The Vivoactive 6 brings new features no other Garmin smartwatch has – and it just bolted down to its lowest price yet

The Garmin Vivoactive 6 was only officially revealed in April and it’s already hit its lowest price yet in this post-Prime Day Amazon deal. Down to just AU$425.65, it′s about AU$96 more expensive than the Apple Watch SE, but offers a bunch more fitness and health features in comparison.

The Vivoactive 6 succeeds the fifth-generation model that we thought was the best Garmin for budget-conscious buyers – but don't just take our word for it. Our friends over at Tom's Guide awarded the newest Vivoactive 4.5 stars in their review, with the tester stating “it has nearly everything I want in a smartwatch” after a month with the device. The review also applauds its many excellent Garmin fitness tracking features and week-long battery life, both of which far exceed anything you’ll find on the Apple Watch SE.

With this 22% discount, we think it's the top smartwatch choice for most people weighing up devices like the Apple Watch SE, Apple Watch 10, Samsung Galaxy Watch 7 or even the Garmin Vivoactive 5 for that matter. In fact, the Vivoactive 5 is also discounted – prices starting from AU$363.41 – but we think the newer watch is the better buy.

Save AU$123.35

Garmin Vivoactive 6: was AU$549 now AU$425.65 at Amazon

For the first time in a Garmin watch there’s a smart wake-up alarm, which monitors your sleep stages and wakes you during a pre-selected window when your sleep is lightest. It also features daily suggested workouts, which is new to the Vivoactive range, alongside 50 new activity profiles that now also includes walking, another Garmin first. There’s also improved running support. Plus, this watch boasts 8GB of onboard music storage and a more precise GPS than its predecessor. Only the Bone colourway gets this price, though other colours are discounted to varying degrees.

Also available in New Zealand for just NZ$467.75.

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The Vivoactive 6 came at an important time for Garmin, as it had received significant backlash for its Connect Plus subscription that hides features like Active Intelligence behind a paywall.

Don't worry, though. Your new Vivoactive 6 offers plenty of value as is. Although it retains the same large 1.2-inch (30.48mm) AMOLED touchscreen and two physical buttons as its predecessor (and is 2mm thinner to boot), many of its best upgrades are under the hood.

First, its onboard storage doubles to 8GB. This frees you from bringing your phone to the gym or on your run, allowing you to play your favourite hits from services like Spotify directly from your watch to your Bluetooth headphones or earbuds.

As previously mentioned, the built-in GPS has also been upgraded for improved precision, with a new gyroscope that promises better movement tracking.

However, there's also a lot that hasn't changed. Garmin Pay remains the same, of course, and its battery life is still at around 11 days. It retains a 5 ATM water rating and its heart rate monitoring tech is also unchanged. And that’s fine because why change something that wasn’t broken in the first place?

If, however, you think you won’t make good use of the improvements on the Vivoactive 6, you can still consider the older model at a lower price.

Save AU$134.59

Garmin Vivoactive 5: was AU$499 now AU$364.41 at Amazon

Now AU$61.23 cheaper than its successor, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 is a steal. It offers features like blood oxygen monitoring, Fitness Age, Body Battery metrics, and LiveTrack for safety during activity. We don't think it's quite as pretty as the new model, but its value is undeniable. All colourways are significantly discounted, though Ivory gets the biggest cut but it is an imported colourway shipping in from the US. If you prefer local stock, the Black for AU$399 is being shipped and sold by Amazon AU.

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