Garmin vivoactive 5: Price, features, and everything you need to know

Garmin’s latest addition to the vivoactive series, the Vivoactive 5, elevates a line that hasn’t seen an upgrade since 2019. Compared to vivoactive 4, the device adds an AMOLED display and many of Garmin’s top health and fitness tracking tools while launching at a lower price than its predecessor. It’s another fantastic addition to Garmin’s device stable. Find out everything you need to know about the vivoactive 5, including specs, features, price, and more.

Garmin vivoactive 5: Specs and size

Unlike its predecessor, the Vivoactive 5 is available in just one 42mm case size. The watch’s case is made from fiber-reinforced polymer with an aluminum bezel and boasts a crisp 1.2-inch AMOLED display (390 x 390 resolution) with an optional Always-on mode. The device features Corning Gorilla Glass 3 and a 5ATM water resistance rating to protect its display.

Garmin vivoactive 5: Features

Launched on September 20, 2023, the Vivoactive 5 offers a refined user experience on a device packed with tools. Its redesigned interface includes a useful Recents menu, expanded shortcuts, and separated app and activity menus. These changes reflect a similar experience to the Venu 3 and make navigation smoother than ever.

On the health tracking front, the vivoactive 5 upgrades to a Gen 4 Elevate heart rate sensor. Though not as powerful as Garmin’s newest Gen 5 sensor, we found the Gen 4 highly reliable during our vivoactive 5 review. The device utilizes the sensor to offer more advanced wellness tracking, including heart rate variability (HRV). It also features a robust sleep-tracking platform, including sleep coaching, sleep recommendation factors, and automatic nap detection. Other wellness tools include Garmin’s Morning Report, Daily Summary, and an expanded Body Battery.

For fitness tracking, the vivoactive 5 adds additional sport profiles, including wheelchair-specific ones. It also offers the ability to add on-watch interval workouts and introduces a new guided meditation activity to the line. Cyclists will find eBike sensor support, while runners and cyclists will find a GPS sensor with multi-GNSS (though not multi-band). We found the unit’s GPS highly accurate throughout our review period.

Post-workout, the watch boasts useful fitness tracking measurables like Recovery Time and Workout Benefit, providing a well-rounded fitness companion. The watch doesn’t offer as many smart features as the Venu 3, but it does provide music storage, smartphone notifications, Garmin Pay, and an on-screen flashlight.

Garmin vivoactive 5: Price

• Garmin vivoactive 5: $299

The Garmin vivoactive launched at $300, which is $50 less than the previous generation. It is for sale now from Garmin.com as well as from third-party retailers such as Amazon.

Garmin vivoactive 5: Battery life and charging

The Vivoactive 5 claims up to 11 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to 21 hours with GPS. That’s a significant improvement compared to 8 days and 18 hours on the vivoactive 4. The device also claims up to five days in always-on mode. For users looking to stretch battery life further, the vivoactive 5 offers a battery saver mode. Once drained, the device uses a proprietary charger with a USB-C cable.

Garmin vivoactive 5: Design and colors

As mentioned above, the 42mm vivoactive 5 debuts a colorful AMOLED display for the first time on the vivoactive lineup. Like the vivoactive 4, it only features two buttons (rather than the five-button configuration of other Garmin devices). It’s available in four colors: Metallic Orchid, Metallic Navy, Slate, and Cream Gold. Each comes with a silicone, quick-release strap.

Garmin vivoactive 5: Watch faces

The Vivoactive 5 packs many of the same static and live watch faces as the Venu 3. These faces are customizable, as users can select their preferred data fields. Users can find even more options via the Garmin Connect IQ app store.

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