Garmin's first 4G-connected watch is a repurposed vivoactive 3 Music for Verizon

Garmin has finally announced its first 4G-connected smartwatch, and it’s coming to Verizon. The company is launching a version of its Vivoactive 3 Music smartwatch on Verizon’s network sometime in 2019.

Under the hood, the vivoactive 3 Music on Verizon is the same as the smartwatch that launched in June 2018, which means you’re getting a pretty high-end GPS watch for the money. It comes with a built-in GPS, heart rate sensor, support for Garmin Pay, access to Garmin’s Connect IQ store, and local music storage up to 500 songs along with support for Deezer playlists. Spotify support is coming soon too, as well as for the non-4G variant. Garmin says the battery should last around five days in smartwatch-only mode, or roughly four hours while connected to GPS and Verizon’s 4G network.

There are some new safety features baked in that might make you opt for this watch over the non-4G model. If you feel unsafe in any situation while wearing the watch, pressing and holding the physical button for five seconds sends a discrete message to pre-loaded emergency contacts and shares your location. That same message and location-sharing feature will also be sent out to emergency contacts if the smartwatch senses you’ve experienced an impact while walking, running, or cycling. 

Also read: Garmin vivoactive 3 Music hands-on | Garmin vivoactive 3 review

Quite frankly, more smartwatches need to have safety features like these built in. If you or a loved one has a habit of exercising around the neighborhood at night, this new watch should give you peace of mind.

Pricing and availability will be announced in Q1 2019, and the watch will require a monthly data plan with Verizon. The non-4G model on Garmin.com costs $299.99 ($249.99 on a good day), so the vivoactive 3 Music on Verizon may cost around the same amount.

We’ll be sure to update you when Garmin announces more pricing and availability details. Until then, be sure to check out some of our other favorite GPS running watches, and head here for more in-depth CES 2019 coverage!