Garmin Vivofit 2: A capable tracker that gets you moving
PUBLISHED ONNovember 11, 2015 7:26 AMByTrevor Tan
The Garmin Vivofit 2's main feature is its always-on display. It also has backlight that allows you to see the display in the dark.
The display is sharp and easy to read, even under bright sunlight. You can use it as a watch.
The Vivofit 2 uses two CR1632 coin cell batteries that are supposed to last for more than a year. It is water-resistant to a depth of 50m.
The different status panels display information like the number of steps taken, calories burned, distance travelled, date and current time. It remembers your activity level for the day and assigns a more attainable goal for the next.
A red progress bar comes on when no movement is detected. When the bar is full, an audio alarm will sound to get you to start moving. Once you start to move, the red bar will slowly recede.
Many fitness trackers automatically sync the data to their respective smartphone apps. But with this one, you need to press and hold the button until you see Sync before you can do so.
Sleep tracking is not automatic, but quite accurate. You need to hold and press the button until you see the word "Sleep" on the display before you go to bed.
Previous versions of Garmin fitness trackers tended to overestimate the number of steps taken, often by up to 20 per cent.
The Vivofit 2 is much more accurate. Daily activity tracking differed by around only 7 per cent from my calibrated Nike+ Fuelband fitness tracker.
TECH SPECS
PRICE: $169
WATER RESISTANCE: 50m
WEIGHT: 25.5g
RATING
FEATURES: 3/5
DESIGN: 3/5
PERFORMANCE: 4/5
BATTERY LIFE: 5/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5
OVERALL: 4/5
VERDICT: It lacks a built-in heart rate monitor, but the Garmin Vivofit 2 is an affordable and capable 24/7 fitness tracker.
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This article was first published on November 11, 2015.
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