Garmin introduces vívoactive HR – a GPS smartwatch with wrist-based heart rate
February 19, 2016 — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), today announced vívoactive HR, a GPS smartwatch with Garmin Elevate™ wrist heart rate technology. The vívoactive HR helps keep track of active moments throughout the day, counting steps and floors climbed, intensity minutes, monitoring sleep and featuring built-in GPS-enabled sports apps for walking, running, biking, swimming, golfing, paddle boarding, rowing, skiing and snowboarding. The vívoactive HR uses 24/7 wrist-based heart rate data to calculate calories burned information as well as the intensity of fitness activities, providing proper credit for users’ array of workouts. With the Connect IQ store, users can easily personalise their vívoactive HR with free apps, widgets, watch faces and data fields. The vívoactive HR is being announced in conjunction with Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and will be showcased at the Garmin booth #CS 90.
“The vívoactive HR builds on the incredible versatility and multi-functionality of its predecessor by adding wrist-based heart rate and a barometric altimeter – allowing it to track even more data essential to workouts and day-to-day activity,” said Andrew Silver, Product Manager Fitness, EMEA. “All your efforts to stay active are accounted for from taking the stairs at the office to going on a run or ride.”
Measure Daily Activity
Featuring Elevate wrist heart rate technology1, the vívoactive HR provides 24/7 heart rate monitoring and eliminates the need for a chest strap. Using the heart rate data the vívoactive HR quantifies the intensity of fitness activities and allows users to monitor their progress against aerobic activity goals recommended by leading health organisations like the World Health Organisation.
The vívoactive HR's always-on, touchscreen, sunlight-readable Garmin Chroma Display™ lets users track activity and stay connected anytime, anywhere. Its built-in GPS-enabled sports apps include:
- Running – Using a built-in accelerometer and GPS users can track runs either indoors or out. Additional features include Auto Lap®, Auto Pause®, and vibration alerts for heart rate, pace, run/walk intervals, and more. Post-run summaries include stats such as total mileage, calories, average pace and overall time.
- Cycling – The cycling app measures time, distance, speed and calories. It is compatible with speed and cadence sensors, and the Varia® lights and radar (sensors and radar are sold separately).
- Pool Swimming – In addition to tracking total and interval time, distance, pace, stroke count and stroke type, the swimming app also features easy pausing for rests, complete with rest timers, and can calculate swolf, a measure of swimming efficiency.
- Golfing – Users can view a simplified view of the green, measure shot distance and be pointed in the right direction with PinPointer while golfing on one of the 40,000 course maps worldwide available for download from the Garmin golf course database.
- Stand Up Paddleboarding and Rowing – Users can easily track and view pace, time, distance, stroke count, stroke rate and distance per stroke. When using an indoor rowing machine, users can track time, stroke count and stroke rate.
- Skiing and Snowboarding – The skiing and snowboarding app measures 3-D speed by calculating the speed and distance on an incline versus latitude and longitude. It also provides splits automatically and features Auto Pause, which freezes the timer automatically when users stop or ride the lift.
The vívoactive HR builds on the incredible versatility and multi-functionality of its predecessor by adding wrist-based heart rate and a barometric altimeter – allowing it to track even more data essential to workouts and day-to-day activity
Garmin Move IQ™
The vívoactive HR also includes Garmin Move IQ™, a new feature that continuously monitors for periods of sustained activity. With Move IQ, the vívoactive HR automatically recognises walking, running, biking, swimming and elliptical training without a user needing to start a new activity. Once synced with Garmin Connect™, users can review their full day of activity in a convenient Timeline view.
Stay Connected
With up to eight days’ battery life2 in watch/activity tracking2 mode (with 24/7 heart rate monitoring, no GPS) or up to 13 hours using GPS, the vívoactive HR keeps up with users’ active lifestyles and keeps them connected. The vívoactive HR will send notifications from a compatible smartphone3, including incoming calls, texts, emails, calendar reminders, social media alerts and more, to the device with a vibration alert so users don’t miss a beat. Additional on-device smart capabilities allow users to check weather information, control music on their smartphone, control a VIRB action camera, locate their smartphone, and allow friends and family to track activities in real time with LiveTrack.
Connect IQ™
The vívoactive HR is compatible with the Connect IQ™ platform for endless customisation options. Through the Connect IQ store in the Garmin Connect mobile app, users can download any of the free apps, widgets, watch faces and data fields so their vívoactive HR can suit their individual needs. Throughout the day the vívoactive HR automatically syncs with paired mobile devices through the Garmin Connect Mobile app, so users can see a complete picture of daily activities. In Garmin Connect, a free online fitness/golf community, users can track workouts, sleep patterns and trends, join online challenges to compete against friends and earn virtual badges. They can also view Garmin Connect Insights, smart wellness insights that provide cues to help them reach goals, shout-outs when milestones have been met and relevant healthy tips from experts. Insights also show users how they are doing in comparison to people like them for extra motivation. The vívoactive HR is also compatible with corporate wellness offerings from Garmin.
Availability
The vívoactive HR will begin shipping in Q2 for a suggested retail price of £209.99. It will be available in regular and extra-large fit black bands. Accessory bands will be available in black, white, force yellow and lava red for a suggested retail price of £22.99 each.
The ever-expanding Garmin fitness segment develops technologies to enhance and promote healthy and active lifestyles. Whether users are runners, cyclists, swimmers, multi-sport athletes, or simply looking to stay active throughout the day, there is a product that can help them reach their health and fitness goals. For decades, Garmin has pioneered new GPS navigation and wireless devices and applications that are designed for people who live an active lifestyle. Garmin serves five primary business units, including automotive, aviation, fitness, marine, and outdoor recreation. For more information, visit Garmin's virtual pressroom at garmin.com/newsroom or follow us at facebook.com/garminuk, twitter.com/garminuk, or youtube.com/garminuk.
1 See Garmin.com/ataccuracy
2 Battery life varies based on usage and smartphone model
3 When paired with a compatible smartphone. See Garmin.com/ble for more information
For further information, please contact GUNG HO on 0121 604 6366
Pippa Routledge: [email protected]
Fay Silverthorne: [email protected]
Kieran Frend: [email protected]
About Garmin
Garmin International Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq: GRMN). Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in Switzerland, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Garmin, vívoactive, Auto Lap, Auto Pause, Chroma Display and Varia are registered trademarks. Elevate, Move IQ, Connect IQ and Garmin Connect are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.
Notice on Forward-Looking Statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 26, 2015, filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). A copy of such Form 10-K is available at http://www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
