Garmin has unveiled the Vivoactive 6, a new smartwatch aimed at helping everyday users better understand their health and fitness without looking like they’ve just come from a triathlon. With a bright AMOLED display, up to 11 days of battery life, and a host of features that go well beyond just counting steps, it’s designed to be worn from morning to night — and actually help you make sense of how your body’s doing.

While Garmin’s name is often associated with hardcore endurance athletes and adventurers, the Vivoactive 6 is pitched as a more approachable smartwatch for the rest of us. Think of it as your low-key lifestyle coach: one that works just as well with your work shirt as it does with your gym gear.

Wake up gently, not groggily

The Vivoactive 6 includes a smart wake alarm that uses your sleep cycles to nudge you awake during lighter stages of sleep, so you feel more refreshed rather than like you’ve been hit by a bus. You’ll also get a personalised morning report that recaps your sleep, energy levels, calendar events, and even motivational messages if you fancy starting your day with a little pep talk.

You can tweak what shows up in your morning summary, too — whether you want the science (heart rate variability, sleep stages) or just the basics (how knackered you are and what’s on the agenda).

Your body, tracked

There’s a lot going on under the hood here. Garmin’s Body Battery system, which tracks your energy levels throughout the day, is back and more detailed than ever. It factors in sleep, activity, naps, and stress, and it helps you work out when you’re ready to train or when it’s time for the sofa.

There’s a sleep coach with personalised recommendations and metrics like blood oxygen (via Pulse Ox), heart rate variability, and how much time you spend in each sleep stage. You’ll also get stress tracking, guided breathing, and even meditation tools built-in.

For those tracking menstrual health or pregnancy, Garmin’s women’s health features allow for logging symptoms, workouts, and nutritional advice, all accessible from the wrist.

Garmin Vivoactive 6

80+ sports apps and smart training tools

Whether you’re dipping a toe into fitness or chasing down PBs, the Garmin Vivoactive 6 includes more than 80 sports apps out of the box, including walking, running, cycling, swimming, strength training, HIIT, Pilates, yoga, and now mobility workouts.

Not sure what to do today? The watch offers suggested workouts that adapt based on your recent activity, recovery and fitness levels. If you’re training for something specific, Garmin Coach has your back with adaptive running and strength training plans.

Runners get some extra love with metrics like cadence, stride length, and PacePro pacing tools that take elevation into account. Once you’re done, the watch breaks down your session with training benefits and recovery insights, so you know how it helped and when to hit it again.

There’s even a dedicated wheelchair mode, which tracks pushes and provides tailored workout options and movement reminders.

Smart enough for the rest of the day

The Vivoactive 6 isn’t just a fitness tracker — it’s a smartwatch that can keep up with the rest of your life, too. Pair it with your phone, and it’ll handle texts, calls and app alerts. Android users can even reply to texts using a built-in keyboard.

You also get Garmin Pay for contactless payments, music downloads for offline listening via Spotify, Amazon Music or Deezer, and safety features that can alert your emergency contacts if you take a tumble or feel unsafe.

The watch syncs everything to the Garmin Connect app, and you can personalise it with new watch faces or apps from the Connect IQ store, either on the watch itself or via your phone.

Style that doesn’t scream “Gym Bro”

The Vivoactive 6 keeps things low-key with a lightweight aluminium bezel and soft silicone strap. It’s available in four colour combos — Black/Slate, Bone/Lunar Gold, Jasper Green pictured above and Pink Dawn — so it won’t look out of place whether you’re heading to the office, the gym, or the pub.

Priced at £280, the Vivoactive 6 is available now from the Garmin website.

Phil Huff
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