Garmin Vivomove Trend review: trending smarter

I had excessive expectations once I first strapped on the Garmin Vivomove Trend — and I’ve by no means felt that manner a few Garmin hybrid smartwatch. Because the identify suggests, hybrids mash collectively the look of an analog watch (together with actual palms!) with the smarts of a health tracker. The factor is, whereas Garmin’s earlier hybrids had been attractive, they had been way too expensive. However final yr’s wonderful Vivomove Sport bucked that pattern. The entry-level Sport was the primary time I really felt that Garmin bought the correct mix of type and performance. It was cute, fairly priced, and hit all the proper notes for a fundamental health tracker. The Trend (beginning at $269.99, $299 as examined) was both going to maintain that momentum going or slide again into outdated habits.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 Trend, I’m inclined to say the previous — with a number of caveats.

A very powerful replace with the Trend is the actual fact it helps wi-fi charging. That’s a primary for any Garmin, which is wonderful when you concentrate on 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 compatible across brands). It’s yet one more signal that whereas Apple and Samsung are encroaching on Garmin’s turf, Garmin isn’t about to only let it occur.

Garmin Vivomove Trend

$269.99

The Good

Qi charging!Hidden show is extra responsiveEasier to learn notificationsSleek and stylish

The Unhealthy

Qi charger not included“Quick” battery life Muddles Garmin’s hybrid lineupHow we price and evaluation merchandise

a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin darkish:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black darkish:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white”>Wrist sweet for the life-style crowd

Garmin watches have a fame for being ugly, cumbersome, and thick. The Trend isn’t any of these issues. Whereas the Vivomove Sport had a cuter Swatch-y design, I’d describe the Trend as elegantly sporty. It’s the kind of system I’d count on to see at a high-end yoga studio, worn by an individual who exhibits 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 Trend. (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 Trend is focused towards girls, however its design isn’t so female that it’s just for girls. I might simply see it on the wrist of a businessperson in a snazzy go well with saying smart-sounding issues about EBITDA margins, particularly since there’s an all-black model, and you may swap the straps out for any commonplace 20mm band. It’s bought a 40mm case, however there are many individuals who choose that to bigger ones. The Trend received’t enchantment to anybody in search of a rugged vibe, however it’s not supposed to.

The gold variations of the Trend price $299.99 — $30 greater than the bottom mannequin.

The Trend has a steady coronary heart price monitor, blood oxygen monitor, accelerometer, and barometric altimeter.

The Trend is supposed to be the midrange choice within the Vivomove lineup. Not like the dearer Vivomove Style and Vivomove Luxe, it has a plastic case and a liquid crystal show, and the lens is fabricated from chemically strengthened glass. However I by no means felt the Trend was a downgrade. It helps that the Trend has a chrome steel bezel — it’s a small change, however it 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 understanding, 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 suggests you could possibly hop within the pool with it and be nice, although I wouldn’t as a result of touchscreens and water don’t combine. Nonetheless, you don’t should take it off when you’ve bought a pile of dishes to scrub, get caught in a downpour, or must wrestle a prickly cat into the tub.

a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin darkish:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black darkish:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white”>Sensible sufficient

A hybrid watch isn’t going to be the neatest wearable on the block. However when you’re not trying to management a wise McMansion, the Trend has an ideal mixture of fundamental and trendy options.

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

I like these hidden shows as a result of it’s a intelligent strategy to carry analog type into the trendy period, all whereas being adaptable to completely different worth factors. Just like the entry-level Sport, the Trend opts for monochrome LCD as an alternative of the colour OLED you’ll discover on the dearer Vivomove watches. However not like the Sport, the Trend’s hidden shows mean you can view information on your entire display screen as an alternative 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 when you’re sweaty or carrying gloves. The hidden show may also get washed out in vibrant lighting, however you possibly 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 nearly each Vivomove system, the Trend’s show is unquestionably an enchancment from earlier fashions.

The Vivomove Trend can move as an analog watch with out the show on.

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

Since this can be a way of life 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, however it’s greater than satisfactory for conserving you within the loop throughout work or on the gymnasium.

a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin darkish:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black darkish:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white”>Qi-qi-qi-charging

The Trend’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 glad to report that it really works. My Qi chargers are nothing particular — they’re from some no-name model and value me $9. I plopped it down, the analog palms moved out of the best way, and a lil charging icon popped up.

After all, wi-fi chargers will be fussy. You gotta ensure that your system traces up with the coil, and no less than 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 Trend down on my Qi desk charger whereas I labored, and it’s nice that you should use any present Qi chargers you’ve gotten, particularly because it reduces your reliance on proprietary chargers, which will be costly to exchange, contribute to e-waste, and are a ache within the butt.

The analog palms will transfer out of the best way when it’s time to learn notifications. The Trend’s show additionally shows data on your entire display screen.

The one catch is when you don’t have a Qi charger already, the Trend 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 when you’re eager to attempt them out, it’s not a steep funding and a ton of units nowadays help the Qi charging commonplace.

As for battery life, the Trend has an estimated 5 days on a single cost. That’s about what I bought throughout testing with 24/7 put on, default brightness, extra notifications than I look after, and about 30-60 minutes of GPS exercise on daily basis. It not so long as you’ll get on another health bands, however battery life closely is determined by your particular person utilization. Not less than now, you could possibly stick a Qi charger in each room, and also you’d be coated.

a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin darkish:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black darkish:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white”>Informal health

This will not be essentially the most hardcore Garmin watch, however the Trend doesn’t skimp on well being or health monitoring.

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

The Trend is best for informal monitoring.

The Garmin Fenix 7S Sapphire Photo voltaic (left) is the higher choice for endurance sports activities.

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

Relatively, I wouldn’t advocate making an attempt to verify your metrics mid-workout as a result of it took me out of the stream. 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 best 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 cherished it for walks, mobility work, arm day, and yoga. It was okay for shorter runs, however I’d slightly 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, however it will get you in the proper ballpark. Coronary heart price information is nice, however generally your nightly SpO2 can be suspiciously low. You in all probability received’t like that when 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 Trend is greater than geared up to try this.

a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin darkish:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black darkish:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white”>On the up and up

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

The Garmin Venu Sq 2 was an ideal 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 bought FDA clearance for EKGs. Now, with the Trend, Garmin is including wi-fi charging to the combo.

The Vivomove Trend exhibits the corporate’s heading in the right direction with its way of life watches.

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 Trend’s worth. At $270, it’s solely about $30 cheaper than the Vivomove Style. And when you get the gold variations of the Trend, they’re the identical worth. The principle distinction between the 2 is the Trend has Qi charging, whereas the Fashion has a hidden shade OLED show and higher supplies. It’ll boil right 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 strong hybrid lineup.

I feel I communicate for all smartwatch reviewers once I say Garmin might 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.

a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin darkish:[&>a:hover]:shadow-highlight-franklin [&>a]:shadow-underline-black darkish:[&>a]:shadow-underline-white”>Comply with proceed: Garmin Vivomove Trend

Each sensible system now requires you to comply with a sequence of phrases and situations earlier than you should use it — contracts that nobody truly reads. It’s not possible for us to learn and analyze each single considered one of these agreements. However we’re going to start out counting precisely what number of occasions it’s a must to hit “agree” to make use of units once we evaluation them since these are agreements most individuals don’t learn and positively can’t negotiate.

To make use of the Garmin Vivomove Trend, it’s essential to pair it with an iPhone or Android smartphone. That features the cellphone’s Phrases of Service, privateness coverage, and every other permissions you grant. You should additionally create a Garmin Join account to make use of the app.

By organising the Garmin Vivomove Trend, you’re agreeing to:

All of Garmin’s privateness and authorized insurance policies can be found throughout the Garmin Join app. You should additionally grant the Garmin Join app sure cellphone permissions for Bluetooth, calendar, location, and notifications. Moreover, elective security options, like LiveTrack, additionally include an end-user license settlement. You may additionally should comply with share your well being information with the corporate for sure options. When you determine to allow Garmin Pay, you’ll additionally should comply with the Garmin Pay Phrases and Situations and Garmin Pay Privateness Coverage. Integrating your Garmin exercise information with different providers, like Strava, Spotify, or Apple Well being Equipment, additionally requires you to comply with these particular person phrases and insurance policies.

Remaining Tally: No matter your cellphone requires, plus three obligatory Garmin insurance policies and 4 cellphone permissions for sensible options. There are extra insurance policies for elective well being insights, contactless funds, and security options.