New Garmin smartwatch combines GPS, heart-rate monitor

Garmin will introduce a new GPS smartwatch at Mobile World Congress, being held Feb. 22-25 in Barcelona, Spain. The vívoactive HR includes 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 smartwatch 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 personalize their vívoactive HR with free apps, widgets, watch faces and data fields.

The smartwatch 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 Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of worldwide sales. “All your efforts to stay active are accounted for from taking the stairs at the office to going on a run or ride.”

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 organizations like the American Heart Association.

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 also includes Garmin Move IQ, a new feature that continuously monitors for periods of sustained activity. With Move IQ, the vívoactive HR automatically recognizes walking, running, biking, swimming and elliptical training. Users can easily track their exercise throughout the day without needing to start a timed activity. Once synced with Garmin Connect, users can review their full day of activity in a convenient Timeline view.

The vívoactive HR will begin shipping in Q2 for a suggested retail price of $249.99. 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 $29.99 each.