Welcome to the exciting world of wearable technology! In 2023, Garmin continues to be a pioneering force, offering a range of feature-rich and stylish smartwatches that cater to fitness enthusiasts and tech-savvy individuals alike. Whether you’re a seasoned athlete or just looking to stay on top of your daily activities, Garmin has something to offer. In this article, we will explore the top five Garmin watches that have garnered widespread acclaim for their cutting-edge technology, sleek designs, and performance-enhancing features. From GPS capabilities and heart rate monitoring to advanced health metrics and smart connectivity, these watches are sure to elevate your lifestyle and keep you at the forefront of fitness tracking and beyond. Let’s dive in and discover the best Garmin has to offer in 2023!
Number 1. Garmin Forerunner 265/265S
Among Garmin’s extensive range of running watches, the Forerunner 265 or 265S (ideal for petite wrists) stands out as an exceptional choice, striking a perfect balance between price, feature set, battery life, and a vibrant OLED display.
Despite being released just nine months after its predecessor, the Forerunner 255, the Forerunner 265/265S shares many similarities with its older sibling. The key difference lies in its adoption of an OLED display, offering improved readability and a more appealing appearance. Surprisingly, this change doesn’t negatively impact battery life, as it still delivers about a week on a single charge, and up to 15 days without the always-on display. This advantage makes the Forerunner 265 lineup preferable over the 255 series.
Additionally, the Forerunner 265 features dual-frequency GPS (multi-band), allowing for highly accurate maps even in challenging environments like urban areas and dense forests. The L1 and L5 satellite frequencies combine to enhance location accuracy without significantly compromising battery life, making it an attractive offering, especially considering the typically high cost of multi-band GPS watches.
While the Forerunner 265/265S may not offer all of Garmin’s advanced training features, it still caters to various running needs, from 5K races to full marathons. It includes the Race Predictor, estimating your best time based on training data, and PacePro for race pacing strategies. Furthermore, Garmin’s Training Readiness feature helps monitor load and recovery, while Garmin Coach plans aid in achieving specific fitness goals. The watch also supports offline music and safety features like fall detection.
The only apparent limitation of the Forerunner 265/265S is its lack of advanced mapping, though it does include trackback, point-to-point navigation, and real-time breadcrumb trail support. For individuals frequently engaged in hiking or trail running, the Forerunner 965 might be a better option. Alternatively, if you seek a more cost-effective solution with a less sophisticated screen, the Forerunner 255 is a viable choice.
Though primarily geared towards runners, the Forerunner 265/265S proves to be an excellent training companion for triathletes, cyclists, hikers, and anyone desiring a feature-rich, lightweight, and durable multisport watch without breaking the bank.
Number 2. Garmin Epix Pro Sapphire Edition (42mm)
The Epix Pro is the ultimate fitness companion from Garmin, boasting an exhaustive array of features that leave no fitness aspect untouched. In fact, it’s easier to list what the Epix Pro doesn’t have: EKGs and some LTE smartwatch functionalities like call-making. However, with its new sensor array, EKGs might become a possibility in the future. Other than these minor omissions, the Epix Pro offers topographical maps, turn-by-turn navigation, and an overwhelming abundance of training metrics that even a seasoned triathlete might find themselves pleasantly overwhelmed with.
One notable improvement over the standard second-gen Epix is its size-inclusivity. While the regular version only comes in a 47mm size, the Epix Pro offers more options, coming in 42mm, 47mm, and 51mm variants. This shows a commendable effort by the company to address customer feedback. The best part is that the Pro models start at the same price as the standard Epix, and you can opt for materials like titanium and sapphire crystal for an additional $100 – a similar option available for the standard version.
Comparing the Epix Pro with the Fenix 7 and Fenix 7 Pro can be challenging, as they share many features. However, one significant distinction is the Epix watches’ OLED displays, which offer enhanced readability indoors, where most of us spend the majority of our time. While the Fenix 7 series boasts memory-in-pixel displays with solar charging capabilities for extended battery life, the Epix Pro, particularly the 42mm variant, still delivers an impressive 10 days of normal usage. Moreover, Garmin’s multiple battery-saving modes ensure power isn’t a concern.
The standout feature of the Epix Pro is its hands-free flashlight, providing incredible utility in everyday life. A simple double-press of a button activates a bright flashlight that rivals smartphones, even offering a red light option for eye-friendly illumination and a strobe function for emergencies. While the Fenix 7 Pro series also includes a flashlight, the combination of the Epix Pro’s OLED display and flashlight functionality gives it a competitive edge, making it the recommended choice over the Fenix lineup.
In summary, the Epix Pro is an all-encompassing fitness watch that leaves little to be desired, making it an exceptional choice for fitness enthusiasts looking for a feature-rich, size-inclusive, and convenient wearable companion.
Number 3. Garmin Vivomove Sport
The Vivomove Sport stands out in Garmin’s lineup due to its departure from the typical Garmin design, making it a refreshing hybrid smartwatch. This means it retains the appearance of a regular watch while still offering fitness tracking and notification capabilities. One of the unique features of Garmin’s hybrid watches is their hidden OLED display, which remains discreet until needed.
This watch is best suited for casually active individuals who value style and functionality in a lightweight package, prioritizing wellness over intense fitness tracking. It provides continuous heart rate monitoring, blood oxygen level monitoring, and even abnormal heart rate alerts. Moreover, the Vivomove Sport offers in-depth metrics like respiration rate, fitness age, stress levels, and Body Battery, a tool by Garmin that visualizes your restfulness. Smart features include basic functions like notifications, alarms, and timers.
Although not as fully featured as other Garmin models, the Vivomove Sport offers a budget-friendly option with some sacrifices. For instance, it lacks built-in GPS, relying on tethered GPS through your phone. It also doesn’t support contactless payments, and there’s no microphone or speaker for taking calls on the watch. However, considering its entry-level status, the Vivomove Sport provides a considerable range of functionalities and has a stylish appearance that could easily be mistaken for a Swatch.
One downside is its relatively short battery life for a hybrid watch, lasting around three to four days. Nevertheless, this is still significantly better than what you’d typically get from an Apple Watch or Wear OS 3 device. For those willing to invest around $100 more, the Vivomove Trend priced at $269.99 offers chic materials, a larger screen, and wireless Qi charging. Otherwise, the Vivomove Sport remains an excellent lifestyle wearable, serving as a classier alternative to conventional fitness bands.
Number 4. Garmin Venu Sq 2
At first glance, the Venu Sq 2 bears a striking resemblance to an Apple Watch. However, when worn, its plastic construction becomes evident, yet it maintains a chic appearance and boasts an incredibly lightweight feel. The screen is bright, easily readable, and surpasses the quality of any Versa or Sense smartwatch.
For its price, the Venu Sq 2 offers an impressive array of features, including built-in GPS, a wide selection of watch faces, emergency safety capabilities, and contactless payments. Although the Music Edition, priced $50 higher, provides around 500 songs of storage, we wouldn’t recommend it since this watch lacks cellular connectivity and isn’t entirely standalone. Most users will likely carry their phones with them, rendering the added cost unnecessary.
Regarding health features, the Venu Sq 2 includes everything you’d find on a Versa or Sense smartwatch, complemented by Garmin’s treasure trove of metrics. This encompasses heart rate tracking, blood oxygen monitoring, intensity minutes to measure moderate exercise in a week, stress tracking, hydration tracking, respiratory rate, period tracking, and Garmin’s recovery feature, Body Battery. In terms of fitness, the watch offers access to Garmin Coach, providing free 5K, 10K, and half marathon training plans—a fantastic addition for fitness enthusiasts.
A significant advantage Garmin holds over Fitbit is that none of these features or metrics are locked behind a paywall. With the Venu Sq 2, users can enjoy the full range of functionalities without any additional costs or subscriptions.
Number 5. Garmin Venu 2 Plus
In recent years, Garmin has significantly enhanced the intelligence of its watches, but none exemplifies this better than the Venu 2 Plus.
The 43mm Venu 2 Plus is the sole watch in Garmin’s arsenal equipped with voice capabilities, thanks to a built-in microphone and speaker. This allows for convenient call handling directly from the wrist and issuing commands to your phone’s digital assistant via Bluetooth. While it doesn’t have Siri, Bixby, Amazon Alexa, or Google Assistant integrated directly into the watch, the clever workaround ensures effective hands-free control. Additionally, the Venu 2 Plus supports safety features like fall detection and live tracking, along with contactless payments for added convenience.
The watch’s OLED display, consistent with other Garmin models, is vibrant and easy to read. In terms of health and fitness, the Venu 2 Plus offers a balanced blend of basic and advanced features and metrics, with a focus on wellness and health. This includes intensity minutes, blood oxygen monitoring, sleep tracking, period tracking, abnormal heart rate alerts, and stress tracking. For training purposes, users benefit from built-in GPS, VO2 Max, heart rate zones, respiration rate, and downloadable training plans via Garmin Coach. Notably, the Venu 2 Plus is the only Garmin watch currently supporting FDA-cleared EKG readings for AFib detection, enhancing its health-oriented capabilities.
Considering its feature-packed profile, the Venu 2 Plus offers excellent value for its price, making it a competitive option compared to the GPS-only 41mm Apple Watch Series 8. It outperforms Fitbit’s smartwatches in terms of polish and offers more comprehensive training capabilities than the Google Pixel Watch or Samsung’s Galaxy Watch 5. Furthermore, its battery life is impressive, lasting approximately a week on a single charge.
The Venu 2 Plus is the ideal Garmin choice for those seeking in-depth training features without sacrificing the productivity of a smartwatch. While it may lack a robust third-party app ecosystem, it does support popular platforms like Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer for offline listening. Moreover, if you desire a smarter Garmin experience over a traditional smartwatch with MIP displays, the Venu 2 Plus proves to be a compelling option.
