Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Garmin Vivoactive 5 - Which Fitness Smartwatch Should You Choose?

Four years later, Garmin has launched the all-new Vivoactive 5, bringing significant upgrades to its classic fitness smartwatch lineup. The new model features an AMOLED display, a lightweight 42mm case, and smoother operation, while retaining the reliable fitness and health tracking of its predecessor.

So, what are the differences between Garmin Vivoactive 4 and Garmin Vivoactive 5, and which one is worth buying? This article compares design, sports features, battery life, and smart system performance to help you quickly understand the pros and cons of each watch and make an informed choice.

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Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Garmin Vivoactive 5 - Specifications

Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Garmin Vivoactive 5 - Price and Value

The Garmin Vivoactive 5 was released in September 2023, priced at $299 / £259. The Garmin Venu 4, as the newer generation model, has a launch price of around $549, nearly double that of the Vivoactive 5. Also Read the article of Garmin Venu 4 vs Vivoactive 5.

In terms of positioning, the Vivoactive 5 is a lightweight smartwatch featuring a 42mm case with a 1.2-inch AMOLED display. It covers essential health tracking functions such as heart rate monitoring, sleep analysis, and body energy tracking, making it ideal for everyday fitness and lifestyle use.

The Venu 4, on the other hand, upgrades the experience with ECG heart monitoring, more sports modes, Google Maps navigation, advanced training analytics, as well as a premium metal body and built-in flashlight, catering more to professional athletes and tech enthusiasts.

While the Venu 4 offers significant functional and experiential improvements, in terms of value for money, the Vivoactive 5 remains the smarter choice - providing nearly all the essential Garmin health tracking features at around $300.

Winner: Garmin Vivoactive 5

Reason: Offers the most practical features at a lower price, making it the best value option for everyday users.

Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Garmin Vivoactive 5 - Design and Display

The Garmin Vivoactive 5, released in September 2023, features a 42mm anodized aluminum bezel with a polymer case and weighs only 36 grams, making it much lighter and more comfortable on the wrist compared to the Vivoactive 4 (45mm / 50.5 grams). The Vivoactive 4 offers two size options, 45mm and 40mm, catering to different wrist sizes.

In terms of display, the Vivoactive 5 upgrades to a 1.2-inch AMOLED screen with 390×390 resolution, offering vibrant colors and excellent visibility even in bright sunlight. In contrast, the Vivoactive 4 has a 1.3-inch Chroma display with 260×260 resolution. The Vivoactive 5 retains touchscreen control with dual-side button layout, providing a smooth, modern user experience. Both watches feature 5 ATM water resistance, interchangeable bands, multiple color options, and essential health tracking functions such as heart rate monitoring and sleep analysis.

When compared to Garmin Venu 3 and Garmin Vivoactive 5 (Garmin Vivoactive 5 vs Venu 3), the Vivoactive 5 offers a lighter, more compact design with a sharper display. While it lacks the premium metal feel of the Venu 3, it delivers nearly the same functionality for daily fitness and health tracking at a more affordable price point.

Winner: Garmin Vivoactive 5

Reason: With its lightweight design and AMOLED display upgrade, the Vivoactive 5 offers a modern, comfortable wearing experience and essential features, making it the best value-for-money choice.

Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Garmin Vivoactive 5 - Fitness and Health Tracking

The Garmin Vivoactive 5 brings a full upgrade to fitness and health features compared to its predecessor, the Vivoactive 4, while retaining all the essential functions.

Sports Modes

The Vivoactive 4 offers around 20 sports modes, including running, cycling, strength training, golf, yoga, and swimming. The Vivoactive 5 expands this to over 30 modes, adding wheelchair tracking, pickleball, paddle tennis, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and more customized strength workouts, meeting the needs of users with diverse training routines.

Health and Heart Rate Monitoring

Both watches support all-day heart rate monitoring, Pulse Ox, sleep tracking, stress monitoring, and Body Battery™ energy tracking. The Vivoactive 5 optimizes heart rate algorithms and Body Battery tracking, providing more accurate sleep analysis, recovery time guidance, and a morning report for actionable insights.

VO₂ Max and Training Analysis

The Vivoactive 5 continues to offer VO₂ Max estimation and training load analysis, but with improved algorithms. It also supports Workout Benefit to help users understand the effectiveness of each session. While these features exist on the Vivoactive 4, the data is less precise and less intuitive.

Sensors and Tracking Features

The Vivoactive 5 uses the fourth-generation Elevate optical heart rate sensor, which is more accurate than the Vivoactive 4. Although it removes the barometric altimeter and gyroscope - so it cannot track floors climbed or total elevation gain - it adds ambient light sensor and wheelchair tracking, along with advanced features like health age estimation, guided breathing, Connect IQ store access, and muscle training graphics.

Safety and Everyday Features

Both watches support incident detection, live location sharing, notifications, music control, and Garmin Pay. The Vivoactive 5 also features a faster processor, smoother navigation, and advanced features such as nap detection, sleep coaching, HRV monitoring, and recovery tracking, making overall health management more complete.

Comparison Summary

The Vivoactive 5 upgrades the number of sports modes, health monitoring accuracy, training analysis, and personalized reports compared to the Vivoactive 4, though it loses some sensors. Overall, it delivers a more modern, precise, and comprehensive fitness and health tracking experience.

When comparing Venu 3 and Vivoactive 5, the Vivoactive 5 provides nearly the same health tracking functionality at a more accessible price point, with a lighter, more compact design and enhanced sports and sleep features.

Winner: Garmin Vivoactive 5

Reason: With more sports modes, optimized heart rate and health tracking, and smarter data analysis, the Vivoactive 5 surpasses the previous generation and offers excellent value for fitness enthusiasts.

Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Garmin Vivoactive 5 - Battery Life

When it comes to battery life, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 clearly outperforms its predecessor, the Vivoactive 4, offering longer usage times in both smartwatch and GPS modes. Even compared to higher-end models like the Venu 3, the Vivoactive 5 delivers impressive endurance for daily wear and outdoor activity.

Smartwatch Mode

• Vivoactive 4: Up to 7 days.
• Vivoactive 5: Up to 11 days; with power-saving mode, it can reach 21 days.

GPS Mode

• Vivoactive 4: Up to 18 hours, or 9.5 hours with music.
• Vivoactive 5: Up to 21 hours, 8 hours with music, and 17 hours in full-system GPS mode.

Real-World Usage

Under GPS and music playback, users report the Vivoactive 5 lasting around 8 hours, while the Vivoactive 4 only manages about 3.5 hours. Daily smartwatch use sees the Vivoactive 5 at 11 days versus 7–8 days for the Vivoactive 4. Always-on display reduces battery significantly, but the Vivoactive 5 still maintains a notable advantage.

Overall, the Vivoactive 5 provides superior battery performance, making it ideal for extended workouts, outdoor activities, or heavy smartwatch usage. Even with an AMOLED display, Garmin manages to maintain remarkable battery efficiency.

Winner: Vivoactive 5

Reason: Longer battery life in both smartwatch and GPS modes makes the Vivoactive 5 the better choice for active users, outperforming the Vivoactive 4 while still being a solid alternative to higher-end models like the Venu 3.

Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Garmin Vivoactive 5 - Smart Features and System Evolution

When it comes to smart functionality and system experience, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 builds on the solid foundation of its predecessor while taking major leaps in interaction, safety, and overall smoothness. In comparison, the Vivoactive 4 remains dependable but feels more traditional in terms of smart features and interface design.

Operation and System Experience

Both smartwatches feature a touchscreen combined with dual physical buttons, but the AMOLED display on the Vivoactive 5 delivers faster, more responsive control. It also introduces a long-press SOS function, allowing users to trigger safety tracking via vibration - something missing in the Vivoactive 4. The updated system animations and smoother widget navigation make the Vivoactive 5 feel closer to Garmin’s premium Venu 3 in everyday usability.

Smart Notifications and Connectivity

Both the Garmin Vivoactive 4 and Vivoactive 5 support call, message, and app notifications, with Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and ANT+ connectivity for syncing and updates. However, the Vivoactive 5 goes a step further by allowing Android users to view photos and reply to messages directly from the watch, a feature unavailable on the Vivoactive 4. Both are compatible with Android and iOS, but the Vivoactive 5 delivers a noticeably more modern and fluid smart experience.

Payments and Ecosystem Integration

Both watches support Garmin Pay for contactless payments and pair with the Garmin Connect app for syncing health and fitness data. Users can also download music from Spotify, Amazon Music, or Deezer, though the Vivoactive 5 handles these interactions more smoothly thanks to its improved system performance.

Safety Tracking and Health Ecosystem

The Vivoactive 4 and Vivoactive 5 both include incident detection and LiveTrack, but the newer model adds a dedicated emergency assistance shortcut, offering better personal safety. While both use Garmin’s proprietary OS, the latest system in the Vivoactive 5 provides enhanced UI responsiveness, faster operation, and a more engaging daily interaction experience.

Winner: Garmin Vivoactive 5

Reason: With a modern AMOLED display, faster system response, and smarter safety and messaging features, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 clearly outperforms its predecessor in overall intelligence and user experience.

Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Garmin Vivoactive 5 - Conclusion and Recommendations

After a comprehensive comparison of the Garmin Vivoactive 4 and Vivoactive 5 across specifications, design, fitness and health tracking, battery life, and smart features, it’s clear that the Vivoactive 5 achieves significant upgrades while maintaining the reliability of the Vivoactive 4.

The Vivoactive 5 features a sharper AMOLED display, lighter body, longer battery life, and enhanced smart functionalities, including Android message replies and an emergency SOS shortcut. Its health and fitness tracking is more accurate and comprehensive, with additional sports modes, optimized heart rate algorithms, personalized analytics, and morning reports, making it ideal for everyday use and diverse training routines.

In contrast, the Vivoactive 4 remains a stable and dependable option with slightly more traditional smart features, suitable for users who prioritize basic functionality and lower cost.

Recommended for:

• Users seeking a lightweight, modern smartwatch experience
• Those who want longer battery life and AMOLED display quality
• Fitness enthusiasts who want precise health tracking, more sports modes, and advanced smart features
• Android users who want quick message replies and emergency assistance shortcuts

Not recommended for:

• Users with a limited budget who only need basic fitness and health tracking
• Those who do not care about AMOLED displays or message reply features
• iPhone users who cannot utilize Vivoactive 5’s text reply functionality

Overall Recommendation:

• Garmin Vivoactive 5 – Best for users seeking a comprehensive smart experience, long battery life, and advanced fitness and health tracking.
• Garmin Vivoactive 4 – Suitable for budget-conscious users or those who only require basic features, still a reliable smartwatch option.