When is the Vivosmart 5 expected to come out?

So, QS says the Apple Watch 6 is great for general health tracking and I believe him. But, he still likes the Fitbits better for sleep tracking. Kittensofasgard wanted great sleep tracking, and that's why I emphasized the Fitbit for him. I am not impressed with the AW6's sleep algorithm after seeing the review on QS. (Aside: I've been reading Matthew Walker's "Why We Sleep" and am doubly convinced of the health benefits of good sleep).

Thank you for the ideas. I have an android phone so unfortunately the apple watch is not an option for me. When I was younger and more active I considered adding a chest strap, but I don't think it fits my needs currently. If any device shows a very high or low HR I usually verify it manually. It's funny seeing many $20-$50 generic devices put BP as a function as there isn't technology for that to my knowledge. Even real wrist- based BP cuffs are known to be less reliable than arm ones. I know, not related, just an observation. I will definately look into Fitbit but I worry how much data I can get that I need without paying for premium after the 6 month trial ends. I feel like I would rather pay more for a device outright than be stuck with monthly or yearly fees.

• Oh I agree about the Premium fee. That’s extremely annoying and I don’t buy it. The data Fitbit gives you for free is adequate. With the Premium subscription, you just get more data at one time (over a week) plus access to training. 

I suggest buying the Fitbit Inspire 2. It's the cheapest and also is great for sleep tracking. If you want also some sleep SP02 tracking, then go for the Fitbit Charge 4. Anything else is just a gimmick, whistles and bells. As Serval said, the premium subscription on Fitbit is not worth it, you don't need it. It's just a nasty paywall.

Hence I am still using my original fitness tracker for sleep tracking, the Ionic. Fitbit is still king regarding sleep tracking, no one is coming near them regarding that. But the AW6 is a joy to use every day as an iPhone user, it just makes my life easier. With the smartwatch features, the fast OS and hardware, no other smartwatch are as capable. I also have the cellular version and it's just crazy the things I can do with it, but I am a power user.

All true, and I agree with your recommendations. The reason I like the more pricey Versa 3 has to do with aesthetics, rather than additional features. I like the options for watch faces on Fitface. I’m pretty sure the options are more limited on the Inspire 2 and the Charge 4 (which I’ve used in the past). 

I have read it on a not well known gadget page that VS5 is expected this year, but who knows what they meant. No source from this page. No 5krunner claim etc. But I think somehow one band is coming some time. That really is a product they don't sell anymore in modern tech/style. 

I have had or tried pretty much every sport watch / fitness band brand. 

When it comes to sleep Fitbit was the best definitely. But that was around 3-4 years ago. Haven't worn a Fitbit since back then. But even back then they showed really good sleep stuff, not score, but the whole sleep phases made sense and awake time was really good too. Something most watches have yet to get right, years after I had my last Fitbit. 

Apple Watch TO ME is no real fitness tracker. Yes, it counts steps. And you can do ECG reading, PulseOX is also most of the time way off. Only when doing a manual reading and holding it still for 30 seconds without getting an error, it reads ok. But those does the Garmin. When holding still everything is closer to reality. But what bothers me the most about AW is a 5-10min reading for HR. WTF? If I care so much about fitness to track my HR all day why would I need a watch which only reads one beat each 5-10 minutes? That's beyond ridiculous. Even more though that they have a ECG reader built in. If I need that for HR tracking because I would have a heart disease, I would much more need a HR tracker that reads a beat every second, not every 5-10 minutes. That would be way more important! In those 5-10 minutes you could have a heart attack, just to show it. So f.e. when I get a warning that my HR is too low on my Garmin, AW doesn't even read my HR or it would be a coincidence that it would read that HR in just that very moment. Sorry, it is a good smart watch but in no way a fitness tracker to be taken seriously. They have one of the most precise HR sensors and only track a beat each 5-10 minutes? What's the meaning of that? And sleep tracking shows me time I went to bed and woke up. Bravo. Something I can't get by looking at a watch in bed and when waking up? Sorry. And almost no real lifestyle tracking like body battery etc. The health and activity app is a mess. Apple and AW has good sides, fitness is not one of it. Nor is battery. But I believe they will get there in a few years. Not now though. 

Polar I tried too. Nice system, love Polar Flow and the fact you can add any activity from their system to any watch and band. Sleep tracking seemed pretty cool too, with score and quite good sleep phases too, although Fitbit still seemed way better back then. But as a fitness watch totally ridiculous because of one big thing: step count. I always have gotten twice the amount of steps on Polar than on my Garmin. Garmin seems one of the most accurate wristband step counter when it comes to all day tracking and walking which is very important to me. F.e. a Fitbit One tracker clip in pants or on the shirt, bra etc. shows 10.000, which of course is the most accurate as it counts mostly your real steps or movement of legs. I often tested it. Garmin shows around 11.000, Apple Watch 12.000, Fitbit 13.000-14.000, which is a little disappointing too, and Polar 20.000. Which also shows in calories burned. 20.000 steps when only walking around 10.000 steps. And this seems a problem from the beginning of Polar. They once said it should show how active you are, even if you just use hands and arms, it would be intended that way. WTF? 

Garmin trackers are not the holy grail, Garmin has it flaws. But I tested a lot, only missing Suunto and all Google and Android and wearOS wearables, so I can't say anything to those devices. But Garmin has the best average of all. It is not the best in anything but combines everything very fine in one tracker. Old sleep tracking is the only thing to me that is really just bad. But with new Firstbeat sleep integrated, Garmin is really the best in doing everything good but nothing perfect. But better to have a tracker that does everything good but not perfect than having one which does one best and one worst. 

It's probably a bad sign when the latest pages of this thread are all talking about replacement devices from other companies. Garmin, clearly there's a market here. 

My own thoughts on Vivosmart 5 are that the updates would be relatively minor, but appreciated (keeping in mind this is not intended to be a garmin watch or bike computer):

• USB C charging cable, or maybe even USB C port directly on the device, but it's hard to see how there's room for that socket. 
• Faster charging
• Ability to select and use defined workouts that are set up in Garmin Connect
• Ability to vibrate hard (wake you up) when pulse ox drops below xx% (customizable)
• Ability of either device or Garmin Connect app on phone to receive ant+/BT speed/cadence sensors from bike during cycling activity

That's not a lot, but I'd buy another Vivosmart with even half of those add-ons.

Overall, I'm quite pleased with the Vivosmart 4 still. I've seriously considered buying another Garmin watch for more capability, but after a couple decades I've owned up to the fact that I'm not a habitual watch-wearer and I never will be. I may still buy an instinct solar or next rev some day for proper multi-day back/bikepacking or hunting. Most often, everywhere I go I still have my phone so pass-through GPS works pretty well for me.

But I prefer a band to a watch, and I prefer the garmin to the latest fitbit band principally because it is smaller, contoured (less sharp angles to snag on clothes), and I prefer the display (really!). I used the fitbit for a month prior to returning it and getting the garmin. Plus I have to say I like the Garmin Connect ecosystem better than fitbit (especially now that Fitbit got bought out by Google. :/

Vivosmart 5 is coming soon.

https://fccid.io/IPH-04352