{"id":1416,"date":"2020-12-14T09:52:52","date_gmt":"2020-12-14T09:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/?p=1416"},"modified":"2024-09-03T16:39:13","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T16:39:13","slug":"garmin-vivoactive-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/golf-gps\/garmin-vivoactive-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Garmin Vivoactive 4 GPS Golf Watch 2024: An HONEST Review"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>One of my favorite multisport watches was always the Vivoactive 3, so I did have some high expectations when the newer model came out. In this post, I\u2019m going to be reviewing the&nbsp;<strong>Garmin Vivoactive 4 from a golfer\u2019s point of view<\/strong>&nbsp;and talking about whether or not it\u2019s worth picking up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In short,&nbsp;<strong>I do like the new Vivoactive 4 and I do prefer it slightly over the previous version. The golf features are pretty much the same but there are a few additions that I liked. The golf features aren\u2019t going to be as advanced as the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/golf-gps\/garmin-approach-s60\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Garmin S60<\/a>&nbsp;but it does offer a lot more when it comes to other activities. It comes in a few different sizes, the battery life is a bit better, and you can store music directly on the watch.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are on a budget then I\u2019d still recommend you go with the&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/garmin-vivoactive-3\/\" target=\"_blank\">Vivoactive 3<\/a>. It\u2019s still one of my favorite multi-sport watches and it\u2019s quite a bit cheaper. If you want the extra features or something that looks a bit better (in my opinion) then you should go with the Vivoactive 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1A7FpDLd4HM<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/1A7FpDLd4HM\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong><a class=\"aawp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B07W7W8WBH?tag=gweek_end-20&amp;linkCode=ogi&amp;th=1&amp;psc=1\" title=\"Check The Vivoactive 4 Price On Amazon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener sponsored\" data-aawp-product-id=\"B07W7W8WBH\" data-aawp-product-title=\"Garmin Vivoactive 4 GPS Smartwatch Features Music Body Energy Monitoring Animated Workouts Pulse Ox Sensors and More Black\">Check The Vivoactive 4 Price On Amazon<\/a>.<\/strong><\/li><li><a aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCCQsqBrq7yo-uOknBUugeug\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\" class=\"rank-math-link\">Subscribe To The Gear Giveaway<\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Garmin Vivoactive 4 First Impressions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/4_Blog-Post-Pic-1.jpg\" alt=\"Garmin Vivoactive 4\" class=\"wp-image-4224\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Like I was saying before, the Vivoactive 3 was my favorite multisport watch because it was comfortable, did everything I needed it to do, and it wasn\u2019t overly expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The newer Vivoactive 4 continued that but there are a&nbsp;<strong>few more features<\/strong>&nbsp;that should make it a bit better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first change is that you can pick&nbsp;<strong>two different sizes<\/strong>&nbsp;with the 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It comes in a 40 or 45 mm version and I liked the 40 because it was a bit more compact. Some people like the bigger watch though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second change is that&nbsp;<strong>music storage<\/strong>&nbsp;comes standard on the 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the 3, you had to pay extra for that feature (around $70 extra) but it comes standard on the 4. You can play music through Spotify, Amazon Music, or whatever else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The final difference is&nbsp;<strong>battery life<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not that big of a difference but the 4 comes with a slightly better battery. It\u2019s going to last somewhere around 8 days in smartwatch mode where the 3 would last somewhere around 7 days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Garmin Vivoactive 4 Golf Features<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ll start off by saying, these multisport watches aren\u2019t going to be quite as good as some of the higher-end golf-specific watches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of those offer some pretty cool features but the Vivoactive 4 is going to give you all the essentials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first thing you\u2019ll have to do is&nbsp;<strong>download the course you want to play<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s pretty straightforward but all you have to do is go to the Garmin Connect app and look for your course. It\u2019ll be saved to your phone after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The watch is going to give you the basic info you\u2019d need such as&nbsp;<strong>what hole you\u2019re on<\/strong>, what par is, how far away the&nbsp;<strong>front\/middle\/back of the green<\/strong>&nbsp;is, and the shape of the green. You can also move the pin around for specific distances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also see&nbsp;<strong>hazards, doglegs, and layup spots<\/strong>&nbsp;on each hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019ll show you the distance to the front and back of each hazard, what type of hazard it is, and where it is in relation to the green.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the more useful features is that it\u2019ll tell you&nbsp;<strong>how far you hit each shot<\/strong>&nbsp;and will record that info for you to look at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All you have to do is hit your shot, walk up to your ball, and it\u2019ll tell you how far. You can view your shot history after your round to figure out how far you hit each club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And yes, it\u2019ll&nbsp;<strong>keep<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>score<\/strong>&nbsp;for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Garmin Vivoactive 4 Non-Golf Features<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=7oReA_g5X2Q<a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/7oReA_g5X2Q\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason you\u2019d get a watch like this would be for the non-golf features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019ll just use it for golf then go with the S60 but if you want to track your fitness levels\/sleep or use it for swimming, cycling, running, or something else, it\u2019ll work great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first set of features it has is&nbsp;<strong>fitness, health, and sleep tracking<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019ll track steps, calories burned, hydration levels, how well you slept, and it\u2019ll even show you on-screen workouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also&nbsp;<strong>play<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>music<\/strong>&nbsp;directly from the watch which is pretty cool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With a lot of the other watches out there (Vivoactive 3 included), you could only control the music on your phone with the standard version of the watch. With the 4, you can play music through Spotify or Amazon Music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It also has a&nbsp;<strong>built-in GPS<\/strong>&nbsp;which is awesome as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can use it for driving, hiking, boating, or whatever else. It sure beats having one of those handheld GPS units that are pretty big and bulky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The watch does come with&nbsp;<strong>20+ sports apps<\/strong>&nbsp;already loaded in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some of them are running, cycling, swimming, climbing, and a number of other sports. I don\u2019t use too many of them so I don\u2019t really know how useful they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Garmin Vivoactive 4 Design<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/4_Blog-Post-Pic-2.jpg\" alt=\"Garmin Vivoactive 4\" class=\"wp-image-4223\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the main reasons I like the Vivo 4 is because of the design.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I didn\u2019t have any issues with the 3 but I do like the look of the 4 quite a bit more. It\u2019s not something that would make me spend the extra money by itself but it could be for you if you have the money to spend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The second reason I like the 4 is that it comes in two different sizes. The previous watch was 43mm while the 4 comes in 45 or 40mm. I\u2019m not the biggest fan of wearing watches all the time so the 40mm version was more comfortable for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It might not seem like a big difference but I really could tell a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Garmin Vivoactive 4 Performance<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image is-style-default\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/4_Blog-Post-Pic.jpg\" alt=\"Garmin Vivoactive 4\" class=\"wp-image-4225\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>When it comes to performance, the main thing I\u2019m going to be talking about is how long the battery lasted and how accurate the golf features were. You\u2019re here because you\u2019re looking for a golf watch, so most of the other things might not matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s start with the&nbsp;<strong>battery<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The latest Vivoactive is supposed to last an hour longer in normal smartwatch mode. I really didn\u2019t notice a difference compared to the 3 but it was still good enough. If you just use it as a normal watch with no GPS, it should last about a week. If you use the features sometimes you should get a couple of days. If you\u2019re using the golf GPS and\/or listening to music, you will get a full round no problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now for the&nbsp;<strong>accuracy<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>of the golf GPS<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even though it wasn\u2019t as good as the S60, I was still pretty impressed. It was very similar to the Garmin S10\/S20 and it was pretty much the same as the other sports watches from Garmin. The yardage to the green and the distance of my shots were always within 5 yards of the course markers. That\u2019s good enough for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Garmin Vivoactive 4 Specs<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure id=\"tablepress-2\" class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th><strong>Product<\/strong><\/th><th><strong>Garmin Vivoactive 4<\/strong><\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Size<\/td><td>45 x 45 x 13 mm<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Watch Material<\/td><td>Polymer\/Stainless Steel<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Glass<\/td><td>Gorilla Glass 3<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Quick Release Bands<\/td><td>Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Touchscreen<\/td><td>Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Strap Material<\/td><td>Silicone<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Screen Size<\/td><td>1.3 Inch<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Weight<\/td><td>50 Grams<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Battery Life<\/td><td>18 Hours GPS Mode<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Water Rating<\/td><td>5 ATM<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Golf Courses<\/td><td>41,000+<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Preloaded<\/td><td>No. Downloadable From Phone<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Distance To Front, Middle, Back<\/td><td>Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Distance To Hazards\/Doglegs\/Layup<\/td><td>Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Shot Distance<\/td><td>Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Scorecard<\/td><td>Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Stat Tracking<\/td><td>Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>AutoShot<\/td><td>Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Manual Pin Placement<\/td><td>Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Pinpointer<\/td><td>Yes<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Club Tracking<\/td><td>Requires&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/training\/garmin-approach-ct10\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CT10<\/a><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What I Like<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>It\u2019s easy to use and pair to other devices.<\/li><li>The battery life is great if you\u2019re using it as a normal watch.<\/li><li>The touchscreen is super responsive.<\/li><li>There are a bunch of cool features (no way I\u2019d use them all).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What I Didn\u2019t Like<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The battery life could be better when listening to music or using GPS.<\/li><li>The price point is a little high.<\/li><li>I\u2019d like to see some more advanced golf features (like the S60).<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Breakdown<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Performance: 8<\/li><li>Quality: 9<\/li><li>Ease Of Use: 8<\/li><li><strong>Personal Score: 8.5<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Frequently Asked Questions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q. Can you play music through the Vivoactive 4?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A. Yes, you can.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q. Can you answer calls and reply to messages on the Vivoactive 4?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A. You can only accept or reject calls on the watch (you need your phone to talk). You can only respond to messages if you have an Android phone (currently).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q. Does the Vivoactive 4 have interchangeable bands?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A. Yes, it does.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Is The Garmin Vivoactive 4 Worth It?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Overall, if you\u2019re looking for a quality multisport watch that looks awesome and will give you the essential golf features, the&nbsp;<strong>Vivo 4 could be perfect for you<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a class=\"aawp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B07W7W8WBH?tag=gweek_end-20&amp;linkCode=ogi&amp;th=1&amp;psc=1\" title=\"Check The Vivoactive 4 Price On Amazon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener sponsored\" data-aawp-product-id=\"B07W7W8WBH\" data-aawp-product-title=\"Garmin Vivoactive 4 GPS Smartwatch Features Music Body Energy Monitoring Animated Workouts Pulse Ox Sensors and More Black\"><strong>Check The Vivoactive 4 Price On Amazon<\/strong><\/a>.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not as advanced as the golf-specific watches but it\u2019s good enough for most people. It\u2019s comfortable, built well, and the features are all pretty accurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you just want a watch that offers the most golf features you should check out the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/golf-gps\/garmin-approach-s60\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Garmin S60<\/a>. If you don\u2019t want to spend this much money on a multisport watch you should just go with the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/garmin-vivoactive-3\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vivoactive 3<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let me know your thoughts and any questions you have. Like this article? Feel free to give it a share!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Looking to get some new golf gear?&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/resources\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Click here<\/a>&nbsp;to check out our recommended gear page to see the stuff we\u2019re recommending and the cheapest place to get them.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of my favorite multisport watches was always the Vivoactive 3, so I did have some high expectations when the newer model came out. In this post, I\u2019m going to be reviewing the&nbsp;Garmin Vivoactive 4 from a golfer\u2019s point of view&nbsp;and talking about whether or not it\u2019s worth picking up. In short,&nbsp;I do like the &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Garmin Vivoactive 4 GPS Golf Watch 2024: An HONEST Review\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/golf-gps\/garmin-vivoactive-4\/#more-1416\" aria-label=\"More on Garmin Vivoactive 4 GPS Golf Watch 2024: An HONEST Review\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf-gps","infinite-scroll-item"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1416"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1416"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1416\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2653,"href":"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1416\/revisions\/2653"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/outofboundsgolf.co\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}