Garmin's new sleep tracker offers a week of battery life
Garmin's tracker is worn on the upper arm — which should hopefully make it more comfortable — where it tracks a variety of metrics: skin temperature; light, deep and REM sleep stages; and variations in your heart rate and breathing. The data is then combined to provide an overall personalized daily sleep score that can be viewed in the Garmin Connect app. If you already use a Garmin smartwatch but don't sleep with it on your wrist, the Index Sleep Monitor is designed to add the missing metrics to the insights you're already getting from the watch.
Skin temperature tracking gives you a better idea of how your sleep environment affects the quality of your sleep, while flagging potential illnesses indicated by temperature changes. This metric also extends to menstrual health tracking, with skin temperature changes useful for tracking cycles, past ovulation estimates and offering what Garmin describes as 'improved period predictions.'
Garmin's Index Sleep Monitor will also monitor your energy levels, providing you with its 'Body Battery' measurements that advise you to take more rest when the reading is coming in low. Again, these insights should be more accurate and reliable when combined with a compatible smartwatch worn during the day. The sleep band will also track your stress throughout the night, and features a smart alarm that attempts to wake you gently during lighter sleep stages so you'll feel less tired.
The Index Sleep Monitor is available in S-M and L-XL sizes and costs $170.
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Tom's Guide
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The Pixel Watch is built on Fitbit's technology, so its workout and sleep tracking are pretty good, though it can't compete with Garmin's GPS or recovery insights. And, like the Apple Watches, the Pixel 3 needs to be charged every 1-2 days versus the Venu 3's 14-day battery life. For more picks, check out our guide to the best smartwatches and best fitness trackers. The bottom line The Venu 3 may be Garmin's most advanced smartwatch, but it's not $150 smarter than the Vivoactive 6. While it's nice to have an on-wrist speaker and mic sometimes, the need to unlock your phone for access is too much of a limitation for us to justify spending $450 on this watch. If fitness is your priority, the Vivoactive 6 is a great wearable with basic smartwatch functions (e.g., on-wrist notifications, Garmin Pay, music control) and way more activity profiles, all at a more affordable price than Apple or Google watches. However, if an advanced smartwatch is your priority, you may be happier with an Apple Watch Series 10 or Google Pixel 3 for a similar price to the Venu 3.
