The 7 Best Garmin Watches 2023 | by Trusted Shopping Guide

Features

Build quality

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer satisfaction

Brand reputation

Specifications

Screen size: 1.3”
Weight: 1.3oz
Battery: Lithium-ion
Material: Stainless steel

What we like

Smart notifications: When coupled with a compatible smartphone, you can receive emails, texts, and notifications directly on your watch, and even respond if you’re using an Android phone.
Safety and tracking features: The assistance and incident detection features on this watch will broadcast your location to emergency contacts if you feel unsafe. It can also monitor certain activity profiles to take note of unusual activity.
Wrist-based heart rate: When you're at rest, the watch continuously samples your heart rate and warns you if it continues to be unusually high or low. It also aids in determining how hard you work while engaging in activities, even while you’re underwater.
Women’s health tracker: You can track your menstrual cycle and pregnancy via the Garmin ConnectTM app, Pregnancy Tracking app, and Menstrual Cycle Tracking widget. It also keeps a log of your symptoms, and learn about nutrition, exercise, and more.
Pulse Ox sensor: A pulse oximeter sensor gauge determines your blood oxygen saturation during the day and while you sleep to show you how well your body is absorbing oxygen.
Long battery life: You’ll have up to 8 days of battery life in smartwatch mode and up to 6 hours in music and GPS mode.
Health tracking: The unit features heart rate tracking, body battery energy monitoring, sleep monitoring, and stress tracking to know your body better.
Hydration tracking: This allows you to log your daily fluid intake to remind you to stay hydrated. You can even set goals for hydration based on how much you sweat.

Things you should know

Inconsistent results from the sleep tracker have been noted by some users, but with regular usage over the course of a few weeks, the feature should become more accurate as it learns your sleeping habits

‍

Garmin Forerunner 245 Smartwatch

With Garmin’s built-in sports app, you can switch up your workout routines by creating various activity profiles for cycling, pool swimming, climbing and going down the stairs, track running, elliptical, and more. It also sports a sweat-proof silicone band to make sure your wrist stays fresh throughout the whole day.

Overall rating:

Features

Build quality

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer satisfaction

Brand reputation

Specifications

Screen size: 1.2”
Weight: 1.36oz
Battery: 1 Lithium Metal battery
Wireless communication technologies: Bluetooth, Wi-Fi
Display resolution: 240 x 240

What we like

Music on your wrist: With this device, you can liven up your errands and workouts as you download up to 500 songs and playlists from your Spotify, Deezer, or Amazon Music accounts.
LiveTrack feature: You can use the LiveTrack feature via the Garmin app to let friends and family keep up with your real-time destinations and even view your entire task lists so they’ll know when to meet you at certain times.
Training status: To determine if you're training effectively, achieving your peak, or overworking, the training status analyzes your recent exercise history and performance indicators
Recovery time: After your sweat session, the built-in recovery time advisor will let you know how long to gain back your energy before another intense workout. Even daily stress, sleep, and non-exercise-related activities are taken into account.
Safety and tracking feature: Featuring incident detection, the smartwatch sends your real-time location to your emergency contacts if the device is paired with a compatible smartphone.
Solid build: Featuring Corning Gorilla Glass 3, you won’t think twice about using this for rugged activities.
Built-in GPS: This allows you to track wherever you run while getting accurate statistics including distance intervals and pace.
Heart rate tracking: You'll be able to get heart rate data along with alerts in case your heart rate stays too high or too low. This allows you to gauge how hard your heart is working during activities.
Smart notifications: This smartwatch allows you to receive emails, texts, and alerts when paired with a compatible smartphone.
Long battery life: The smartwatch mode allows for up to 7 days of use on a single charge while its GPS mode runs up to 6 hours with music and 24 hours without.

Things you should know

A subscription to music channels is not included.

‍

Garmin Forerunner 935 Smartwatch

The lightweight, comfortable design of the Garmin Forerunner 935 watch makes it enjoyable to wear all day. It works with a variety of quick-swap QuickFit bands, so you can easily switch from a sporty silicone band to a traditional leather band to a high-end metal band to match any occasion. Also, right from the start, smart notifications are sent directly to your wrist, and you can automatically upload to Garmin Connect, audio prompts, and music controls.

Overall rating:

Features

Build quality

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer satisfaction

Brand reputation

Specifications

Screen size: 1.2”
Weight: 1.76 oz
Battery: 1 Lithium Metal battery
Screen resolution: 240 x 240

What we like

Triathlon-friendly features: Extra performance monitoring features can tell you whether you're overtraining or undertraining. The device also offers sophisticated dynamics for cycling, swimming, and running, such as ground contact time balance and stride length.
Anaerobic training effect: The new anaerobic training effect metric provides new insight into crucial training aspects by examining your overall training load as compared to the volume of activity you've done over the last seven days to track improvements.
Heart rate strap: Advanced features like lactate threshold and the heart rate variability stress test are unlocked by using a chest strap heart rate monitor.
Varia-compatible: It is also compatible with the whole line of Varia Vision cycling awareness devices, including rearview radar, smart bike lights, and in-sight display.
Form improvement: The Forerunner 935 analyzes crucial running metrics to analyze your performance, allowing you to understand your form so that you’ll be able to bring out your best.
Elevation monitoring: The device provides elevation monitoring thanks to its built-in barometer, altimeter, and electronic compass to help maintain your bearings.
Training status monitoring: This performance monitoring tool evaluates your exercise history and performance indicators to notify you if you’re training productively, peaking, or overreaching.

Things you should know

Having transflective memory-in-pixel makes reading this device a little harder in direct sunlight, but you can still see it nonetheless.

‍

Garmin Venu 2 Smartwatch

To help you understand which time stamps in the day you have the most intense health measures, the Garmin Venu 2 comes with an improved intensity minute function. In timed activities, you can also view your statistics as a data field. What’s more, even in direct sunlight, the gorgeous AMOLED display on this watch makes reading your stats a breeze, so there’s no need to look for some shade to monitor your progress.

Overall rating:

Features

Build quality

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer satisfaction

Brand reputation

Specifications

Screen size: 1.3”
Weight: 1.76oz
Battery: 1 Lithium Polymer battery
Display resolution: 416 x 416

What we like

Health snapshot feature: With a health snapshot, you can record important statistics for a 2-minute period, including heart rate, heart rate variability, oxygen saturation, respiration, and stress.
Body battery monitoring: You can keep track of your body’s energy levels throughout the day, so you can schedule the best times for activity and rest and avoid procrastinating or overworking.
Hydration tracking: If you're having trouble remembering to drink enough water throughout the day, hydration monitoring can help you keep track of how much water you're drinking on a daily basis. It also monitors your target water intake depending on how much sweat you produce during exercise
Fitness age: This feature determines whether your body is supposedly younger or older than you are, based on your chronological age, weekly activities, resting heart rate, and BMI or body fat percentage
Long battery life: The unit lasts up to 11 days thanks to its bright energy-efficient AMOLED display.
Sleep monitoring: You’ll be able to get a score based on your sleep quality as well as tips on how you could do better.
Fitness tracking: With the device being able to track more than 25 indoor and outdoor sports, you’ll be able to find ways to improve your workout routine.
Smart features: The smartwatch receives emails, texts, and alerts when paired with an Android or Apple smartphone.

Things you should know

The pre-installed sleep software can no longer be updated, which could be a disappointment for some.

‍

Garmin fenix 7S Smartwatch

The updated, ultra-tough design of the Garmin Fēnix 7 has a 47mm fiber-reinforced polymer housing and a big 1.2” display. Built to withstand even the harshest conditions, the watch has undergone heat, stress, and water resistance tests that meet U.S. military standards. For easy access to options and operations, the traditional button controls now function in any setting and are paired with a responsive new touchscreen interface.

Overall rating:

Features

Build quality

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer satisfaction

Brand reputation

Specifications

Screen size: 1.2”
Weight: 2.24oz
Battery: 1 Lithium Ion battery
Connectivity technologies: Bluetooth, USB

What we like

Visual race predictor: This tool estimates your pace for the desired distance based on your past running experience and overall level of fitness. You are also getting trend data that shows the long-term effects of your training.
Training readiness: The quality of your sleep, the amount of time you spend resting, and the intensity of your training all contribute to your readiness score, which you can check first thing in the morning to determine if today is a good day to push yourself or take it easy.
ABC sensors: With ABC sensors, data such as an altimeter for elevated heights, a barometer to track the weather, and a 3-axis electronic compass, can assist you in navigating your next journey.
Power manager: You can manage and track how different settings and sensors affect your watch's battery life so you can quickly make changes to prolong its operation.
Long battery life: The unit can go up to 11 days in smartwatch mode, up to 26 days in expedition mode, and up to 37 hours in GPS mode.
Health monitoring: You can have all-day health monitoring with the unit’s wrist-based heart rate, pulse oximeter, stress, and enhanced sleep tracking.
Built-in sports app: You’ll be able to use preloaded activity profiles for a wide range of activities.

Things you should know

You should see whether you have any skin sensitivities to blue titanium before putting on the bracelet since the bezel clasp is not hypoallergenic.

‍

Garmin fenix 6 Smartwatch

The always-on 1.3” display of the Garmin Fēnix 6 is seamlessly incorporated into the tough yet stylish design. To ensure its durable build, it has been put through extensive temperature, stress, and water resistance testing according to U.S. military standards. You can also choose between bezels made of stainless steel, titanium, or DLC coating to match the aesthetic of your lifestyle.

Overall rating:

Features

Build quality

Ease of use

Value for money

Customer satisfaction

Brand reputation

Specifications

Screen size: 1.3”
Weight: 2.8oz
Battery: 1 Lithium Polymer battery
Display resolution: 260 x 260

What we like

MTB dynamics: With mountain biking metrics and unique Grit and Flow measurements that rank trail difficulty and how smoothly you descend, you can keep track of every aspect of every ride and set goals for yourself to surpass moving forward.
Surfline features: The Surfline Sessions feature of this device records a video of each wave you ride in front of a Surfline camera so you can review it afterward and evaluate your performance with the waves.
Multi-GNSS support: With this smartwatch, tracking in challenging terrains is possible by using other global navigation satellite systems besides GPS, such as GLONASS and Galileo.
Acclimation widget: You can check how you're responding to the present elevation and workout conditions by looking at the acclimation widget, which displays your current elevation, acclimated elevation, associated pulse, heart rate, and respiration rate.
Versatile features: Featuring a wrist heart rate monitor & Pulse Ox to support advanced sleep monitoring and altitude acclimation at high elevations, this smartwatch is a great all-around choice.
Smart notifications: When connected to a smartphone, you’ll be able to receive chats, texts, emails, and other notifications to keep you updated.
ClimbPro feature: This allows you to see real-time information regarding your current and upcoming climbs as well as gradient, distance, and elevation gain.

Things you should know

The scratch-resistant coating makes the screen darker, but the user interface is still legible.

‍

Garmin Instinct Smartwatch

The Garmin Instinct Smartwatch includes high contrast, sunlight readable display, and a chemically enhanced, scratch-resistant polymer case that offers durability. It includes two separate, removable keeper loops into the completely ventilated silicone bands to provide a tight fit and avoid strap snagging.

Overall rating: