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The Neo Smartpen is a smart writing tool that digitises your handwriting. It bridges the best of physical writing that we have grown to love together with the best of digitalisation. Today, we take a look at what it does and how it may help you boost your productivity. Continue reading

Theragun has long been heralded as the pioneer in percussive therapy, with founder, Dr Jason Wersland, creating the first prototype over a decade ago.

They have since established themselves as the gold standard in this space, becoming a favourite among athletes, celebrities and everyday people.

Recently, they released an entire suite of new percussive therapy devices, namely the PRO, Elite, Prime and mini.

Each device bears close similarities yet distinct differences from each other. If you're thinking of getting a Theragun, which model is the right one for you? Before we begin, let's first take a look at the upgrades in this new generation.

What's New in Generation 4?

Theragun made a huge leap in features with the launch of their new generation, showing to the world why they remain the pioneers in the field of percussive therapy.

Each Theragun model now features a new proprietary brushless motor with QuietForce Technology to help bring about a huge reduction in noise compared to the previous generation.

This was a key concern of many Theragun users and we're glad the company listened and remedied the problem.

Compared to the 3rd generation, with rattling noise levels that may come close to using a mechanical drill, the new generation are as quiet as using an electric toothbrush, bringing the much-needed comfort to our ears.

 

As a pioneer in the wellness category, Theragun has now evolved their massage guns for smart therapy.

The Theraguns are now Bluetooth-enabled to connect to mobile devices to get the best in-app treatment recommendations on how to get your body recovering and moving again.

It syncs with native mobile health apps to deliver guided treatments uniquely suited to your behaviours, modalities and preferences. This feature is only not available for the mini.

 

Theragun still leads the percussive therapy pack with a percussion depth of 16mm, to hit deeper into muscles for faster recovery.

Their patented, ergonomic Theragun Triangle design continues to help them stand out by providing great flexibility for users to easily reach most body parts.

 

On-The-Go: Theragun mini

The Theragun mini is the newest and smallest model of the lot.

This novel invention from Theragun solves one of the main problems of massage guns in the respect that it is bulky and difficult to travel with, though you do end up forgoing some premium features in return.

Despite its ridiculously portable size, it still packs a punch. Weighing only 650g, the mini is great for on-the-go therapy when you’re out and about or in transit. Easily slip the device in your bag and you’re ready to soothe those aching muscles throughout the day wherever you are.

 

Due to its lightness and triangular design, the mini has great mobility to be able to reach most parts of the body at ease as well.

Though the mini is not as powerful as the other Theragun models, only hitting a no-stall force of 20lbs, it still manages to match the top speed at 40 percussions per second.

If you’re part of the Theragun family and like to add a portable option into your recovery tools, the mini is for you. Or if you’re just starting out with your first percussive therapy device, it also doubles as a great introductory option.

An Essential: Theragun Prime

The Theragun Prime is the predecessor of the 3rd generation Theragun liv - now with a much quieter upgrade.

It is built with all the essential elements that you need for everyday deep percussive therapy.

It achieves a no-stall force of 30 lbs, has a battery life of 120-minutes, and comes with 4 attachments - standard ball, thumb, cone, and dampener.

If you’re looking for something simple without too many extra features to start off with, the Theragun Prime will be a great option for you.

The Quietest: Theragun Elite

The Theragun Elite is the predecessor of the 3rd generation Theragun G3 - upgraded with new improvements like more speed settings, a more powerful motor, a much longer battery life and not to forget, 75% quieter.

Amongst the 4th generation range, the Elite ranks at the top to be quietest of all models.

So what would make you choose the Elite over the Prime?

 

Compared to the Prime, the Elite gives you a higher no-stall force of 40 lbs, which helps you hit harder into those sore and stiff muscles; an OLED Screen with a force meter, which helps you gauge how deep you're pushing; an additional attachment called the wedge, which is great for scraping on the shoulders; and lastly, the ability to locally store preset routines on the device using Theragun's smart therapy app.

A lesser-used feature would be the addition of wireless charging capabilities in the Elite.

On its own, these features may not really stand out to make a huge impact. But as a whole, they make the Elite a much more holistic product coupled with greater performance and convenience than the Prime.

The crème de la crème: Theragun PRO

The Theragun PRO sits at the top of the throne of the Theragun models and seemingly of all massage guns in the market.

It powerfully deals a no-stall force of 60 lbs, has the longest battery life of 300 minutes total (with swappable batteries), and comes with all 6 attachments - providing an all-rounded percussive therapy treatment.

 

One stark feature of the Theragun PRO is the adjustable arm, which gives you greater flexibility in reaching most of your body parts easily.

It is also the only device in the range that is backed by an industry-leading 2-year warranty, giving you assurance of top-quality performance over the years.

If you’re a serious athlete and are willing to invest in the best massage gun, the PRO is definitely the one for you.

Final Thoughts

Every Theragun model is thoughtfully-designed to serve a unique purpose and it's important to ensure you pick the right one for your journey ahead towards faster recovery and greater performance.

Regardless, with Theragun, at least you know you're getting the highest standard of percussive therapy there is.

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How we work is very much affected by where we work. As we spend more time at our desks, it's important to ensure that it's equipped and organised to facilitate work and focus. Today, we look at some items that will elevate your efficiency and workspace aesthetics.

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If you just came to hear about Garmin and you're looking to get a smartwatch for yourself, you'll come to realise that there are so many options to choose from.

But not to worry, today we'll be ranking our favourite smartwatches from Garmin in 2020 to give you a better understanding of which smartwatch will suit you best for tomorrow.

Whether you're just starting out or a seasoned athlete, Garmin has many great choices for you.

Best Overall: Garmin Vivoactive 4

Best for Beginners: Garmin Forerunner 45

Best for Runners: Garmin Forerunner 245

Best for Style: Garmin Venu

Best for Adventure: Garmin Fenix 6

Best Overall: Garmin Vivoactive 4

Since its launch in late 2019, the Vivoactive 4 has quickly become one of the fan favourites for all of the awesome features it carries.

To start, you have all the essential features you need, like built-in GPS, Garmin Pay, music storage and smart notifications. It's also 5 ATM water resistance, which means you can take it for a swim.

On the health tracking side, the Vivoactive 4 is packed with serious sensors to help you monitor your sleep, stress, activity, heart rate and overall well-being.

One essential feature is the Pulse Ox sensor that helps monitor blood oxygen saturation levels. Together with respiration tracking, which helps monitor how you’re breathing throughout the day and night, you will be able to glean deeper insights into your sleep data.

Hydration tracking is also available to allow you to log your daily fluid intake.

Another key feature is the Body Battery™ Energy monitoring that helps you see your energy levels throughout the day by gathering data from all the sensors in the smartwatch. This will then give you detailed insights in finding the best times for activity and rest based on your energy levels.

When it comes to fitness, the Vivoactive 4 doesn't fall short. It is equipped with more than 20 preloaded GPS and indoor sports apps — including walking, running, cycling, pool swimming, golf, yoga, and more.

On top of that, one of the new features in the smartwatch is the on-screen, animated workouts which allows you to follow an animated figure as it demonstrates the proper form and technique for workouts covering cardio, strength training, yoga and Pilates. You will also be able to download more workouts on the Garmin Connect app.

Besides the preloaded sports apps and workouts, you can also choose from personalised training plans using Garmin Coach or simply create your own customisable workouts.

With all these fitness features, the Garmin Vivoactive 4 has got you covered for all the ways to move.

The Vivoactive 4 comes in mainly two colours - Black/Slate and Grey/Silver. If you prefer more colour options, you could consider the Vivoactive 4s instead, which has a smaller watch size of 40mm but comes in Black/Slate, Powder Grey/Silver, Dust Rose/Light Gold, and White/Rose Gold.

Best for Beginners: Garmin Forerunner 45

If you're just starting out and are looking for an entry-level running smartwatch that's simple and functional, we definitely recommend you to check out the Garmin Forerunner 45.

Designed for runners, the Forerunner 45 is a lightweight watch that comes equipped with a sweat-ready silicone band and all the running-related features you'll need.

It packs a strong battery life that will last up to 7 days in smartwatch mode and 13 hours in GPS mode.

When it comes to running, this watch will put your performance first.

First off, you get access to adaptive training plans from expert coaches using Garmin Coach.

The built-in sports app covering cycling, treadmill running, indoor track, and more, is sure to get you moving closer to your fitness goals.

On top of that, the Forerunner 45 also measure wrist-based heart rate and comes with built-in GPS.

The Garmin Forerunner 45 is also great at keeping tabs on your wellness.

With features like Stress & Fitness Tracking, you'll be able to keep track of many metrics, including pace, distance, calories, sleep, and stress.

It also comes with the Body Battery™ Energy Monitor that helps track your body’s energy levels so you can find the best times for activity and rest.

All in all, there isn't much to complain about the Garmin Forerunner 45 with all the features it packs, albeit one main disappointment raised by many is the lack of interchangeable bands.

The Garmin Forerunner 45 is available in Black and Red.

Best for Runners: Garmin Forerunner 245

If you're looking to get a comprehensive running watch without spending a fortune, you'll most definitely appreciate the Garmin Forerunner 245 and it's long list of advanced running features.

Equipped with the basics like Garmin Coach and built-in sports apps, the Forerunner 245 also tracks your Training Status to let you know if you're training productively, peaking or overreaching.

With the Training Load and Training Effect features, you can get in-depth details on your runs. It also helps you track your running dynamics when paired with a compatible device.

The Pulse Ox sensor estimates your body’s blood oxygen saturation, which can help gauge how your body is absorbing oxygen.

The main disappointments with the Forerunner 245 are the lack of Garmin Pay and music storage.

However, if music storage is important for you so that you can go for runs without having to take your phone along, you can consider the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music instead.

The Garmin Forerunner 245 is available in Slate Grey or Yellow.

Best for Style: Garmin Venu

When it comes to looks, the Garmin Venu takes the top spot with its crystal-clear colour AMOLED display.

This feature is a stunning upgrade from the standard transflective display that is commonly used in most of the other Garmin watches.

Spec-wise, the Venu may convincingly pull off as a twin of the Garmin Vivoactive 4. Read more here to get an edge to edge comparison between the Vivoacive 4 and the Venu.

Like the Vivoactive 4, the Venu features a range of health and fitness tracking to help to stay at the peak of your game.

Some of the key features include tracking for hydration, respiration, sleep, and stress, and also a Pulse Ox sensor that gauges your blood oxygen saturation during the day and as you sleep to show how well your body is absorbing oxygen. It also comes with female health tracking.

We love the Garmin Venu for its deep blacks and vibrant colours. Considering that the watch is almost identical to the Vivoactive 4, you can get the best of both worlds. But that of course comes with a price tag.

The Garmin Venu is available in Light Sand/Rose Gold, Black/Slate, Blue Granite/Silver, or Black/Gold.

Best for Adventure: Garmin Fenix 6

The Fenix 6 is one hell of a smartwatch for the true adventurer.

It is packed with features to take you from dusk to dawn and dusk again on your next expedition.

Design-wise, it is by no means sleek or pretty. Its clunky and rugged construction is built to withstand the harshest conditions of the great outdoors.

When it comes to features, the Fenix 6 is packed to the brim with some of Garmin's best capabilities.

The heart rate monitor equipped in the Fenix 6 is able to give you a reading underwater.

You also get oxygen blood tracking, stress tracking, and incident detection, which will alert your emergency contacts of your GPS location, if anything happens.

GPS accuracy has also been improved in the Fenix 6 series and you'll now have your key data like last activity, steps, heart rate, notifications, music controls, weather, and calendar - all organised into widgets for you to easily sort through.

In addition to the basic activity tracking profiles for cardio, elliptical training, strength, and so on. There are also a ton of outdoor activity profiles such as hiking, mountain biking, snowboarding, and more.

The watch does come in a couple of variations that mainly differ in their physical specs.

The standard Fenix 6 comes with a 47mm case. You can also get the watch in the 6S and 6X models - which mainly differs in the case size - that being 42mm and 51mm respectively; and in battery life, the 6S with a slightly lower battery life and the 6X with slightly better battery.

They also have a Pro version, which adds music compatibility, maps and Wi-Fi connectivity.

And if you want something that could last even longer, the Pro Solar model is decked with brand new solar panels to give you an extra boost in battery life.

Given the different watch modes, battery life can vary.

For the standard Fenix 6, Smartwatch mode lasts 14 days, GPS mode lasts 36 hours, Max Battery GPS Mode goes for 72 hours, Expedition GPS Activity gives you 28 days, and Battery Saver Watch Mode promises 48 days.

With all these features, it's clear that the Fenix 6 is unrivalled as a smartwatch, because there's not much you can't do with this smartwatch.

If you're constantly looking to push the limits in your next workout or in the great outdoors, the Fenix 6 is the right companion for you.

Final Thoughts

It's difficult to award the title of Best Garmin Watch to just one of these models when each and every one of them are built differently for separate purposes - the Vivo series for more fitness, health and lifestyle; the Forerunner series for serious athletes and runners; and the Fenix series for the avid adventurers.

However, if you're looking for a smartwatch that has it all with an affordable price tag, we recommend the Garmin Vivoactive 4.

You'll have all the health tracking you need to help you monitor your stress, sleep, activity, heart rate and well-being.

On top of it all, it'll help you keep fit with all the pre-loaded sports apps and workouts and not to mention Garmin Pay and music storage as well.

You'll be spoilt for choice when it comes to choosing your first or next Garmin watch.

If you're just starting out, it might be better to go for something simpler and level up from there over the years.

Or, if you're already a long-time Garmin fan, you'll definitely find great use in their advanced features for your training and performance.

Whatever the case is, there's definitely a Garmin watch out for every purpose and one to serve your individual needs.

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The Garmin Vivoactive 4 and Venu are both great GPS smartwatches featuring some of the best features you can get for health & fitness monitoring.

Edge to edge, they look almost identical, only to differ in their display - but that's where all the difference is.

If you're still undecided whether to buy the Vivoactive 4 or the Venu, we'll let you know that it all boils down to aesthetics.

The Vivoactive 4 houses a sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) display while the Venu stands out with its AMOLED display.

That said, which watch should you buy?

 

Feature Focus

Before diving into the differences, let's first quickly take a look at the main features of the Vivoactive 4 and the Venu.

Firstly, both the Vivoactive 4 and the Venu are packed with various health trackers to help you monitor your sleep, stress, activity, heart rate and overall well-being.

One essential feature is the Pulse Ox sensor that helps monitor blood oxygen saturation levels. Together with respiration tracking, which helps monitor how you’re breathing throughout the day and night, you will be able to glean deeper insights into your sleep data.

Hydration tracking is also available to allow you to log your daily fluid intake.

Another key feature is the Body Battery™ Energy monitoring that helps you see your energy levels throughout the day by gathering data from all the other sensors in the smartwatch.

This will then give you detailed insights in finding the best times for activity and rest based on your energy levels.

When it comes to fitness, both the Vivoactive 4 and the Venu are equipped with more than 20 preloaded GPS and indoor sports apps — including walking, running, cycling, pool swimming, golf, yoga, and more.

On top of that, one of the new features in both smartwatches are the on-screen, animated workouts which allows you to follow an animated figure as it demonstrates the proper form and technique for workouts covering cardio, strength training, yoga and Pilates.

You will also be able to download more workouts on the Garmin Connect app.

Besides the preloaded sports apps and workouts, you can also choose from personalised training plans using Garmin Coach or simply create your own customisable workouts.

With all these fitness features, the Garmin Vivoactive 4 and the Venu has got you covered for all the ways to move.

Lastly, both the Vivoactive 4 and the Venu also come with Garmin Pay, music storage, smart notifications, and safety and tracking features.

You also have access to the Connect IQ store to download apps and widgets into your smartwatch.

Now, let's compare these to smartwatches side-by-side.

 

Edge to Edge

You'll find a lot more similarities than differences between the Garmin Vivoactive 4 and the Venu.

In fact, the only true difference between these two smartwatches lies in the display and size.

The Vivoactive 4 offers a basic transflective display and comes in a size of 45mm. On the other hand, the Venu offers a gorgeous AMOLED display and has a size of 43mm.

One last difference to note that may be the deciding factor for some is the colour choices.

The Garmin Vivoactive 4 comes in two colours - Black/Slate or Grey/Silver, whereas the Venu carries more options, allowing you to choose from a range of 4 colours - Light Sand/Rose Gold, or Black/Slate, or Blue Granite/Silver, or Black/Gold.

Putting these difference aside, the Garmin Vivoactive 4 and the Venu may as well be the same watch.

 

Which should you choose?

At the end of the day, there's really not much to decide on as the Garmin Vivoactive 4 and the Venu mainly differ in their display and size, unless you have a certain preference for colour.

Though the display may be an important feature for some when getting a smartwatch, most of you will probably be more interested in the health and fitness features they both offer.

As mentioned, this includes the over 20 built-in sports apps, on-screen animated workouts, heart-rate monitoring, Pulse Ox, and many more.

With the additional features like built-in GPS, Garmin Pay, music storage, smart notifications and many more, these are two very solid smartwatches from Garmin

In our opinion, we believe the Vivoactive 4 is the better of both options due to it's more affordable pricing, even though the AMOLED display on the Venu is extremely enticing.

That said, if you're willing to invest more for a display with deep blacks and vibrant colours, you'll definitely be attracted to get the Venu instead.

Regardless of your preferences, one thing's for sure - you'll never go wrong choosing either the Vivoactive 4 or the Venu.

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