Garmin debuted a new smart watch at the CES Show Monday that will compete more directly with the Apple Watch. The Vivoactive uses open platforms to ensure compatibility with the most popular iOS and Android outdoor and fitness apps and will run much longer than the Apple Watch at lower prices.

Garmin Vivoactive
Garmin's lightweight and ultra-thin Garmin Vívoactive comes with GPS-enabled running, cycling, golfing, swimming and activity tracking apps as well as a variety of personal productivity apps but is designed for everyday use in the office and home.

Vívoactive is designed for all day wear and its smart notifications keep users connected with pressing work matters, family and friends. With the new Connect IQ store, users can easily customize Vívoactive with free watch face designs, widgets and additional apps. Vívoactive features a sunlight-readable, high-resolution color touch screen and can be accessorized with interchangeable bands to complement any outfit or occasion.

Vívoactive combines signature Garmin fitness technology, such as built-in GPS, long battery life and a sunlight-readable display, in an ultra-thin smart watch that lets users stay connected and achieve more,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. “Designed to be worn all day, Vívoactive can be personalized in many ways – from interchangeable bands to watch faces, apps and widgets – making it versatile, stylish and functional for your life.”

Vívoactive connects to a whole range of Garmin sensors and devices, including heart rate monitors, bike computers and can control the Garmin Virb Elite action camera remotely.

It includes a running app that displays pace, time and distance using GPS and Vívoactive’s built-in accelerometer tracks speed and distance when GPS is unavailable, such as when running indoors. Additional app features include Auto Lap, Auto Pause, and vibration alerts for heart rate, pace and run/walk intervals. The cycling app measures time, distance, speed and calories for training rides or a daily commute.

Golfers can download course maps from more than 38,000 courses worldwide, which stay up-to-date automatically, to Vívoactive’s golf app. Using GPS Vívoactive can measure layup and dogleg distances, as well as distances to the front, middle and back of the green, to improve usability over the entire hole. During a round, golfers can also keep individual stroke play scorecards and measure shot distance on favorite and new courses.

Water-resistant to 50 meters, Vívoactive uses sensor-based technology for its swimming app to compute the number of lengths, total and interval distances, paces by length, by interval, and for the full session, as well as calories burned. The app also counts the number of strokes and uses this to determine the SWOLF score, a measure of swimming efficiency.

Between workouts the activity tracking app monitors progress by tracking steps, calories and distance, setting a personalized daily step goal and sending a gentle reminder when users have been inactive too long by displaying a red move bar. Research shows prolonged periods of inactivity, such as sitting at a desk, decreases the body’s production of fat-burning enzymes. Walking for a few minutes will reset the move bar and can help reduce health risks associated with a sedentary lifestyle.

With Connect IQ, the first-ever open platform for third-party developers to create apps for Garmin products, users can customize Vívoactive’s watch face, add data fields and get additional apps and widgets that provide information at a glance.  Garmin is working with several app developers that are creating Vívoactive apps for the Connect IQ store, including:

  • Tempo, for example, is building a smart calendar app that will let users see their upcoming events, and send an email from their watch if they are running late. LifeLine Response personal safety app is expanding to include Garmin devices with 24/7 Professional Safety.
  • AccuWeather will offer an app to give users air quality and allergy information at a glance. iSKI is working on an app to provide the latest weather, snow, lift and slope information at a glance.
  • Octane Fitness is building an app to bridge the gap between outdoor runs and indoor workouts on the Octane Zero Runner to seamlessly track all workout stats.
  • Moxy, a muscle oxygen sensor, is creating an app that monitors the oxygenation of critical muscles during a workout, so users can have more insight on what is happening within their muscles.