Can you swim with the Garmin Vivosmart HR?

The Vivosmart HR is water resistant and will survive a plunge into shallow water, like a swimming pool, if you choose to take it in with you. The Garmin website mentions that it has a 5 ATM rating, capable of withstanding the pressure in up to 50 meters of water, so it's perfect for most pools.

However, this fitness tracker isn't equipped to track your swimming activities and workouts. There's not a swimming workout category on the tracker, and users who have tried to use it to track swimming have reported a number of problems with doing so.

The Garmin Vivosmart HR is still a good tracker if you generally stick to solid ground for your fitness, but if you're a dedicated swimmer that wants to track your sessions, you'll probably want something else. Luckily, Garmin has you covered.

If you want swim tracking, you can spend as little as $20 more than you would on the Vivosmart HR and get the newer version: the Garmin Vivosmart 4. Like the Vivosmart HR, it's water-resistant enough to go with you on a swim. Unlike the HR, the Vivosmart 4 can actually track your swimming activity and log it in Garmin's fitness app on your phone.

The Vivosmart 4 also has more advanced tracking than the Vivosmart HR. It has a built-in blood oxygen sensor and can track stress, relaxation, breathing, and more.