Garmin VivoActive 5 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 are robust smartwatches with amazing design, features, and capabilities. Both watches promise to enhance the user experience and fitness journey. So if you are deciding which one to choose, then read further to find out the one that fits your needs and budget.
Key Takeaways
The Galaxy Watch 6 and VivoActive 5 share a similar design but differ in functionalities. The VivoActive 5 comes with a price tag of $300 and has a lightweight build with a 1.2-inch (390 x 390 pixels) AMOLED display and a battery life of up to 11 days. Its features include advanced sleep tracking, wheelchair mode, and multiple activity profiles.
The Galaxy Watch 5 also comes with the same price tag of $300 but offers robust, shiny design with a 450 x 450 pixels super AMOLED display. It features advanced health tracking such as ECG, sleep tracking, blood oxygen tracking, and many more.
Comparison
| Device name | Garmin VivoActive 5 | Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 |
|---|---|---|
| Device type | Smartwatch | Smartwatch |
| Gender | Unisex | Unisex |
| Release date | September, 2023 | August, 2023 |
| Versions | Standard edition | Standard edition |
| Body | ||
| Dimension | 42.2 x 42.2 x 11.1 mm | 38.4 x 40.4 x 9 mm |
| Weight | 23 grams | 28.7 grams |
| Shape | Circular | Circular |
| Case material | Aluminum Frame | Aluminum Frame |
| Strap material | Silicone | Silicone |
| Bezel material | — | — |
| Strap size | 20 mm | 20 mm |
| Screen protection | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 | Sapphire Crystal |
| Water resistance | 5 ATM | 5 ATM |
| Swim-proof | Yes, recommended | Yes, recommended |
| Display | ||
| Display size | 1.2 inch | 1.3 inch |
| Display type | AMOLED | Super AMOLED |
| Display resolution | 390 x 390 pixels | 450 x 450 pixels |
| Pixel density | — | 321 PPI |
| Always on | Yes | Yes |
| Custom watch face | Yes | Yes |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Connectivity | ||
| Bluetooth | Yes | Yes |
| Bluetooth calling | No | Yes |
| GPS | Yes | Yes |
| NFC | Yes | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes | Yes |
| Memory | ||
| RAM | — | 1.5 GB |
| Internal Storage | — | 16 GB |
| Memory card slot | No | No |
| Cellular Connectivity | ||
| Technology | None | None |
| SIM type | None | None |
| Band | — | — |
| Sensors | ||
| Accelerometer | Yes | Yes |
| Altimeter | No | No |
| Ambient light | No | No |
| Barometer | Yes | Yes |
| Compass | No | No |
| ECG | No | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes | Yes |
| HRM | No | No |
| Pulse oximeter (SpO2) | Yes | Yes |
| Thermometer | Yes | Yes |
| Battery | ||
| Battery type | non-removable Lithium-polymer | non-removable Lithium-polymer |
| Battery capacity | — | — |
| Battery life | 11 Days | 40 Hours |
| Charging type | Plug Charger | Plug Charger |
| Charging time | 1-2 hours | 1-2 hours |
| Solar charging | No | No |
Design
Coming to the design, the VivoActive 5 sports a rounded design with two buttons on the right and touchscreen support to hover through its UI and other functionalities. It has a 1.2-inch AMOLED display with a screen resolution of 390 x 390 pixels surrounded by an anodized aluminium bezel and Corning Gorilla Glass 3 to survive wear and tear. The watch only weighs about 23 grams so you can wear it for an extended period without feeling it on your wrist.
The Galaxy Watch 6, on the other hand, has a shiny, rounded design with two buttons and a microphone on the right and a speaker on the left side. It is available in 40mm and 44mm sizes, appealing to individuals with different wrist sizes. The price starts at $300 for the shorter model and increases for the larger model. It has a display resolution of 450 x 450 pixels with a peak brightness of 2000 nits, so you can see the watch content even in direct sunlight. The watch is surrounded by aluminium and stainless steel combined and offers a wide range of customisable watch bands to personalise and enhance your smartwatch experience.
Both devices have a water rating of 5 ATM, surviving up to 50 metres, so users can wear them while showering and swimming.
Health and Sleep Tracking
The most important aspect of a smartwatch is their health and sleep tracking capabilities, and both smartwatches excel in this.
The Garmin VivoActive 5 includes advanced sleep tracking and can track sleep in multiple stages, including light, deep, and REM stages. It has a sleep coach to suggest users improve their sleep schedule based on the individual’s sleep pattern. Plus offers a nap detection feature to track your naps and sync them into your sleep data for a better view into your overall sleep metrics. It also includes basic health monitoring features such as heart rate monitoring, SpO2 (blood oxygen) monitoring, body battery, stress monitoring, hydration, women’s health, and health snapshots of vital key metrics in 2-minute intervals. It also has a Garmin Connect app, which enhances the user experience by offering a detailed view of your health data, in-depth analysis, and more to help you make an informed decision.
The Samsung Galaxy Watch 6, on the other hand, features robust monitoring capabilities such as heart rate, body composition, skin temperature sensor, and blood oxygen monitoring. It features an ECG, which can detect signs of atrial fibrillation, or aFIB. It can also track sleep in multiple stages, including light, deep, and REM stages, providing detailed insights of your sleep schedule and offering recommendations to improve your sleep pattern for added health benefits. It has a Samsung Health app that shows all the synced data, health, and fitness metrics to get a better understanding of your overall health.
Fitness Tracking
In terms of fitness tracking, the Garmin VivoActive 5 features over 50 sports modes, appealing to sports enthusiasts. It includes running, swimming, rowing, basketball, boxing, and so much more. It also includes GPS capabilities, providing accurate readings of your outdoor sports activities. The watch includes training features such as HRV status, VO2 max, HR zones, recovery time, interval training, customisable training plans, and many more. Plus, it has few sports-specific features for runners, golfers, swimmers, and cyclists.
In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 also offers a wide array of sports modes, including, running, swimming, HIIT, strength training, and more. It can automatically detect activities like walking, running, rowing, and elliptical machines after about 10 minutes to sync them into the app for detailed metrics. It includes built-in GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and BeiDou, ensuring accurate and faster readings even in challenging areas.
Smartwatch Features
The Garmin watches are not designed for smartwatch features, but the VivoActive 5 does offer a few basic features, such as text, call, and email notifications, morning reports, calendars, weather forecasts, battery savers, smartphone music control, and Connect IQ Store for downloadable watch faces, data fields, widgets, and apps. It also offers contactless payment support via Garmin Pay, allowing users to store cards and use them in case of need. The watch also offers Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and ANT+ connectivity.
The Galaxy Watch 6, on the other hand, uses the latest Exynos W930 processor, enhancing performance and capabilities compared to its predecessors. The watch features Bluetooth calling support via an in-built speaker and a microphone, so you can make and pick up calls directly from your wrist. It also features voice assistants like Google and Bixby, so you can use it to control functions like calling, dictating messages, and more. It also offers NFC support, which you can use to pay contactlessly via Samsung Pay.
Battery Life
Talking about battery life, the Garmin VivoActive 5 takes the lead by offering 11 days of battery life in a single charge. But with GPS tracking, the battery drops to 8 hours, so you need to charge it frequently if you are an ultrarunner or hiker. For general users, the 11 days of battery life are enough to track a few outdoor activities, track basic health features, and get a few notifications without worrying about the battery dying.
In comparison, the Galaxy Watch 6 only lasts for up to 40 hours in a single charge, but it drops down further if battery extensive features are used, like an always-on display, GPS, and advanced health monitoring. But the watch does offer fast charging support, which can give you 10 hours of battery in just 30 minutes of plugging the device.
Verdict
So which one should you choose between Garmin VivoActive 5 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 6? It boils down to the features users want in their smartwatch.
Choose the Samsung Galaxy Watch 6 if…
If you have a bigger wrist and want advanced health monitoring features and Bluetooth calling support, then the Galaxy Watch 6 is the way to go.
Choose the Garmin VivoActive 5 if…
If you want more battery life, multiple sports modes, and general fitness and recovery tracking, then the Garmin VivoActive 5 will be a way to go.
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