Garmin’s Vivosmart 5 competes with Fitbit’s Charge 5, and it’s hard to determine which is superior. I’ll compare each watch’s pros and cons.
Fitness trackers have lost ground to smartwatches in recent years, but tiny bracelets remain popular. This may also explain why all major automakers release new models so often.
Garmin’s Vivosmart 5 follows Fitbit’s Charge 5 from last year. Both fitness trackers seem identical, but their practical equipment is extremely different. First, lets compare the trackers’ specs.
Specifications
| Garmin Vivosmart 5 | Fitbit Charge 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| $ | CHECK PRICE | CHECK PRICE |
| Dimensions | 10.7 mm x 19.5 mm | 36.8 mm x 22.8 mm |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Display | 10.5 mm x 18.5 mm | 26.43 mm x 21.93 mm |
| Resolution | 154 x 88 pixels | 260 x 170 pixels |
| Screen type | Greyscale OLED | AMOLED |
| Always-on dipslay | No | Yes |
| Weight | Small: 24.5 g Large: 26.5 g | 28 grams |
| Battery life | Up to 7 days | Up to 7 days |
| Waterproof | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
| GPS | Connected GPS | Built-in GPS |
| Sensors | HF Sensor Accelerometer SpO2 Sensor Ambient Light Sensor | HF Sensor Accelerometer SpO2 Sensor Temperature Sensor NFC Ambient Light Sensor |
| NFC | No | Yes |
Design
As was already mentioned, the Garmin Vivosmart 5 and the Fitbit Charge 5 look very similar, but the Charge 5 is slightly bigger and heavier. We’re talking about regular fitness trackers that come in the form of small, light wristbands. Because of how they are made, they fit very well and can be worn at work without drawing attention to themselves.
When it comes to color, neither company always shows its creative side. The two watches come in the following colors, which aren’t very exciting.
Garmin Vivosmart 5 comes in black, white, and mint green.
Fitbit Charge 5: Black/stainless steel graphite, grey blue/stainless steel platinum, moon white/stainless steel soft gold
Display
In terms of display, the Fitbit Charge 5 clearly has the edge, offering a high-resolution AMOLED touchscreen that’s also slightly larger than the display on the Garmin Vivosmart 5, which only boasts a grayscale OLED display.
Health and Activity Tracking
| Garmin Vivosmart 5 | Fitbit Charge 5 | |
|---|---|---|
| Heart Rhythm Notifications | No | Yes |
| Abnormal Heart Rate Alert | No | Yes |
| Electrodermal Activity (EDA) | No | Yes |
| Stress Management | Yes | Yes |
| (SpO2) | Yes | Yes |
| Heart Rate Variability (HRV) | Yes | Yes |
| Breathing Rate | Yes | Yes |
| Stress Monitoring | Yes | No |
| Skin Temperature | No | Yes |
| Sleep Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Menstrual Cycle Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Hydration | Yes | Yes |
| Fitness Age | Yes | No |
ViMost fitness trackers are worn by women who are interested in fitness and care a lot about their health. Because of this, both models have a number of interesting and useful features.
On both clocks, the following can be found:
- Permanent pulse measurement including resting heart rate
- Stress tracking
- Respiratory rate
- SpO2 measurement
- Sleep monitoring
- Cycle tracking
When it comes to sleep monitoring, both manufacturers follow similar approaches. The sleep tracking of both watches provides you with information on the duration of sleep, sleep quality, the duration of the individual sleep phases, and how restful the night’s sleep was. In addition, a sleep score is calculated, which should make it easier for you to evaluate your sleep.
This is the basic equipment, so to speak. In addition, the models can also offer a few special features like the daily form index of the Charge 5. This feature tells you how well you are recovering and whether you are ready for the next training session based on your measured heart rate variability and recorded activities.
You can only use this function, which has been very successful, as part of your Fitbit Premium subscription.
Garmin offers something similar. This feature calculates your recovery status and energy reserves using the measurement values above.
Fitbit offers other cool features. EDA scans measure skin electrodermal activity to determine stress levels.
The Charge 5 also measures skin temperature, which is useful in pandemics.
Finally, ECG measurements must be mentioned. The Charge 5 is the only fitness tracker with this feature, so Fitbit scored a major win.
Both fitness trackers offer standard activity tracking.
- Steps
- Distance
- Calorie consumption
- Intensity minutes
- Automatic activity detection
Sports and Fitness
Fitness trackers are great for workouts, too. In both models, the most important sports profiles are used to keep track of the most popular sports.
It is interesting that you can customize the individual sport modes on the watches. The Fitbit Charge 5 lets you set training goals, disable smart notifications and the always-on mode, and activate auto pause for downtimes like traffic lights.
On each training page, the Garmin Vivosmart 5 can show measurement data and let you set alarms.
The apps for both trackers display all training performance data. However, there is one major difference between the two devices. Specifically, the GPS for distance measurement, which is built into the Charge 5 and can only be used in the Vivosmart 5 with the smartphone connected.
At this point, however, in my review of the Fitbit Charge 5, the GPS was the major weakness due to the lack of precision. Since this is a hardware problem, an improvement cannot be assumed.
Smart Features
Both trackers have some clever features. This includes call and message notifications, as well as a calendar and weather app.
Fitbit can also offer a payment application with Fitbit Pay, while the Vivosmart has been given music control for the music player on the smartphone.
Conclusion!
The Fitbit Charge 5 is a better option compared to the Vivosmart 5. The Fitbit Charge 5 outperforms the Garmin Vivosmart 5 thanks to its AMOLED touchscreen and numerous health features such as ECG measurement, training, and workout capabilities.
The Charge 5’s only drawback is that it has an integrated GPS that isn’t very dependable or accurate yet. That doesn’t mean the Vivosmart 5 isn’t good.
The Garmin vivo smart 5 is a great choice if you want a modern fitness tracker that always records your everyday activities and workouts without a lot of extra features.
