Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsBring back the Vivofit 2
Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2023
My beloved Garmin Vivofit 2 failed and I would have bought another, but it is discontinued. Vivofit 2 had everything I want: 1-year battery life, step tracking, sleep tracking, very light and unobtrusive, comfortable band, easily readable display, and waterproof to 100ft.
The Vivofit 4 that replaced it is terrible. It has a new band that is much less comfortable and has ridiculously small numbers that are less than half the size of the Vivofit 2. The numbers are too small to glance at it while running or biking.
So I went back to market to find a replacement. I looked at virtually every available model and found only 3 that came close: The Garmin Venu SQ, The Coros Pace 2, and the Polar Ignite 3.
The Venu has a great display that is easily readable. It has great features, and it is compatible with Garmin Connect app, which is also great.
After a few days trying them out, I ended up picking the Coros Pace 2. Feature-wise the Pace and Venu are very similar. I think the Garmin Connect app is a lot better than the Coros app. And if it was just for that I would have picked the Venu. But the factor that won me over was battery life in Watch Mode. Pace 2 battery life is almost double that of the Venu SQ2. I think that is probably because the Pace uses a transflective screen that is always on but still uses very little power. The Venu display is LED, whcih is brighter but is not always on. The Venu is definitely easier to read than the Pace, but for me, batter life is more important.