It appears Garmin is making a serious play for the same customer segment as the Band 2. https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/wearabletech/wearables/vivoactive-hr/prod538374.html
Their just-announced Vivoactive HR retails for the same price as the Band 2, matches key specs including GPS, 24/7 optical HR and smart notifications but adds the exercise features many of us have been asking for. It can be used with a chest strap and bike telemetry devices, is water-resistant to 5 atm, tracks swimming and paddling/rowing activities and claims 8 day battery life (or 13 hours of GPS).
I came to the Band 1 from a Garmin Vivosmart and, while I've been very happy with my Bands, I can't help but notice that my Vivosmart (which was passed on to my wife) is still going strong after three years while I've gone through three Band 1s and two Band 2s in less than half that time.
As an Android user who already doesn't benefit from the Cortana voice features or the Band keyboard, I'll be giving the Garmin a try. If it ends up being my preferred device I know I'll miss the Band's guided workouts but otherwise it looks like Microsoft has some catching up to do.
Their just-announced Vivoactive HR retails for the same price as the Band 2, matches key specs including GPS, 24/7 optical HR and smart notifications but adds the exercise features many of us have been asking for. It can be used with a chest strap and bike telemetry devices, is water-resistant to 5 atm, tracks swimming and paddling/rowing activities and claims 8 day battery life (or 13 hours of GPS).
I came to the Band 1 from a Garmin Vivosmart and, while I've been very happy with my Bands, I can't help but notice that my Vivosmart (which was passed on to my wife) is still going strong after three years while I've gone through three Band 1s and two Band 2s in less than half that time.
As an Android user who already doesn't benefit from the Cortana voice features or the Band keyboard, I'll be giving the Garmin a try. If it ends up being my preferred device I know I'll miss the Band's guided workouts but otherwise it looks like Microsoft has some catching up to do.