Garmin Vivoactive 6 officially revealed, as Garmin attempts to regain its stride after heavy Connect+ criticism

• The Garmin Vivoactive 6 has been officially revealed
• It looks very similar to the Vivoactive 5, but some spec upgrades offer improvements
• It comes after heavy criticism from Garmin users over the new Conenct+ premium tier

Garmin has revealed the Garmin Vivoactive 6, an affordable smartwatch with a new smart-wake alarm functionality and access to features from more premium Garmin watches, such as Running Dynamics. It's priced at £279.99 (around $360 / AU$580; exact US and AU pricing are TBC).

Garmin’s Vivoactive line is full of sporty, value-orientated watches pitched at the Apple Watch crowd, and the Garmin Vivoactive 5 sits pretty as our current ‘best-value’ pick on our list of the best Garmin watches.

The Vivoactive 6 watch looks very similar to the Garmin Vivoactive 5, with a plastic casing, aluminum bezel, two buttons instead of the usual five-button configuration found on more premium Garmins, an AMOLED screen and a silicone strap.

Just like the Vivoactive 5, the Vivoactive 6 sports up to 11 days of battery life. It shares the dimensions and 1.2-inch screen with the Vivoactive 5, although Garmin has made some changes.

Among the upgrade highlights is a ‘smart alarm’ feature that can wake you at the optimum time during a sleep phase – a features that's new to Garmin, and one we've wanted on Garmins for years – along with daily suggested walking workouts along the lines of its running ones.

As mentioned above, the Vivoactive 6 also has access to Garmin’s advanced Running Dynamics metrics, which the Vivoactive 5 didn't have.

According to a Garmin press release, users "can also download a robust selection of step-by-step workouts for strength, HIIT, yoga, Pilates, mobility and more through Garmin Connect.

"They can also access Garmin Coach running and strength training plans – several of which adapt daily based on performance, recovery and health metrics to help users prepare for their next race, train for a milestone or improve overall fitness."

A wheelchair mode that tracks pushes, and which was one of the best modes introduced on the Vivoactive 5, is also included.

The Vivoactive 6 is available in four snappy-looking color combos: Black/Slate, Bone/Lunar Gold, Jasper Green and Pink Dawn.

Analysis: Garmin is moving the news cycle on

The Garmin Vivoactive 6 seems like a great watch, especially given that it's cheaper than many of its contemporaries from Apple and Samsung. After all, we loved the Vivoactive 5, and there's no indication that this is anything other than an improvement, albeit an iterative one.

However, I can't help feeling that the timeline for this launch may have been pushed up. In the last few days the news cycle has been dominated by the backlash against Garmin for releasing Garmin Connect+, a new paid-for premium tier with AI features that's available separately to the free Garmin Connect app.

Users have taken to social media to complain about paying for a very expensive watch only to then have new features locked behind an additional subscription. Justifiably or not, they fear new features being introduced to Connect+ at the expense of the app’s free version, until the subscription effectively becomes essential in order to get the most out of your watch.

A well-received new budget device from Garmin would help to move the news cycle on, although user ire is unlikely to be easily assuaged in the short term.

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