Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

according to people

304
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #83,519 most helpful out of 571,544,897 reviews
★☆☆☆☆
Huge disappointment. Screen is very dim, not anything like the representations on the internet, including Garmin's website
Ordered it for my husband as a gift. We've been interested in a smartwatch and this one seemed perfect since the Apple watch isn't waterproof. I liked this one especially since he could have worn it while swimming and biking. The size seemed perfect, the reviews were almost all good, and the screen looked great in the pictures. We just got it yesterday and I can't believe how disappointed we are. The screen was very, very dim...not anything like the images shown on the internet, even Garmin's website. I feel the product is misrepresented since the images give the impression that the screen is like a smart phone, or Apple watch or a brightly lit high resolution screen. Actually, it seems to be a color LCD that you push a button for a backlight, but it doesn't help much. Some reviewers mentioned it looks better outside in bright light or "all you have to do is tilt the screen a little and you can see it better". You shouldn't need any of this, it should look as advertised. The touchscreen is glitchy, UI isn't intuitive, counts steps if you're just driving in the car, so on, and so on. I'm pretty tech savvy and thought I could operate it following the instructions, but the directions are complicated. If you have no experience with this type of product you have a big learning curve to deal with. The added frustration with the dim screen also made it difficult to learn how to use the product. There aren't directions for how to customize the "my stocks" app. It only shows four and only one we have stock in. I did all the latest updates, but they won't change how the screen is. Unfortunately, we're returning it and will try something else. I really wanted to like this product. I have included some photos. Some are with the backlight on. I held the watch up to Garmin's website and Amazon's.
July 2015 · Electronics · verified purchase
the product in question
Garmin vívoactive Black
4.3★ · 3,950 ratings, as of 2023
worser bester