Forget the Apple Watch: our favourite cheap Garmin is down to a record-low price ahead of Prime Day

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For just AU$256, we think the Garmin Vivoactive 5 is the better buy

A Garmin smartwatch on a yellow-red background
(Image credit: Garmin)

We’re counting down the days until Amazon Prime Day kicks off on July 8, one of the biggest online retail events of the year, but we’ve already seen a trickle of great deals – in particular on this Garmin Vivoactive 5, which is at an all-time low price.

The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is a brilliant wearable and a worthwhile alternative to an Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch, with up to 11 days of battery life, a nice AMOLED display and a fairly nice design. It’s a fitness-oriented wrist piece more than a smartwatch, with a much more colourful design than the aforementioned gadgets. This deal, however, applies only to the Navy option, with other colourways nowhere near as cheap.

Garmin Vivoactive 6
Save AU$240
Garmin Vivoactive 6: was AU$499 now AU$259 at Amazon

We’ve previously seen the Garmin Vivoactive 5 down to AU$337, but this price drop completely knocks that out of the park, with 48% slashed from the price. The Vivoactive 5 packs all the essentials, including GPS, more than 30 fitness tracking apps and a variety of watch faces. On our best Garmin watch list, the Vivoactive 5 is our top cheap pick.

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In our Garmin Vivoactive 5 review, we applauded the smartwatch for its extensive fitness features, along with its gorgeous display. The inclusion of health tools that track sleep, stress levels and naps is also very welcome, contributing to an overall ‘body battery’ score that the Vivoactive 5 provides, giving you an idea of your readiness for the day ahead. It’s not necessarily a training-readiness score, as we noted in our review, but it’s still a decent indicator.

Just be aware that this smartwatch might not be as deeply interconnected with your OS as you’d like – for example, while you can send texts to people with the Vivoactive 5 when paired with an Android, you can’t when paired with an iPhone. Compatibility with a smartphone requires the Garmin Connect app and Bluetooth. Expect some smartwatch features to not be available too, such as gesture support on Samsung phones (which offer the feature when paired with select Samsung watches).

The Vivoactive 5 isn’t the newest member of its product family, with the Vivoactive 6 having released this year, but it’s still a worthwhile device, especially if you’re looking for a bargain. Regardless, if you’re after a slightly different design or a few additional features, here are some other great smartwatch discounts available on Amazon right now:

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Zachariah Kelly
Zachariah Kelly
Staff Writer

Zac has been in the tech writing game for six years, having previously written for Gizmodo Australia, Canstar Blue, and The Daily Mail Australia (with articles on Nine, Junkee, Kotaku Australia and Lifehacker Australia). He’s a huge nerd with a deep passion for technology. While his main focus at TechRadar Australia is phones, monitors and peripherals, he also has a deep interest in the growing Australian EV landscape. Outside of Techradar, Zac’s a Headspace (a youth mental health organization) volunteer and an avid gamer. 

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