Apple and Garmin have been fiercely competing in the sports and outdoor niche. While the Apple Watch Series is a blend of lifestyle, sports, and health features, most of the Garmin watches are dedicated to sports and sports only.
If you are low on budget and want to invest in an entry-level sports watch (especially if you are an iPhone user), you can either go with the default best Apple Watch or the Garmin wearables. Of course, there are other watches by Polar, Suunto, and Fitbit that offer tough competition, but we will only be discussing these two brands.
Garmin Vivoactive 4 and 4S is a mid-range smartwatch that balances sports and health features with practical smarts like contactless payment, music storage, and touchscreen display. Apple Watch Series 3 and Special Edition (SE) on the other hand are budget-oriented watches by the company with the main focus on lifestyle and health features.
Here we will compare the raw specs of these watches so you can make informed purchasing decisions. Don’t have time for head-to-head comparison? Just get to the button of this post to find the key similarities and differences between the two.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at the general comparison of these watches.
General Comparison:
| Product Name | Apple Watch Series 3 | Apple Watch Series SE | Garmin vivoactive 4 |
| Predecessor | Apple Watch Series 2 | Apple Watch Series 5 | Garmin vivoactive 3 |
| Models | Apple watch series 3: 42mm or 38mm | Apple watch series SE: 44mmA2353, A2354, A2355, A2356, A2351, A2352 | Garmin vivoactive 4:40 MM or 45 MM |
| Release Date | SEPT, 2017 | SEPT, 2020 | SEPT, 2019 |
| Parent Company | Apple | Apple | Garmin |
| Operating System | iOS | iOS | Garmin OS |
| Compatibility | IOS | iOS | Android, IOS |
| Competition | Fitbit Versa 3, Garmin Vivoactive 3, Amazfit GTS 2 | Fitbit Sense, Garmin Venu, Ticwatch E3 | Garmin Venu, Galaxy Watch 3, Fitbit Versa 3 |
| Suitable For | Lifestyle/ Sports | Lifestyle/ Sports | Sports/Fitness Watch |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Gyroscope, heart rate, barometer, Altimeter | Accelerometer, gyro, heart rate (2nd gen), barometer, always-on altimeter, compass Natural language commands and dictation (talking mode) | Garmin Elevate heart rate sensor, Barometric altimeter, Compass, Gyroscope, Accelerometer, Thermometer |
Price and Value Difference:
Garmin Vivoactive 4/4S is the most expensive watch of all. The watch has little to offer in lifestyle features like calling, texting, contactless payment, and so on.
Garmin Vivoactive 4
$199.99 in stock
2 used from $199.00
However, if you want long battery life and want dependable GPS sports to watch, Vivoactive 4/4S can serve you well. Apple Watch Series 3 and SE are only compatible with iPhone only and have plenty of smart features.
You can download third-party apps on these watches, but that isn’t the end of it. The sports profiles featured in these watches may not be the most extensive or offer advanced tracking, for an entry-level user they offer better than the most. Lastly, both these watches are comparatively inexpensive for the features they offer.
Design & Display:
Design Comparison:
| Apple Watch Series 3 | Apple Watch Series SE | Garmin VIVOACTIVE 4 | |
| Dimensions, Weight | 42mm: 42.5 x 36.4 x 11.4 mm, 32.3g | 38mm: 38.6mm x 33.3mm x 11.4 mm, 26.7g | 44 x 38 x 10.4 mm (1.73 x 1.50 x 0.41 in)Weight 36.4 g (1.27 oz) | Vivoactive 4:45.1 x 45.1 x 12.8 mm, 50.5gVivoactive 4S:40.0 x 40.0 x 12.7 mm, 40g |
| Band Size | 42mm: 24mm, 38mm: 22mm | 38mm, 40mm, and 41mm | 18mm, 22mm |
| Build materials | Aluminum, Stainless Steel, White Ceramic | Glass front, ceramic/sapphire crystal back, aluminum frame | Stainless Steel Bezel, Fiber-reinforced polymer body with plastic rear cover, silicone strap |
| Colors | Space Black, Silver, gold | Silver, Gold, Space Gray | Vivoactive 4: Slate Stainless Steel Bezel with Black Case | Silver Stainless Steel Bezel with Shadow Gray CaseVivoactive 4S: Light Gold Stainless Steel Bezel with Dust Rose Case | Rose Gold Stainless Steel Bezel with White Case | Silver Stainless Steel Bezel with Powder Gray Case | Slate Stainless Steel Bezel with Black Case |
| Waterproofing | 5 ATM (up to 50m) | 5 ATM (up to 50m) | 5 ATM (up to 50m) |
Display Features:
| Apple Watch Series 3 | Apple Watch Series SE | Garmin VIVOACTIVE 4 | |
| Display Size | 42mm: 1.147 inches, 38mm: 0.87 inches | 1.78 inches | Vivoactive 4:1.3-inchVivoactive 4S:1.1-inch |
| Screen Type & Resolution | Retina OLED display with Force Touch | 42mm: 312 x 390 pixels, 38mm: 272 x 340 pixels | Retina LTPO OLED, 1000 nits (peak): 448 x 368 pixels | Vivoactive 4:transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP), 260 x 260 pixelsVivoactive 4S:transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) 218 x 218 pixels |
| Pixel Per Inch | 290 PPI | 326 ppi | 283 ppi |
| Screen Protection | Sapphire crystal glass | Ion-X strengthened glass 3D Touch display | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Always-on Display | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Rotating Bezel | No | No | No |
Smartwatch Features:
| Apple Watch Series 3 | Apple Watch Series SE | Garmin VIVOACTIVE 4 | |
| Connectivity | LTE and UMTS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 | Wi-Fi 802.11 + Bluetooth 5.0, A2DP, LE | Bluetooth , ANT+,Wi-Fi,NFC |
| Companion App | Companion | Companion | Garmin ConnectIQ |
| Storage | 16GB | 32GB | Up to 500 songs |
| Processor | S3 SiP with dual-core processor | S5 SiP with 64-bit dual-core processor, W3 | N/A |
| RAM | 768MB RAM | 1GB RAM | N/A |
| Notification Alert | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar, Weather | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Offline Spotify | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Timer & Alarm | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Customizable Watch Faces | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Voice Assistant | Yes(Siri) | Yes(Siri) | No |
| Music Storage, Control | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Third-Party Apps | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Make calls, send texts & Emails | Yes | Yes | No |
| Browse Web | Yes | Yes | No |
| Contactless Payment | Yes (Apple Pay) | Yes (Apple Pay) | Yes (Garmin Pay) |
Fitness & Health Features:
| Apple Watch Series 3 | Apple Watch Series SE | Garmin VIVOACTIVE 4 | |
| Built-in GPS | Yes (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, and QZSS) | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS | Yes (GPS/GLONASS/Beidou, Galileo) |
| Heart Rate Tracking | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sleep | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Stress | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Blood Oxygen | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| ECG | No | No | No |
| Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis | No | Yes | No |
| Steps, Calories | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Menstrual cycle | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Sport Mode | N/A | N/A | 20 preloaded GPS and indoor sports apps — including walking, running, cycling, pool swimming, golf, and more |
| Sync Data With Strava, Apple Health | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Battery Life & Charging:
| Apple Watch Series 3 | Apple Watch Series SE | Garmin VIVOACTIVE 4 | |
| Battery Performance | Up to 18 hours | Up to 18 hours | The Vivoactive 4 8 days in smartwatch mode 6 hours with GPS+musicVivoactive 4S 7 days in smartwatch mode5 hours with GPS+music |
| Battery Size | 38mm model with GPS + Cellular: 279, 42mm model with GPS + Cellular: 341 mAh | Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery up to 18 hours | N/A |
| Charger Type | Magnetic charging cable | Magnetic charging cable | Proprietary 4 pin connector |
| Fast Charging | No (takes almost 2 hours to 100%) | No (Approximate 2.5 hours) | No (takes almost 2 hours to top-up) |
Kevin is a Tech journalist for over a decade. He writes on Wearables, Headphones, and Laptops. When he is not glued to his laptop, You will find him working on exciting projects that include Unboxing new Gadgets, comparing them, and tweaking their hardware.