Garmin vívoactive® 6, Health and Fitness GPS Smartwatch, AMOLED Display, Up to 11 Days of Battery, Metallic Jasper Green with Jasper Green Band

What I liked in the VA6:New UX ImprovementsFully redesigned UI/UX that feels modern and premium — more in line with 2025 standards.Notification center with "Clear All" option (finally!).Control center similar to Android/iOS.Built-in Compass app.Revamped UI/UX for several existing apps.Smart alarm (haven’t tried it yet).Adjustable font size.Calendar app that shows all future events — unlike V3, which only shows today and tomorrow.Custom Workout CreationYou can create fully custom workouts on VA6, which the V3 doesn’t support.Course/Route SyncingAbility to send training courses or routes directly to the watch.Improved HapticsThe vibration motor feels noticeably better than the one in V3.Premium StrapThe strap feels more refined and premium than what comes with the V3....and I’m sure there’s more I’ll uncover over time.One thing worth noting: although the watch has a UI that's quite feature-rich and visually heavy, I initially expected it to lag. But after using it for a week, I haven't experienced a single hiccup — it's been smooth throughout.The main reason I switched to Garmin is that Apple Watch—even the Ultra—doesn't really provide actionable health insights.What impressed me about Garmin is the level of actionable insights it offers without requiring a subscription. Some of the highlights:Sleep Score and Sleep CoachStress trackingBody BatteryRecovery insightsCustom workouts and Garmin Coach...and probably more features I’ll discover as I continue using the VA6.Most of the core health tracking features are similar to the Apple Watch, but Garmin seems to go a step further with its detailed insights. So overall, Garmin feels like a more complete fitness-focused smartwatch to me.

As someone with a ~4yr old Garmin Instinct, this is a huge "upgrade". I am keeping my Instinct for rugged outdoor activities, but the customizability, extra sensors, and light footprint is all very welcome when performing exercises and other activities. I briefly owner a Vivoactive 5, but returned it due to the missing altitude/barometric sensor. The 6 has definitely improved in software. I don't understand the screen brightness complaints, it seems perfect. I'm very pleased overall.

This watch is everything I was looking for and more. Garmin did the impossible and got me to take my Apple Watch off after years of being stuck in the Apple ecosystem. The amount of data and battery life on this watch is incredible. The new UI is 10/10 good job Garmin

This watch has everything I wanted.- The display is crisp and vibrant- The alarms are highly customizable- Awesome UI and tons of sports tracking- On-board music storage and Bluetooth connection to my earbuds allows for running without my phone- Extremely lightweight and comfortable to wear day and nightEven though this watch checks off every box, I have had repeated issues with it locking up (usually during workouts). It's extremely frustrating to be crushing a run and have it shutdown. I have had numerous chats with Garmin and updated to the latest firmware. This watch would easily be a 5-star if it can fix the software bugs.

Love my watch. Battery lasts a long time. I’ve been an Apple Watch girl for years but this gives way better data for overall health which is what I was looking for. I can’t figure out how to get text messages but I do get calls. 🤷🏻‍♀️ other than that love it. Won’t be going back to Apple anytime soon.

No YouTube Music support, even those the older watches support it.

While I do like the watch overall, there are issues I hope will be resolved with future software updates.1) The Vivoactive 6 has a new ambient light sensor that brightens or dims the screen based on the room’s lighting. Currently there’s no way to customize the level of auto brightness or turn it off. I wish there was a way to do this.2) The Vivoactive 5 had a settings option called “Activity Tracking” that let you set up and customize auto activity detection in case you started an exercise and forgot to preset it on the watch. This is completely gone on the Vivoactive 6. Why?3) Garmin STILL doesn’t let iPhone users customize which apps show notifications on the watch. They claim it’s an Apple permissions restriction, but Fitbit, Coros, Samsung Galaxy Watch, Amazfit, etc. all have the ability to choose which apps send notifications to their watches. I cannot belive that Garmin is singled out as the sole company unable to accomplish this.I do want to give a huge shout out to Garmin customer service. Although they couldn’t resolve these issues, I applaud how nice and knowledge the representative was.

I like how light it is, which helps with my arthritis. The screen is bright and clear, which makes it easy to see time, weather, steps, etc. All I need in a watch!