In Comparison, the Garmin Novelty Lily and the Very Popular Vivoactive 4s

Comparison: Garmin Lily and Garmin Vivoactive 4s

There are only a few smartwatches specifically aimed at women on the market, and smartwatches are generally thought to be fairly gender neutral. However, there are a few smaller smartwatches from Garmin with ready-made applications aimed at women, such as menstrual cycle monitoring. For this presentation and comparison, two smartwatches from Garmin specifically aimed at women, Garmin Vivoactive 4s and Garmin Lily, have been selected.

The novelty that came to stores in early 2021, Garmin's Lily collection , is something completely new on the smart watch market! The Lily collection has two different models to choose from, Sport and Classic. The collection is especially designed for women, which you can see both in the design of the watch and in the features found in it. The still very popular Vivoactive 4s, on the other hand, has been on the market for some time. Although the Vivoactive 4s watches are small compared to the vast majority of Garmin models and the so-called feminine in design, compared to Lily, however, they are clearly larger. The Vivoactive 4s models seem to be designed for practicality rather than aesthetics. Although both watches are relatively small and light for smart watches, the size difference is noticeable when comparing the weight of the watches: Vivoactive 4s weighs 40 g and the new Lily almost half as much, around 24 g.

While Lily is a sure choice for its ease of use as a first smartwatch or for those who just want effortless use, Vivoactive 4s is significantly more versatile in terms of content and features. It has plenty of different sports applications and GPS, thanks to which you don't have to take your phone with you to activities at all.

Garmin Lily Sport and Classic models

In terms of design, Garmin Lily is small, graceful, thin and beautiful. You could even talk about this smart watch from the outside as just a beautiful jewelry watch, so little does it look like a traditional smart device. When the screen is locked, i.e. in sleep mode, a beautiful pattern appears on the screen, which makes the watch even more attractive. The design of the watch is soft and graceful, and its features and style are great for monitoring daily activity as a watch, and not just for sweating. Lily is available in both Sport and Classic models, which are completely similar in terms of features. The difference is that the Lily Sport and Classic watches have a watch strap, which is Italian leather in the Classic and silicone in the Sport version. Both watch straps are stylistically in line with Siro's watch. The narrow watch strap makes the watch comfortable to wear, when the watch does not press or grind. Garmin Lily has received praise for its suitability even for slimmer wrists. Both watch straps, leather and silicone, can be purchased separately as spare parts, and it is very easy to change them yourself using the tool that comes with the watch straps. With the help of variation, the watch can always be adapted to the current purpose of use, in addition, a new look can easily be created for the same watch. A leather watch strap is sensitive to moisture, so at least when playing sports, you should change to a silicone watch strap with quick fasteners.

See Garmin watch straps and accessories here

In terms of features and usability, Garmin Lily is simple and beginner-friendly. Although the watch does not have as many features as the Vivoactive, its implementation, pre-installed applications and clarity both in use and on the display are a great choice for those buying their first smartwatch or those looking for ease of use. So what are the features aimed at women? In addition to traditional heart rate, energy and stress monitoring, Lily has menstrual and pregnancy monitoring. An emergency function has also been added to the watch to increase safety, and the user of the watch can choose who to receive the alarm notification in the event of an emergency. In addition to this, Lily includes breathing monitoring and hydration monitoring, among other things.

Main features of Garmin Lily

• The touch screen is really bright and sharp (TFT LCD), and there are no buttons.
• The screen color is gray.
• Narrow, thin and very pleasant-feeling 14 mm watch straps in silicone (Sport) or leather (Classic).
• Features designed for women pre-installed.
• Advanced sleep measurement tracks the amount of deep, light and REM sleep.
• A pulse oximeter is used to measure oxygen saturation (oxygen concentrations in the body), also for example during sports performances and during the night.
• Battery life 5 days.

Garmin Vivoactive 4s

The Vivoactive 4s model is clearly designed for sportier use than the more classic Lily. It also looks more like a traditional smartwatch externally. Vivoactive 4s contains more technology and smartwatch features, so it is also larger in size. This means, in addition to the diameter of the dial, the height of the dial. Although the Vivoactive 4s is larger than the Lily models, it is also light and pleasant to use. The low weight typical of Garmin watches is due to the fact that fiber-reinforced polymer is used in the shell and back cover, which is a very light material. As a nice addition, the 18 mm long, quick-attach straps of the Vivoactive 4s are also replaceable.

Garmin Lily series watches are more designed for daily activity monitoring, recreational features and basic sports. Vivoactive 4s watches, on the other hand, have more different sports and sport-specific sports profiles ready, such as golf, animated gym instructions, skiing, rowing, etc. Vivoactive also has more training, planning and analysis features than Lily. If you need more in-depth data on performance and development, as well as the opportunity to create a schedule and training program for your sports goals, Vivoactive can do it well. The emphasis on sports is also reflected in the fact that, in addition to the sports features themselves, Vivoactive 4s has been designed to be user-friendly in varying conditions. The built-in GPS, internal music storage and payment feature also make it possible to leave the phone completely at home. The Lily models do not have these features, so with it, for example, listening to music and saving a route requires a phone to be taken with you.

In addition to the touch screen, the Vivoactive 4s models have two buttons, thanks to which, for example, the measurement of exercise is not accidentally interrupted, even if the watch is sometimes used for other things. This facilitates the functionality of the watch, especially in sports, and for this reason, Vivoactive 4s is clearly better than Lily in terms of sports characteristics. The Vivoactive 4s watch also has a color display, while the Lily has a 16-level grayscale display.

Main features of Garmin Vivoactive

• Built-in GPS (works without a phone).
• Internal music recording (works without a phone).
• Payment option on the watch, currently the payment feature is only compatible with Nordea (3/2021), as well as NFC (payments).
• Color display
• Battery life 7 days
• More than 20 sports apps pre-loaded: cardio and strength training, pilates and yoga, running, swimming, golf and cycling features, as well as skiing, snowboarding, cross-country skiing, rowing and canoeing.

Choose and order your favourites

• Garmin Lily Sport and Lily Classic watches
• Garmin Vivoactive 4 and Vivoactive 4S watches