Garmin Vívoactive 4S, Smaller-Sized GPS Smartwatch
Garmin Vívoactive 4S, Smaller-Sized GPS Smartwatch, Features Music, Body Energy Monitoring, Animated Workouts, Pulse Ox Sensors and More, PVD Black/Slate
Garmin Pay
Breeze through checkout lines with Garmin Pay contactless payment solution through participating providers (not all countries and payment networks are eligible).
Connect IQ Store
Add personality to your watch by downloading apps, widgets, watch faces and more. It’s easy and — even better — it’s free.
Garmin Coach
Get a personal running coach on your wrist, for free, to help you train for your next 5K, 10K or half-marathon.
| Dimensions: | 4 x 4 x 1.27 cm; 40 Grams |
| Model: | 010-02172-12 |
| Batteries Included: | 1 Lithium Polymer batteries required. (included) |
| Manufacture: | Garmin |
| Department: | unisex |
| Dimensions: | 4 x 4 x 1.27 cm; 40 Grams |
| Origin: | Taiwan |
I’ve been using Fitbit for years, but after the Sense2 repeatedly failed to detect a heartbeat (slightly worrying!) during my last workout (a three hour affair) I decided to give Garmin a go. So far, I love this. It gives me all the data my Fitbit did but it’s much comfier on my skinny wrists. Best of all, I can relax knowing that I’m alive, with a beating heart.
Bought for the wife, we both like the garmin app. It 4s is considerably smaller but seems to be just as accurate. I am a big fan of the garmin mid range kit. A great combination of value and performance!
Very pleased with this watch . Battery life is good . accuracy good . Screen looks a bit disappointing as rather grey with the backlight but when in sunlight is excelle
Bought this to replace a Vivosmart HR that I’d had for years. After doing much research especially between this and the new Venu series, based on cost and daylight readability and battery life, I decided this was the way to go. Absolutely love it. I’m no great athlete but really wanted the GPS tracking for my walks which works really well. Everything is easy to navigate. Too early to comment on battery life. Strap is really great quality. Display is clear and bright… My wrists are very small and this is the perfect fit as most smart watches are too bulky. Much prefer a round watch face to square..
There are so many sensors and a lot of data that this watch can handle to cover various aspects of your fitness. If you’re after a smaller device that doesn’t cost the earth but is packed with fitness features I don’t think you can go wrong with this.
Great piece of kit very accurate, very comfortable to wear and very light.
Great smart watch – used for walking, golf, heart rate, sleep etc – loads of data available. Good battery life & very clear screen. Can recommend Data Lover watch face – available via Garmin Connect. Excellent overall!!
I love almost everything about this Garmin watch. The app is excellent, the watch is comfortable, and it provides valuable information about my training. The only thing that doesn’t work well is the wifi. I’ve talked several times with the Garmin team, and they couldn’t find a solution for my connectivity problems. It seems there’s a problem with the model.
Brilliant device. Thought I’d request one for my birthday. What a good call. It’s been great fun tracking my activities and keeping me on course to be healthy in my mid-60’s.
Knowing somebody that has one, helps with the setting up of apps, etc. So that was lucky.
I charge-up mine about every 3 days, which is a bit more frequent than the sales blurb, but that really doesn’t present any hardship.
If you’re interested in being aware of your heart/ breathing rate, sleep patterns, tracking your activities and awareness of your pulse OX (Think covid); although it’s not cheap, I regard this as a great investment in my well-being. Thoroughly recommend.
Amazing watch that seems to do everything!!! wife loves it and keeps showing it off. Compared to a polar vantage v it seems to do a lot more and at a better price.
Enjoy recording all my activities in it, e.g. running, kayaking, cycling etc.
Like the different watch faces you can apply 🙂
Good size watch for me. Does so many things that I haven’t had time to look at it all yet. Good build quality as expected and quite waterproof. Altogether very happy with the watch.
This is super lightweight and records runs, cycling etc. with bespoke displays for each activity. Easy to use with a touch screen and two buttons (but it’s still waterproof). The mobile phone app is very good indeed.
When linked to Strava, workout data including heart rate is carrid over.
This replaces a Fitbit Charge 3 and, unlike the Fitbit, is very accurate and consistent over repeated routes, hence I can keep good track of my pace, etc.
My first step into the world of smartwatches, having previously had a basic running watch.
It is fairly plain looking but non-offensive design, and just what I wanted.
Often struggle to find a watch that fits my small wrists. This fits perfectly and isn’t bulky.
It is typical Garmin, tracking lots of things in a utilitarian way compared to more aesthetically pleasing, more intuitive – and often more expensive – alternatives. This works for me.
There are many features, including those which I didn’t realise I needed, and the choice of quick access features means you can avoid those you don’t have interest in.
There are a choice of face types, especially from the Connect IQ app (doesn’t bother me that this is a separate to the Connect app). However, the screen quality is relatively low, so any face above basic draws your attention to this slightly disappointing element of this product.
The battery life is acceptable but far from special, which is a surprise given the low screen resolution and brightness.
I was originally slightly disappointed overall but have looked beyond the perfection I unrealistically wanted for this price range (purchase price was <200) and am satisfied with it.
My wife has the Garmin Venu Sq, which has only slightly fewer features, but has a much better screen and longer battery life, and is cheaper. I think hers is the better Garmin option for those in this budget range.
Battery life could be better..but very good watch..very good gps and good for exercise..and almost fit my small wrist
Thanks Garmi
I just love this watch. Easy to use and has every feature needed. I decided to get the smaller model as I don’t like a big bulky watches and find it is light and easy to read and very pleased I did – was worried it might have been too small and the lower resolution not as clear, but this is not the case.
Easy to customise and record activities.
I would highly recommend this great watch.
The Device
I’ve had this watch a couple of days and as my first smart watch I’m really impressed. I have tiny wrists but the 4s is the perfect size and the always on display is easy to read both in and outdoors.
My main reason for getting this watch was for using it to record my walks and bike rides so I could leave my phone either at home or use it for mapping. For this purpose the Garmin has been ideal.
Sync to Apps
I start my activity on the watch whilst leaving my phone at home and by the time I get back it will sync straight away across all my apps. (Strava, MyFitnessPal and Komoot)
I was caught out doing the Yorkshire three peaks last year when my phone died whilst recording on Strava and I know this will prevent a repeat of that situation.
Garmin App
Garmin Connect app is also very impressive with a good interface and the friend finding feature and trophies add a competitive element I enjoy.
My girlfriend has the Iwatch and even she was impressed with the level of detail for the stats of my recorded activity on the Garmin compared to her Apple equivalent. I can see my progress across different metrics that I think will really encourage me to challenge myself to improve this summer and its all down to the slick app and easy to use watch.
Good all round watch.
It’s a little bit fiddly and if you don’t like messing around with apps, downloads, settings etc you might be better off with something simpler. Had a few problems with downloading new widgets but it seemed to sort itself out when I connected it to a PC and used the windows software.
Sleep monitor worked great last night, exactly what I hoped for in that regard. Gave me a consistent (not constant) oxygen reading which is better than some dedicated Ox monitors I’ve previously tried.
I recommend it for people who are comfortable with IT and don’t mind fiddling around with settings etc.
I love my watch. It was the best choice for my budget. I was toying between the one below but decided I wanted this so I could store music on it. There are two things I dislike: 1. At night the watch sometimes flashes on my wrist and I feel like I get blinded by it.(I know they say to check the fit) but that leads me to the second thing I dislike: The strap. I’m ok with it for now but will certainly look into getting a strap with a different material. If I make it any tighter it feels like the watch is just too tight, and any looser it feels like it’s too loose! The plastic-y strap feel is just not 100% comfortable.
Really good fitness tracker. Upgraded from a Fitbit Ionic to this and the difference is massive. The real time running feedback is great and the GPS accurate. Also like the syncing with Spotify to easily update playlist.
I have this in both silver and white.
Unlike my fit bit versa 2 I do not wake up to 200 steps, rather the more accurate 20 (bath room visit).
Current circumstance mean I haven’t tried swimming yet. But judging by the info it does monitor HR while swimming unlike the fit bit.
Some have commented on the screen but for my money its better than fit bit because I can actually see it in daylight – I prefer this to having a really sharp screen that can only be seen indoors!
Why two trackers- different colours is all I can say and unlike fitbit I can have them both on the app at the same time when I want to switch- on fit bit I have to disconnect my charge 3 if I am to use the versa and vice versa.
The on board GPS works well for me and no more having to carry my phone when I go for a walk.
Why 4 stars – I think sleep tracking can be improved.
I’m very happy with my Vivoactive 4s. The IQ store is still small and I would like more memory on the phone to install apps but I guess that would drain the battery more, which in fact needs power improvement. Garmin Pay is still limited to a few bank Cards, check out for compatibility before you get disappointed.
Great watch bought for training. Simple and lightweight with all the necessary apps installed.
It will take some time to explore all the features. From the ‘basics’, like all-day HR, pulse ox, respiration rate, stress level, hydration, steps, stairs, through the ‘body battery’ that reflects rest vesus exertion, all the way to guided, customizable workouts with animations for exercises and yoga.
I’ve used it for walking and running, and some yoga. Prompts and animations are great and the review capabilities via the mobile app and website are very full-featured. The GPS seems very accurate, quick to lock, and can use GPS, GLONASS or Galileo. Tracks can be viewed overlaid on Google or other maps with pace, cadence, heart rate and so on.
The watch faces are customizable and third party face can be downloaded from the Connect IQ store as can other apps and widgets.
It will sync your own music, or Spotify or Deezer playlists: this works well for me but can be a bit fiddly and needs a wifi connection for Spotify while syncing. After that though, the music is on the watch and it’s great to be independent of a phone. Bluetooth headphone connection was trouble-free with a cheap pair of Grundigs.
There’s the possibility to do an adaptive training program with the ‘Coach’ feature. Seems to be working well so far.
Loads of golf stuff that’s wasted on me.
Battery life can be disappointing: the Vivomove HR lasted several days, and I think this would too if you set it to replicate just those functions (i.e. steps, HR and basic activities). But the temptation of course is to use all the features and if you turn on GPS, all-day pulse ox, and listen to music, then you are down to a few hours from a charge. I can live with that in exchange for the rich feature set.
Waiting to see if there is maybe a refund on the taxes.
Smaller face is perfect for my wrist, and all screens are crisp and clear. Watch is also perfect weight for me.
Love the workout screens — especially those I can do in my office during lunch time.
App is easy to load and to understand. I do not yet have a spotify or deezer account, but loaded music from my laptop onto the watch (very easy).
Have used it in my gym classes and am busy learning how to use all the stats to better improve my workouts.
Have not yet used it for running.
I’m office bound and find the reminders to get moving and to drink water very helpful indeed.
Bluetooth earphones (taotronics) connected easily and have not had problems with connectivity. Have yet to load audiobooks onto watch.
Connection to my Huawei P20Lite was easy and receive message, whatsapp and phone calls on my watch. Like the pre-programmed responses I can give. Love the various watch faces I can access through Connect IQ
So far I am very happy with the watch.
Does what is says in the descriptions. Really happy with this watch after moving from a Fitbit blaze. Navigation around the watch and app takes a lil to get used to but is expected when you start using new software you arent familiar with. I pair this myfitnesspal, Strava, Spotify, headphones etc and all appears fine. Tried to set up Garmin pay but unfortunately my bank is not yet set up with Garmin- however the actual set up seemed fine.
What I like
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Firstly, I really like the display. I found a nice watch face, and being able to glance at my wrist and still be able to see the time without pressing a button is a breath of fresh air. My watch face has the essentials like battery percentage, notifications icon, heart rate, and Do Not Disturb indicator. I have it so the display lights up when I tap it.
The things I’ve found most useful about this watch are:
– I can set timers and alarms very quickly
– It has a good alarm vibration strength, enough to wake me up in the morning
– I can see all my phone notifications, can dismiss them, and reply to people in Telegram/Whatsapp with my own configured messages
– I can see a bunch of information with just a couple of swipes, e.g. weather, events, fitness tracking information
– The sp02 tracking has been interesting, though I’m not sure how accurate it is. I think after a while longer of collecting the data, I’ll turn the feature off as it does drain the battery a bit overnight
– It’s easy to start an activity for tracking, and you can configure the data you see as you do the activity
– The information collected during an activity is extensive
– I enjoy being able to see heart rate/body battery/stress/sp02 etc graphs on the watch face without going to the app
– Battery life is decent – with sp02 on overnight I get maybe 4 days or so
What I don’t like so much
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The Garmin app isn’t as streamlined as the Fitbit one, in my opinion, but it works well enough.
The biggest gripe I have with this, when comparing it to Fitbit, is that the sleep tracking is not as good. But after a while I realised I didn’t really do much with that information to begin with. I think the information I get from this watch is as useful to me as the Fitbit information, even if it’s less accurate – I can still compare days, and the information is decent. I do have to adjust the waking up time, as it doesn’t realise I’m awake as I doze in bed in the morning. But it’s not too much trouble.
I also have a bit of an issue with the heart rate tracking when doing an activity, which for some reason is inconsistent or delayed. I do have a scar right under the sensor, so that may be why, or possibly the sweat interferes. Switching to my other wrist seems to help, anyway.
Overall, I’ve grown to really like this watch. I tried out the Fitbit Versa 2, and the number of taps I had to do to do what I wanted (e.g. see the weather, set an alarm) was too damn high, plus the always-on-display was inferior. This watch is far more efficient.
What I like-
The heart rate monitor seems to be accurate and works well.
The GPS picks up quickly, within a minute when outside.
GPS appears to be accurate when measuring distances ran.
Paired well with my iPhone, it has stopped pairing a couple of times but rebooting my phone solved the issue.
Stress and respiration measurements seem to be accurate.
Measures VO2 max and estimates your fitness age.
If you’re female you can track your menstrual cycle.
You can have personalised workout plans eg I am quite new to running and can do about 5k at a 12 minute mile pace. It has created a plan for me to run faster and to achieve 10k and has personalised this by getting me to do a benchmark run to determine my current level of fitness.
Text messages and WhatsApp, messenger messages come up clearly on screen, which is useful when I’m in meetings. I can’t reply as I have an iPhone but if you have an Android you can reply.
The watch feels quite comfortable and doesn’t make my wrist sweat.
The Garmin app it pairs with on my phone gives a good amount of information.
There are loads of workout options
You can choose between a variety of watch screens.
It pairs with Strava and MyFitnessPal which is great if calorie counting.
What I don’t like-
The stairs counter isn’t accurate. Calculates I’ve gone upstairs when running or walking up hills and other times doesn’t register when I actually walk up a set of stairs.
The sleep tracker is useless. I went to bed at 9am but didn’t fall asleep until 1am but it tracked me asleep all that time. If I lay in bed on my phone on waking, it logs me asleep during that time. Update in November, this has not improved so I don’t bother wearing to bed.
They are my only complaints currently. Overall very pleased with it, there are many other features I haven’t tried yet or won’t use so can’t comment on those.
Speaking of the watch itself I see several advantages and a unfortunately one disadvantage which may prove a deal breaker for many.
Pros:
– Design and size: Finally an established brand created a 40mm smartwatch with men-compatible design. Great news for all of us born with small wrists which just cannot support 45mm monsters
– App and connection: Everything worked smoothly for me and I have had no issues up to now
Pros/Cons:
– Body battery: Interesting concept which may prove useful to better understand how one’s body actually works. Unfortunately there is no way to account for periods when you do a physical activity where the watch just cannot be worn (such as martial arts).
Cons:
– Battery life. NO WAY would this watch last 5 days as promised by Garmin. I have to charge mine every day and I am using it with default settings with some 30-60 minute GPS-enabled activity.
Overall this watch works fine as long as I stay in the city and charge it every day. I am however keeping my old rusty TomTom to take on the next trip to the Himalayas.