Garmin could be very widespread with those that get pleasure from out of doors actions, appleaing to multi-sport athletes, out of doors adventurers, and weekend warriors. You possibly can run with a Forerunner 970, hike with a Garmin Intuition 3 or golf with the Strategy S70. Garmin provides a sports activities watch for everybody with a value vary from $200 to $1,600.
Garmin’s smartwatches stand out with exact location accuracy. Its watches present well being and health tracker information for all smartphone house owners, with a brand new Join Plus subscription choice for extra insights and steering in your well being and health information. The brand new Garmin Venu X1 is exclusive with the biggest show on a Garmin watch, and competes immediately with the Apple Watch Extremely 2.
Finest smartwatch offers of the week
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What’s the finest Garmin watch proper now?
I’ve examined practically each widespread Garmin watch in the marketplace, evaluating their options, sturdiness, battery life, value, and extra, that can assist you decide which mannequin is finest in your health, wellness, and different monitoring wants. I usually run, row, trip, hike, stroll, sleep, compete, and stay with the watches for weeks at a time earlier than offering my remaining analysis of the watch.
My present decide for the very best Garmin watch general is the Garmin Venu X1. That is the latest flagship Garmin watch and one which immediately takes on the Apple Watch Extremely and Samsung Galaxy Watch Extremely, however nonetheless triples the battery lifetime of these widespread smartwatches. Skinny is in for the X1, and having that enormous 2-inch AMOLED show with a LED flashlight, easy-to-use interface, light-weight watch physique and strap, and the sturdy Garmin ecosystem makes it a aggressive smartwatch.
Learn on for the remainder of my examined picks for the very best Garmin watches you should purchase proper now.
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One of the best Garmin watches of 2025
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Why we prefer it: I get pleasure from utilizing the Apple Watch Extremely 2 as a smartwatch because of its capacity to behave as a cellphone substitute and serve up practically each software I would like on my wrist. One function that I hold asking for is a flashlight, so once I noticed Garmin lately launch the distinctive Venu X1 with a strong LED flashlight, I knew I needed to try it out.
The Venu X1 is the primary Venu sequence watch to function an LED flashlight, however greater than that, it has an enormous 2-inch AMOLED sq. show in a modern 7.9 mm thick physique. It provides a lot of what we see within the Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED, however for these of us who aren’t skilled athletes and are searching for a Garmin-branded watch that appears a bit like an Apple Watch Extremely 2 or Samsung Galaxy Watch Extremely, then that is the one.
Evaluate: Garmin Venu X1
Who it is for: The built-in speaker and microphone help calls from the wrist, voice instructions, and entry to voice assistants through a linked smartphone. Along with its smartwatch features, the Venu X1 helps all the glorious Garmin features and huge ecosystem. This contains subscription music help, Garmin Pay, Join IQ app help, and the excellent Garmin Join smartphone software.
Who ought to look elsewhere: The Venu X1 would not have help for multi-band GPS and ECG measurements, however positioning with a number of satellite tv for pc programs has nonetheless confirmed to be very correct. If you would like essentially the most correct positioning, you need to take into account a Forerunner or Fenix mannequin. It doesn’t embrace ECG capabilities, both.
Garmin Venu X1 options: Battery life (GPS): 16 hours | Show expertise: AMOLED | Distinctive function: Largest Garmin show, sq. kind issue, new ComfortFit band | Dimension: 41 mm x 46 mm
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For a few years, Garmin carried the Epix line with an AMOLED show that stood aside from the Fenix sequence. In Aug. 2024, that modified with the Fenix 8 now showing with each AMOLED and photo voltaic MIP show choices, and the Epix branding retired. On condition that the Enduro 3 provides a photo voltaic MIP show, has longer battery life, and is cheaper, the AMOLED Fenix 8 fashions are a best choice for mapping and communications.
Why we prefer it: The Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED connects seamlessly to Android and iOS smartphones, along with golf membership sensors, bike sensors, and extra. Nearly each sport is roofed, together with pickleball, with an up to date smartphone expertise so you may customise the watch settings in your cellphone and sync them over to the watch. One function I take advantage of day by day that ensures a Garmin will at all times be discovered on one wrist is the LED flashlight. I can’t categorical how helpful this performance is, which makes the Fenix 8 a vital software in my assortment.
Who it is for: New communications options for the Fenix sequence embrace an built-in speaker and microphone that helps cellphone calls from the wrist, entry to your linked cellphone’s assistant, onboard voice instructions, and voice recordings so in case you are searching for a succesful watch to function your sports activities watch and your major smartwatch then the Fenix 8 AMOLED suits that invoice.
You can even purchase the watch in 43mm, 47mm and 51mm sizes with quite a lot of watch case and band colour choices too so there’s a mannequin for each wrist dimension and character.
Who ought to look elsewhere: The Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED is an costly smartwatch and in case you are not planning to run a full marathon, practice for an ultramarathon, or concentrate on just some sports activities then there could also be higher choices for you. The Forerunner 970 and Venu X1 pack in many of the performance discovered within the Fenix 8 AMOLED at a cheaper price and designed with extra reasonably priced {hardware} parts.
Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED (47mm) tech specs: Show: 1.4-inch 454×454 pixels | Battery Life (GPS monitoring mode): 47 hours | Dimensions: 47x47x13.8 mm | Weight: 73 grams (titanium case with band) | Water/Mud Resistance: 10 ATM | Band Dimension: 22mm
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Why we prefer it: Within the early days, Garmin watches have been widespread primarily with runners. At this time, there are dozens of Garmin watches to select from, many priced at $400 or extra. However the brand new Garmin Forerunner 165 will get again to the fundamentals with an reasonably priced, $250 watch targeted on offering what most leisure runners want to trace their efficiency.
Even at this reasonably priced value, Garmin’s Forerunner 165 features a good AMOLED touchscreen show for that elegant Android smartwatch visible expertise present in Samsung and Apple smartwatches.
Who it is for: Whereas the Garmin Forerunner 165 can be utilized for all kinds of sports activities and actions, it’s primarily targeted on supporting runners, with options like adaptive coaching plans, wrist-based operating energy and dynamics monitoring, coaching impact, course help, and extra. You will additionally discover 25 profiles for actions like swimming, pickleball, yoga, and pilates. It is also an ideal look ahead to these with smaller wrists, particularly in a market full of huge, cumbersome watches.
A function I notably loved utilizing was “Morning report,” which summarizes my earlier day and night’s monitoring, together with the coaching plan for the day. Sleep monitoring with sleep scores and nap detection have been additionally welcome options.
Who ought to look elsewhere: If you’re searching for a giant, rugged watch able to monitoring an intensive variety of actions, then you need to take into account a bigger Forerunner, Fenix, or Venu watch. The Forerunner 165 can be closely targeted on primary smartwatch features and operating so if you wish to exchange your Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch then there are different watches that fill these roles.
Evaluate: Garmin Forerunner 165
Garmin Forerunner 165 features: Battery life (GPS): 19 hours | Show expertise: AMOLED | Distinctive function: Reasonably priced with superior operating metrics | Dimension: 43 mm
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Why we prefer it: The Intuition 3 Photo voltaic is a GPS Garmin watch with options tailor-made to out of doors pursuits the place you by no means need to fear concerning the software mounted in your wrist. Multi-band and multi-frequency help is offered for confirmed, exact positioning accuracy. It’s constructed to face up to the weather, and its rugged design is not only for seems to be.
The up to date giant photo voltaic panel signifies that the watch is able to limitless battery life with satisfactory photo voltaic charging. Even with out photo voltaic charging, the watch lasts for 40 days in smartwatch mode or as much as 60 hours in GPS mode.
Who it is for: The Intuition 3 function set is just like the Fenix 8 that’s priced greater than twice the price of the Intuition 3. It has much less premium supplies and doesn’t help offline music playback, however if you would like a strong GPS sports activities watch that may take a beating and carry on performing, then the Intuition 3 could also be for you.
Evaluate: Garmin Intuition 3 Photo voltaic
If you happen to spend time open air within the spring and summer time months, whether or not it’s for mountaineering, operating, fishing, swimming, or having fun with the water and open air in different kinds, then the Garmin Intuition 3 Photo voltaic often is the look ahead to you. It even helps the flexibility to trace your canine in case you are out fowl looking together with your favourite companion.
Who ought to look elsewhere: I just like the rugged Intuition 3 Photo voltaic for fishing, nevertheless it’s not a watch I put on day by day due to the monochrome show, cumbersome dimension that makes it robust to sleep with, and restricted golf help. The Garmin Enduro 3 provides an identical stage of performance with very lengthy battery life and a colour show.
Garmin Intuition 3 Photo voltaic options: Battery life (GPS): 60 hours | Show expertise: MIP | Distinctive function: LED flashlight, 2nd small window | Dimension: 50 mm (additionally obtainable in 45mm)
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Garmin’s Vívomove line is understood for mixing the pure mechanics of a standard analog watch with its newest digital options. This makes fashions just like the Vívomove Development very best for customers preferring a delicate and timeless smartwatch design.
Why we prefer it: ZDNET’s critiques editor, June Wan, examined the newest Vívomove Development and located it to strike a great stability of in-app well being and health options, battery life, and charging tech. Talking of which, the Development is the primary Garmin watch to help wi-fi charging typically. Which means you may plop the wearable on any Qi-enabled charging pad and it will energy up properly. (There’s additionally a wired choice included within the field if that is extra your cup of tea.)
With a hybrid design, the Vívomove Development’s motorized fingers will adaptively rotate across the watch face as you work together with it, from swiping by health metrics to altering sound and vibration settings to beginning a exercise. Auto exercise detection remains to be a factor, as is Garmin Pay and the slew of knowledge the companion app offers for some other mannequin, so you will not miss out on each Garmin function by going with extra type right here.
Who it is for: The Vivomove Development seems to be like a typical analog watch and never one that’s packed filled with superior sensors and expertise so in case you are searching for an unobtrusive sports activities watch, then the Development is an effective mannequin to contemplate.
“In methods, I appreciated the concentrate on digital well-being right here, with the dearth of vibrant, distracting, and colourful display screen animations, alongside my day by day well being metrics,” Wan wrote concerning the watch.
Who ought to look elsewhere: If you wish to see all your well being and health information proper on the show and in full colour, then take into account a Forerunner, Venu, or Fenix. The Vivomove Development is first primarily a handsome watch, however not primarily a feature-packed sports activities watch.
Garmin Vivomove Development features: Battery life (Smartwatch): 5 days | Show expertise: OLED | Distinctive function: Minute fingers and wi-fi charging | Dimension: 40 mm
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Why we prefer it: Garmin’s Vivoactive 6 matches different trendy smartwatches with a superb high-resolution AMOLED show, changing the memory-in-pixel shows of all previous Vivoactive fashions. It is comparable in design to the Venu 3 sequence with the Venu targeted on difficult smartphones with cellphone name and voice assistant help. The Vivoactive 6 is rather more reasonably priced than the Venu 3/3S with its concentrate on informal athletes.
Who it is for: The Vivoactive 6 is a modern watch obtainable now for $300 in 4 colour choices and one 42mm dimension choice for all customers. Garmin additionally launched its first good alarm function with the Vivoactive 6 that wakes you at your lightest level of sleep inside half-hour of your required wake time.
Greater than 80 sports activities modes, help for wheelchair actions, nap monitoring, and extra make the Vivoactive 6 a implausible GPS sports activities watch choice for the lots. Given the reasonably priced value, it might be the proper first alternative for folks trying to check out the Garmin ecosystem.
Who ought to look elsewhere: The Vivoactive 6 is available in one dimension, so these of us with bigger wrists are possible not going to be proud of the 42mm dimension. The watch additionally has no mapping or turn-by-turn instructions, so it’s not constructed for somebody trying to discover the wilderness.
Garmin Vivoactive 6 options: Battery life (GPS): 21 hours | Show expertise: AMOLED | Distinctive function: Sensible alarm | Dimension: 42 mm
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Why we prefer it: The Intuition Crossover offers lengthy battery life and rugged options with a cultured, iconic design. If you happen to like carrying a watch primarily to at all times give you glanceable time and need a watch that tracks all your well being and exercise information, then the Intuition Crossover could also be simply what you might be searching for. It additionally helps that Garmin included a brand new GPS chipset with rather more correct efficiency than the Intuition 2 sequence.
Who it is for: The great factor a couple of watch just like the Garmin Intuition Crossover is that it features primarily as a watch after which captures your well being and exercise information passively as you’re employed out and stay. Open up the Garmin Join smartphone software after which you can find all your information in full colour with in depth functionality to create studies and analyze your information. This contains blood stress information from the brand new
Evaluate: The Garmin Intuition Crossover grew on me. I simply want it had this one killer function
It takes just a few days to completely respect the Garmin Intuition Crossover and for me it took viewing the watch in low mild circumstances the place the fingers and hour marks have been at all times crystal clear, watching the fingers dynamically change each time the content material wanted to be seen, and the entire lack of considered battery life. I proceed to fall again on watches that final for weeks and can by no means totally embrace a watch that solely lasts for one to 3 days once more.
Who ought to look elsewhere: If you happen to don’t love viewing analog fingers in your watch and wish good colour with a touchscreen interface then look elsewhere. The Intuition Crossover is a singular watch that can solely attraction to a small neighborhood of watch wearers.
Garmin Intuition Crossover features: Battery life (GPS): 25 hours | Show expertise: Reminiscence-in-pixel monochrome | Distinctive function: Minute fingers and middle show | Dimension: 45 mm
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Why we prefer it: The Garmin Strategy S70 improves on the earlier S62 with an AMOLED show, 42 and 47mm dimension choices (folks with smaller wrists can now get pleasure from this whole golf expertise), improved PlaysLike options (temperature and barometric stress accounted for), inexperienced contours with Garmin Golf subscription, and enhancements in different well being and health features of the Garmin ecosystem outdoors of golf.
A few of the golf options discovered on the Strategy S70 that aren’t obtainable on different Garmin watches embrace customized targets, PinPointer, PlaysLike distance, Swing Tempo, inexperienced contours, and shot dispersion. Shot dispersion could also be certainly one of my favourite new options because it shows a field on the watch to point out the place your chosen membership shot could find yourself, primarily based in your {golfing} historical past.
Evaluate: This Garmin golf watch has one key function that makes it indispensable for my sport
Who it is for: I completely loved my time on the course with the Garmin Strategy S70 and have but to search out one other golf watch that gives as a lot because it does. If you happen to’re obsessed with golf, and also you need a watch that may enable you with different health actions simply as a lot, then that is the watch to contemplate.
Who ought to look elsewhere: If you happen to by no means golf, then you shouldn’t purchase the Strategy S70. It has {hardware} options across the bezel particularly for golf so when you by no means golf that could be a wasted function. The watch is highly effective for golf, however compromises in numerous methods on the subject of the remainder of the Garmin ecosystem. At 47mm, the Strategy S70 can also be too giant for some golfers, however there are different Strategy choices obtainable from Garmin so take into account the Strategy S44 or Strategy S50.
Garmin Strategy S70 options: Battery life (GPS): 20 hours | Show expertise: AMOLED | Distinctive function: 18-hole standing indicator | Dimension: 47 mm
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Why we prefer it: The most recent in its triathlete-tailored Forerunner sequence, the Garmin Forerunner 970 builds on the in depth coaching options from its predecessor and enhances the {hardware} with an LED flashlight so you may run safely at midnight. Different {hardware} options from the Fenix 8 are current on the Forerunner 970, together with a microphone and speaker for calls out of your watch, entry to your cellphone’s voice assistant, and the flexibility to file voice notes when you run.
Except for the spectacular efficiency metrics like outlining your operating routes, exhibiting coaching results, and measuring VO2 Max, the 970 provides operating financial system and operating tolerance when paired with a Garmin HRM 600 coronary heart charge monitor. Garmin additionally launched its new Night Report options on the 970 so you may put together for the following day as you start your sleep.
Who it is for: Improved GNSS monitoring with multi-band and multi-frequency help, managed through SatIQ, ensures your actual location is at all times precisely tracked. Daring colour mapping is on the market for turn-by-turn navigation, path operating, and extra.
Whereas the Forerunner 970 is concentrated on the runner and triathlete, there’s additionally full help for greater than 30 actions with the flexibility to customise the info screens and run studies on all your sports activities.
Who ought to look elsewhere: If you’re a runner, however don’t want all the superior metrics discovered within the Forerunner 970 then the premium value level is probably not value it in your wants. There are different reasonably priced Forerunner fashions which will meet your wants and you could possibly additionally save by buying the earlier technology, the Forerunner 965.
Garmin Forerunner 970 features: Battery life (GPS): 26 hours | Show expertise: AMOLED | Distinctive function: Superior coaching metrics and Night Report | Dimension: 47 mm
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Newest information on Garmin watches
The final Garmin watch to have LTE service for security functions was the Forerunner 945 LTE. Rumors are swirling that Garmin could launch a Fenix 8 mannequin with LTE connectivity. The Fenix 8 was launched in Aug. 2024, and an absence of mobile connectivity is without doubt one of the gaps between Garmin watches and people from Apple, Samsung, and Google.
Newest updates
- July 2025: With our July replace comes a brand new chief in our record. After greater than a month utilizing the Venu X1, it has now moved to the highest spot in our record of Finest Garmin watches because of its slim dimension, efficiency, and luxury, dropping the Fenix 8 to the second-place slot. The Fenix 8 was robust to beat with its pretty AMOLED show and lengthy battery life, however it’s costly and a bit chunky for most individuals.
- June 2025: We added the brand new Venu X1 to the record, changing Venu 3S. We additionally added info on Garmin information in 2025, and added further particulars to every high product.
Different Garmin watches we have examined
Whereas we tried to incorporate a wide selection of Garmin watches in our evaluation, there are lots of extra to contemplate than what we are able to symbolize right here. Take into account certainly one of these three options for many who did not discover the Garmin watch they need above.
Smartwatches Reviewed & In contrast
