Google Pixel Watch and Vivoactive 4 smartwatches are priced at similar price levels. Should you get a Pixel watch or go for a more established and proven Garmin Vivoactive 4 smartwatch? We evaluate both watch models to bring you a quick reference point for your ready consideration.
| Features | Vivoactive 4 | Pixel Watch |
|---|---|---|
| Android Compatibility | Yes | Yes |
| iOS Compatibility | Yes | No |
| Operating System | Garmin Proprietary | Wear OS 3.5 |
| Display Size | 40 mm and 45 mm | 41 mm |
| Display Glass Lens | Corning Gorilla Glass 3D | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Display Technology | Memory in Pixel Screen (MIP) | AMOLED display |
| Display Resolution | 260 x 260 pixels | 450 x 450 pixels |
| Display Size | 1.3″ | 1.2″ |
| Always on Display | Not Available | Yes |
| Processor | Sony chipset | Samsung Exynos 9110 |
| Memory | Capacity details unavailable | 2 GB |
| Internal Storage | Limited storage for 500 songs | 32 GB |
| Touchscreen | Yes | Yes |
| Water Rating | 5 ATM | 50 meters (equivalent to a 5 ATM rating) |
| Dust Resistance | Not Available | IP68 |
| Swim-proof | Yes | Yes |
| LTE or Cellular availability | No | Yes |
| Fall Detection | Yes (Incident Detection) | Yes |
| Emergency SOS | No | Yes |
| Battery | Up to 8 days on smartwatch mode and up to 18 hours on GPS mode | Up to 18 hours |
| NFC App | Garmin Pay | Google Pay |
| GPS | GPS, Galileo, GLONASS | GPS, Galileo, GLONASS, BeiDou |
| In-built Speaker | No | Yes |
| In-built Mic | No | Yes |
| Heart Rate Monitoring | Continuous monitoring and tracking of heart rate | Continuous monitoring |
| Heart Rate Variability | Yes | Yes |
| High and low heart rate alerts | Yes | No |
| ECG | No | Yes |
| Blood Oxygenation Tracking | Yes | No |
| Skin temperature sensor | Yes (tempe sensor needed to be bought separately) | No |
| Menstrual Health Tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Stress Management Score | Yes, through Body Battery scores | Yes |
| Wireless Connectivity | Wi-Fi, ANT+ and Bluetooth | Wi-Fi and Bluetooth |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Compass, Gyroscope, Altimeter, Thermometer, Pulse OX sensor, Garmin Elevate Heart Sensor | Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Barometer, Compass, Heart rate sensor and SpO2 sensor |
| Cost | $349.99 | $349.99 for non-LTE model and $399.99 for LTE model |
Important points for Vivoactive 4 and Google Pixel Watch
The quick reference table above shows some critical points for the Garmin Vivoactive 4 and the Google Pixel Watch.
1.Garmin Vivoactive 4 supports iOS and Android operating systems. Google Pixel Watch can work with Android mobiles only. iOS and iPhone support are not available on Pixel Watch.
2. Vivoactive 4 works on a Sony chipset and Google Pixel Watch makes use of Samsung’s Exynos 9110 processor.
3. Google Pixel Watch has an AMOLED display technology with a much better display resolution of 450 x 450 pixels. Vivoactive 4 uses the MIP or memory-in-pixel screen with a display resolution of 260 x 260 pixels.
4. Google Pixel Watch also has an ECG app that can take spot ECG readings. Vivoactive 4 does not have any ECG capability at the time of writing this in October 2022.
5. Garmin Vivoactive 4 can share high and low heart rate alerts while the Google Pixel Watch cannot send high and low heart rate alert notifications.
6. Finally, Garmin Vivoactive 4 does not have any LTE or Cellular connectivity variant. Google Pixel Watch does offer an LTE or Cellular variant that is priced at $399.99.
If you have been thinking about Google Pixel Watch and other Garmin watches, you may also consider reading more about Google Pixel Watch and the Garmin Venu 2 Plus smartwatches on this page.
Helen Kurt is a geeky nerd who loves to cover the wearables space. She has over 5 years of experience in the smartwatch domain. You can reach her on email at [email protected].