Garmin Vivomove Trend review: elegant hybrid smartwatch for women

Garmin’s Vivomove Trend aims to combine lifestyle with functionality. Style meets smart functions, a discreet appearance meets extensive training features – at least on paper. We took a closer look at the watch and tested the extent to which Garmin can keep its promises.

The Vivomove Trend occupies a special position in the Garmin portfolio. It is not a smart sports watch in the traditional sense, but a hybrid smartwatch. That means: The Vivomove Trend has analog hands and a hidden touch display. This makes it look like a classic wristwatch, but still has smart features. It is therefore particularly suitable as an elegant and discreet solution for the business look.

The look of the Vivomove Trend is accordingly kept relatively unobtrusive. The watch does without the typical five buttons on the side of the case that we know from other Garmin models. The control works accordingly exclusively via the touch display. In our test, the watch was consistently easy to use. The display reacted reliably to inputs, but the brightness left a bit to be desired in bright sunlight. On the rose gold-colored dial of our test watch, the white displays of the smart display were sometimes difficult to see. It might be better with the black color variant of the watch.

We also find it somewhat disappointing that the housing of the Vivomove Trend is partly made of plastic and not metal. The same applies to the buckle of the silicone strap. That doesn’t quite fit the claim that the Vivomove Trend should be a kind of lifestyle sports watch with a business look.

However, we have nothing to complain about when it comes to the setup. The usual Garmin quality comes into play here, which means that linking the watch to the smartphone is absolutely intuitive and problem-free: We install the Garmin Connect app, select the linked devices and follow the instructions to connect the Vivomove Trend with our smartphone within a few minutes connect. Incidentally, nothing has changed with the app itself – we have already presented it in more detail in other Garmin tests, so we will not go into a more detailed analysis at this point.

Garmin connoisseurs can expect the standard program when it comes to activity tracking: the Vivomove Trend counts our steps and measures our heart rate. The latter happens via the optical sensor, which is also used in other Garmin devices. Our respiration and blood oxygen saturation are also measured. Based on this data and the sleep measurement (see below), the watch calculates our stress level and our so-called body battery – i.e. our available physical energy.

Body battery and stress level are implemented in this form in almost all Garmin watches. The well-known and proven features work accordingly reliably and provide a good orientation to your own health and training status. You shouldn’t rely solely on the information on the watch, but if you’re unsure whether a day’s break from training would be appropriate or whether you could maybe use a little rest for some other reason, you’ll at least get a decision-making aid.

The Vivomove Trend also offers the familiar Garmin standard for training, albeit in a rather rudimentary form. Because compared to dedicated sports watches like the Garmin Fenix ​​7 (test report) or the Forerunner 955 (test report), the Vivomove Trend only offers a very small selection of training profiles. We searched in vain for rowing, trend sports or different types of running (including hiking). Even swimmers have to make do with a pure swimming pool profile. After all, sports such as yoga and strength training are included, and there is also a profile called “Other” that can be used for all sports that are not explicitly mentioned.

However, if you only want to record occasional running or other sports units without being able to access extensive training functions, you will get along reasonably well with the selection of profiles. The integrated GPS function does a decent job, but drains the battery properly. The heart rate measurement also works properly, even if the Vivomove Trend, like all watches with an optical sensor, has the well-known problems with strongly fluctuating heart rates. What we also have problems with during training is the operation of the watch: If you have (sweaty) wet fingers, you have to expect that the touch display will react imprecisely. In the heat of the moment, that can be really annoying.

The obligatory sleep tracking is also back on board with the Vivomove Trend. We’ve covered Garmin devices’ sleep tracking in detail in other reviews, so we won’t go into detail about it here. Overall, the Vivomove Trend makes a good impression in this respect: It reliably records the time we fall asleep and wake up as well as the duration of our sleep phases. Based on this, the Garmin Connect app then calculates our Sleeping Score and provides recommendations for sleep hygiene. This can help users improve their own sleep habits and analyze possible causes of poor sleep.

There are no surprises in the case of the Vivomove Trend when it comes to the additional features either. The payment function Garmin Pay is available as well as a notification function, life tracking and emergency notifications as well as music control. All these features work perfectly as usual from Garmin. However, if you want to pay with Garmin Pay, you need a credit or debit card that the system supports.

Garmin specifies the battery life of the Vivomove Trend as up to six days, depending on usage behavior. In our test, the watch lasted four and a half days, during which time we completed four training sessions and used the device’s smart functions to the maximum.

This puts the Vivomove Trend in the lower range when it comes to battery life. Up to six days is fine, but no more. For example, if you switch from an Apple Watch to the Vivomove Trend, you will be happy about the extra battery, but long-time Garmin users know that there is a much better way. The Withings Scanwatch (test report), for example, shows that a hybrid smartwatch can last for several weeks.

One thing that we also noticed negatively concerns the charging cable. Unlike most other Garmin watches, the Vivomove Trend does not come with the usual cable with a USB-A connector, but rather a clamp for the watch housing on a cable with a USB-C port. If you want to charge the watch from a socket, you need a separate plug with a USB-C slot. In addition, the cable only works with this Garmin model – sustainable is different.

Garmin sells the Vivomove Trend in four color variants: pastel brown/cream gold, light grey/silver, black/slate gray and cream/pearl gold. The Vivomove Trend normally costs 330 euros, but some third-party suppliers offer the watch from 307 euros. This puts the Vivomove Trend in the middle price segment for smartwatches and sports watches.

A look at the feature list of the Vivomove Trend shows that the hybrid smartwatch is relatively expensive. The significantly better equipped, but somewhat older Garmin Fenix ​​6 (test report) is sometimes available from 360 euros. So, for those contemplating buying a Vivomove Trend, consider whether the watch’s design is important enough to justify the price and the lack of certain features.

Accordingly, the Garmin Vivomove Trend is not a bad watch, but it lacks things that Garmin watches usually make up – such as extensive training profiles. In our opinion, the Vivomove Trend is not suitable as a sports watch. The smart functions are good on the other hand, but the look of the watch as a lifestyle object is diminished by the inconsistent case design. The designation as a hybrid smartwatch is also in a negative sense: Because the Vivomove Trend sits between the chairs, wants to be everything, but in the end nothing is right.