At present, smart wearable devices are mainly divided into two schools: one is the communication school mainly supported by Samsung, Sony, LG and other mobile phones, and the other is the sports school represented by Jawbone, which focuses on fitness functions. Today we see Garmin Vivosmart, which is another kind of existence between the two schools.

Vivofsmart is the second smart wearable device produced by Garmin. Although Garmin has previously integrated its experience in GPS navigation into the field of professional sports watches, Garmin only launched the first smart wearable device Vivofit at the beginning of 2014, and Vivofsmart, which has been seen with us for so long, is more capable of receiving notifications from smart phones than Vivofit.

First of all, Vivoshmart looks just like an ordinary sports bracelet. When the hidden OLED screen is not working, there is no screen at all. The surface of the bracelet is black matte plastic, but the inner ring has a variety of colors to choose from. This appearance is perfect for matching sports clothes.

The design of the button is quite traditional and simple, but it is still firm after being buttoned up.

Double click the "surface" to wake up the OLED screen. This OLED screen only has monochrome display, and its brightness is enough for outdoor use. It is large enough to display two rows of English. Chinese is also supported, but the whole screen can only display seven Chinese characters at a time, which is better than nothing.

Vivosmart's great feature is that it has a waterproof capacity of up to 50 meters deep, and it is no problem to bathe and swim with it. However, if you wear it for such a fierce water sport as surfing, you should be careful that the buttons will come loose, and you should not be able to get into water.

In terms of mobile phone compatibility, Vivosmart supports systems above iOS 7/Android 4.3, and Android phones must also support Bluetooth 4.0 when queuing up with Android. Currently, the mobile phones announced on the official website include HTC ONE M7/M8, Samsung Galaxy S3/S4/S5/S4 Active/Note 2/Note 3, and Sony Xperia Z2. Basically, mainstream flagship phones are OK.

In addition to receiving notifications, the significance of Vivosmart's connection with mobile phones is also to set the bracelet through the Garmin Connect App on smart phones/tablets. Therefore, Vivosmart cannot be used independently from smart phones.

In the setting, the user can select the content to be displayed by Vivosmart, including time and date, pedometer, step target, static schedule, calories, walking distance, music playing control, notification VIRB remote control, heart rate monitoring, and riding speed. Of course, the last three need to purchase corresponding accessories. When operating these interfaces, you can switch by sliding your fingers left and right on the screen. However, Vivosmart does not support up and down gestures.

The difference between the pedometer and the step target is that the former shows the steps taken today, while the latter shows how many steps are left from the set target. Vivosmart will automatically calculate the daily step target.

The most interesting function of Vivosmart is the static time table. When wearing a bracelet and still, the bracelet will time. When the timing reaches a certain level, the bracelet will vibrate and prompt the user "It's time to get up and move." Then if the user gets up and moves for about two minutes continuously, the watch will automatically reset to zero, and then if it comes back to rest, The measured amount will continue to accumulate.

The notification function of Vivosmart is actually different from that of Android Wear. What this small OLED screen can do is just copy the mobile phone's notification and display it on the screen. It is impossible to say how closely the bracelet interacts with the mobile phone. The notifications and emails read on the bracelet will not be displayed as read on the mobile phone.

When a message is received, the screen of the bracelet will light up, and then the APP of the notification source will be displayed. The small triangle on the right will display the next line of text after pressing. For an email, the sender will be displayed first, then the title, and then the content. For an email of normal length, it should be displayed in at least seven screens, To tell you the truth, this is almost the same as taking out your mobile phone to check the email. The most important thing is to take a look at the notice and decide whether to take out your mobile phone to check it.

Long press on the main interface will bring up a menu, including a timer, forced start of sleep mode, screen brightness switch and connection settings, but detailed settings must be made through the matching APP on the phone or tablet.

The charging design of Vivosmart is very common. There is no socket on the body, and there are four contacts on the bottom side. It can be charged with a dedicated charging clip. The other end of the charging wire is a USB interface.

Vivosmart's endurance is excellent. Once charged, it can last up to 12 days under normal use, which is just between the endurance of the smart watch and the sports bracelet

The main screen of the supporting app displays information in the form of cards. Users can select the cards to display and the sorting of the cards already displayed. This app is not only for Vivosmart, Other intelligent wearable devices of Garmin are also set here, so if multiple Garmin devices are connected, all messages will be displayed on the main interface of the App at once.

Finally, the interesting thing about this app is that it can become friends with other users using Garmin devices. Users can compare how many steps they have taken each day, and even the leaderboard. This is quite interesting.

Summary:

As mentioned at the beginning, the smart wearable device market in 2014 was very busy, but what exactly do consumers want? Garmin's Vivosmart has taken a moderate route. Personally, I think the best function of Vivosmart is the static schedule, which is very suitable for office users. Although there is still a big deviation between the target group of Garmin's original Vivosmart and the target group of this function.

The moderation is not wrong, but after Vivosmart took the moderation route in terms of functions and specifications, it did not take the moderation route in terms of price. The price equivalent to 971 yuan is still too high for such a bracelet. For users who first contact with intelligent wearable devices, it starts with cheaper products, It is appropriate to upgrade to this price level after you become familiar with it.

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