Garmin's Vivomove HR is a beautiful analog watch first and a smart fitness tracker with a heart rate sensor second.

Stylish, analog watch body; Records steps, stairs, sleep, 24/7 heart rate, and stress; Customizable display; Supports notifications.

Proprietary charger; Difficult to read in sunlight; So-so heart rate accuracy.

It's perilously short on features, but the Vivomove might just be the classiest gadget Garmin has ever made.

Smart design; Comfortable; Excellent battery life; Clever on-watch tracker displays

Very limited features; Garmin Connect software is neither pretty nor slick

Better at fitness than it first appears; Fairly good battery life; Supports notifications, including WhatsApp; Uses the same app as Garmin’s advanced watches;

No GPS; Screen visibility only okay in bright light; Design could do with more refinement;

The Garmin Vivomove HR is a very smart take on a watch that initially doesn’t appear to be smart at all. It’s a minimalist watch that after a few taps turns into a surprisingly good fitness tracker. More than just a step counter, it has a barometer and a solid heart rate tracker too. A dabbler in all areas, it even offers proper notifications from your phone. In typical Garmin fashion, the utility and aesthetics can seem at odds with each other at times. And both the normal Vivomove and Nokia Steel HR have more coherent designs. But with the screen off this really does look like a normal watch, and it can simply do more fitness tracking stuff than most in its class.

Better at fitness than it first appears; Fairly good battery life; Supports notifications, including WhatsApp; Uses the same app as Garmin's advanced watches;

No GPS; Screen visibility only okay in bright light; Design could do with more refinement;

Why can't smartwatches look normal?

Garmin's heart-tracking blend of fashion watch and fitness watch is a great choice for everyday watch wearers who want a fully embedded fitness experience.

Full fitness features on a regular-looking analog watch; The Vivomove HR includes heart rate, step count and sleep tracking, and smart functions like notifications; It works on Android and iOS and has 50-meter water resistance and a weeklong-plus battery life.

The tiny touch display is hard to navigate; There are no physical buttons; It lasts longer in watch-only mode but won't track fitness, and the glass body can collect scuffs.

Why can't smartwatches look normal For years, the idea of a "regular-looking watch" with smartwatch extras has been an idea explored in a range of screenless analog watches with embedded step counters.

Full fitness features on a regular-looking analog watch; The Vivomove HR includes heart rate, step count and sleep tracking, and smart functions like notifications; It works on Android and iOS and has 50-meter water resistance and a weeklong-plus battery life

The tiny touch display is hard to navigate; There are no physical buttons; It lasts longer in watch-only mode but won't track fitness, and the glass body can collect scuffs

Garmin's heart-tracking blend of fashion watch and fitness watch is a great choice for everyday watch wearers who want a fully embedded fitness experience.

Full fitness features on a regular-looking analog watch; The Vivomove HR includes heart rate, step count and sleep tracking, and smart functions like notifications; It works on Android and iOS and has 50-meter water resistance and a weeklong-plus battery life.

The tiny touch display is hard to navigate; There are no physical buttons; It lasts longer in watch-only mode but won't track fitness, and the glass body can collect scuffs.

Basically it does what a fitbit HR does but looks like a watch. It works as advertised. Nothing fancy but it gets the job done.

Garmin has bombarded us with fitness trackers and running watches this year, but the Garmin Vivomove HR might be the most exciting of the lot. The first Vivomove was essentially a fitness tracker in traditional watch form, but the Vivomove HR is a full hybrid of style and smarts, layering features...

Classic timepiece design; That hidden screen; Heart rate tracking

No GPS; Screen too small for notifications; Hard to read in bright sunlight

Garmin’s Vivomove HR is an attractive timepiece, but its smart fitness-tracking features leave a lot to be desired.

Can be used as a watch; no phone required; Stylish enough to wear all day

Inaccurate sleep tracking; Display is difficult to see in sunlight; Lightweight workout features