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IFA 2019: Garmin announces four new watches, including new Venu line

We've seen new products from the outdoors and running/cycling groups at Garmin, with the health-focused division announcing four new watches at IFA 2019. A couple of them are updates, while a couple more series are new products.
Written by Matthew Miller, Contributing Writer
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Venu Lifestyle Photography

Producer: Caleb Brattrud/Kristin

Garmin completes its 2019 new wearable announcements with the release of four new watch product lines designed for fitness and health monitoring while also being stylish watches. The Venu, Vivoactive 4, Vivomove, and Garmin Legacy Hero series are now available from $249 to $549.

Venu

Garmin's workout-focused GPS sports watches have displays that are easily readable outside while offering long battery life, but they are not as vibrant as an Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch. The new Venu series offers a vibrant AMOLED touchscreen display, a first for Garmin.

The Venu looks to take on the Apple Watch in terms of looks but offers much longer battery life and 24/7 health monitoring beyond anything Apple currently provides. The Venu has advanced sleep tracking with a pulse oximeter, respiration tracking, heart rate alerts, menstrual cycle tracking, stress tracking, hydration tracking, and more. For those focused on health and wellness, it's tough to beat.

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Image: Garmin

Beyond health and wellness, the Venu offers advanced fitness features with integrated GPS, wrist-based heart rate monitor, and support for more than 20 indoor and outdoor sports. Animated workouts appear on the brilliant display, too, so you can see the workout demonstrated as you follow along.

The Venu won't offer all of the advanced GPS tracking and workout customization some athletes may require, but it's a great sports watch for more casual athletes. It also supports offline music playback, Garmin Pay, and Connect IQ apps.

The Venu will be available soon for $399.99 with its 1.2-inch display and battery life up to five days or six hours with GPS and music playing. Four color options will be available, including slate and black, rose gold and sand, silver and granite blue, and gold with black.

Vivoactive 4/4S

The new Vivoactive 4/4S models are available now in two case sizes and six color combinations for $349.99. Many of the same features in the Venu and newer Garmin GPS sports watches make their way to the Vivoactive series as well, including Body Battery, pulse ox, stress tracking, and more.

The Vivoactive 4/4S (the 4 is the larger 45mm model) doesn't have the AMOLED display of the Venu, but its sunlight-visible 260x260 pixels display helps you achieve up to eight days of battery in smartwatch mode and six hours with GPS and music playing. One function that sets the Vivoactive apart from the Forerunner and Fenix lines is the touchscreen user interface.

Garmin Pay, offline music, smartphone notifications, Connect IQ, and more are all included in the Vivoactive 4/4S. All these advanced features that are now included make it a tough choice to pick between a Forerunner and a Vivoactive, with the touchscreen being the primary differentiator.

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Image: Garmin

Vivomove

The new Vivomove watches, the 3S, 3, Style, and Luxe, are the fashion-focused line of Garmin wearables. These watches don't have the look and feel of a sports watch, but are styled to wear at the office, out on the town, and for daily wear while offering many Garmin fitness and health features. Prices range from $249 to $549 with various colors, sizes (39mm, 42mm, 44mm), and band options.

The Vivomove has a touchscreen display with a unique hidden feature that appears only when you need it. Fitness tracking, Body Battery, stress tracking, sleep tracking, and more are all supported on the Vivomove with a small portion of the display showing the status of these features.

Heart rate, pulse oximeter, and barometer sensors are part of the watch, while Bluetooth and ANT+ support means you can connect your phone and other accessories.

Garmin Legacy Hero series

The new Garmin Legacy Hero Series comes with two options: First Avenger (Captain America) and Captain Marvel. The 40mm model is the Captain Marvel model with the 45mm one for the First Avenger. I am seriously considering the First Avenger one, as I am a huge Captain America fan and the watch looks fantastic for $399.99.

While Garmin has these kinds of character watches for kids, these stylish models for adults look classy and have themed watch faces, badges you can earn, and more. Smartphone notifications, downloadable music, Garmin Pay, and Connect IQ are all supported on these two watches. The advanced fitness features are there too with Body Battery, pulse ox, respiration, animated workouts, and much more.

The Legacy Hero series has a touchscreen sunlight-visible display with integrated GPS. Battery life is up to eight days in watch mode or six hours with GPS and music. Running, golfing, cycling, and many other sports are also included. Standard 22mm bands are used so you can swap the leather one out for a silicone one for working out.

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