Garmin has been making GPS watches for over 20 years. During that time, they built a massive collection of models to suit all needs and budgets. To help you choose the best Garmin watch for your needs, we’ve put together this list of our favorites for 2020 and 2021.
Garmin Venu 2 Plus
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus is a high-end GPS smartwatch designed for fitness enthusiasts and athletes who want to track their activity, monitor their health and stay connected while on the go. Released in 2021, it is an upgrade to the popular Garmin Venu 2.
The Venu 2 Plus features a circular 1.3-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 416 x 416 pixels, protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3. It has a stainless steel bezel and a durable fiber-reinforced polymer case that is water-resistant up to 5 ATM (50 meters). The watch measures 45.4 x 45.4 x 12.2 mm and weighs 49 grams, making it comfortable to wear for extended periods.
Health and Fitness Tracking:
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus is packed with features for fitness enthusiasts, including built-in GPS, heart rate monitoring, and over 25 built-in sports apps such as running, cycling, swimming, and golfing. It also has advanced workout metrics such as VO2 max, recovery time, and training load, which helps users optimize their training.
One unique feature of the Venu 2 Plus is its Health Snapshot feature, which allows users to measure their heart rate, heart rate variability, and oxygen saturation in just two minutes. It also tracks women’s menstrual cycles, stress levels, and sleep patterns, providing users with a comprehensive view of their overall health.
The Venu 2 Plus is not just a fitness tracker but also a smartwatch, with features such as notifications, music storage, and Garmin Pay, which allows users to make payments using their watch. It is also compatible with both Android and iOS devices and can be customized with thousands of watch faces and apps available on the Garmin Connect IQ store.
The Garmin Venu 2 Plus has a battery life of up to 11 days in smartwatch mode, which is impressive given its advanced features. When using GPS, the battery life is reduced to 8 hours, which is still decent for most users.
Overall, the Garmin Venu 2 Plus is a feature-packed smartwatch designed for fitness enthusiasts and athletes. Its advanced health and fitness tracking features, combined with its smartwatch capabilities, make it a great choice for anyone looking to track their activity, monitor their health, and stay connected while on-the-go.
Garmin Vivosmart 5
The Garmin Vivosmart 5 is the most basic, but it’s still a solid choice for an affordable fitness tracker that can do more than just count steps. It’s available at a reasonable price—you’ll pay around $100—but it’s also one of the more stylish options, with interchangeable bands and a smooth, curved design.
The display on this model isn’t touchscreen, so you’ll need to use buttons instead; however, it does have an LCD screen that will show notifications from your smartphone (via Bluetooth). The watch also tracks heart rate, sleep quality, and calories burned throughout the day. You can swim in this device without worrying about damaging its internal components because it has an IP67 rating; this means it can stay submerged in up to 1 meter (3 feet) of water for up to 30 minutes at a time without causing any damage.
Garmin Fenix 7X
The Garmin Fenix 7X has a lot to offer. It’s a rugged smartwatch that can track your fitness, monitor your heart rate, and even guide you in the backcountry. It’s an excellent device for anyone who wants to get more out of their workouts and extend their outdoor adventures.
The Fenix 7X is the successor to the Garmin Fenix 5 series, which was released in 2017. This new model is smaller and lighter than its predecessor, but it still packs plenty of features — including an advanced GPS and top-notch fitness tracking capabilities.
The Fenix 7X has a battery life of up to 50 hours in GPS mode and up to 9 days in smartwatch mode, making it the only smartwatch you need on your adventures.
The watch also comes with a range of sensors, including an altimeter, barometer, thermometer, and compass, and water-resistant up to 100 meters.
Garmin Forerunner 955
The Garmin Forerunner 955 is one of the best smartwatches on the market. It has a full-color touchscreen, wrist-based heart rate monitoring, GPS and GLONASS satellite tracking, NFC payments and more.
The Garmin Forerunner 955 is an all-around great smartwatch that can do just about anything you’d want it to do. It’s got plenty of features for fitness enthusiasts and athletes, but it’s also a great option for anyone who just wants a smartwatch that looks good and works well.
The design of the Garmin Forerunner 955 is one of its biggest selling points. It’s available in two colors: black or gray with a black band or gray with a white band. The watch itself is made of aluminum with a glass front and back panel, making it look like it costs much more than it does.
The screen is 1.3 inches wide by 1 inch tall — not huge, but big enough to see what’s going on without having to squint or strain your eyes too much while reading text or viewing images on it. The bezel surrounding the display has three buttons: up, down and select/home button in the middle that are easy enough to find by feeling alone
Garmin Vivomove Sport
The Vívomove Sport is a smartwatch with all the same features as its traditional counterpart but with added technology. The watch has a touchscreen display, making it easier to use in any setting. It’s also waterproof up to 50 meters deep and lightweight enough that you won’t notice it on your wrist during your workout sessions.
The battery life lasts up to 4 days between charges, so there’s no need to worry about charging every day—or even every week! You can even take advantage of the built-in GPS feature if running outside or biking isn’t enough for you (and let’s face it: if this were me, I would be doing both).
What makes the Garmin Vivomove Sport so great is its combination of style and functionality. You get all the features of a smartwatch without sacrificing your sense of style.
How to Choose the Best Garmin Watch
A Garmin watch is an excellent way to track your workouts and make sure you’re getting the most out of your training. But there are many different models and features, so choosing one can be challenging. To ensure you get the best Garmin watch for your needs, it’s important to do your research beforehand. In this guide, we’ll go over what makes each type of watch unique and how to choose based on your specific needs as an athlete or fitness enthusiast.
Performance
A great fitness tracker should be able to track your heart rate, steps and sleep. You want a watch that gives you accurate data, so look for one that tracks all three of these things.
The best way to check the accuracy of your steps is by comparing your device’s count with a manual count in which you walk around and count each step, then compare them. If they’re close enough (within 10%), then it should be fine. If they’re wildly different, however—that could mean something’s wrong with how your tracker is tracking movement or detecting motion in general.
If you’re interested in learning more about what makes a good fitness tracker for running and other sports, check out our article on how to choose one here!
Design
Garmin Watches come in a variety of sizes, styles, and designs. Some are designed for swimming, others for running, and some are designed for both. There’s also the matter of functionality—some Garmin Watches have more features than others. If you’re looking for something simple and straightforward, there are plenty of options to choose from. But if you’re looking for something with more bells and whistles (and probably a higher price tag), that’s available as well!
For example, the Garmin Forerunner 25 is an entry-level GPS watch that tracks your distance/pace/time while running or cycling outdoors without having to carry an iPhone with you at all times (the Forerunner 25 will pair with Apple HealthKit).
On the other hand: The Garmin Vivomove HR has many similar features but comes in several different styles (including one with leather bands), so it doubles as jewelry when not being worn on runs or rides!
Features
If you’re looking for a watch that can do more than just tell the time, consider a GPS sports watch. These watches are designed with athletes in mind and include features like heart rate monitors and fitness tracking devices. The specific features available on each Garmin model vary depending on what you want your device to do.
For example, the Garmin Fenix 5 series comes with a range of options for navigation, including GPS tracking and trail-specific maps. It can also be used as an activity tracker by measuring steps taken during the day and calories burned while exercising or running errands around town. The Fenix 5 series includes an altimeter that measures elevation gain/loss (in feet) when hiking up steep inclines so you know how much further is left until your destination at all times without having to stop every few minutes along the way just so someone else could find out where they’re supposed
Battery Life
The battery life of your Garmin watch is crucial to how often you can use it. Most Garmin watches, including the Forerunner 235 and Forerunner 935, last up to 10 days on a single charge with regular use. The Fenix 5S, being able to go as long as 50 hours in GPS mode, also has great battery life.
Price
The next factor you’ll want to consider is price. While the price may be the first thing you think about when it comes to any electronic device, it’s not the only thing you need to consider when choosing a Garmin watch.
For example, if you’re looking for a simple fitness tracker that can tell time and track your physical activity but don’t care about other features like GPS tracking or heart rate monitoring, then a basic model may be all you need—and it won’t cost as much as one with more advanced features.
On the other hand, if your goal is to use this device for navigation purposes during outdoor activities such as hiking or running in remote locations where cell phone service isn’t available (or simply doesn’t work well), then paying extra could mean peace of mind knowing that there’s an emergency satellite locator built into your watch should anything happen while out on an adventure.
In short: Price shouldn’t be your only consideration when buying a Garmin watch; instead think about what features matter most before deciding which model works best for you!
Conclusion
Garmin watches are a great way to track your fitness. They can be used for a variety of activities, from walking to running, cycling, swimming, and more. Garmin watches often have features like GPS tracking and heart-rate monitoring that help you get the most out of each training session.
When choosing the best Garmin watch for yourself, think about how often you will use your watch and what kinds of activities it will be used for. If you want something that is only used for running, go with one of the Garmin Forerunners or Vívomoves; if you want something more versatile (and waterproof!) then take a look at some other options available on this list!