuring out, I by no means felt the urge to tear it off whereas sleeping, and it by no means caught on my sleeves. It has 5ATM of water resistance, which implies you may hop within the pool with it and be fantastic, although I wouldn’t as a result of touchscreens and water don’t combine. Nonetheless, you don’t must take it off in case you’ve acquired a pile of dishes to scrub, get caught in a downpour, or must wrestle a prickly cat into the bath.

A hybrid watch isn’t going to be the neatest wearable on the block. However in case you’re not trying to management a wise McMansion, the Pattern has an amazing mixture of primary and trendy options.

Take the hidden show. It’s a staple on all of the Vivomove watches, however really, it by no means will get outdated. You both flick your wrist up, or faucet the show and growth. Your information and watchfaces seem like a ghostly futuristic hologram.

I like these hidden shows as a result of it’s a intelligent option to carry analog fashion into the trendy period, all whereas being adaptable to completely different worth factors. Just like the entry-level Sport, the Pattern opts for monochrome LCD as a substitute of the colour OLED you’ll discover on the dearer Vivomove watches. However in contrast to the Sport, the Pattern’s hidden shows can help you view information on all the display screen as a substitute of simply the underside half. That makes it a lot simpler to learn full notifications and navigate menus.

The are a number of downsides. One is that there’s no bodily buttons — and no crown — and touchscreens will be finicky in case you’re sweaty or carrying gloves. The hidden show also can get washed out in shiny lighting, however you can tweak brightness ranges to assist mitigate that. I’d additionally find it irresistible if the show itself had been extra responsive, however having tried virtually each Vivomove machine, the Pattern’s show is certainly an enchancment from earlier fashions.

You’ll additionally get the fundamentals like push notifications, media controls, discover my cellphone, discover my watch, alarms, timers, and the analog fingers mechanically transfer out of the best way once you’re viewing information, calendar and climate widgets, or texts. Android customers also can reply to texts and reject cellphone calls. The Pattern contains extra superior communication options, too, like contactless cost through Garmin Pay and security options equivalent to fall detection and reside monitoring. The protection options aren’t as polished as what you’ll get from Apple or Samsung, however they’re there in case you want them.

Since it is a life-style watch, you received’t have LTE connectivity, although you do get Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and ANT Plus. It additionally solely helps GPS through your cellphone, versus built-in GPS. So this isn’t going to be a standalone look ahead to lengthy solo runs or hikes, but it surely’s greater than ample for holding you within the loop throughout work or on the health club.

The Pattern’s greatest flex is that it helps Qi wi-fi charging. As I discussed earlier, it’s the primary Garmin ever to take action. And I’m comfortable to report that it really works. My Qi chargers are nothing particular — they’re from some no-name model and price me $9. I plopped it down, the analog fingers moved out of the best way, and a lil charging icon popped up.

In fact, wi-fi chargers will be fussy. You gotta be sure that your machine strains up with the coil, and at the very least on my charger, there’s no magnet to lock the smartwatch in place. They’re additionally not as quick as wired chargers. However I loved plopping the Pattern down on my Qi desk charger whereas I labored, and it’s nice that you should utilize any present Qi chargers you’ve, particularly because it reduces your reliance on proprietary chargers, which will be costly to interchange, contribute to e-waste, and are a ache within the butt.

The one catch is in case you don’t have a Qi charger already, the Pattern doesn’t include one. (It does, nonetheless, include a proprietary Garmin charger.) That, and there are some bunk Qi chargers on the market. (Professional tip: don’t purchase one you discover within the checkout aisle at TJ Maxx.) However in case you’re eager to attempt them out, it’s not a steep funding and a ton of gadgets today assist the Qi charging customary.

As for battery life, the Pattern has an estimated 5 days on a single cost. That’s about what I acquired throughout testing with 24/7 put on, default brightness, extra notifications than I take care of, and about 30-60 minutes of GPS exercise daily. It not so long as you’ll get on another health bands, however battery life closely depends upon your particular person utilization. A minimum of now, you may stick a Qi charger in each room, and also you’d be lined.

This is probably not probably the most hardcore Garmin watch, however the Pattern doesn’t skimp on well being or health monitoring.

It’s acquired a steady coronary heart price monitor, barometric altimeter, accelerometer, ambient gentle sensor, and blood oxygen monitoring. It tracks your steps, energy, and flooring climbed and has automated exercise monitoring, too. You’ll be capable of do coronary heart price zone coaching, see your VO2 Max, and broadcast your coronary heart price information to ANT Plus health club tools and equipment. It’s acquired Garmin’s proprietary metrics, like Physique Battery to visualise restoration and health age. You’ve mindfulness options and sleep monitoring. We may go on and on, however apart from Garmin’s most intensive coaching options, you’ll be just about set.

That stated, I wouldn’t advocate this if need to see a ton of information mid-exercise. It’s acquired nothing to do with accuracy. The Pattern did nicely in my coronary heart price testing towards the Polar H10. Related GPS usually isn’t as correct as built-in GPS — which was mirrored in my testing — but it surely’s in the suitable ballpark. For instance, a 2.46-mile stroll recorded on my Apple Watch Extremely was logged as 2.57 miles on the Pattern.

Reasonably, I wouldn’t advocate attempting to test your metrics mid-workout as a result of it took me out of the circulate. Between the dimmer show and lack of bodily buttons, swiping by way of screens was extra distracting than it ought to’ve been.

This tracker is healthier suited to exercises the place you possibly can zone out or the place simply getting the credit score for doing one thing is sufficient. I beloved it for walks, mobility work, arm day, and yoga. It was okay for shorter runs, however I’d moderately attain for the Garmin Fenix 7S or the Apple Watch Extremely for half coaching. The identical applies to well being monitoring. Garmin’s sleep monitoring isn’t one of the best I’ve examined, but it surely will get you in the suitable ballpark. Coronary heart price information is sweet, however generally your nightly SpO2 will probably be suspiciously low. You in all probability received’t like that in case you obsess over numbers, however accuracy is just one side of well being monitoring. The larger aim is to see your progress over time, and the aptly named Pattern is greater than outfitted to try this.

I’ve seen a development with Garmin’s life-style smartwatches: they’re getting smarter. It’s not sufficient to make Apple or Samsung quiver of their boots — however Google may need to take some notes, particularly now that Fitbit has seemingly misplaced its means with multiday server outages and legacy options disappearing left and proper.

The Garmin Venu Sq 2 was an amazing lil smartwatch with a handy guide a rough show that gave the Versa 4 and Sense 2 a run for its cash. The Venu 2 Plus additionally has a beeyootiful show, voice assistant compatibility by way of your cellphone, and lengthy battery life, and it simply acquired FDA clearance for EKGs. Now, with the Pattern, Garmin is including wi-fi charging to the combo.

All of those merchandise — and a few I haven’t talked about — are compelling options to Fitbit. And given Fitbit’s murky characteristic, I’m inclined to advocate Garmin as the higher funding.

The one factor that offers me pause is the Pattern’s worth. At $270, it’s solely about $30 cheaper than the Vivomove Model. And in case you get the gold variations of the Pattern, they’re the identical worth. The primary distinction between the 2 is the Pattern has Qi charging, whereas the Model has a hidden coloration OLED show and higher supplies. It’ll boil all the way down to what reductions yow will discover, the colours you need, and whether or not you need the choice of wi-fi charging. That stated, I can’t assist however really feel this unnecessarily muddies the waters in an in any other case stable hybrid lineup.

I feel I communicate for all smartwatch reviewers once I say Garmin may stand to pare down its product catalog a bit. However, there’s one thing to be stated about an organization that’s delivering this many wearables in such a broad vary of kinds, sizes, worth factors, and have units for informal and hardcore athletes alike. Now, if Garmin manages to determine LTE connectivity and streamline the Join app, I’d say Apple and Samsung are in for some wholesome competitors.