00:00The Garmin VNU4 strikes the balance between dressy smartwatch and fitness tool going from
00:10meetings to mountain biking. The VNU series has always been this cross between true smartwatch
00:15and rugged fitness tool and the VNU4 is no exception. I've been wearing this watch for
00:19a month. I'll be looking at the watch's physical and software design, its features and performance,
00:24to see if it's worth your money and if it's better than other smartwatches on the market
00:28like an Apple or a Samsung Galaxy watch. Let's dive in and get into the nitty-gritty, shall we?
00:33Oh, and if you want to buy it after watching this video,
00:35you can find the best deals on the VNU4 in the links below as usual.
00:43Whereas the stainless steel element of the Garmin VNU3 was confined to the bezel,
00:47with the case itself made of plastic, Garmin has expanded its use of steel to include the case as
00:51well and it looks all the better for it. The screen is bright. The bezels could be slightly thinner for
00:57my taste. Still, it's really hard to complain about the looks of this watch. As opposed to Garmin's
01:02more outdoor-orientated watches such as the Fenix, 4Runner and Instinct series, the Garmin VNU4 has
01:08two buttons instead of the usual five. Its snappy and responsive touchscreen does most of the heavy
01:13lifting when it comes to navigating, although you can configure the buttons to operate on long or short
01:19presses. You can see it in action here. A long press on my back button ignites the LED torch, a great
01:25addition on all the best Garmin watches now, while a long press on my upper start button summons the
01:30controls tab, through which I can activate the voice assistant, find my phone, do not disturb and other
01:36functionalities much quicker. The redesigned UI isn't quite as smooth and seamless as watchOS on Apple
01:43or Wear OS on Android, but it isn't far off. Garmin used to look downright basic in comparison,
01:48but it looks great now and works really well in practice. Top marks for design.
01:55Tons of great features abound here. The new health status feature looks at five key metrics during
02:00sleep and details whether all your metrics are in their normal range. If one or more is out of whack,
02:06something is probably afoot. Often, this can be combined with the lifestyle logging feature to self-diagnose
02:11potential issues. Lifestyle logging allows you to tag your day with the amount of caffeinated drinks,
02:17meditation sessions, alcohol, healthy meals, heavy meals, cold showers or other custom tags you might
02:24care to add. For example, if your skin temperature is outside your healthy range and you logged some late
02:30heavy meals the day before, or your HRV is off after a day of too much caffeine, you'll know what to change
02:36to bring yourself back into line. Still, it'll be a cold day in hell before Garmin makes me give up my
02:41morning coffee. Training plans from Garmin Coach, local courses generated in the Garmin Connect app and
02:46upcoming races can be loaded onto your watch to turn it into a training powerhouse. Advanced metrics
02:52such as power for cyclists and ground contact time for runners really empower the watch to be
02:57particularly helpful for connoisseurs. I also use it to time my rest periods in the gym between sets,
03:02a useful feature in the strength workout profile. I am missing real full-color maps here, but the basic
03:08follow-along directional arrow for longer courses will be good enough for most people. Smarts-wise,
03:14the control tabs feature the Find My Phone and Voice Assistant functionalities, which are serviceable
03:19and useful, but pretty basic. There are no on-device AI smarts here like Apple or Google, but I can set a
03:26kitchen timer easily enough with the voice assistant. The LED torch is eminently useful in three tiers of
03:32powerful white light and a less aggressive red option, which is ideal for night running. A speaker and
03:37microphone allow you to take calls on wrist, which is useful in a pinch. However, without the option
03:42to connect the watch to your network without a phone via LTE, it's a convenience rather than a necessity.
03:50I compared the Garmin Vini 4's heart rate sensor, the upgraded Elevate V5, to a chest strap,
03:56the Polar H10, my litmus test for accuracy. During my tests, after a brief bit of initial variation,
04:02the Garmin Vini 4 tightened up and matched the Polar H10's readings very closely. After a 30 minute run,
04:08the Polar H10's average beats per minute for my heart rate registered as 156 BPM. The Garmin Vini 4
04:15registered 151 BPM. For training purposes, that's certainly close enough for most. It isn't really
04:21a serious statistical outlier. Battery life performed as described too. The watch lasted a full 10 days,
04:27with multiple workouts, before needing a battery top up. The Vini 4 was comfortable to use and better
04:33sleep in than a lumpy Fenix or Instinct watch. I hardly took it off all week.
04:41While its redesigned OS is great, the lack of full colour maps and LTE stop it short of being
04:46a perfect 5 star watch. However, I still love it and will continue to wear it. I'm a known Garmin fan,
04:52but I'm the first to admit when Garmin's got it wrong. However, with the Vini 4,
04:56Garmin's knocked it out of the park. Thanks very much for watching and we'll see you next time.
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