The number of Garmin running and fitness watches continues to grow, making the task of choosing the right device for you all the more difficult.
Our best Garmin GPS watch for new runners is the Forerunner 55, while the Forerunner 245 is the perfect next step up, offering deeper data on runs and workouts
Then Garmin Fenix 7 and Epix (Gen 2) series are the best multisport watches and they come in a range of case sizes – but the price tag means they won't suit everyone.
And if you're looking for the best Garmin smartwatch, we'd plump for the brilliant Garmin Venu 2 as well.
The breadth of Garmin's range means there's something for everyone, regardless of your budget. Below, we've tried our best to explain each of Garmin's running, outdoor and multi-sport watches.
Update: This article was updated in March 2022.
Quick look: Our top picks
- Best for beginner runners: Garmin Forerunner 55
- Best for advanced runners: Garmin Forerunner 245
- Best Garmin smartwatch: Garmin Venu 2
- Best multisport watch: Garmin Fenix 7
Garmin watches compared
| Price when reviewed | Sports | VO2/ Analytics | Battery life (GPS no music) | Music | |
Forerunner 55 | $199 £179 |
Running Cycling Cardio (gym) Yoga | Yes/Yes | 20 hours GPS / 2 weeks smartwatch | No |
Forerunner 35 | $199 £169 | Running Cycling Cardio (gym) Yoga | No/No | 13 hours GPS / 9 days watch | No |
Vivoactive 4 | $269 £239 | Running Cycling Swimming Cardio (gym) Golf | No/No | 18 hours GPS / 8 days smartwatch | Yes (500 songs) Spotify |
| Garmin Enduro | $799 £699 | Running Ultra running MTB and cycling Swimming | Yes/Yes | 80 hours GPS / 65 days smartwatch | No |
| Garmin Lily | $199 £179 | Running (no GPS), cycling, open workouts, yoga | No/No | 5 days (no GPS battery life) | No |
Garmin Venu 2 | $399 £349 | Running Cycling Swimming Cardio (gym) Golf | Yes/No | 22 hours GPS / 11 days smartwatch | Yes (2,000 songs) |
| Garmin Venu Sq | $199 £179 | Running
Cycling Swimming Cardio (gym) Golf Yoga | No/No | 14 hours GPS / 6 days smartwatch | Music version costs $249.99 500 songs. Spotify offline |
Forerunner 245 Music | $299 £249 | Running Cycling Pool swimming Cardio | Yes/Yes | 24 hours GPS / 7 days smartwatch | Yes costs $349.99 (500 songs) Spotify offline |
| Forerunner 745 | $499/$449 | Triathlon Running Cycling Swimming Cardio (gym) | Yes/Yes | 16 hours GPS mode / 7 days. Ultratrac GPS 21 hours | Yes (500 songs) |
Forerunner 945 | $599 £519 | Running Cycling Pool swimming Cardio (gym) | Yes/Yes | 36 hours GPS / 2 weeks smartwatch | Yes (1000 songs) |
Fenix 7 (non solar) | $699 £599 | Running (trail, treadmill) Hiking Climbing Biking Cardio (gym) Golf Snow sports SUP Rowing Kayaking Jumpmaster Tactical | Yes/Yes | 57 hours standard GPS 40 hours GNSS 18 days smartwatch | Yes Spotify offline |
| Fenix 7S (non solar) 42mm | $699 £599 | As above | Yes/Yes | 37 hours GPS 26 hours GNSS 11 days smartwatch | Yes
Spotify offline |
| Fenix 7X | $899 £799 | As above | Yes/Yes | 122 hours GPS 77 hours GNSS 41 hours multi-band GPS 37 days smartwatch | Yes
Spotify offline |
| Garmin Epix | $899 £799 | As above | Yes/Yes | 42 hours standard GPS 20 hours GNSS 16 days smartwatch | Yes
Spotify offline |
Garmin Instinct Solar 2 40mm and 45mm | $349 £299 Solar: $449 £419 | HIIT Running (trail, treadmill) Hiking Climbing Biking Cardio (gym) Golf Snow sports SUP Rowing Kayaking Jumpmaster Tactical | Yes/Yes | GPS: 30 hours (38 hours solar) Smartwatch 28 days Solar: Up to unlimited battery on 45mm version, 3 hours exposure per day | No |
| Garmin Vivomove 3 | $219 £219 | Running Biking (GPS from phone only) Pool swimming Strength training Cardio training Elliptical training Stair stepping Yoga | No/No | 5 days in smartwatch mode | No |
| Garmin Swim 2 | $249 £219 | Pool swimming Open water swimming Running Biking | No/No | Smartwatch mode: Up to 7 days GPS mode: Up to 13 hours | No |
Best Garmin running watches
Garmin's running watches aren't just about running. Most will track other kinds of sports too, including cycling, pool swimming and offer a general cardio mode to cover off other activities. All the company's fitness watches are now water resistant, too.
Garmin Forerunner 55
Price when reviewed: $199.99/£179.99 | Forerunner 55 specs
Garmin has included support for Garmin Coach, which means you can do guided run workouts from the wrist for distances like 5k and half marathon distance.
In-depth: Read our full Garmin Forerunner 55 review
Garmin Forerunner 35
Available for: $99.99/£99.99 | Forerunner 35 specs page
The Forerunner 35 has been upgraded in the shape of the Forerunner 45 and 55, and a quick look on Amazon shows minimal price differences between the two. However, if you spot a deal for less than $100, we can see the appeal.
Ideal for beginners, couch to 5k-ers and those who want a little more info on their regular runs without being overwhelmed by data, it also has activity tracking, bridging the divide between an inexpensive tracker and a serious sports watch.
It packs in all the bare essentials for runners: distance, pace, time, calories, splits and an optical heart rate monitor. Plus, it also delivers smartphone notifications to your wrist.
That's everything you need if you're a recreational runner who just wants to keep tabs on how far and fast you've gone. And it even does smartwatch notifications and better-than-basic fitness tracking, including tracking resting heart rate.
So what don't you get? There's not a wide range of other sports – just running, swimming and biking – and the data is simple. You won't get insights into training load, the effect of sessions or recovery. Also, things like cadence are out as well.
But, if you're thinking about moving beyond tracking runs on your phone, this is the next step up.
We love…
- The price
- The simplicity
We don't love…
- Ugly as sin
- Light on features
In-depth: Read our full Garmin Forerunner 35 review
Garmin Forerunner 245/245 Music
Price when reviewed: Music: $349.99/£289.99 Standard: $299.99/£249.99 | Forerunner 245 specs page
The Forerunner 245 Music (there's also a cheaper version without music support) was released back in 2019 – but it's been given continual updates by Garmin and it's still a top running watch for dedicated runners, and we'd recommend over the 645 and even 945.
The Forerunner 245's 42mm case is still suited to smaller wrists and makes it a unisex choice, for those that want more data from their training sessions.
On top of all the usual stats, the Forerunner 245 leverages the optical heart rate sensor to take VO2 Max readings, which are then turned into insights on your recovery, the effect of each session (Training Effect) and Training Load, which aims to help stop overtraining. Naturally, you'd need to be pushing your body hard for this to be useful, so it's a level above the Forerunner 45.
An update added the PacePro feature, which uses GPS data to pace races to your desired finishing times – even taking hills into account. And a 2021 update added the improved sleep tracking, which now uses FirstBeat algorithms, which helps improve the Body Battery and stress tracking.
If you opt for the more expensive Music edition, you can sync playlists from streaming services like Spotify, Amazon Music and Deezer to the watch and hook up some headphones. It's a bit clunky, but you can run without your phone. You've got enough for around 500 songs, which is not as many as the 945 can hold (1,000 songs), but it should still be enough for most.
Battery life is around seven days, though hammering the music features will dent that. But if you just save the audio for your workouts, it'll make it through the week. It does lack payment support and an altimeter, but, overall, it's a great running watch for anyone that has been looking for those music features, too.
We love…
- VO2 Max data
- Advanced training and recovery metrics
- PacePro
- Spotify playlists and MP3 playback
We don't love…
- Pricey
- Not so stylish
Wareable verdict: Our full Garmin Forerunner 245 Music review
Best Garmin multi-sport and triathlon watches
Whether you're a seasoned Ironman (or Ironwoman), dabbling in triathlon, or you just hate to be pigeon holed into one sport, these are the Garmin watches you need.
Garmin Fenix 7 (and 7S/7X)
Price when reviewed: From $699/£599 | Garmin Fenix 7 specs page
The Garmin Fenix 7 range has dropped in three sizes – the Fenix 7, 7S and 7X.
Most features are the same across the three devices – but there are some subtle differences other than case size.
The core features are unchanged over Fenix 6. Long battery life is now even longer, and there are still 30+ sports modes (advanced running, skiing, golf and cycling modes), in-depth analysis of recovery, training load and VO2 Max, as well as wellness features, pulse ox and Body Battery.
The Fenix 7 range has introduced touchscreen for the first time, although the displays themselves are still the low-res transflective panels found on the Fenix 6. But there is now a full AMOLED option in the Garmin Epix (see below).
The Fenix 7 range has also added GNSS support, and uses an extra frequency for improved GPS tracking – which was noticeably better in built up areas than on the Fenix 6 in side-by-side testing.
Elsewhere, there are improved solar editions that extend battery life even further, and there are Sapphire editions, that use titanium and hardened glass to save weight and ward off bumps and scratches.
The Fenix 7 also introduces better TopoActive mapping with UpAhead user defined waypoints, ably assisted by the touchscreen that improves the experience.
And the Fenix 7 series also improves training insights, with new tracking of stamina which is designed to help you pace long runs (some more work is needed from our testing and experience) and a visual race predictor that shows progress and improvement over time.
The standard Fenix 7 is 47mm, and still a chunky watch – so if that sounds too much for your wrist, the 42mm Fenix 7S will do the job better. The only downside is battery life, reduced to 11 days/37 hours GPS from 18 days/57 hours on the standard, non-solar Fenix versions.
The Fenix 7X comes in at a whopping 52mm – making it bulky by anyone’s standards. However, its best unique feature, other than monster battery life of 122 hours of GPS, is the flashlight feature, that will flash in time with your cadence as a night running safety feature.
We’ve only in-depth tested the Fenix 7X for now – but most of the testing applies to the features of all three.
We love…
- New mapping and touchscreen
- Improved GPS
We don’t love…
- So expensive
- Epix AMOLED display does steal the show
In-depth Garmin Fenix 7 review
Garmin Epix (Gen 2)
Price when reviewed: From $899/£799 | Garmin Epix specs page
Eagle-eyed readers will be aware that an Epix launched back in 2015 – but that’s been erased from history as the new Epix returns in 2022 with a fresh purpose.
Essentially a Fenix 7 with an AMOLED display, the Garmin Epix brings all of the top features of the flagship, without compromise. It packs a glorious 1.3-inch, 454 x 454 pixel resolution, color AMOLED touchscreen that creates a powerful sports watch with a smartwatch feel.
But the Epix doesn’t shirk the mapping, advanced performance analytics, new stamina mode, improved GNSS tracking, health sensors and sports modes of the Fenix.
However, there’s no solar option, and it only comes in the rather large 47mm case size.
Battery life is obviously diminished with the use of the AMOLED display – but not as much as you’d think. You still get 16 days battery life and 42 hours GPS (without the always on display enabled), compared to 18 days/57 hours on the standard Fenix 7.
You will pay even more than the Fenix, which is difficult to believe. The Epix comes with an epic $899/£799 price tag.
We love...
- AMOLED touchscreen
- Advanced analytics
We don’t love...
- Only 47mm option
- Epic price tag
Read our full Garmin Epix review
Garmin Forerunner 945
Price when reviewed: $599.99/£519.99 | Forerunner 945 specs page
The Forerunner 935 was our top running watch pick for a long time, but with even more functionality packed into the 945, its successor has taken the crown.
However, while it carries the Forerunner branding, it's an incredibly effective multisport watch designed for triathletes – and serious ones at that – aimed at those who run long, fast and need to pay particular attention to load and recovery.
The triathlon-friendly watch essentially squeezes in everything you get in the latest Fenix watch, including multi-sport tracking, payments, a built-in music player, navigation features and full color maps.
On the running front, it covers everything from the treadmill to trail running and provides plenty of metrics to pore over after your training session.
It still has stellar battery life, while the built-in heart rate monitoring and great new training effect, load and focus features make sure you're not over-exerting yourself.
Garmin has introduced a Forerunner 945 LTE edition, which means you can access its safety features like incident detection, without needing your phone to raise an alarm.
If you're not fussed about that support, then go for the regular 945 and you'll get another top notch multi-sport GPS watch that makes a fine running companion for serious athletes.
We love…
- Advanced analytics
- Triathlon tracking
- Cheaper than Fenix
- Music and Spotify
We don't love…
- Not quite as stylish as Fenix
- Big price tag
In-depth: Read our full Garmin Forerunner 945 review
Garmin Forerunner 745
Price when reviewed: $499.99/£449.99 | Forerunner 745 specs page
The Garmin Forerunner 745 delivers rich sports tracking and the new training insights are useful as long as you make a chest strap your training partner.
Garmin sticks to its transflective display technology that has served it well on other watches to help give you good battery life and strong visibility in bright light.
It's the same 1.2-inch size and 240 x 240 resolution you'll find on the cheaper Forerunner 245.
It boasts 5ATM water resistance which means it's safe to swim with up to 50 meters, and it's suitable to take in the shower. As this is a watch aimed at triathletes, you do have open water and pool swim tracking support covered.
It covers running including a new track mode, which has also rolled out to other watches and serves big metrics for cycling and swimming too.
You also have profiles for other outdoor pursuits like skiing, hiking, rowing and kayaking. These bring point-to-point navigation with the ability to upload routes and follow breadcrumb trails in real time.
You do have a triathlon mode of course, which works in a similar fashion to how it does on the 735XT and the 945. And you can hit the back button (bottom right) to transition to different sports in brick sessions, customise the legs of your event or training, follow course navigation and access your training schedule and workouts.
The Forerunner 745 promises up to seven days in smartwatch mode, up to six hours with GPS and music in use, 16 hours in GPS mode and there's an UltraTrac mode giving you up to 21 hours.
We love…
- Small, light design
- Useful recovery advisor feature
- Solid sports tracking
We don't love…
- Battery life isn't great
- Iffy sleep tracking
- Feels too expensive
Check out our Forerunner 745 in-depth review.
Best Garmin smartwatch
Top choice: Garmin Venu 2
Price when reviewed: $399.99/£349.99 | Garmin Venu 2 specs page
If you want a Garmin watch with a screen to rival what Apple, Samsung and Fitbit can offer, then enter the Venu 2.
The successor to the Venu, which launched in 2018 now comes in two size options, 40mm (Venu 2S) and 45mm (Venu 2) with the larger model giving you a screen size that matches what you'll get on the Vivoactive 4. There's also the new 43mm Venu 2 Plus, which is 2mm smaller and adds voice calling and assistant features – albeit at a beefy $449/£399 price.
It's packing a higher resolution AMOLED screen that makes it much nicer to view stats and notifications. Garmin has also updated the interface to make it easier to use than its predecessor and make better use of the touchscreen display.
In terms of sports and health tracking, you get the same as the Vivoactive 4. Running (indoor, outdoor, treadmill), cycling (indoor/outdoor), swimming (pool only thanks to 5ATM water resistance), golf, strength, cardio, elliptical, indoor rowing, yoga and more.
Garmin has added more tracking modes for HIIT workouts like setting up Tabata times and will now display muscle heat maps to compliment the automatic rep counting. It's also added new Health snapshots and Fitness Age insights to let you know how fit and healthy you really are.
It's got all of the same smartwatch features as the Vivoactive 4 but does up the storage capacity for the music player giving you room for up to 2,000 songs.
It offers some nice improvements on the original Venu and crucially offers a boost in battery life even with always-on display mode in use. It's capable of going beyond a week, and around 4 days with the screen on 24/7.
There's now also a rapid charging feature to give you a day's play or 1 hour of GPS tracking off a 10-minute charge.
Check out our Garmin Venu 2 v Venu v Vivoactive 4 comparison.
We love…
- The screen
- The sports tracking
- Music and Spotify
We don't love…
- Pricier than first Venu
- No improvement in HR accuracy
Read all about it: Full Garmin Venu 2 review and Garmin Venu 2 Plus review
Garmin Lily
Price when reviewed: $199.99/£179.99 | Garmin Lily specs page
Garmin has released its smallest smartwatch to date – aimed at women. It features a diminutive 34mm case and 14mm strap, making it the smallest mainstream smartwatch on the market.
The screen is a low-res LCD affair, but when the screen dims it leaves a patterned design on the screen, so you won’t be carrying a dead display around on the wrist.
It's hardly a fitness powerhouse. There's no GPS, although you can borrow your smartphone's if you take it along for a run or ride. However, there's plenty of health and wellness features, with SpO2, heart rate, Body Battery (energy level metric) and advanced sleep tracking all supported.
And as you might imagine, it supports Garmin's cycle tracking (that's menstrual not two-wheels) and the all-new pregnancy mode that helps the watch make sense of your rapidly changing biometrics.
It's not the perfect sports watch for runners (look at the Fenix 6S or Forerunner 45S for that), but for more casual users looking for something slender, this has plenty of potential.
Garmin estimates up to five days of battery life, with an average amount of activity and interaction and the pulse ox mode switched off. We found a life of close to four days with the pulse ox on, with a drop of around 10% overnight.
Read our full Garmin Lily review.
We love…
- Patterned glass
- Slim build and 14mm strap
- Good health and daily activity features
We don't love…
- No GPS built in
- Simplistic fitness features
Garmin Venu Sq
Price when reviewed: $199.99/£179.99 | Garmin Venu Sq specs page
We don't love…
- Poor, fiddly interface
- Screen isn't great
Read our full Garmin Venu Sq review.
Garmin Vivoactive 4
Price when reviewed: $269.99/£239.99 | Garmin Vivoactive 4 specs page
The Vivoactive 4 is Garmin's sport focused smartwatch, designed to offer the benefits of notifications and smart features with a jack-of-all-trades sports tracking which supports up to 20 activities.
Like its main rivals, the Apple Watch SE and Samsung Galaxy Watch 4, this is a watch that's aiming to bring more than just fitness smarts to your wrist. An upgrade to the Vivoactive 3, it still boasts a relatively low resolution transflective display, but this time it's been given a glossy screen that makes the whole package a lot more stylish.
It still has Garmin Pay and support for Spotify, as you'd expect, and you can install apps via Connect IQ, which also does a roaring trade in watch faces and widgets, too.
In terms of sports tracking, it's pretty comprehensive – you get running (indoor, outdoor, treadmill), cycling (indoor and outdoor), swimming (pool only), golf, strength, cardio, elliptical, indoor rowing, yoga and more. That enough for you? And, yes, you guessed it, 5ATM water resistance is on board.
None are tracked with the insane level of detail used by the specialist Forerunner or Fenix devices though, so you'll miss out on stuff like recovery, training load, training status, VO2 Max and the like.
You will get decent fitness tracking, and sleep is aided by the pulse ox sensor that will deliver advanced sleep stages and information on your respiration as you sleep. Hardcore stuff.
And when you think that the Apple Watch SE will only last a single day and won't get you through a marathon unless you turn off the heart rate monitor, the fact that this will give you a week in smartwatch mode with 13 hours of GPS is pretty excellent.
We love…
- Loads of tracked sports
- Shiny new display
- Crammed with features
- Music and Spotify
We don't love…
- Lack of VO2 Max
- Light on data
Full test: Garmin Vivoactive 4 review
Best Garmin outdoor watch
Top choice: Garmin Instinct 2/Instinct 2 Solar
Price when reviewed: $349.99/£299.99 | Garmin Instinct 2 specs page
The Garmin Instinct 2 is a rugged outdoor sports watch that comes with the same DNA as Garmin's Fenix range.
The first Instinct was followed by the Instinct Solar and with the latest Instinct 2, Garmin is promising bigger battery life and more software extras that make it a better fit for the kind of sports tracking that's offered on its Forerunner range.
The battery is the big gain with up almost a month promised in smartwatch mode and a GPS battery life of 30 hours, which is up substantially from the Instinct and Instinct Solar. You're now also getting the great power manager features from Garmin's Fenix range and you can pay for solar and get a bigger battery boost if you spend enough time outdoors with it.
Like previous Instincts, the 2 can track running, hiking, cycling, swimming, climbing and even skiing, boating and other types of outdoor pursuits. It's added a golf mode too and there's a host of different editions including a new tactical version, which offers a kill switch to quickly wipe all of the user memory.
Built to withstand the toughest of elements, the Instinct has all the usual skills you'd expect to see from one of Garmin's outdoor-friendly watches.
There's GPS along with GLONASS and Galileo support to offer plenty of mapping coverage. There's a barometric altimeter to measure elevation when you're climbing up mountains, Garmin's latest Elevate heart rate monitor technology and you're still getting a pulse oximeter, which it uses to check elevation against blood oxygen on its new Acclimatisation Widget.
Garmin has brought over running and training analysis features from its Forerunner watches like visual race predictions, VO2 Max estimates and training effect and status insights. There's daily suggested workouts and a recovery advisor on board too.
You're getting largely the same navigation experience here, with the ability to upload routes, real-time breadcrumb navigation and TrackBack with that sub-display helping to point you in the right direction.
If you're not going to make the most use of solar, you can go for the Instinct 2 for less and get all of the same improved tracking features and the kind of battery life that really can keep you away from a charger for weeks.
We love…
- More workout stats than previous Instinct
- Noticeably improved battery life
- Versatile sports tracking
We don't love…
- Design not for everyone
- Improved screen resolution not huge
- Questionable sleep tracking
Read more: Garmin Instinct 2 review | Garmin Instinct review | Garmin Instinct Solar review
Garmin Enduro
Price when reviewed: $799.99/£699.99 | Garmin Enduro specs page
The Garmin Enduro is the company's latest specialist variation of the Fenix 6X Solar, but built specifically for ultrarunners. The headline feature is the mammoth battery life, that claims up to 70 hours GPS battery life and up to 200 hours in lower power mode. And that rises to 80 and 300 hours with the Power Glass solar display.
We ran a 40 mile ultramarathon and it drained just 10% from the battery. Conceivably, you might only have to charge this watch just a handful of times in a year.
It's a beast of a watch, however, and the 51mm case will be too much for most people. It's certainly not unisex.
There are profiles for running, treadmill running, indoor track running, trail running, ultra running and virtual running – an MTB cycling and swimming is also well supported.
The ultra run mode has a clever rest timer, splits out how long you at aid stations and the new trail VO2 Max estimate takes slower off-road runs into account, and adjusts your VO2 Max accordingly.
Garmin’s excellent ClimbPro feature now also includes descents as well as ascents. So you get a full picture of the quad-burning that awaits you on your preloaded courses, including real-time information on the current and upcoming climbs and descents with gradient, distance and elevation gain/loss.
One of the biggest criticisms the Enduro faced at launch was the lack of maps. An ultra adventure watch without TOPO maps does seem like an oversight. But the navigation options are still as rich as most of the competition.
You still get breadcrumb turn-by-turn navigation with the ability to create, load and follow routes.
We love…
- Insane battery life
- Stylish and comfortable nylon strap
- Good ultrarunning features
We don't love…
- Big price tag
- No mapping
- Huge case
Read our full Garmin Enduro review.
Garmin swimming watches
Garmin Swim 2
Price when reviewed: $249.99/£219.99 | Garmin Swim 2 specs
The Garmin Swim 2 is in no uncertain terms a massive upgrade on the first Swim as far as what it’s capable of when you’re in the water.
It’s the cheapest Garmin you can buy to get open water and pool swimming features though it would be even more attractive at a slightly lower price.
If you can’t stomach paying for a top end Forerunner or Fenix, this is the swimming-focused Garmin watch to go for instead.
There are more metrics, settings to play with and of course a smattering of smartwatch features to make it useful when you're not swimming. The Swim 2 will track lengths, distance, pace, stroke count and SWOLF.
It can also detect stroke type, offer pace alerts, critical swim speed insights and a handy auto rest feature.
Many of these can be viewed in in real-time on the watch, but you'll get a better overview in the Garmin Connect app. Like most Garmin watches, it'll also play nice with Strava.
We love…
- Easy to use
- Plenty of swim metrics
- Accurate tracking
We don't love…
- Basic smartwatch features
- Doesn’t have full Connect IQ support
- Screen a bit on the small side
Check out our Garmin Swim 2 review.
Garmin hybrid watches
Garmin Vivomove series
Price when reviewed: From $179.99/£159.99 | Garmin Vivomove 3 specs page
Garmin's Vivomove series combines analogue and smartwatch looks and if you don't want to go all in with the level of sports tracking available on a Forerunner or Fenix and still want a stylish watch, this is the option for you.
The Sport is the latest addition to the Vivomove family, offering the same screen setup, albeit with a lower quality display and polymer case look.
Like the Vivomove 3 or the Luxe, the Sport uses that digital display to show off information like heart rate, stress, daily fitness tracking, notifications and can be used for music controls too.
There's no GPS, so those who want accurate run or cycle tracking will have to do so with their phone, but you do get a healthy array of overall tracking. Long-pressing the screen will bring up the option to select activities, at which point you can cycle between runs, cycles, walks, gym workouts and more.
It's definitely susceptible to the odd software hiccup, but generally the hidden screen technology responds extremely well and is home to a wide array of features.
Promised battery life is up to 5 days and that's exactly what we got. Think of it more in fitness tracker terms than sports watch terms as far as how well that battery shapes up.
We wouldn't recommend serious sporty types pick up one of the Vivomove devices – they should turn to the rest of Garmin's range – but it's a more than capable fitness tracker for regular users.
We love…
- Stylish design
- Software works beautifully
- Gamut of features
We don't love…
- Just the 5 days of battery
- Screen visibility on the cheaper Sport
- Style and Luxe models are pricey
In-depth reviews: Garmin Vivomove Sport review | Garmin Vivomove 3 review
This article was first published in July 2015. However, we update it frequently to reflect the newest Garmin devices, making sure that we've tested the latest and greatest devices available to buy.
