My IoT device history

The internet of things (IoT) is getting pretty saturated with devices most of which are either smart watches or activity trackers. Smart watches do not appeal to me as I have a very nasty habit of destroying the clock face of my watches. Last November, I was able to get a Vivosmart from Garmin for $60 plus tax and shipping. It was great – did step tracking, allowed for notifications, allowed me to dismiss calls and see texts. My brother-in-law also received one as a gift a few months later (he preferred it over the Fitbit which did less and cost more).

A month ago we both noticed the pixels disappearing on the Garmin Vivosmart display. I was able to submit a warranty request through their website quite painlessly, and the offered to upgrade me to a Garmin Vivosmart HR! Of course I took the upgrade offer and paid the shipping for the old device to be sent back. My brother-in-law had a complete different experience. The website at first said his Garmin Vivosmart was out of warranty (even though it was newer than mine) then it eventually – a day later – said it was in warranty. He was given the option to replace the Garmin Vivosmart with a non-HR model, but they gave him a shipping label. It is quite odd that we both had different experiences within a few days of submitting our warranty requests.

I recently received the newer model after waiting the RMA process and I am quite impressed. At first, the font was too skinny and hard to read, but all I had to do was upgrade to the latest firmware and it was fixed. One neat feature that was added (besides the obvious HR function) was the ability to see the weather – up to a 4 day forecast. Two new goal trackers were also added – a stair counter and strenuous activity counter. The plain Garmin Vivosmart’s battery lasted over a week. I haven’t depleted the new model all the way, but I am assuming it will last 4-5 days depending on my use.