The Garmin Fenix 8 is a good activity watch by every conceivable metric, and rated our best Garmin watch in the premium category. I gave the Fenix 8 five stars when I reviewed it in September 2024, and I've been wearing it on and off ever since, while testing other wearables in between.

It's accurate in terms of GPS and heart rate, it's fast, it's eminently customizable, and stuffed with neat, handy features. It's got everything from some of the best navigation software I've ever used to advanced training plans courtesy of Garmin Connect. It's tough, built with titanium and either hardened Corning Gorilla or Sapphire glass, and has a battery life lasting around two weeks, depending on the model and size. It's been my daily driver, and frankly, even as a wearables and fitness tester, it's probably too much watch for me. I don't use all the features regularly, but I love big shiny Garmins.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

So, two years on, would I get it in 2026? The answer is definitely yes, provided you're someone who will get the most out of it. If you love (and I mean, really love) a whole variety of outdoor pursuits, be they hiking, running, cycling, swimming, orienteering, or a combination of the above, plus other indoor fitness activities like gym sessions, you'll love this watch and consider it good value for money.

If you dabble in activity rather than living and breathing it, you might be better off saving yourself some money and buying a lower-power, lower-feature device like a Garmin Forerunner or Garmin Instinct 3. But for dedicated outdoor enthusiasts, I struggle to imagine a better watch.

If you're in the market for a new Garmin, some of the Prime Day deals (like the ones below on the 43mm Garmin Fenix 8) might look pretty appealing. However, unless you spot a particularly good deal (say, under $700 / £600), I'd actually recommend waiting. Here's why.

The rumor mill is churning...

As we reported earlier in the year, Garmin CEO Cliff Pemble reassured investors that he expected "stronger performance in the back half of the year due to the timing of product launches" and that it would be "a very active year for outdoor". Garmin's outdoor line of watches had a high-profile refresh with the Garmin Instinct 3 release last year, so a big outdoor watch launch for 2026 is likely to mean only one thing — the Garmin Fenix 9.

The timings make sense. Two years after the Fenix 8 launches is ample time for users to get excited about a Fenix 9, just as the 8 came two years after the Fenix 7. I must admit, I personally don't think there's going to be too much change under the hood: a Fenix 9 will cost more due to the recent supply chain price increases, and is unlikely to boast an enormous performance upgrade.

However, what the new watch will do — if it launches this year — is to drive down the price of the old one, just as the Fenix 8 has done with the Garmin Fenix 7 and Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2). These incredible watches can now be found at better-than-half their original prices, and at that sort of price cut, I'd certainly recommend the Garmin Fenix 8 over the likes of a fully-priced Garmin Forerunner 570.

So, if you're holding out for a Fenix 8, it might be prudent to skip the Prime Day deals this year and wait till a sales event in the back half of the year, such as Black Friday, in case the Fenix 9 comes along to knock the 8 off its perch.

However, don't be dissuaded from browsing the rest of the Amazon Prime Day deals, just in case you do find something you're looking for. For Fenix 8 shoppers, that might be the Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): another of my absolute favorite running watches I used to train for, and run, the London Marathon. It's got an up-to-date heart rate sensor so remains accurate, and a whole host of adventure-ready features. I stand by my 4.5 star review.

At under $500 in the US, and a frankly ridiculous £300 in the UK, it's better value than the newer Fenix 8 unless the latter drops to under $700 in the US. In the UK, this deal simply can't be beaten.

More Prime Day deals in the US

• Amazon Devices: Fire Sticks & Echo from $18
• Amazon Haul: viral gadgets, tech & appliances from $1.99
• Apple: MacBooks, AirPods & AirTags from $29
• Beauty: 50% off toothbrushes & hair tools
• Cheap TVs: smart TVs from $69.99
• Garden: tools, mowers, planters from $24.99
• Headphones: 50% off Beats, Bose & Samsung
• Laptops: Apple, HP & Dell from $199
• Mattresses: Sealy, Serta & more from $186
• Patio: outdoor furniture, rugs & decor from $19.99
• Sports: 50% off fitness gear, treadmills & clothing
• Vacuums: Dyson, Shark & Bissell from $34

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £24.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Headphones: up to 50% off
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Eufy & Roborock
• Wearables: Garmin & Huawei from £36.99

I'm currently testing the Garmin Forerunner 170 Music to see if it merits inclusion in our best Garmin watch list. It's a recent release and stands as the successor to the excellent Garmin Forerunner 165, positioned as one of Garmin's cheaper watches, costing $299 / £259.99 / AU$479 for the version without music storage and $349.99 / £299.99 / AU$549 for the version with music storage.

As a more affordable device (for Garmin, anyway), it's made some concessions during construction, such as a cheaper plastic body without a metal bezel or back, and an older heart rate monitor, Garmin's Elevate V4 model. The more accurate Elevate V5 is reserved for more expensive watches, such as the Garmin Fenix 8.

This did concern me. The Elevate V4 is getting a little long in the tooth, and I wanted to make sure the Forerunner 170 Music was still up to snuff in the accuracy stakes. After all, what's the point of a running watch that isn't accurate?

To find out whether it was accurate, I ran on the treadmill for 25 minutes while wearing both the Garmin Forerunner 170 and the Polar H10 electrical heart rate monitor, which I wore across my chest. The H10 is considered the gold standard of heart rate measurement, far more accurate than the Garmin Forerunner 170, and is my go-to when testing wearables.

Here are the results:

Garmin Forerunner 170 Music vs Polar H10: accuracy test

As you can see, they're actually very close together in the heart rate categories, which is very encouraging. The Polar H10 chest strap read 154 bpm (beats per minute) as the 'average' heart rate across the workout, and 182 bpm as the maximum.

The Garmin Forerunner 170 Music recorded similar data, with a 150 bpm average and 182 bpm maximum. Both measurements were within 5 bpm of the Polar, a very acceptable margin of error.

Calories were a little different, but not by much. The Polar H10 recorded 344 calories burned, while the Garmin Forerunner recorded 316. This is under 10%, and other factors come into play here, such as the Garmin watch's accelerometer, which the Polar doesn't have — heart rate is only part of the story.

Based on these readings and the last few days of testing, I'm happy to say that the Garmin Forerunner 170 Music has proven very accurate so far. Stay tuned for my full review.

• The Garmin Enduro 4 has appeared as a reference in the back-end code of the Garmin Connect app
• The code doesn't specify a release date, but it's a new addition in the app's latest update
• It points to a launch for the Enduro 4 and Fenix 9, as previous versions of both devices have launched together

I've been devouring every crumb of news we can get about the Garmin Fenix 9 range, and when it will launch. After all, the Fenix 8 quickly made our list of the best Garmin watches after it launched, and is Garmin's preeminent premium watch.

The Enduro series, meanwhile, is effectively a powerful, battery life-focused version of the Fenix watches, and the Enduro 3 launched alongside the Garmin Fenix 8 in 2024. In our Garmin Enduro 3 review we said "the Enduro line puts battery first, all while offering most of the features from the Fenix series", with our reviewer getting almost a month's worth of battery from a single charge.

So it's exciting to hear our first whispers about the Garmin Enduro 4, as it suggests the full Fenix 9 range could be coming soon.

How the Garmin Enduro 4 leaked

The latest information comes courtesy of Gadgets & Wearables, which did an APK teardown examining the code of version 5.26 of the Android Garmin Connect app, and spotted 'Enduro 4' in a device registry.

This was reportedly not in version 5.25, suggesting it's a recent addition — and that a launch could be imminent.

It only adds weight to recent rumors that the Fenix 9 is coming soon. Garmin CEO Cliff Pemble reassured investors earlier this year that he expected "stronger performance in the back half of the year due to the timing of product launches," and that it would be "a very active year for outdoor".

Garmin's outdoor line of watches includes the Garmin Fenix series, alongside other high-profile entries such as the Garmin Instinct series. Given that the Garmin Instinct 3 arrived last year, and that the Fenix 8 is now a few years old, it's not hard to connect the dots. More soon.

• A certification listing has been spotted for a device believed to be the Garmin Cirqa
• It lists Bluetooth as the only connectivity option, suggesting this won't have Wi-Fi or GPS
• That puts it in line with rival screenless wearables

If you’ve been looking forward to the Garmin Cirqa, we’ve got some slightly disappointing but unsurprising news — it seems this screenless wearable will lack ANT+, GPS, and Wi-Fi.

This is according to a certification listing for a device believed to be the Cirqa found on the Integrated Regulatory Information System (IRIS) in Singapore, as spotted by The5kRunner (via NotebookCheck).

The listing reveals just Bluetooth for connectivity, which means the Garmin Cirqa — assuming that’s what this is — would need to be paired with a smartphone in close proximity in order to track things like distances and routes when running or cycling.

So if you prefer to work out without your phone, this rumored wearable might not be the one for you.

Putting it in line with rivals

While that’s a shame, it’s not really surprising considering that rival screenless devices like the Fitbit Air and Whoop 5.0 also lack built-in GPS.

But that means the Cirqa will probably fall in line with them, rather than rising above them. This could have been a clear differentiation that would help Garmin’s upcoming device beat its key rivals, but the brand seemingly hasn’t taken that opportunity.

Still, for those who already wear a Garmin watch, or simply like the Garmin brand but want something without a screen, the Cirqa will probably still be the obvious choice, so there’s likely to be a built-in audience for it.

We’ll probably find out exactly what the Garmin Cirqa has to offer — and whether it has any other ways of standing out — soon, with previous leaks pointing to a mid-2026 launch.

Garmin made a massive U-turn this week when it announced that Garmin inReach users who suspend their subscriptions will receive free SOS access for up to 12 months.

Garmin inReach is a service which allows you to signal emergency services and send two-way messages without mobile service. This can be done from some of the best Garmin watches like the Fenix 8 Pro, Quatix 8 Pro or D2 Mach Pro 2, or more affordably on one of Garmin’s dedicated inReach pocket-sized satellite communicators, such as my inReach Mini 2 pictured above. Only the sender needs the inReach device, as others can receive messages and reply via SMS, email or the Garmin Messenger app. The service also provides GPS navigation, location tracking and weather updates.

As an outdoor and travel journalist, my inReach Mini 2 comes with me on all of my backcountry adventures – I’ve taken it to Everest Base Camp, the Swiss Alps and on three long-distance trails through remote sections of the UK over the last year.

Previously, users had to hold an active subscription costing anywhere from $7.99 / £7.99 to $49.99 / £49.99 a month to send SOS alerts, which drives up the price of Garmin's already-expensive smartwatches and pocket communicators. With over 10,000 SOS alerts from inReach devices each year, the move reveals the increasing pressure to stay competitive against brands such as Apple and Google, as the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Google Pixel Watch 4 both allow device users to contact emergency services via satellite when they’re out of signal.

This news means big savings – you could, in theory, only pay for one month a year now, or even suspend the service during the free trial and still get SOS connectivity – and makes the dedicated Garmin inReach devices a more appealing buy for outdoorsy types. But with these devices starting at $249.99 / £249.99, you might also be wondering if you can’t just rely on your phone instead.

Here I’ve shared three things I really like about my Garmin inReach subscription and my inReach Mini 2, plus one I don’t, to help you make up your mind. That price tag is a lot more palatable when you get a year’s worth of SOS messages for free.

1. Peace of mind

My favourite adventures take me well off the grid, over days or weeks at a time, and I’m usually alone. The wilderness can be a dangerous place, and while I’ve never got myself into a situation I couldn’t get out of, there’s always a chance I could break an ankle or pick up a bacterial infection that could render me immobile miles from the nearest town.

Yes, I have a Google Pixel 9 Pro in my pocket and here in the UK, that now means I can send a text via satellite. But like Apple’s service, that’s currently only available in select countries (North America, Western Europe and Australia), whereas Garmin’s reach spans the entire globe.

Knowing that as long as I’m conscious, I’ll be able to call for help with the simple press of a button really does give me peace of mind and more confidence in the wild.

2. Keeping in touch

Hiking is about getting off screens and back to nature for me, but because I tend to travel solo, I love being able to keep in touch with family and friends no matter what.

In the Himalayas, I sent an excited text to my editor when I met the son of the famous Sherpa mountaineer Tenzing Norgay in a Buddhist monastery, and my parents appreciated being able to track my progress over the 11 days using the MapShare web feature.

When I arrived at an alpine hut in the Alps last summer to discover there was no WiFi, I was still able to check in with my partner and parents, letting them know all was well. Sometimes, it’s frivolous, but I enjoy being able to stay a little connected and share my adventures in the moment, while not being able to access my full suite of apps.

3. Staying power

I use my phone and my Garmin Fenix 8 watch a lot more than my inReach device, but those devices both have limited battery life, and if I do have an accident, they could easily end up with shattered screens. The inReach device is a hardy piece of equipment that’s got real staying power.

The inReach just bounces when I drop it onto rocks from height, thanks to rugged materials like impact-resistant polymer, chemically strengthened glass and shock-absorbing rubber buttons. With a waterproof rating of IPX7, it can sit in a pool of water up to a metre deep for up to 30 minutes and still work.

It’s also got an incredible battery life. If I were using it constantly, I’d get 14 days between charges, but since I only occasionally turn mine on, I can go months (though I check it before every outing). I never have to worry about carrying a portable charger, running out of juice or finding an electrical outlet on my travels.

What I don't love: Tedious texting on the inReach Mini 2

The only thing I don’t love about most inReach devices, such as my Mini 2, is that it isn’t as easy to type a message on as your phone. I have to use arrows to scroll up and down through the alphabet and select each letter; it’s like searching for a YouTube video on a smart TV, except the screen is tiny. It’s not a dealbreaker, and I can get around it by using the Garmin Explore app on my phone, but it is a tedious task.

That said, the Mini 3 has solved this problem with a full keyboard on the touchscreen, so if all of this has convinced you to take the plunge, it may be worth going with the latest tech.

• Garmin just published a 'trends in running' report
• It tells us that Garmin Connect users in their fifties recorded the biggest distance tally with an average of 5.1 miles
• We also learn that runners sleep better, have a lower resting heart rate than non-runners, and have a good VO2 max

Garmin has just published a 'trends in running' report, which has revealed some surprising data.

Based on stats drawn from the Garmin Connect app globally, we're told that the average distance of a run across all users was 4.82 miles, but if you had to guess which age range ran the furthest, you probably wouldn't pick the 50 to 59 category.

Nonetheless, folks in their fifties racked up the biggest distance tally with an average of 5.1 miles. Those in their twenties ran slightly shorter routes at an average of 4.6 miles, only just ahead of runners aged 70+ who recorded an average of around 4.57 miles.

Care to guess the day of the week on which the most miles were collectively recorded? Perhaps unsurprisingly, it was a Saturday, and in terms of the month that witnessed the most running, that was August.

The time spent on a run was 46.3 minutes on average. As for weekly mileage, most Garmin runners — nearly 40% — did between 6 and 10 miles on average. The second largest group, representing 28% of runners, managed 11 to 20 miles.

What about the average pace? Across all runners, that was 9:21 per mile for men and 10:11 for women.

Sleep success

Garmin also noted that runners generally had a better sleep score compared to non-runners. The average sleep score for a runner was 73 for those who ran under 10 miles, and 74 for those who went further than that, compared to those who didn't run at all, hitting a score of 70 on average.

Resting heart rate was also better for runners, as non-runners had an average of 62 bpm, compared to 59 bpm for those who ran 0 to 5 miles weekly, and 55 bpm for runners who pushed over 31 miles per week.

Curious as to what the average VO2 max was for runners? Garmin says it's 50 across its entire user base. Not too shabby indeed! If you're unfamiliar with VO2 max as tracked by a smartwatch, check out our handy explainer.

• Garmin's feature update for Q2 2026 is now rolling out
• It brings a clutch of new features, including golf tag support, a stocks tracker and recovery feature — and more besides — for some watches
• However, some relatively recent Garmin watches miss out here

Garmin has announced a new feature update for its watches, although the catch is that only more recent devices will benefit.

As Gadgets and Wearables spotted, the Q2 2026 update pertains to not just Garmin watches, but also cycling computers, and it's rolling out from now (over the "coming weeks", and as ever with rollouts, the time it takes to arrive on your device may vary).

What new features are there? On the golfing front, one addition is Approach CT1 tag compatibility for certain watches, which means those devices can pair with Garmin's NFC club tags (to track the golf club used with the shot distance and other stats).

The following watches will benefit from this thanks to the Q2 update:

• Fenix 8
• Fenix 8 Pro
• Enduro 3
• Tactix 8
• Quatix 8
• Quatix 8 Pro
• D2 Mach

Other features already present on some watches are added to other Garmin models with this update, and that includes Premium Golf Features (via the Garmin Golf Membership), which will become available on the Garmin Venu 4, Vivoactive 6, and D2 Air X15.

If you own a Garmin Instinct 3, Instinct Crossover AMOLED, or Instinct E, you'll receive the Stocks Tracker and Mobility Activity features with this update. Those watches will also get the Workout Execution Score functionality, except for the Garmin Instinct E, which misses out here.

Troubleshooting bonus

There's also a new Recovery Mode feature — a troubleshooting function to recover the watch after a software glitch — which Gadgets and Wearables informs us is coming to several of Garmin's watch ranges. That includes the Venu 4, Venu X1, Vivoactive 6, D2 Air X15, Forerunner 570 and 970, along with Fenix 8 models, and the Fenix E.

On the bike computer front, the Q2 update provides support to connect compatible eBikes with Bosch smart systems to your Edge cycling computer to view info like the battery level, power and cadence data, and smart range routing. On-device Gear Tracking is also being added to those Edge bike computers.

Owners of relatively recent Garmin watches are going to be disappointed that they aren't getting these features, no doubt. For example, there's nothing for Venu 3 owners here, or the Vivoactive 5 or Fenix 7 models, and others besides.

That doesn't mean these slightly older devices are left completely out in the cold, as while they may not be visited with feature additions, they won't be left without software fixes. It's likely a small consolation, though, especially considering the substantial outlay for some of these gadgets.

Garmin is one of the biggest names in smartwatches — and especially if you're looking for a wrist-based hiking, running or golfing companion. The brand makes dozens of different models, at different price points and offering different combinations of features, so making sense of your options can be confusing. If you're short on time, our best Garmin smartwatch guide will point you directly towards our recommendations for specific use cases. However, if you want to explore all the possibilities, you can stay right where you are.

This article is your guide to all the Garmin smartwatches (within reason; I've culled anything super-old or ridiculously tricky to get hold of). I've included not just the latest-and-greatest in each line, but previous models too, provided they're still available to buy. Opting for an older version can be a great way to save a bit of money, if you're not precious about having the most cutting-edge features.

You'll also notice I've separated my guide into product lines. I've added a short blurb at the start of each section, explaining who each range is primarily targeted towards and how the features are angled. However, bear in mind these are very broad definitions — there's lots of overlap between ranges, and all the main features you'd expect from a smartwatch will be included no matter which range you opt for. Hit the View details button for more info about each watch, and a link to our full review.

Garmin Forerunner

The Forerunner range is designed for runners, and offers strong GPS, distance and pace tracking, with further features geared towards training and improving performance. As well as the options listed here, there are two new, beginner-friendly Forerunner watches we're in the process of reviewing: the Forerunner 70 and the Forerunner 170, both of which went on sale on 15 May (the 70 replaces the veteran Forerunner 55).

The Forerunner lineup is extensive, and even the older models can still be worth a look — the soon-to-be-replaced Forerunner 55 was the watch worn by Sebastian Sawe as he smashed out his sub-two hour 2026 London Marathon.

Garmin Fenix

Fenix is Garmin's other main smartwatch range, this time geared towards a broader range of sports and outdoor activities, rather than focusing on running. The Fenix models boast features like topographical maps and waypoint tracking, and are designed to be rugged with long battery life. The current flagship model is the Fenix 8. Unlike the Forerunner lineup, the Fenix watch numbers increase with each new model.

Garmin Vivoactive

Vivoactive is a more affordable range, geared towards casual or beginner runners and anyone looking for a general lifestyle smartwatch. You'll still get plenty of fitness capabilities, as well as a big suite of general tracking and heath data tools, but with fewer advanced features than you'd get with a Forerunner.

Garmin Venu

Venu is more of a general lifestyle smartwatch range than one geared towards running and adventuring, although there are of course general fitness features built in. The most recent model is the Venu 4.

Garmin Instinct

Instinct is an rugged series geared towards anyone looking for a more affordable outdoors and adventuring watch with exceptional battery life for multi-day expeditions — particularly if you opt for one of the solar-charged models. The latest model out is the Instinct 3.

Garmin Enduro

The Enduro range is built for endurance athletes, with multisport features similar to the Fenix line, lighter plastic cases, and solar charging to extend battery life. It'll be overkill for casual use, but if you need a watch that can run for days without needing to be plugged in, this is the range for you.

Garmin Approach

Approach is Garmin's golf range, and it includes not only GPS-enabled smartwatches, but things like handheld rangefinders and launch monitors. The smartwatch range includes features such as full-color course maps, a 'Virtual Caddy' and a screen that remains readable even in bright sunlight.

More Garmin options

Finally, a grab-bag of some of Garmin's more niche propositions. The MARQ is Garmin's luxury watch effort, combining mechanical watch craftsmanship and styling with smartwatch features; the Lily is the brand's women-focused watch; the Tactix is an ultra-rugged option for survivalists and military personnel; Epix is like a premium-styled Fenix, for outdoor pursuits; and the Vivosmart is a fitness band rather than a full smartwatch; and the Descent series are smartwatch-style dive computers.

Keen to get started on your running journey? Well, you're in luck. Garmin has dropped three new contenders for our best Garmin watch list, and they're all affordably priced and brimming with running-focused features.

The Garmin Forerunner 70, 170 and 170 Music officially release on May 15. You might have pre-ordered one already, but if you're still looking, you also might be weighing up which model is right for you. Do you need the Forerunner 170 Music, or can you save money and opt for the cheaper Garmin Forerunner 70? I break down all the differences below, with a brief bit of context to explain how they compare to other Garmin watches in the range.

Note that I haven't yet had an opportunity to test the watches myself — I've looked at the statistics and feature lists from Garmin's official websites and promotional materials to put together this comparison.

Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Garmin Forerunner 170: Specifications

Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Garmin Forerunner 170: Price

The cheapest watch of the three is the Garmin Forerunner 70, replacing the aging Garmin Forerunner 55 as Garmin's entry-level running watch du jour.

As you can see in our table above, it costs $249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399, while the more feature-rich Forerunner 170 (which replaces the older Garmin Forerunner 165) starts at $299 / £259.99 / AU$479. If you want the Music capabilities, you can pay an extra $50 / £40 / AU$70 for the Forerunner 170 Music.

Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Garmin Forerunner 170: Design

All three watches have a similar design language, and there are few physical differences. There's a single gram of difference in weight between the Garmin Forerunner 70 and its 170 siblings, and all three are only available in a 42.6mm screen size.

They all have the same 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen display, and use the same five-button configuration as many of Garmin's other watches, such as the Garmin Fenix 8, which makes it easy to operate the watch even while wearing gloves — perfect for running in all weathers.

Embossed Forerunner logos adorn the bands for all three models, while all three are available in a variety of colors, including Black, Whitestone and two-tone models. Each has at least one unique color option too — the Forerunner 70, for example, is available in a pale-yellow Citron color.

Garmin Forerunner 70 vs Garmin Forerunner 170: Features

Here's where it gets interesting. Each watch has the usual suite of heart rate and fitness-tracking features, such as calories burned, sleep tracking, steps counted and 80 sports profiles. They also all have built-in GPS, Glonass and Galileo satellite network connectivity, to make sure the watch is accurately tracking your runs.

Each one offers Daily Suggested Workouts and personalized training plans via Garmin Coach, the service in the Garmin Connect app. Other training features include advanced metrics perfect for runners such as stride, cadence and elevation, along with Running Power — a metric you may not know about. It's a measure of how much power your body's putting out during a run, measured in mechanical watts.

Garmin works out running power using the watch's motion sensors, GPS and barometer. Using heart rate to determine your performance is considered inferior, because it measures your body's response to the run, not the power of the run itself.

All three watches have wellness features galore, such as sleep tracking, nap detection, Training Readiness and Recovery scores to better plan your training calendar around. Course Planner helps you train at the correct distances, creating routes around your neighborhood, and the Race Predictor feature estimates your time based on a course added to Garmin's database and your historic data.

There are some differences, but they aren't major. The Forerunner 170 appears to have all the training features of the 70, while adding Garmin Pay and Smart Notifications features. Smart Notifications allows you to reply to texts when you're on the move (on Android phones), manage notifications from apps and emails, and screen calls, while Garmin Pay is a virtual wallet on your wrist, and works in a similar way to Apple Pay on one of the best Apple Watches.

These appear to be the only differences, aside from the colorways, between those two watches.

The Forerunner 170 Music adds 4GB of internal memory, allowing you to store songs on your wrist. When connected to Bluetooth headphones, you can listen to music right from your watch, without using your phone as a go-between. Combined with Garmin Pay, this means you can leave your phone at home or in a bag, run while listening to music, and even buy a coffee once you're finished.

Early verdict

The Garmin Forerunner 70 is shaping up to be a pretty great training tool, and if you're not looking for a smartwatch to use for notifications and a digital wallet, this is the model for you.

If you are looking for those things, the Garmin Forerunner 170 or 170 Music is going to be the best choice for you, unless you want to go up in price and opt for a more expensive smartwatch like the Garmin Venu 4.

• Garmin just dropped three new watches: the Garmin Forerunner 70, 170 and 170 Music
• Designed to be 'easy to use', the watches are equipped 'with everything a runner needs to start their running journey'
• Some of Garmin's software from more expensive Forerunners makes the cut here, such as wrist-based running power and running dynamics

Our best Garmin watches list has been overdue getting a new budget entry for a while, and we're now spoiled for choice: Garmin just dropped three 'easy-to-use' running watches.

The three models — the Garmin Forerunner 70, Forerunner 170 and 170 Music — are equipped with "everything a runner needs to start their running journey," according to Susan Lyman, Garmin Vice President of Consumer Sales and Marketing.

The Garmin Forerunner 70 is the successor to Garmin's long-serving Garmin Forerunner 55 running watch, and will cost £219.99 / AU$399 (around $300). The Forerunner 170, meanwhile, will start at £259.99 / AU$479 (around $350). The 170 Music, which allows you to download music and connect headphones and which comes with 4GB of memory, costs £299.99 / AU$549 (around $400).

All three watches come with a 1.2-inch AMOLED screen and Garmin's standard Forerunner five-button configuration.

The Garmin Forerunner 70 offers up to 13 days of battery life, while the more feature-rich Forerunner 170 series both get up to 10 days of battery life in smartwatch mode. The Forerunner 170 series also adds more smartwatch features, such as Garmin Pay.

In a press release, Lyman said the "Forerunner 70 and Forerunner 170 include premium running and training features pulled in from our more advanced Forerunners, plus popular health and wellness metrics."

Those tools include Training Readiness scores, wrist-based Running Power (a popular metric to base your performance on, a measure of total effort rather than heart rate), and Running Dynamics features, which calculate stride, cadence and more. It's not clear yet whether the watches are packing the older, less accurate Elevate V4 heart rate sensors common in cheaper watches, or Garmin's newer Elevate V5 series.

The Garmin Forerunner 70 and 170 series are available to pre-order now, releasing on May 15.

A well-timed replacement

While there's plenty of entry-level and beginner-friendly language used when describing these watches, Garmin's simpler, cheaper Forerunners are still used by the best runners in the world.

As recently as April this year, the five-year-old, still-cheap Garmin Forerunner 55 was used by marathon runner Sebastian Sawe to break the two-hour time barrier at London 2026.

So, even though these watches are ideal for beginners, serious runners should be looking at them very closely too. Stay tuned for our full reviews.

• Huawei has announced two new wearables in its new Watch Kids X1 series
• There are two new models, the standard version and a Pro version
• Both models are equipped with solid child safety tools to give you peace of mind

There are two new kids' smartwatches on the market thanks to Huawei, and the company is showing how creators of the best smartwatches should really be implementing child safety.

The two new models, the Huawei Watch Kids X1 and Watch Kids X1 Pro, were unveiled at the tech giant’s Innovative Product Launch in Bangkok earlier this week, where it also announced a slew of other new smartwatches joining its family of wearables, including the Watch Fit 5 series, Watch Ultimate Design Spring Edition, and Watch GT Runner 2 Racing Legend Edition.

Starting at 249 euros (approx. $293) for the Watch Kids X1 and 349 euros (approx. $410) for the Watch Kids X1 Pro, both editions pack a 360-degree flippable screen with a 1.82-inch AMOLED display, as well as a 5MP 110-degree wide front camera and 13MP rear camera for photos and video calls. The X1 Pro watch face is also detachable, so your child can use it as a handheld camera.

Storage-wise, both models differ slightly. While the standard Watch Kids X1 and Watch Kids X1 Pro support 2GB of RAM, the former has 32GB of storage while its Pro sibling has double at 64GB, but those are the only major differences between the two. If anything, both match each other as far as health tracking features are concerned.

Both models offer very similar health monitoring tools, packing a punch on the sensor front that includes one for heart rate tracking, a gyroscope, an accelerometer for step counting, and a magnetometer for navigation.

Kids’ smartwatches appear to be quite the hot topic at the moment, especially since Garmin has just launched the Bounce 2, but Huawei’s new watch series is really honing in on child safety measures in a lot of ways.

First, the X1 series supports dual-band GNSS positioning, dual-band Wi-Fi for indoor assistance, and cellular connectivity. Then there’s the FamCare app, which puts a lot of the control into the hands of parents and guardians.

Through this app, you’ll get a direct insight into your child’s real-time activity status, allowing you to set safe and danger zones and receive alerts when your child enters and leaves these areas. As well as the basic control tools like customizing usage limits and setting focus time, FamCare also lets you video call your child through the camera on the X1 watch face — adding another layer of reassurance.

• JL Audio, owned by Garmin, unveils new hi-fi products
• Two speakers: T6 and S3, each with high prices
• Also unveils CS Stereo Centerpiece preamp and streamer

Everyone's favorite smartwatch brand Garmin has taken a break from wearables, such as the recent Tactix 8, to release a series of home audio gadgets with bank-breaking prices.

This is JL Audio's Primacy range, and this is one of Garmin's sub-brands. You'd be forgiven for not having heard of them, as their chief areas are car and maritime audio, and this jump into luxe hi-fi is sure to raise some eyebrows.

Don't expect these gadgets to price similarly to the best Garmin watches, though. They're seriously expensive pieces of hi-fi gear — priced to match the elite stuff from the likes of Bowers & Wilkins and Wilson Audio — that you can only pick up from specialist audio dealers.

Meet the Primacy pals

Let's talk about the Garmin JL Audio Primacy T6 first (just above). This is the priciest of the bunch, retailing for around $90,000 per pair.

These floorstanding active speakers have six drivers each: a 1-inch carbon tweeter, a 5.5-inch mid-range driver, and four 5.5-inch woofers. These are three amps per unit, totaling 1000W of output, and each amp has its own DSP and DAC, with support for 32-bit/192kHz audio.

The JL Audio Primacy S3, selling for $35,000 per pair, drops the specs a little. They're active speakers again, with the same 1-inch dome tweeter as the bigger model, plus a 5.5-inch woofer, and two amplifiers per unit.

Both speakers have various refinements such shaped enclosures and audio filters to offer tuned sound. They connect via XLR, RCA or Cat 6

Rounding out the trio, ostensibly to control the others, is the $15,000 CS Stereo Centerpiece. This is both a streamer — with compatibility for various audio services — and a preamp. It has all the trappings you'd hope at the price, such as room correction, user profiles, Bluetooth compatibility, and a built-in screen.

None of Garmin's new devices are available from its website. Instead, the listings guides you to your local retailer, who you can pick them up from.

In 2025, both Garmin and Polar made the bold move to launch paid subscription services with AI-driven coaching features, putting a host of software features behind a paywall.

Unsurprisingly, the introduction of Garmin’s Connect+ and, to a lesser extent, Polar’s Fitness Program didn’t go down well with many existing users. In particular, Garmin users that had just spent a lot of money on a watch they assumed they’d have access to everything on offer, with few users migrating to the paid tier according to our poll.

Garmin and Polar join Oura, Whoop, Google and most other major wearables manufacturers and fitness apps in offering a paid tier full of AI-powered features. When two of the most established sports watch brands make those kinds of moves, it’s understandable to wonder if everyone else will follow suit.

Coros is a relative newcomer to this space, launching its first watch in 2018. Since then, it’s rapidly grown its presence to appear on the wrists of many runners, cyclists and endurance athletes, and features on our lists of best running watches. Coros’ companion app and features have been free to access with the purchase of a watch, and have been since day one. So would it follow in the footsteps of Garmin and others by starting to make its users pay up for extra features?

“First of all, never say never,” says Lewis Wu, co-founder and CEO at Coros.”It really depends on how things go. “We don’t have a payment subscription plan on the roadmap yet, because so far the development is good enough for us to eat that cost.

“Hopefully we’ll never need to do it. The cost of cloud services and the cost of AI will also go down in the future. So we’ll try very hard to keep it for free. We'll try to be as nice as possible for a long time!”

Wu was speaking to us at the launch of a new collaboration between Coros and Wahoo that now allows training data to be shared across devices from both brands. That includes Wahoo’s new Kickr Run treadmill to boost indoor run tracking accuracy. Again, there is no extra charge for this feature for Coros or Wahoo users.

“One thing we need to look at is, what kind of features are we going to build?,” Wu said. “The second thing is, what’s the cost of that feature? If the profit from hardware sales is able to cover it, then we’ll find a way to offer it for free. We have been building features for existing hardware for years without charging anything.”

As far as the likes of Garmin and Polar deciding to offer a subscription element to their respective software platforms, this is something Wu isn’t wholly surprised by.

“A company needs to make a profit. That’s one thing, says Wu. “That’s part of why you start a company right? Whether you’re a large company or a small startup. We want to keep our business model simple. We want to sell hardware and reinvest the profit into the back end development.

“There’s no problem for an app-only company to charge a subscription because that’s their only source of income. We’re fortunate that we have the hardware sales to support us.”

Is a screenless Coros tracker on the horizon?

Locking software features behind a paywall isn’t the only trend in the wearable space that has pulled in some of those established sports watch brands. In 2025, Polar introduced the Loop, a screen-less band clearly set on offering a subscription-free alternative to Whoop. Garmin is expected to launch its Cirqa band soon and do something similar. Google and Fitbit is set to join the screen-free party with the device likely being dubbed Fitbit Air. So is Coros cooking up something screen-free as well?

“Screen-less devices really land on understanding what kind of problem we want to solve for consumers?” explains Wu. “We’re not a company that sells tons of screen-less devices and makes tons of money from it. What we’re going to do is look at what kind of problems cannot be solved by a watch. For the most part, most problems can be solved by a watch. It’s a device you can wear 24/7. It can record your heart rate and metrics like HRV.”

This kind of problem solving is what led Coros to build and launch an arm-based heart rate monitor. To solve the problem of offering more reliable heart rate tracking across workouts compared to the performance of doing that from the wrist. It also launched the Coros Pod to provide more accurate tracking of running metrics like pace by placing motion sensors closer to your feet.

“We build a watch now and our first step is to build a very established wellness system,” explains Wu. “We’ll see if consumers are happy about it, or if it is absolutely necessary to build hardware. You look at the smart ring companies. They offer a good experience, right? Whatever decision we’re going to make, it’s going to be about solving a problem. It’s not just about another source of income because fundamentally, there's not that pressure.”

So it’s a no to a Whoop rival for now at least and crucially for Coros users, no plans to hit that subscription button any time soon as long as those watches keep shipping.

Marathon season has officially kicked off in Australia, with plenty of running events coming over the next few months, including the Sydney Marathon, which is part of the prestigious Abbott World Marathon Majors to be held on 30 August this year.

It follows the London Marathon that took place recently, when Sabastian Sawe finished first with a time of 1:59:30, breaking records, while runner-up Yomif Kejelcha was just 11 seconds behind.

While the coveted entry ballots to the Sydney Marathon closed a while back, you might be inspired by Sawe to up your running game and train for your first 5K run or even a full ultramarathon, and having the right gear will help with the training.

In Sawe’s case, headlines focused on his shoes, the unreleased Adidas Adizero Adios Pro Evo 3, but what stood out to me as a tech reporter (and long-time Garmin user) was his running watch — the entry-level and now five-year-old Garmin Forerunner 55.

We’ve had the Forerunner 55 as one of our best Garmin watches for years before newer models edged it out, but Sawe's win during the London Marathon proves you don't need the latest and most expensive kit to achieve your goals. Even after all this time, the Forerunner 55 is still reliable, has a wide range of features and, importantly, is affordable (for a Garmin) even at full price. But why pay full price when you get it for a decent discount, just in time for the Aussie marathon season.

Admittedly, this Garmin doesn’t look the most modern with its smaller screen and it doesn’t have an on-watch sleep widget, but you do get the accurate GPS technology the brand is known for. It also helps that the Forerunner 55 is feather-light at just 37g, thanks to the plastic case.

The Forerunner 55 also has women’s health tracking, Garmin Coach workout plans, respiration rate and access to third-party widgets available through Garmin’s Connect IQ store.

While it may not turn you into Sawe overnight, it can certainly track your training runs reliably and accurately, or at least get you motivated enough to train for a race in the next few months.

Garmin Tactix 8: One minute review

The Garmin Tactix 8 sits at the summit of the rugged wearable market and will compete strongly for a place as one of the best Garmin watches. Functioning as a high-end tactical tool rather than a standard consumer gadget. It is specifically engineered for professional tactical operators and serious rucking enthusiasts who require specialized hardware, such as an Applied Ballistics solver and night-vision compatibility.

It includes modern lifestyle features like an AMOLED display, speaker, and microphone, but its massive 51mm frame and premium price tag intentionally distance it from the average fitness tracker user.

In terms of performance, the watch is a powerhouse, offering nearly 50 days of battery life in standard mode and class-leading multi-band GPS accuracy that maintains a signal even indoors. The inclusion of a dedicated rucking profile and voice-activated commands makes it a formidable companion for mission-critical tasks.

However, this power comes with physical trade-offs. The 94g weight can be fatiguing for daily wear, and the interface can occasionally stutter when rendering complex maps under load.

Within the 2026 landscape, the Tactix 8 remains the best option for those who need a watch that can survive a combat zone. It faces competition from the Garmin Instinct 3, which offers similar tactical software at a much lower price point, and the Suunto Vertical 2, which provides cleaner mapping for traditional hikers.

Ultimately, if you don't need a kill switch or ballistics data, the Tactix 8 is expensive overkill; if you do, there is simply no other device on the market that offers this specific blend of tactical tech and premium craftsmanship.

Garmin Tactix 8: Specifications

Garmin Tactix 8 Price and availability

• $1,599.99 USD / £1379.99 UK / $2,799 AUS
• Expensive but excellent value for money
• Less premium alternatives are available

The Tactix 8 is a professional tool, hence the premium price tag. It’s for serious tactical users who need access to the very best tech and a bank balance that allows for it. General consumers who only want to track activities, monitor health and reply to messages will have a heart attack when they see the price, but Garmin hasn’t made this watch for them.

The Garmin Instinct 3 Tactical edition is a much more affordable alternative with some overlap in features. You’ll find Stealth Mode, a kill switch, night vision compatibility, and a specialized tool designed for skydivers to plan and navigate jumps called Jumpmaster.

The build is also far less premium. If the Tactix 8 is overkill for you, and you’re not keen on Garmin, then the Suunto Vertical 2 provides great GPS accuracy and offline mapping. Its high-detail global topo maps are also arguably cleaner than Garmin’s stock maps.

• Value score 4.5/5

Garmin Tactix 8: Design

• High-resistance materials and coating
• Bright 1.4-inch AMOLED display
• The 51mm model is bulky and heavy

The Tactix 8 is available in four different models: AMOLED, AMOLED: Cerakote, Solar, and Solar: AB Elite. The standard AMOLED offering is available in 47mm and 51mm sizes and a black finish, but it was the more premium 2026 Cerakote edition (olive color, 51mm) that I was sent to review.

This particular watch is coated in a ceramic 'Ceratoke' finish that enhances a number of the watch's physical performance properties, including abrasion/wear resistance, corrosion resistance, chemical resistance, impact strength, and hardness. I didn't have a standard Tactix 8 model to compare it to, but the step up in resistance was obvious compared to smartwatches from the likes of Huawei, Amazfit, and Suunto.

This incredible level of resistance continues with the robust titanium bezel and scratch-resistant sapphire crystal lens. It's also tested to a MIL-STD-810G standard for thermal, shock, and water resistance. The buttons are leakproof and maintain a tactile feel even when used underwater or with gloves. Garmin has worked hard to make sure the user-experience is not hampered by the environment you put it in.

The AMOLED display is bright enough to be fully readable even when exposed to direct sunlight. The 454 x 454 pixel resolution is sufficient for navigating a map or reading a notification, and even though I never wanted for more clarity, it does sit a little behind the 480 x 480 pixel resolution of the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 or the Galaxy Watch Ultra.

At 51mm size and 94g weight, there's no getting away from its heft. I was seriously glad to take it off at the end of a day, and if you have any sort of wrist problems, then it could cause even greater issues. I love the Ceratoke finish and would opt for it every time; it's just a shame it doesn't ship in the smaller 47mm size.

From a hardware point of view, there's a multi-LED flashlight that can emit white or green light instead of Garmin’s usual red light option. This is important for compatibility with night vision gear and helps preserve natural night vision. There's also a reasonably performing speaker, and for the first time in the Tactix line, there's a built-in microphone, allowing for phone calls and voice commands when paired with a smartphone.

• Design Score: 4.5/5

Garmin Tactix 8: Features

• Advanced tactical features including applied ballistics solver
• Perfect for rucking and compatible with night-vision goggles
• Everyday wearable features such as wallet, music, and 24/7 health monitoring

The Tactix 8 is first and foremost a tactical smartwatch, and the feature set reflects that. With some of the most advanced tactical tools on a smartwatch outside of the military, the Tactix 8 is a formidable offering. Take the Applied Ballistics Ultralight, for example. The preloaded solver enables long-range shooting with solutions for windage and elevation.

Then there's Stealth Mode for off-the-grid activities, which immediately disables all wireless connectivity and stops the watch from saving or sharing GPS location data. Another security-focused feature is the kill switch, which performs an instant data wipe if security is compromised. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw James Bond wearing it in his next film.

Rucking enthusiasts will love the specific rucking profile that allows users to input their pack weight to calculate more accurate exertion and health metrics. Parachuters are treated to a military-grade parachuting tool which helps calculate high-altitude release points according to military guidelines.

Alongside this impressive set of tactical features, the Tactix 8 is also a very capable everyday wearable. The built-in speaker and microphone mean users can make calls, listen to music, and take advantage of voice controls. 24/7 health monitoring covers heart rate, HRV, and ECG as well as delivering metrics such as your Training Readiness score, Body Battery, and recovery time. It even has a jet lag advisor!

• Features Score: 4.5/5

Garmin Tactix 8: Performance

• Accurate GPS and reliable voice commands
• Good map coverage but the rucking interface is slow
• Long battery life, even with GPS always-on

The Tactix 8 boasts top-level GPS performance. With multi-band GNSS and SatIQ technology, the watch finds a GPS signal quickly and maintains a strong connection at all times.

I used it in various types of environments, including urban, rural, and forests, and never had a problem picking up a signal. It even managed to lock on when I was inside my house, a location that most other smartwatches I've tested have struggled with. Impressive results continue with the accuracy of the GPS. I tested it alongside the Huawei Watch Ultimate 2 and found the distance-traveled metrics to be bang on, even down to the meter.

One of the core features is the dedicated rucking activity profile, which allows you to input your specific pack weight before setting off. This ensures the watch’s algorithm factors in the extra load for more accurate calorie burn and exertion metrics.

Launching a rucking activity is quick and simple thanks to the intuitive interface, and once launched, navigating using the built-in map is easy enough. My only gripe with the rucking interface is that its responsiveness is a little slow. That means moving around a map can be a little jittery, but it's only a small issue in what is a very well-implemented tool.

The health tracking suite on the Tactix 8 is more comprehensive than ever, powered by Garmin’s latest optical heart rate sensor. It provides 24/7 monitoring of body battery, stress levels, and advanced sleep coaching, alongside a Pulse Ox sensor for blood oxygen saturation. The core metrics of these performed similarly to the Watch Ultimate 2, which impressed us during testing against our gold standard, the Apple Watch Ultra series.

There are a lot of menus and features contained within the watch, but navigation around these is intuitive and straightforward. I especially liked the ability to 'pin' three activities for a quick-access experience. Setting these requires the Garmin Connect app, although I’m not sure why Garmin doesn't allow the setting of these inside the watch menus.

Speaking of navigation, I found myself making a lot of use of the built-in voice commands, with my most used being 'start a run', 'start a timer', and 'begin navigation'. Voice controls are not powered by AI, so you have to be specific with the instructions, but once you get used to the required vocabulary, it's a quick and fun way to interact with the watch.

With this level of performance and rich feature set, you'd imagine the battery life would take a pounding. That is absolutely not the case. With occasional GPS use, regular health tracking, and daily interaction with notifications, the watch lasted almost 50 days. That's significantly longer than the advertised length of 29 days. More intense use, including always-on GPS and daily activity tracking, reduced the battery life to around three days.

• Performance score: 4.5/5

Garmin Tactix 8: Scorecard

Garmin Tactix 8: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested

I wore the Tactix 8 for eight straight weeks and took part in a wide range of activities, including rucking, running, walking, cycling, and workouts. During this time I was able to test the battery capabilities for heavy, medium, and light use. I also tracked my health metrics while exercising and compared its GPS accuracy to the Huawei Watch Ultimate 2. In addition, I used the watch to keep me connected to app notifications and text messages.

First reviewed: April 2026

• A poll on Reddit shows significant support for Garmin’s MIP display tech
• 34% of users said they’d switch to a different brand if Garmin ditched MIP
• A total of 51% indicated a preference for MIP over AMOLED screens

These days, the best Garmin watches are slowly abandoning memory-in-pixel (MIP) tech for their displays, with the company preferring AMOLED screens for their increased brightness and contrast. MIP screens are pretty much just relegated to Solar watches. But not everyone is happy about the move, and a recent user poll suggests plenty of Garmin fans would be sad to see MIP go — and now we want to know if you feel the same way.

Over on Reddit, user Imthenewbee created a poll titled “MIP lovers: what would you do when Garmin quits making MIP screen watches?” With over 1,100, the results might surprise you.

That’s because they show a significant number of respondents want to keep using an MIP smartwatch, whether that’s from Garmin or a different brand. Out of the 1,100 votes cast at the time of writing, 186 said they would buy a used MIP Garmin watch if the company discontinued its MIP devices, while 377 — or 34% — answered that they’d switch to a different MIP smartwatch. Put together, those 563 votes represent 51% of the total votes cast, marking a sizeable coterie of Garmin users who want to stick with MIP screens.

How do you feel about the situation? TechRadar’s own Matt Evans has written about how he’d miss MIP displays if they finally went the way of the dodo, but not everyone prefers the duller-but-more-battery-efficient results you get with MIP. Let us know what you’d like to see in our poll below.

Users say they ‘won’t be loyal’

For several Reddit users, the long battery life granted by MIP screens is the reason for their preference. One user said “MIP and sick battery life is the reason I went to Garmin. I won’t settle for an AMOLED with a 12-day battery life.” Another, meanwhile, explained that they “went Garmin because of MIP and battery time. Won’t be loyal if the advantage with Garmin disappears.”

It might be worth taking the Reddit poll results with a grain of salt. After all, the title of the poll specifically asked “MIP lovers” to respond, so the results might be skewed in favor of users who prefer this technology. You never know, our poll above might be more balanced!

Still, it’s interesting that so many users indicated a penchant for MIP. While this type of display is nowhere near as bright as what you get with AMOLED — meaning it’s not as useful in bright outdoor conditions — it’s much more efficient on your battery, helping you eke more juice out of your smartwatch in the long run.

And because MIP is less advanced than AMOLED, the cost of wearables with this tech tends to be lower than AMOLED equivalents. That makes it a great option for some of the best budget smartwatches that give you wearable tech without breaking the bank.

We wouldn’t be surprised to see Garmin phase out its MIP watches eventually as AMOLED displays get more efficient and easier on your battery. But as the Reddit poll suggests, that could leave plenty of people lamenting Garmin’s decision.

I’ve been a regular cyclist since 2015, and I’ve had my fair share of bike crashes — all minor, thankfully, where I got away with a few gashes at worst — and the common denominator was that I was distracted by my phone.

A smartphone mounted on bike handlebars is a distraction magnet. The big, bright screen is great for navigating with Google Maps, but notifications and other pop-ups can also take your focus off the road. This setup can also drain the phone battery quite quickly, especially if you’re also recording your ride on an app like Strava, making it less than ideal for longer rides.

Bike computers aim to address these issues. They might resemble small smartphones, but without the distractions, recording metrics like speed, distance, heart rate, time and more. They can range from basic models that cost no more than AU$20, to high-end computers that have built-in GPS and maps, and even a digital ‘bell’ via an on-board speaker (for about the same price as a mid-range smartphone).

Eyes on the road, not on a screen

I tested Garmin’s newest bike computer, the Edge 850, to see how much the ride experience improves compared to using my phone while mounted on my handlebars.

The smaller black-and-white screen only displays numbers, which minimized distractions and kept my eyes on the road more often compared to using my phone. It also has real-time alerts of any upcoming hazards like potholes and road debris, which are usually user-reported (similar to how Waze works).

The on-board GPS is accurate, and the maps are just as intuitive to navigate as Google Maps, and the Edge 850 would also re-calculate your route if you miss a turn.

While the features above are great, what truly makes a Garmin bike computer an essential safety upgrade for anyone who rides bikes is a separate add-on accessory: the Garmin Varia RearVue 820.

Tesla’s vehicle detection tech, but for bicycles

The Varia RearVue 820 may look like a normal rear bike light on the outside, but it contains a radar to detect if there are vehicles behind you — similar to Tesla’s own vehicle-detection tech.

Bike radars are not a new invention by any means; Garmin made the first commercial rear-facing radar in 2015, which has since spawned copycat models across the cycling industry.

What sets the Garmin Varia RearVue 820 apart is that it can also tell you whether the vehicle behind you is a conventional car or something much bigger, like a bus or truck.

Being overtaken by a large vehicle at speed while riding a bicycle isn’t for the faint of heart. The air displaced by the overtaking vehicle creates a push-pull effect that could either make a cyclist veer off into a kerb or into some gravel or grass, or worse, the cyclist could get “sucked in” and crash into the truck or bus’ side. This is one reason why cars of any size should give at least one meter of space when overtaking a cyclist, but that’s a topic for another day.

I’ve been in situations like this many times, and I’ve had a few close calls where I‘ve narrowly avoided a crash when a truck overtook me at full speed. With the Varia RearVue 820, seeing the alert for a large vehicle on my screen helped prepare me to brace when it passes, holding on to the drops of my handlebars to prevent it from steering on its own.

The radar connects to a compatible Garmin bike computer or smartwatch and adds a new section in the screen to replicate a road. Each vehicle detected shows up as a car-shaped icon with their corresponding size. I was able to connect to the Edge 850 quite seamlessly, but I was pleasantly surprised when it was just as easy to pair with my 9-year-old Garmin Fenix 5 smartwatch.

The alerts are accompanied with beeps, so you don’t have to be glued to the screen. Vehicles can be detected as far back as 170m away to give cyclists more time to prepare. The radar can also show whether the vehicles are in the same lane as the cyclist, bolstering that peace of mind.

Garmin says this technology is possible due to a higher frequency 60Hz V-band radar (compared to the 24Hz in its other models), detecting ‘outlines’ of a vehicle instead of a single ‘dot’, which are then converted into virtual cars that show up on the bike computer or smartwatch screen.

More visible than ever on the road

The bike light isn’t just there to make the radar discreet — the Garmin Varia RearVue 820’s rear light is bright enough to be visible to other road users 2km away. Garmin says a car running 100km per hour covers 2km in around 70 seconds, so this visibility would alert a driver much earlier than other bike lights would, giving them more time to adjust.

The light can also flash rapidly when you suddenly have to brake, with the Varia RearVue 820 using radar data and an accelerometer to detect deceleration to produce a 'visual shout' to alert other cyclists and road users. I had not been aware of this feature until someone at a group ride pointed it out to me, showing how effective it was.

The connected bike computer or smartwatch can control the light remotely instead of the cyclist having to reach back and set it to how you want the light to look. The light can be set either for full visibility or at a much less bright 'peloton mode' while riding in a group.

Should you get one?

While the Garmin Varia RearVue 820 is quite accurate at detecting vehicles, it still shouldn’t be a full substitute for occasionally looking over your shoulder to check for cars when it’s safe to do so.

That said, it’s still an excellent piece of safety tech, given how cyclists are some of the most vulnerable road users. The addition of the brake light functionality and the increased visibility also adds to the safety factor. At $299 / £259.99 / AU$469, it’s a big ask for some cyclists — but, for someone who puts safety above all else, it’s a wise investment to help save lives.

While you can splash for the high-end $599 / £519.99 / AU$949 Garmin Edge 850, Garmin says the Varia RearVue 820 is compatible with 162 different devices, including Edge bike computers from 2015 and smartwatch models from 2016.

You can even skip the bike computer entirely and just pair the Garmin Varia RearVue 820 with your smartphone. The Garmin Varia app on iOS and Android replicates the same experience on a larger screen, and can also work alongside Google Maps by appearing as a slim sidebar. Just make sure to temporarily disable notifications by setting a Focus Mode or Do Not Disturb profile that is optimized for cycling, so you can reduce distracting notifications.

This makes the Garmin Varia RearVue 820 an essential safety upgrade for anyone who regularly rides bicycles on roads — whether you’re a serious cyclist using a bike computer to keep track of your training, or a bike commuter with your phone mounted on the handlebars. Heck, I’d say it’s even worth using when you’re taking a leisurely ride to the local coffee shop.

Garmin Bounce 2: One minute review

Most of the best smartwatches are designed for adults, but every so often a smartwatch brand will release a dedicated offering for children. There’s the Fitbit Ace LTE and the Xplora X6Play, but the newest kid on the block is the Garmin Bounce 2. With calling, text messaging, real-time location tracking features, and some fun games, the Bounce 2 is a device that keeps kids connected without needing a smartphone.

Designed for 6-12 year olds, the Bounce 2 is fun, cool and colorful. It boasts a bright 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen that delivers clear graphics and vibrant colors, elevating the smartwatch experience beyond that of most kids' smartwatches.

The Bounce 2 also includes a range of child-friendly features, such as activity tracking and games, although my son’s interest in the watch began to wane after a couple of months. He would still wear it if we asked him to, but he has ceased ‘pestering’ me to let him wear it. Beyond connectivity that is primarily for parents' peace of mind, the watch doesn’t include a huge amount to keep the child glued to it.

If you’d like a smartwatch with more features at a similar price, then the Apple Watch SE 3 is our recommended option. With a full set of features, including health tracking and a robust ecosystem, the Watch SE 3 offers much more longevity. This watch can be set up under a family plan which enables parents to control access and functionality and ensures the child is only able to access appropriate content for their age.

But if you’re looking for a locked-down smartwatch for your pre-teen, then it doesn’t get much better than the Bounce 2. It’s easy to set up, enjoyable to use, and has onboard GPS. To help with testing, I enlisted my ten-year-old son. Much of this review features his observations and opinions.

Garmin Bounce 2: Specifications

Garmin Bounce 2: Price and availability

• $299 USD / £259 UK / $479 AUS
• Additional subscription required for access to all features
• The Apple Watch SE 3 offers more features at a similar price

At $299 USD / £259 UK / AUD$479, the Garmin Bounce 2 is at the pricey end of smartwatches for kids. It ships in Slate Grey, Light Purple, and Turquoise colorways.

It is priced similarly to the Apple Watch SE 3, which offers more features but is much more distracting for a younger child. It also doesn't have the same functionality for chore management.

As well as the upfront hardware cost, the Bounce 2 requires an LTE subscription for access to two-way calling, messaging, and tracking. This costs $9.99 / £9.99 / AUD per month or $99 / £99 / AUD$17 per year, with the plan being managed through the Garmin Jr. app.

• Value score 3.5/5

Garmin Bounce 2: Design

• Simple, kid-friendly and not too flashy
• A small but responsive AMOLED touchscreen
• Comfortable fit with silicon strap

The Bounce 2 is a basic smartwatch with a kid-friendly design. It’s nothing revolutionary, but my son wore the watch with pride and thought it looked like a fashionable accessory. Constructed of a fiber-reinforced polymer and at just over 40g with the strap, the Bounce 2 is light enough for all-day wear, even on the small wrist of a child. The silicone strap also has the benefit of being sweat resistant and easy to clean. It fits wrists between 115-180 mm.

From a parent’s point of view, one of the best things about the design is that it doesn’t particularly stand out. It’s therefore unlikely to attract any unwanted attention that could cause problems for your child.

The 1.2-inch AMOLED touchscreen with a resolution of 390×390 pixels delivers clear graphics and vibrant colors. Swipes and taps are accurately detected, and the interface responds quickly and as expected. The screen is also chemically strengthened, which is ideal, as my child wasn't the most careful with it! The downside to this, is that the screen seriously drains the battery with my son having to charge the watch most nights.

Other features include physical buttons and a 5ATM water resistance rating that enables the watch to withstand water from splashes, showers, and pool trips. It also has a proprietary charger rather than USB-C, which is far from ideal if your child is prone to losing cables!

• Design Score: 4/5

Garmin Bounce 2: Features

• Location tracking and geofencing
• Two-way calling and messaging
• Basic activity tracking and chore management

With an LTE subscription, parents can view their child's real-time location via the Garmin Jr. app. The child can also manually ping their location to their approved contacts if they’re in an emergency situation. My son loved pinging his location when he arrived at a friend’s house, and even though it wouldn’t constitute an emergency, I appreciated receiving the update.

The GPS hardware can also be used to geofence areas so that parents receive notifications when their child enters or leaves a designated area. This is ideal for the journeys that your child will most commonly make, such as between school and home.

The first Bounce smartwatch was limited to voice and text messages. The second iteration builds on this by including a built-in speaker and microphone for conducting phone calls with parent-approved contacts. For messages, the watch now supports voice-to-text transcription and a full QWERTY keyboard. My son took great pleasure in texting me funny jokes as well as humorous emojis and sound clips.

The Bounce 2 includes a range of sports profiles, including running, walking, cycling, and more niche activities such as racket sports and even motor sports. Children can unlock games by meeting daily activity goals, which acts as a motivation towards fitness.

Another feature for rewarding behavior is the chore tracking feature, which enables parents to assign chores and virtual coins through the app, which kids can redeem for agreed-upon rewards. These rewards might be screen time, a chocolate treat, or a new toy or game.

As the Bounce 2 is primarily a communication and safety tool, there's no heart rate sensor for health tracking, something that my son was rather disappointed about.

• Features Score: 4/5

Garmin Bounce 2: Performance

• Mixed results for GPS signal
• Fun and engaging games
• Very short battery life

We experienced variable results with the GPS signal, with a significant tail-off in signal within rural areas. Despite being able to successfully access signals in dense urban areas, the same wasn’t true when we were out in the country. There were a number of times when I couldn’t determine the location of my son, and even though it was never an emergency, it didn’t fill me with much confidence.

The GPS and LTE connectivity are always on, which means the battery drains very quickly. The advertised two-day battery life is definitely the maximum, with real-world experience being just over a day. My son said, “I didn’t like having to keep on top of charging and would have liked it to last at least a full school week.”

He spent a lot of time playing the simple games, with his favorite being the Tamagotchi-style digital pet that you have to keep alive. “I was surprised how much I found myself caring about the little thing.” In reality, I think the appeal was in the challenge of keeping it alive. Either way, they’re pretty addictive in the short term, but he lost interest after a few weeks.

The day-to-day operation of the smartwatch was considered smooth and enjoyable. “I loved using the voice commands to set an alarm or check the weather, although it was a little frustrating having to speak specific commands.” For example, "Tell me the weather” didn’t work, but "Show me the weather” did. Some AI help here would certainly improve the user experience.

• Performance score: 3.5/5

Garmin Bounce 2: Scorecard

Garmin Bounce 2: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested

The Garmin Bounce 2 is targeted at 6-12-year-olds, so I thought it would be a little disingenuous if I, a 40+ year-old, were to carry out the lion's share of testing. As soon as it arrived, I therefore handed it to my son, who spent a couple of months with it, testing it while out and about with his friends and at various midweek clubs. I’ve taken his experience and written the review, but most of the observations are his. I’m not entirely redundant, though; the Bounce 2 is designed to have parental oversight, so I’ve been proactive in that area of testing.

First reviewed: April 2026

Bilbo Baggins once sang, "the road goes ever on and on". But even so, 1,800 miles is a long way to walk. Fortunately, this little Lord Of The Rings-themed app from the Garmin Connect IQ store — available on all the best Garmin watches on our list — is going to make it fun.

The Walk With Frodo app is available to download for free (you can also donate to the creator via the PayPal link in the app's description) and has been downloaded more than 50,000 times in the past five years. It's compatible with pretty much all modern Garmin watches, and works by reading your background activity step count, rather than your recorded exercise sessions.

Walk With Frodo matches your step count to the journey Frodo and Sam undertake in the Lord Of The Rings, from the peaceful land of The Shire to the fiery chasm of Mount Doom. It's a journey estimated by the app to be around 1,800 miles, or 2,897km, which is a long old journey for little legs. However, Frodo and Sam manage it in 185 days, according to the LOTR Project and The Atlas of Middle-Earth — can you do better?

Periodically, Walk With Frodo will send you updates when you reach various milestones along the journey, such as Tom Bombadil's house, The Prancing Pony inn, or the mines of Moria. Pressing your Garmin's "start" button will reveal more information about a particular milestone.

How fitness gamification works

I'm a die-hard Lord Of The Rings nerd — I re-read the books every couple of years, and the films are my comfort-blanket watch — so this little Garmin app is perfect for me. I can't believe it's been around for five years and I've only just become aware of its existence. I'm super excited at the prospect of completing my long training runs to find I've run to Rivendell, or sprinted through the lair of the giant spider, Shelob — I definitely won't be hanging around in there!

The premise of apps such as this one is nothing new, with gamification strategies having been used for many years now to keep fitness fans glued to smart tech. Apple Watches, Garmin, Samsung, Oura, Whoop... every wearable offers badges, challenges, rewards and other digital "pings" designed to associate activity with increased dopamine. With data comes gamification, tricking yourself into good habits and sharing your achievements with friends.

Occasionally, this can get toxic. Strava, perhaps the most successful proponent of these strategies, uses public leaderboards and segments to keep local athletes competing for titles in a perpetual game of king-of-the-hill. Reports of athletes becoming obsessed with their metrics are almost as disturbing as stories of Strava becoming a national security risk by leaking sensitive military information.

I recently wrote about Garmin's new Pokémon Sleep integration, and how it emotionally blackmailed me into a better bedtime routine by personifying my sleep health as one of 46 little critters made famous by the franchise. Sure, most people can go to bed late on their own terms, but when they have a very tired Pikachu on their wrist, the drive to improve their sleep score is much stronger.

• CIRQA, a new trademark from Garmin, has been spotted on the US Patent and Trademark Office website
• The name is the same as the screenless smart band leaked earlier this year, more proof of its existence
• Garmin follows Fitbit, Amazfit and Polar in encroaching on Whoop's screenless smart band turf

Garmin CIRQA. Get ready to hear that name a lot, even though it's not technically going to be a new entry into our best Garmin watches guide. Instead, it's a screenless smart band designed for performance without distraction, just like the Whoop 5.0, Amazfit Helio Strap and Polar Loop.

We already knew it was coming in some form: in January, the CIRQA smart band leaked on Garmin's own website, showing the band in two sizes and two colors, Black and French Gray, although there was no pricing information present in the leak.

Now, Gadgets & Wearables first spotted the trademark for CIRQA on the US Patent and Trademark Office website, dated February 25. This is a good indication that Garmin is gearing up to launch the CIRQA later this year.

It's category is listed as (deep breath) "wearable devices and instruments to be placed on the human body, namely, electronic sensors and monitors for measuring and analyzing the body’s physical parameters and other physiological data, bio-signals, and bodily behavior, and for measuring and analyzing recovery from physical and emotional stress, human alertness level, and performance, all for non-medical and non-therapeutic purposes".

Below, you can see a screenshot of the trademark office listing that I took by searching the USTPO database for the serial number listed in the G&W article, 99670310.

‘I wish they’d hurry up and release it’

Users on the GarminWatches subreddit are getting impatient, while deriding Garmin's silence and the amount of leaks it's had over this band.

One commenter said: "everybody is talking about it except Garmin", while another bemoaned: "it's not even some new type of wearable, it's just a screenless wristband. They're making such a huge fuss about it. I wish they'd just hurry up and release it already."

I think this is going to be a great new device — but one aspect of the CIRQA does concern me. Whoop uses its bands as little more than data collection tools to fuel its subscription-based app, which is where the real money is. Fitbit's upcoming Steph Curry-teased band will likely do the same with Fitbit Premium.

Does a screenless band mean Garmin is going to push more Garmin Connect features behind its subscription-based Connect+ paywall? We know how users feel about the premium Garmin tier, but I'd be surprised if the band didn't come with at least one or two new features you'll have to pay monthly or yearly to access via Connect+.

• Garmin has added fertility tracking to many of its best wearables
• The feature comes via a partnership with Natural Cycles
• It’s coming to the Fenix 8, Forerunner 570, Venu 4, and more

The best Garmin smartwatches are more than just fitness trackers these days — they can help you get a clearer picture of your overall health, with many metrics that extend well beyond exercise. That’s just been expanded further with the introduction of fertility tracking, which is bound for Garmin users thanks to a collaboration with Natural Cycles.

If you haven't heard of Natural Cycles, it is currently the only birth control app cleared by the FDA. That means it’s well placed to enable cycle tracking on Garmin wearables and make understanding your fertility a little easier.

The new feature is coming to many of Garmin’s most popular watches, including the Fenix 8, Forerunner 570, Venu 4, and Venu X1. It should therefore be available to a wide variety of Garmin’s customers.

It works by measuring your skin temperature and then uses that reading to “unlock fertility insights in the Natural Cycles app,” Garmin says. This empowers users to “better understand their reproductive health.” Your temperature is tracked overnight, with information synced to the Natural Cycles app in the morning.

Plan or prevent a pregnancy

One of the benefits of using a smartwatch to track your fertility is that it is simple and non-invasive. There’s no need for any kind of hormone-based treatment or complex procedure, just a few metrics that can be gathered from your wrist.

Garmin is not the first nor the only company to have added fertility features to its wearables. Rivals, including Apple, Whoop, Fitbit, and more, also offer some kind of cycle tracking, meaning you’ve got a lot of options if you want this kind of functionality on your wrist.

The cycle-tracking features from Garmin and Natural Cycles aren’t available everywhere just yet. Garmin says it’s currently available in Australia, Brazil, Canada, the European Union, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. There’s no word yet on when it might be rolled out elsewhere.

But for now, it’s a welcome improvement to Garmin’s wearables and one that could help you keep track of a vital part of your life.

I review the best smartwatches for a living. I’m a keen runner and gym-goer. I analyse my sleep and movement data. I'm the biggest smartwatch advocate you'll ever meet, and yet, every time I’m at a formal occasion or I want to look stylish, I switch it out for an analog rotary watch, because smartwatches just don’t look or scream ‘cool’ to me anymore.

I’m certainly not alone. In 2024, a bride and groom banning guests from wearing smartwatches to a wedding ceremony went viral, with commenters equally split on the decision. A post on Reddit's r/malefashionadvice board with the title ‘Anyone else feel like Apple Watches ruin outfits?’ got over 2,000 upvotes and nearly 600 comments. Respondents mostly objected to the overreaction and emphasized how useful they are for monitoring health, tracking workouts and managing notifications, but agreeing they look tacky.

One commenter said: ‘I wish we could find a sweet spot with wearable tech and not looking like a dork’.

It’s the same problem with phones: smartwatches are no longer fun now they’re everywhere and uniform — they’re utilitarian. They’re useful for tracking health (even life-saving in some circumstances) and great for fitness, but they’re another black screen, a point of engagement in a world increasingly trying to engage us non-stop, and so they’re not very stylish. .

In fact, trends are swinging the other way. Decoupling from the constant white noise of smart technology and returning to lo-fi tech has become a statement in its own right for Gen-Z, manifesting in fads for retro tech like wired earphones (cheaper, better for the planet), the sales uptick for compact cameras (a more deliberate, meaningful experience than snapping on smartphones), a rejection of streaming and a return to physical media like CDs and DVDs, and yes, analog and digital watches. Even I wrote about how much I loved the cheap old Casio F-91W way back in 2023.

To match this trend, wearable tech is evolving. Screenless ‘focus wearables’ such as the Whoop MG, Polar Loop, Amazfit Helio Strap and even the upcoming Fitbit shown off by Steph Curry are the new hotness amongst fitness people, as are the best smart rings like Oura. On the r/malefashionadvice Reddit post above, one commenter said ‘I am legitimately looking into a fitness ring like Oura so I can wear my watches and still track steps and what not’, while I’m seeing far more screenless bands in workout classes and in gyms.

On runs and during cycling, screens are still dominant as maps and mileage are very useful to check with a glance. Function beats form here, as a smartwatch is primarily a tool.

So where do smartwatches go from here? The answer is ‘not very far’. Again, like candybar-style phones, smartwatches have reached the point where they are incredibly useful, yet very boring to look at — a slab of black glass on your wrist. Yes, customisable watch faces and always-on displays certainly help, but making them exciting again by radically changing them will remain the province of fringe brands such as Pebble for the foreseeable future.

I think smartwatch wearers (and makers) have to accept the cold hard truth — they’re brilliant functional devices, but not fashionable ones. Leaning into the techy aesthetic instead of trying to make something sleek and cool is the way forward, because when it comes time to put style first, I can’t ever see myself putting on a smartwatch over an old-school analog watch.

I want to hear from you — do you think smartwatches are ugly and unstylish, or are you a big believer in cool tech? Vote in our poll and let me know in the comments below.

Garmin Approach S50: One-minute review

Sitting in the mid-range of the brand’s golf watch range, the Garmin Approach S50 is an excellent course companion. It includes all of the brand’s suite of excellent golfing features, as well as just the right amount of extra health and fitness, and everyday functionality to offer a golf-first, near-complete package.

It’s the golfing pedigree that shines the brightest, of course, and it puts those features into action brilliantly as a course companion. It enhanced my time and game on the course with its accurate yardages, automatic shot tracking and score logging, golf course and hole graphics, and the excellent PlaysLike feature — which factors in elevation and weather — is brilliant.

The design and build are of excellent quality, too, with the S50 having more of a lifestyle-friendly design and form than others in the Approach range. Combine this with some very friendly day-to-day functionality and a host of fitness and health features that are excellent to use, and the package becomes even clearer.

I still reserve a strong dislike for Garmin’s own proprietary charging method, which only gets more intense when combined with a super short charging cable, but this is a wider problem shared by the S50, not unique to it. Elsewhere, it’s easy to use on-screen, and its battery life is strong, offering more than two rounds of golf’s worth of juice before needing to even consider charging.

All in, however, the S50 could really give some more premium devices a scare with its overall offering, and for those who are put off by the higher-end Garmin Approach S70’s hefty price tag, this could be the perfect solution and new golf course companion.

Garmin Approach S50: Price and availability

• List prices of $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$729
• Mid-range in Garmin’s lineup
• Good value for money

Coming in right in the middle between the high-end Approach S70 watch and the budget, entry-level Approach S12, the Garmin Approach S50 is targeting the middle ground of its golf watch lineup. And does so successfully from a price and value perspective.

The balance of features on offer, its overall performance, and everything that getting into the Garmin Golf ecosystem gives you, all on an AMOLED watch with the brand’s best on-course elements — while still coming in considerably less than the S70 is excellent. In fact, I’d wager that the S50 might have the S70 worried from a value perspective, as only a couple of compromises could get you down to the S50 from the S70 and save you a bunch of cash.

The S50 is joined in the middle of the Garmin golf watch pack by the S44, released at the same time late last year. This offers a much leaner mid-range experience, without being a totally entry-level device. With the S50 being less than $100 / £100 / AU$180 more than the more streamlined-for-golf S44, but still $250 / £150 / AU$370 less than the S70 (42mm), it really does feel like it’s hit the sweet spot.

A small wrinkle for me on price was that I found the default strap to be really sub-par and swapped it out for another from Garmin; this naturally increases the overall cost of the S50, but the freedom to change straps and pick an alternative for one you like is welcome.

• Value score: 4.5/5

Garmin Approach S50: Design and screen

• 1.2in / 30.4mm AMOLED screen
• Two-button control system is an acquired taste
• Lightweight and robust build but default strap is lame

Broadly speaking, the S50 is the same size as its Approach siblings, and that comes from being built around a 1.2” / 30.4mm display, with no other size options. There’s no chunky bezel here either, and in fact, the S50’s display edge isn’t raised like the S70. As a result, the S50 is much more reminiscent of an everyday smartwatch like the more recent Samsung Galaxy models.

Two compact buttons positioned on the right-hand side, and the easily removable watch strap system on all Garmin watches, round out the design to create a compact and tidy build that can look like a lifestyle watch and is robust to boot.

The screen is lovely and clear. And while it can’t hold a candle to the MARQ Golfer (Gen 2)’s domed screen, which I loved, the S50’s display works well here. Fairways and course maps are a vibrant green on the wrist, figures are crisp and clear at a glance, and even though I don’t like Garmin’s font at all, health features, settings, and menus are all clear and easily readable.

I do far prefer the three-button control on the S70 and MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) for ease of navigation and input, with the latter devices providing more easy ways to navigate systems and menus to get to where you need to be. Of course, given time it soon becomes easy to use and intuitive.

The biggest design gripes I have are with the default strap, which I found, despite its comfort, very fiddly to use every time, and the inelegant Garmin charging solution with a short cable and the port on the back of the watch.

• Design score: 4/5

Garmin Approach S50: Features

• Includes all Garmin’s golf features, including PlaysLike
• Has extensive fitness and health features
• Battery life is good, and as stated

The Garmin Approach S50 includes all the (non-subscription-based) golf features that set the best Garmin watches apart, and that includes the excellent PlaysLike feature - Garmin’s own tool which will factor in weather and elevation difference between your location and the target to give you accurate, ‘real’ yardages, not just those based on straight lines on a 2D map.

In fact, positioning itself as the cheapest watch in the range that offers this feature is a very helpful way of identifying itself to golfers who are looking for the best features, but not anything outrageous price-wise. On the course, I found all the yardages to be excellently accurate and well presented on the crystal clear AMOLED color screen, and features like the AutoShot tech, swing temp meter, and green view (and more) were typically superb to use.

Away from golf, there’s a host of Garmin’s usual, and excellent, health and fitness trackers, which are super for the active golfer looking to monitor their wellness off the course. This sets it apart from the rest of the cheaper watches in the Approach range, and these include features such as sleep tracking, body battery, stress, and more, all of which perform as expected.

As far as daily watch features go, the S50 is perfectly functional and has been a solid if unspectacular companion for messaging, music control, and other daily use.

I found the battery life to be as Garmin described, too, going days and days in normal smartwatch mode before needing to charge, and easily getting two rounds in before having to think about charging it up when using it mainly for golf.

• Features score: 5/5

Garmin Approach S50: Performance

• Wonderful on-course performance
• Easy to use, accurate, and game-improving
• Perfectly functional as a daily smartwatch

As expected, the Approach S50 is a joy on the course, and offers exactly the top-level of performance I’d expect from a Garmin golf watch. The features are super, the courses are presented clearly, the yardages are accurate, and the full suite of features that includes the PlaysLike distance element is all fantastic.

Switching between the PlaysLike yardage of a hole and the on-paper yardage of a hole, and navigating courses clearly through the watch’s crisp screen, is a joy. You’ll get all the accuracy you’d expect, which can then be elevated even more with a Garmin Golf Subscription, should you wish.

The health and fitness features are also fantastic (typical Garmin), and perform with accuracy, ease of interaction, and help to ensure the watch offers something away from, or complementary to, the course.

There are a few Garmin-isms that I continue to dislike personally, that the S50 features such as the font and the way it displays the original messages from WhatsApp chats by default rather than the latest (Garmin has announced that there is better WhatsApp integration now available for some of its devices — but not its golf watches, at least yet, anyway). Battery life holds up as promised, and I found it to reflect Garmin’s own description pretty much like for like, but the very short cable combined with Garmin’s inelegant solution of where you attach the charger (on the back of the watch, which then has to lie face down, at least initially) makes for a couple more small frustrations.

The aforementioned two-button control system takes a bit of getting used to, especially if you’re coming from a different control setup, but give it enough time, and it’ll become second nature. Until I switched straps, however, I would also argue that the default one hindered the watch’s performance personally, as it detracted from using it and wearing it somewhat.

• Performance score: 4/5

Garmin Approach S50: Scorecard

Garmin Approach S50: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

How I tested

I tested the Garmin Approach S50 on the course and off it for several months, playing multiple rounds at my home course in Somerset and a few elsewhere in the UK. I also regularly used it as my daily smartwatch, testing a whole host of its features from fitness and health to messaging.

I compared the Garmin Approach S50 to my TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition, and the Garmin MARG 2 Golfer as well as the more affordable ShotScope G6 GPS watch, while also l,ooking back to my time with the Approach S70 for comparison.

First reviewed November 2025-March 2026

I'd consider myself pretty clued up on Garmin's range of watches. I've been reviewing Garmin watches for the last five years, and I've been writing about fitness for over a decade. I wrote TechRadar's best Garmin watch guide. But even I have trouble sometimes parsing Garmin's complicated, nonsensical names and number systems.

Garmin's taken some steps to slim down the range in recent years, but there's still a lot going on, especially when you consider rivals like the best Apple watches only offer two or three new watches to remember each year. To simplify things even further, those watches immediately supplant their predecessors. Not so with Garmin — anyone who's had a browse on the Garmin website can testify the range is nigh-on impenetrable to people new to running watches.

So, I've created a Garmin quiz — an interactive crossword game that'll test your knowledge of Garmin's labyrinthian library of watch lines. Simply start the quiz, and you'll have to fill the crossword in using the clues available, with as few hints as possible, all against the clock. I've omitted specific model numbers from the quiz, along with most common variations like the usual 'Pro', 'Sapphire' and 'Solar' models.

And there's a leaderboard — heavy Garmin users are often Strava users too, of course, and there's nothing we like better than a good leaderboard. The fastest times will get their names up there and win... well, not kudos exactly because that's taken, but everyone who takes the quiz will be able to see your time.

Check the quiz out below, and let us know how you got on in the comments. May the odds be ever in your favor...

One year ago, users of the best Garmin watches were very angry indeed. They took to platforms like Reddit in droves and filled comment sections (and my inbox) with their fury.

Why? Garmin had announced its then-new premium tier, Garmin Connect+, which asked users to pay $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$12 per month or $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$120 annually in exchange for exclusive access to new AI features like Garmin's Active Intelligence commentary, along with an improved LiveTrack service, Performance dashboard, and other bits.

Garmin users were worried about this. While none of the vast swathe of comprehensive features they enjoyed in the base app were going away, many feared this was only the beginning of the process of dropping new features behind the Connect+ paywall. In this scenario, subscribing to Connect+ would eventually become all-but-compulsory, even after shelling out for an expensive watch.

We've seen it happen before: free services get so valuable that, due to shareholder profit demands, the companies begin charging for a once-free service or tanking the performance of the free version to drive up valuable subscriptions. It's a well-documented process that happens to online services, one blogger and internet rights activist, Cory Doctorow, dubbed 'enshittification'.

Garmin users threatened to switch watch brands, there were calls of boycotts, and we covered it all in a live blog, but Garmin stuck to its guns and continued the Connect+ rollout.

So one year on, now the furor has calmed down, we decided to ask 1,325 Garmin users what they thought of the service. Had they tried it? Did it meet expectations? Had they sold their watches and bought a rival from Samsung or Apple?

The results

As you can see, most users still aren't happy about Connect+. Out of 1,325 Garmin users, 80% of respondents (1,061) 'never bothered' to sign up to Connect+. Just 12% of respondents tried Connect+, but returned to the free tier, not continuing with the service. A paltry 5% of respondents, 67 people overall, ticked 'yes, I use it, and it's good'.

Our smallest group of respondents was reserved for those people who were so mad about the change that they actually switched watch brands, with 36 people out of the original 1,325 leaving Garmin entirely in favor of an alternative.

We had some comments and emails, too, from people telling us why they voted the way they did and how they felt about Connect+.

One commenter said: "Garmin's enshittified app won't ever be getting my hard-earned money on top of the high cost for the hardware. The hardware is excellent, their software is poor. I'll be moving on to another brand with my next purchase."

Meanwhile, Max said, "I stick to the free tier. If they'll push any more, I'll switch to another brand." This approach seems to reflect the majority of Garmin users, based on our poll.

Via email, Linda said that as a decade-long Garmin user, she would "take the hit and move to Withings" if Garmin put her favorite features behind a paywall.

Almost a year ago, I was fielding a very full inbox, as people were emailing, commenting and posting in droves about Garmin's then-new Connect+ launch.

If you're not familiar, Connect+ is a premium tier layered on top of Garmin's existing Connect+ platform, the excellent companion app to the best Garmin watches. More than a place to view your stats, Garmin Connect is a training planner, a gear tracker, a lifestyle logging journal, and much more.

Garmin Connect+ introduced several new features, including Active Intelligence, Garmin's AI advisory service that offers contextual commentary on your workouts and recovery scores. It also offered an improved LiveTrack service, a Performance Dashboard that allowed you to view your historic data, exclusive badges, and several other small quality-of-life improvements and features.

For this, Garmin asks $6.99 / £6.99 / AU$12 per month or $69.99 / £69.99 / AU$120 annually, with a one-month free trial available. It's not the first time Garmin's charged extra for a service, such as Garmin Golf, its InReach satellite messaging service, or Outdoor Maps+, but they've always served a specific purpose.

It's hard to over-emphasize just how many people kicked off, perceiving it as being nickel-and-dimed for features people believed they should already get, having just spent hundreds of dollars or pounds on an expensive smartwatch.

You can read our backlash live blog for the full story, but it was a crazy couple of days. Garmin Reddit posts calling for boycotts hit thousands of upvotes, and I personally got hundreds of emails with lines like 'If Connect+ goes ahead, I'm definitely done with Garmin', 'greedy company', and 'All new features from now on will be behind a paywall. And in few years, then the initial rage settles, they will move more and more features behind paywall like Strava did'.

True to form, now the furore has died down, we've just started to see new features get locked behind Connect+ paywall, in the form of nutrition tracking.

Vote in our Garmin Connect+ poll here

So, one year later, we're doing a follow-up: are you using Garmin Connect+? If so, is it good? If not, did you switch away from Garmin?

Wherever you stand, we want to hear from you. Vote in our poll above, and I'll publish the results next week, on the anniversary of Connect+'s launch. You can also contact me at matt.evans@futurenet.com, and I'll publish some of your emails along with the poll results.

• A major Garmin launch is rumored for next week
• We think it could be the screenless Cirqa smart band
• Another possibility is a new Forerunner watch

The best Garmin watches are some of the leading wearables currently on the market, and it seems Garmin might be adding to its portfolio of devices before March 2026 is over if the latest rumor is to be believed.

This is a rumor that's quite difficult to pin down the sources for, but it seems to be from well-known tipster the5krunner with input from DC Rainmaker and via Notebookcheck — and the rumor is that there's "some goodness" on the way from Garmin next week.

Another unnamed source has told the5krunner that there's a "significant drop" coming from Garmin in the very near future, backing up the idea that we're about to see something new from the company. Next week is the last full week of March of course, giving Garmin a window of several days to get its new product out.

So what actually is it going to be? Nothing is certain yet, but most indications suggest we're going to get the Cirqa smart band that leaked earlier this year, a screenless fitness tracker ready to take on Whoop directly.

Multiple possibilities

The Cirqa briefly popped up on Garmin's website in January, but the listing didn't tell us too much: two sizes, two colors (black and gray), and shipping in 4-5 months (which at that time would line up with May or June).

However, it's not hard to imagine what Garmin may come up with, if it's following the template laid down by Whoop (and other competitors such as Polar): a lightweight but intelligent tracker with no display, that feeds all of your health and fitness stats back to the companion app on your phone.

While this is likely to be what we see next week though, it's not the only possibility. A tip over on Reddit suggests the Cirqa is coming later in the year, between April and June. It's not clear if this is referring to when the device will be unveiled or when it will actually ship to customers — and those dates may not be the same, of course.

Other rumors floating around this week suggest we may see a new Forerunner smartwatch or even swimming goggles from Garmin, but if we had to make a prediction at this stage, it's the Cirqa smart band that seems the most probable launch.

• Garmin and Meta have revealed a WhatsApp integration for 'select' Garmin watches
• The app, available on the Garmin Connect IQ store, allows users to see up to 10 messages, incoming calls, reply with a built-in keyboard, and react to incoming messages
• Previously, users could see but not interact with messages via Garmin's notifications functionality

Garmin and Meta have launched a WhatsApp app for 'select' Garmin watches, available on the Garmin Connect IQ store. The app allows users to see a history of up to 10 messages per chat on a Garmin watch, react to incoming messages, and reply using a built-in keyboard.

Those keyboards are tiny, but presumably, we might also be able to use the voice assistant functionality on some of the best Garmin watches to respond via the keyboard too, just like a smartphone – but neither Garmin nor Meta has confirmed this is the case just yet.

The app also allows you to see incoming calls with the option to decline them.

Nikhil Joshi, Director of Product Management at Meta, said in a press release that "WhatsApp helps people stay connected no matter what platform they use. We’re proud to bring WhatsApp to Garmin smartwatches, so that more people can keep their private conversations going right from their wrist.”

This collaboration isn't particularly surprising: Garmin has slowly been moving away from its roots as a company that makes GPS-first specialist training tools and more towards lifestyle smartwatches, to compete with the likes of the best Apple Watch models.

People want brighter, less efficient AMOLED screens rather than duller MIP ones, watches which allow you to take calls like the Garmin Forerunner 970, and the ability to message people back from their wrists.

However, one potential sticking point is the lack of LTE on most Garmin watches, forcing you to remain tethered to your phone to use the app. While it's still convenient — you're able to reply to messages without reaching into your pocket or bag — Garmin watches don't act like a phone-in-miniature in the same way LTE-enabled models from Apple and Samsung do.

If you're looking to download the new integration, here's the list of compatible Garmin smartwatches, according to the Connect IQ store:

• Garmin D2 Air X15
• Garmin Enduro 3
• Garmin fēnix 8 Pro
• Garmin fēnix 8
• Garmin fēnix E
• Garmin Forerunner 570
• Garmin Forerunner 970
• Garmin tactix 8
• Garmin Venu 4
• Garmin Venu X1
• Garmin vívoactive 6

The list isn't terribly long: no Instinct series, older Forerunners, or any of the best golf watches, such as the Garmin Approach S70.

Garmin continues its recent mission to drive more people to its frankly underused Connect IQ store, with this new WhatsApp integration following on from last week's collaboration with the Pokémon Sleep app. Here's what happened when I tried one of the new Pokémon watch faces for a couple of days, and how it ended up fixing my sleep via emotional blackmail.

Garmin Forerunner 970: One minute review

I trained with the Forerunner for more than nine months - long enough to really put it through its paces. It came with me on weekly 5Ks, tempo sessions, interval workouts, long half-marathon training runs and even a sweaty 10K trail race last summer. It’s a powerful, performance-driven piece of tech, and perfect for training and analyzing your stats — even if it is one of the priciest running watches on the market right now.

In terms of core features, the 970 delivers everything you’d expect from one of the best Garmin watches. I tried the multiple running modes including track, trail and intervals - plus you’ll also find excellent GPS accuracy, VO2 max estimates, Body Battery and sleep tracking, along with detailed heart rate data.

The design, while chunkier than Garmin’s lifestyle-oriented Venu or Vivoactive lines, has a sporty look, but at 56g it’s surprisingly lightweight and comfortable for all-day wear. The bright AMOLED touchscreen, titanium bezel and scratch-resistant sapphire lens give it a premium feel.

I started wearing the watch two months before a half-marathon, and the new Running Tolerance feature helped curb my tendency to overtrain by setting a weekly maximum mileage based on my impact load and training history. Instead of ramping up too quickly and risking injury (a mistake I’ve made before), I built volume gradually and more sustainably. The projected race-time predictor and PacePro also added structure, helping me fine-tune my pacing strategies ahead of race day.

Mapping has had an upgrade, too, which was helpful during a trail run in rural Wales. While data accuracy felt strong across the board, it was particularly good during interval sessions where heart rate spikes and recovery data were spot on. Unlike some other Garmin models, I didn’t love wearing it overnight, as it felt a little chunky for sleep.

Garmin Forerunner 970: Specifications

Garmin Forerunner 970: Price and availability

• Price: From £629.99 / $749.99 / AU$1,399
• Colors: Multiple colourways and can be customized

The Garmin Forerunner 970 launched in May 2025 and is available directly from Garmin as well as most major retailers. It’s an upgrade from the Forerunner 965, which came out in March 2023, and the 970 is priced at around $100 / £100 AU$200 more than its predecessor. There's no denying these watches are getting expensive.

However, with the running feature upgrades, design tweaks and slightly improved battery life, the 970 is definitely value for money.

• Value score: 5 / 5

Garmin Forerunner 970: Design

• Chunky sporty design
• Lightweight
• Scratch-resistant glass

I’ve definitely gravitated towards Garmin’s more lifestyle-leaning watches in the past, such as the Venu and Vivoactive ranges. They’re slimmer, more streamlined, and I can wear them in the gym, but also out in the evening.

So when I first strapped on the 970, I immediately noticed the difference. The watch face is thicker, and it does give more ‘serious runner’ vibes, rather than ‘I’m just counting my steps’. It felt slightly chunky at first, but it’s actually surprisingly light - at 56g, it never felt too heavy.

Looks-wise, it’s actually really smart. I tried the soft gold titanium with a French grey/translucent indigo band, which strikes a nice balance between sporty and stylish, but there are other colourways - and you can customize it if you want something more sporty or bolder.

Bright and crisp, with an AMOLED touchscreen set into a 1.4-inch sapphire lens and a titanium bezel - an upgrade from the Garmin Forerunner 965, which used Corning Gorilla Glass 3 DX. My only bugbear was lagging time; sometimes it took a while to catch up with my scrolling.

I’ve scratched previous smartwatches before (usually mid-gym session, clanking dumbbells around), so I was relieved that this watch was scratch-resistant. Nine months in, after plenty of sweaty runs and weight sessions, it still looks box-fresh.

• Design score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 970: Features

• Evening report added
• Slightly longer battery life
• Triathlon coaching

The watch comes loaded with all the features you’d expect from a Garmin Forerunner. There’s a huge library of workouts to track, including up to eight different running modes, alongside cycling, swimming and strength sessions. As ever with Garmin, the GPS is impressively accurate, even in built-up areas, and the health metrics are comprehensive: sleep tracking, step count, Body Battery, VO2 max and detailed heart rate data are all easy to access and analyze in the app.

There are a few upgrades, too. There’s now a built-in LED flashlight, which I found useful on winter runs, plus a speaker and microphone so you can take calls directly from your wrist. I wasn’t completely impressed by this, though, as the volume was very low when I did use it for calls.

One new feature I particularly liked was the new Evening Report. When reviewing the Garmin Vivoactive 6 last year, I’d found the Morning Reports really useful, so I hoped for the same effect. After long runs, it gave me a really insightful, helpful summary of my day’s exertion and prompted me to start winding down at the right time, with tailored recommendations for the following day’s training. For anyone balancing structured training with a busy schedule, I found it to be a really good addition.

New running features include tracking your running economy, which is the efficiency of your run and your step speed loss; however, these both require you to also be wearing Garmin's HRM 600. I’m not a triathlete, but those who are will appreciate the new Triathlon Coach feature. It allows you to build a full training plan across swim, bike and run – helping to keep you accountable and on track in the lead-up to race day.

Battery life is also slightly improved compared to its predecessor. During comparison testing, the Garmin Forerunner 965 lasted around two hours less than the 970 when in GPS mode. That said, during particularly heavy training weeks, I found myself charging it more frequently than Garmin suggests.

• Features score: 4.5 / 5

Performance

Garmin Forerunner 970: Performance

• More detailed, colorful maps on the watch
• Running Tolerance feature helped me to avoid injury
• App was detailed, but glitchy when pairing the watch

I trained with the Forerunner for more than nine months – long enough to really put it through its paces.

During half-marathon training, the new Running Tolerance feature changed how I approached my mileage. I’m someone who tends to get a bit overexcited, ramp things up too quickly and end up injured. This time, the 970 analysed my impact load and training history and gave me a weekly maximum mileage to stick to. Having that ceiling forced me to build gradually. It took the guesswork (and ego) out of the equation, and I could actually see how respecting those limits kept my training more consistent week to week.

The mapping upgrades also came into their own on a trail run in the depths of the Welsh countryside. The clearer, more detailed route maps meant I could see exactly what elevation was coming up and stay confident I was on track. Even though I was racing alongside others, there’s something reassuring about knowing that if your phone dies, you’re not stranded in the middle of nowhere, hoping you’ve taken the right turn.

I didn’t rely on the Garmin Connect app as much as I have with other smartwatches, mainly because so much data is accessible directly on the watch itself. When I did use the app, the data was comprehensive and clearly presented, although I’ll admit it took me a few attempts to pair my Forerunner with the app. The Garmin Connect app also comes in handy to implement Gear Tracking and build training plans, which you can then export to the watch.

If you like to train with targets, it’s easy to set pace or time goals before you head out, and PacePro is straightforward to configure. I also found the new projected race time predictor quite motivating - it gave me realistic target times and pacing guidance based on my training, which helped shape my weekly park runs – and achieve some PBs.

Unlike other Garmin watches I’ve worn, I didn’t sleep in this one. I found it a bit too chunky overnight, so I stuck with my Whoop for sleep tracking – as it has that barely-there feel I prefer at night.

• Performance score: 4.5 / 5

Garmin Forerunner 970: Scorecard

Garmin Forerunner 970: Should I buy?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if..

Also consider

How I tested

I tested the watch over nine months, wearing it for my weekly 5K runs, as well as my weekly longer run and some interval training. I also tested it on the trails and used it for half-marathon training, as well as on race day itself. I compared the running features, app and data against other Garmin watches and running smartwatches.

I looked at my watch. It was only 1pm, and Bulbasaur was already asleep.

For the last few days, I have been getting to grips with Garmin's new Pokémon Sleep integration, released to coincide with last week's World Sleep Day (and the long-running franchise's 30th anniversary).

As well as integration with the Pokémon Sleep app, the collab also debuted new watch faces that react to your current sleep and Body Battery. As Garmin users likely know, Body Battery is a metric that helps determine daily readiness for activity, a score from 0-100 based on sleep quality, activity, stress and heart rate variability. Body Battery depletes during the day, and gets restored at night.

A Body Battery of 100 means you're fully rested and ready to take on the day, resulting in a happy, energetic-looking Pokémon pal on your wrist. This particular Pokémon Sleep integration feature is very clever: it's like a Tamagotchi for adults, and you 'feed' the digital animal by taking care of yourself and getting good sleep.

I hadn't seen Bulbasaur look happy and energetic at all, even after I first downloaded the Pokémon Sleep watch face on my Garmin Fenix 8 Pro (the best Garmin watch overall, if you don't mind paying the premium) the previous day. As soon as I enabled the integration and picked my Pokémon, Bulbasaur's face dropped into a neutral expression, then a droopy, tired one, falling asleep around 8pm. It was another four hours before I finally followed suit and went to bed.

I woke up with a Body Battery of 49. Not only had I exhausted my reserves the previous day, but I only regained around 40% of my capacity, despite a decent-ish sleep score of 78. Consequently, Bulbasaur awoke looking tired, and fell asleep by the early afternoon as my Body Battery score depleted once again.

I knew what was to blame, of course: I'm in the middle of a very busy house move, which also includes a fair bit of renovation. I've been spending evenings and weekends packing, painting and DIY-ing, cursing to myself as I attack skirting boards with the wrong type of saw for the job, shirking water for coffee, and throwing salty frozen meals in the oven at 9pm because I'm too tired to cook. None of this is conducive to waking up well-rested.

I've been tempted to take my watch off for this, or least disable the Pokémon Sleep integration so I don't feel responsible for a sleep-deprived starter 'mon. A report from Newcastle University found that fitness trackers can actually be a source of stress, citing research indicating that "the negative psychological reactions that arise from the features and designs of fitness technologies — such as feedback systems, goal-setting functions, and gamified or social elements.

"For instance, unmet goals or negative feedback can make consumers feel anxious and guilty, while comparative aspects of these technologies are associated with stress."

In what was already a stressful time as I juggled work and the house move process, the pressure to take care of myself could have piled yet more stress on. Gamifying wellness means you feel good when you 'win', but you also feel bad when you 'lose'. A bad sleep score on my wrist makes me feel like I've failed in a way, but waking up to an exhausted little plant-creature adds another emotional layer to the disappointment.

Nevertheless, I was determined to see Bulbasaur happy. Despite being as busy as ever and eating late yet again, I made a concerted effort to optimize my sleep as best I could over the next two nights. I rehydrated as soon as I got in, made a point of switching a mid-stress comfort snack (chocolate) to a healthy one (apple), and eventually went to bed armed with a chamomile tea and a book, leaving my phone in the other room. No more doomscrolling to distract myself from my lengthy jobs list.

Success! After night two, Bulbasaur awoke with a big smile on its face, feeling happy and energized. It lasted around 30 minutes before his expression shifted back to neutral, indicating that I still had a ways to go to improve my Body Battery score, but I did manage to snap a picture as soon as I saw it.

This is the brilliance of Garmin's new Pokémon Sleep integration: Bulbasaur managed to convince me (via emotional blackmail) that even a little self-care is worth it, as I'm now equipped with more energy to attack another busy week. Pokémon's shameless gamification of my health helped me reclaim a nightly routine, even if it guilt-tripped me into it.

The watch faces are free to download if you're a Garmin user. If Bulbasaur doesn't do it for you, there's 47 other Pokémon to choose from, as well as a 'Snorlax & Friends' watch face – here's how to download your watch face of choice.

• This is not a drill – 49 different Pokémon watch faces just dropped on Garmin Connect
• The Pokémon Sleep watch faces include one with Snorlax and friends, and another featuring your choice of one of 48 different Pokémon
• The Pokémon look tired when your Body Battery score gets low

Pokémon Sleep watch faces just dropped for the best Garmin watches, and I am very excited. To celebrate Pokémon's 30th anniversary, Garmin has released two different watch faces on its Garmin Connect IQ store, both of which are now available to download for free.

If there are only officially two watch faces, why have I said there are 49, I hear you ask? Well, one of them, titled 'Pokémon Sleep: Snorlax & Friends' features a medley of Pokémon clustered around the titular Snorlax. However, the second, called 'Pokémon Sleep: I Choose You' can be customized to star your choice of 48 different Pokémon. So you can put a Venusaur on your Venu 4, a Feraligator on your Fenix 8, or an Eevee on your Epix Pro. You can change your choice at any time.

The best part, aside from the watch faces being free downloads? According to Garmin, 'the poses on both watch faces will change throughout the day — from happy and smiling to tired and sleepy — based on the user’s Body Battery energy levels'.

I've just downloaded Bulbasaur (I've always had a soft spot for the grass-type starter, as it was my go-to back on the original Game Boy) and I'm looking forward to seeing it snooze on my wrist.

Garmin says the watch faces are for 'select watches' including Venu, Forerunner, Fenix and Vivoactive, but I also spotted Garmin's Marq, Epix, Quatix, Descent and Instinct 3 (AMOLED) watches available on the list of compatible devices. Most modern AMOLED screen Garmins should be able to run them without issue.

How to download the new Pokémon Sleep watch faces

1. Download the Garmin Connect IQ store
2. From the IQ Home, tap the Search tab
3. Search 'Pokémon Sleep'
4. Download the watch faces onto a compatible Garmin watch
5. Sync your device using the Sync button at the top right of the Connect IQ store

Which Pokémon can you choose from?

Here are all the options on the Pokémon Sleep: I Choose You watch face:

• Bulbasaur
• Ivysaur
• Venusaur
• Charmander
• Charmeleon
• Charizard
• Squirtle
• Wartortle
• Blastoise
• Pikachu
• Raichu
• Eevee
• Vaporeon
• Jolteon
• Flareon
• Chikorita
• Bayleef
• Meganium
• Cyndaquil
• Quilava
• Typhlosion
• Totodile
• Croconaw
• Feraligator
• Pichu
• Espeon
• Umbreon
• Treecko
• Grovyle
• Sceptile
• Torchic
• Combusken
• Blaziken
• Mudkip
• Marshtomp
• Swampert
• Leafeon
• Glaceon
• Sylveon
• Sprigatito
• Floragato
• Meowscarada
• Fuecoco
• Crocalor
• Skeledirge
• Quaxly
• Quaxwell
• Quaquaval

• Peloton activities can now be synced with the Garmin app
• For months, you could only sync data the other way
• That should give you a better understanding of your health and fitness

If you use both Garmin and Peloton devices during your fitness activities, we’ve got some good news: the two companies’ products now sync together in both directions. And this makes it far easier to log your workouts and keep track of your pursuits than before.

That means if you record a workout with one of the best Garmin watches, it’ll sync to the Peloton app. And if you log a session on a Peloton device, it’ll arrive in your Garmin app too. Whatever your equipment setup, the two systems should now communicate properly.

That wasn’t always the case. When Garmin and Peloton first announced their partnership last year, you could only send Garmin activities to the Peloton app — syncing did not work the other way around. That left some users frustrated that the devices seemed to line up only in one direction. That’s now all changed.

Although syncing can be done automatically, you are also given some control over which activities are included. You can choose from bike bootcamp, cardio, cycling, meditation, rowing, rowing bootcamp, running, strength, stretching, tread bootcamp, walking, and yoga. The system allows you to pass information in one direction or in both directions, too.

Several stats are integrated into the synced data, such as cadence, calories burned, distance, power (measured in watts), and speed. The name of your class’s instructor is also included.

A better picture of your health

Thankfully, this change is not locked behind the controversial Garmin Connect+ subscription service. Garmin users have been increasingly anxious that the company is moving features over to its paywalled service, but you apparently won’t need to worry about that happening with Peloton syncing.

It also means that there’s no longer a need to use a third-party syncing service to ensure your Peloton data gets sent over to your Garmin app. Alternatives like SyncMyWorkout have sprung up to fill this gap, but they incur an ongoing fee. With proper syncing between Garmin and Peloton now in place, there’s no need for that extra outlay.

With Peloton data available in the Garmin app, you’ll be able to build up a more accurate picture of your health and fitness, especially if you regularly use Peloton workout products. And when you have more accurate well-being data, you have a better idea of where you stand and what you can change going forward.

You've landed on our regular, once-a-week, ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) round-up – a place where you can get comfortable, settle down, and have a read through the most significant tech stories that happened since this time last week.

There's been lots happening this week — as there always is — with Samsung's big Galaxy Unpacked showcase the obvious highlight. We saw three new Galaxy S26 handsets, some new wireless earbuds, and lots of AI, and you can read all the details below.

If you're not into Samsung gadgets, we've also got news on a useful Spotify playlist upgrade, a notable OLED TV first, and a tease from Apple about a series of announcements next week — which will no doubt feature in our next ICYMI collection.

7. We saw a promising, world-first OLED TV

A new series of panels from LG should mean that OLED TVs get cheaper overall – from every manufacturer – and we've been casting our eyes over the new Panasonic Z86C. At the time of writing, it's the only TV with one of LG's new panels fitted to it, and while we don't yet have pricing, we are able to share our first impressions with you.

Through demos that included space stations, galaxies, and nebulae (spot the theme), the Panasonic Z86C was definitely able to hold its own in terms of inky blacks and vivid colors. However, we also noticed some minor issues with this world-first television, which we're hoping Panasonic might be able to sort out before it actually goes on sale.

• Read the full story: I saw the first OLED TV with LG's new-gen cheaper panel, and it looks like a nice upgrade — but here's the fine print

6. Spotify got a neat new playlists trick

Spotify doesn't seem to be slowing down when it comes to adding new features inside its apps, and there's now a Smart Reorder tool for you to make use of — as long as you're a Premium subscriber. It takes an existing playlist, then rearranges it based on the beats-per-minute (BPM) of each track, for a more consistent flow from start to finish.

What you should be left with is a playlist structured in a way where every song blends neatly into the next, whether you're in the role of DJ for other people or just listening privately. We've got all the details on how Smart Reorder works, how you can find it in the app, and how it fits alongside the other playlist editing features offered by Spotify.

• Read the full story: Spotify's new Smart Reorder tool gives one of its best features a handy upgrade — and it's already saving me hours of tweaking

5. We crowned 'the best TV show of 2026 so far'

The TechRadar team is more than ready for the second season of Paradise, now streaming on Hulu or Disney+ (depending on where in the world you live). The apocalypse has happened, the survivors are surviving, and the new episodes that have now dropped take the show along new and unexpected turns that you're unlikely to see coming.

In our season two review (which doesn't contain any major spoilers for what's ahead), we praise the narrative energy, the performances of the cast, and the set pieces that pile up — and award the season 4.5 stars out of 5. This could be the best TV show of the year up to this point, so if you haven't yet dived into the Paradise universe, add it to your queue.

• Read the full story: 'Make way for the best TV show of 2026 so far' — Paradise season 2 on Hulu continues to knock an apocalyptic nightmare out of the park

4. Garmin watches got a big software boost

We know that Garmin makes some of the best smartwatches in the business, and it also does a fine job of keeping them updated with new features. The latest to arrive is the Garmin Fitness Coach, now appearing inside the Garmin Connect app and on select smartwatches too, ready to help you in improving your strength and general fitness.

The Fitness Coach has been much anticipated in recent months, and expands the structured plans you can access beyond running and cycling – and as with the previous plans, each of the new options can be adapted to suit your own requirements. There are also some more minor but still welcome upgrades to gear tracking rolling out.

• Read the full story: Huge Garmin update alert! Garmin Fitness Coach arrives in-app and on-watch — and one of my favorite features just got a big boost too

3. We tried the new Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro

Before we get to the flagship smartphones that Samsung unveiled earlier this week, we need to talk about the Galaxy Buds 4 and Galaxy Buds 4 Pro wireless earbuds that were also unveiled. We've already spent some hands-on time with both pairs of earbuds, and while they mostly make a great first impression, there are some niggling issues as well.

These earbuds go on sale at the start of next month, so if you're thinking about spending your hard-earned cash on them, read through our hands-on thoughts first. The Galaxy Buds 4 will set you back $197 / £159 / AU$299, while the Pro versions are retailing for $249 / £219 / AU$399 (similar to the AirPods Pro 3), so you can choose according to your budget.

• Read the full story: Hands on: 'I'm loving the audio and design upgrades, but one huge problem remains' — after using Samsung Galaxy Buds 4 Pro for one week, there's still an issue

2. Apple teased a 'big week ahead' for launches

If you're an Apple fan, you're in for a treat next week: we're expecting multiple product launches across multiple days, and Apple CEO Tim Cook has upped the anticipation levels on social media, promising a "big week ahead" for the company. We're most likely looking at a selection of new MacBooks and new iPads, and the debut of the iPhone 17e.

What we do know for sure is that Apple has an event of some description in the calendar for Wednesday, March 4, where some of this new hardware should be getting shown off. We will of course be covering all of the announcements as and when they happen, so keep checking TechRadar for the full details of whatever Apple is treating us to next.

• Read the full story: Tim Cook teases 'a big week ahead' and it might just be the arrival of the low-cost MacBook

1.The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra landed with a killer feature

As far as tech headlines of the week go, none was bigger than the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S26, led by the premium Ultra model. We've already spent some time checking out the Galaxy S26 Ultra in person, and it comes with a genuinely innovative Privacy Display option that stops other people around you from seeing what you're doing on the screen.

It's a feature that may well be adopted by other phone models going forward. We shouldn't forget the Galaxy S26 and the Galaxy S26 Plus, which also had upgrades worthy of talking about (mostly AI-related, surprising no one). It's the first major smartphone launch of 2026, and now it's over to Apple and Google to see what they've got in return.

• Read the full story: I went hands-on with the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra — and it has one killer feature even Apple may want to steal

Huawei just dropped what it firmly believes is its best running watch yet, the Huawei Watch GT Runner 2, and it certainly sounds like it's going to give the likes of Apple and Garmin a run for their money.

It's got a whole bunch of features, including Huawei's very accurate TruSense heart rate sensor and algorithm, an intelligent Marathon Mode for responsive training advice, route design similar to Garmin and Coros, and a redesigned 3D antenna array for better GPS accuracy.

This last factor is key. The antenna is a ring sitting near the top of the bezel, said to ensure 'precise tracking and positioning even in challenging environments like tunnels or shaded areas'. It's said to be more accurate than the best Garmin watches, although considering the tests I've seen on this come from Huawei itself, I'm taking it with a pinch of salt.

However, there's no getting around the fact that it looks and feels great. The watch sports a redesigned digital crown in a position similar to the Coros Pace 4, another physical button on the same side, and your choice of straps (I love the fabric, which you can see in the picture above). It comes in Midnight Black, Dusk Blue, and Dawn Orange.

Despite not being able to sell its devices in the US, Huawei is taking its running watch credentials seriously. It's even roped in marathon record-smashing runner Eliud Kipchoge as a brand ambassador, with a Huawei representative telling me that Kipchoge's team tests the brand's wearables and offers frequent insights. It's also finally gotten around the lack of a wallet, with the addition of Curve Pay for all your digital payment banking needs.

While obviously not available in the US, the watch costs £349.99 in the UK (around $475 / AU$665).

Versus Garmin

With the GT Runner 2's claims of being more accurate than a Garmin, I tested it against my personal Garmin Epix Pro in a quick 5.4km out-and-back. For my full review, I'll be testing it against the Apple Watch Ultra 3, alongside a Polar H10 heart rate monitor. While the Garmin Epix Pro is older than the Garmin Fenix 8, it still has the up-to-date Elevate V5 heart rate sensor and registers as accurate in GPS when tested against the Apple Watch.

In this initial test run, the Huawei was light, bright (even under the glare of the winter sun, its AMOLED screen was very easy to glance at mid-run), and compared favorably with the Garmin.

With just 30 meters' variation of distance and 8bpm difference in average heart rate (I'd class a difference of 10bpm and under as not particularly statistically significant), it's certainly close enough to the benchmark for the average runner. You can see the stats of both watches below. Real sticklers for accuracy and professional athletes will have to wait for my full review for more extensive testing.

• A host of Garmin watches just got a major new update, along with all Garmin Connect users
• Garmin Fitness Coach, a training plan creator for general fitness and strength, just dropped in the app and will be fed to select smartwatches
• Gear-tracking has also been improved, with abilities to group items together and access a database of popular kit

The best Garmin watches just got even better. Garmin announced a host of new features for Garmin Venu X1, Garmin Fenix 8, Garmin Vivoactive 6 and Garmin Forerunners 570 and 970 watches, and chief among them are a bunch of new upgrades for existing fitness features.

First up, Garmin Fitness Coach, the long-awaited training plan creator, has finally rolled out to Garmin Connect users. These plans work just like running and cycling plans in the Garmin Coach feature, only they're for general fitness, incorporating specific strength training and endurance workouts. In the Training & Planning section of the Garmin Connect app, select Garmin Coach Plans and Improve Fitness, at which point you're able to select Garmin Fitness Coach and create a plan.

The plan allows you to select between Full Gym and Bodyweight, Bodyweight Only, and No Strength Workouts. Cardiovascular exercise allows you to use existing workout profiles such as running, cycling and treadmill running, alongside specific strength workouts with set exercises taken from Garmin's library.

Gear tracking upgrades

I wrote last month about how I've fallen in love with Garmin's gear-tracking feature, and it's just gotten a whole host of upgrades. You can track gear on-wrist on any of the above watches, and Garmin Connect now has a database of gear available to automatically find, rather than have you manually enter it.

You're also able to group multiple items together and add them to the same activity, and choose from an expanded list of gear types. Garmin says this includes "running shoes, skis, bike components, wheelchairs and more". Finally, it's also added the ability to take notes about and photos of the gear.

Other stuff

A new Course Planner glance allows Garmin watch users to "prepare for an upcoming race by planning out the course with cut-off times, rest plans, checkpoints, aid stations and more in Garmin Connect, then see the course on a compatible smartwatch".

You can also follow your favorite sports teams and get live sports scores on-wrist, although we don't yet know what this looks like in practice.

The update should be rolling out now. I've already got Garmin Fitness Coach and the Gear Tracking upgrades in my Garmin Connect app, so make sure your app is fully updated and watches synced to get all the new features.

• Garmin is rolling out an update for its Fenix 8 and other associated watches, like the Fenix 8 Pro and Enduro 3
• It contains new glances, including battery life, an update on your last-logged bodyweight, and sports team tracking
• It also includes fixes, such as a blank screen occurring when accessing the music player

Garmin has been busy, it seems. While the company (probably) prepares to launch the (rumored) Garmin Fenix 9 later this year, it has not forgotten about its current flagship, the Garmin Fenix 8, which we awarded a full five stars in our review.

It's just delivered Software Version 21.25, which affects Garmin Fenix 8, 8 Pro and Garmin Enduro 3 watches.

Features

The new update is pretty big. It's always nice when Garmin doesn't just fix bugs but also adds new features, and there are quite a few here. Garmin has added training plans that "focus on timed workouts, cardio workouts, and optional strength workouts", alongside a bevy of new glances — the widgets you can access on your Garmin watch by scrolling down the list.

These new additions include a glance that "tracks your weight" — presumably, shows the weight you last logged, rather monitoring it independently — alongside glances that show you information on your watch's battery life and battery performance, how daily behaviors affect health metrics (presumably paired with the Lifestyle Logging feature) and even how your favorite sports teams are doing.

Sleep features have been improved too, as the update "adds insights to the sleep glance for your ideal bed time and wake time". Additional alarm sounds have also been added.

Fixes

Alongside the new features are a selection of fixes. These include an error that causes a blank screen when using the music player during an activity, along with another which could cause the device to crash after loading a cycling course.

Other fixes include minor bugs, an issue with the Backcountry Ski workout profile, and partial failures when connecting the watch to Wi-Fi.

The update is rolling out now, so Fenix 8 owners should make sure to update and sync their watches ASAP. You can see Garmin's full changelog here.

• Garmin's CEO Cliff Pemble mentioned in a quarterly earnings call that big things were coming in its outdoor category, which includes Fenix watches
• He expects growth to "accelerate" in the back half of the year do to "the timing of product launches"
• It's likely this is a reference to the Garmin Fenix 9

It looks like Garmin's gearing up for a big second half of the year for its outdoor watches, sparking rumors of the much-anticipated Garmin Fenix 9. If true, our list of the best Garmin watches is in for a bit of a shake-up.

Garmin CEO Cliff Pemble revealed during a quarterly earnings call with investors (recorded by leaker The5KRunner) that he "expects stronger performance in the back half of the year due to the timing of product launches", stating that it would be "a very active year for outdoor".

In order to decipher these cryptic statements correctly and interpret them as a Garmin Fenix 9 tease, you'll have to bear with me as I go into the corporate jargon of it all. Earnings calls are largely uninteresting for people (like me, and probably you) who just want to get outside and run with their watches, but they often contain hints of new products to come.

Garmin's portfolio of smartwatches is split across outdoor (Fenix, Instinct and the like) and fitness (Venu, Forerunner, Vivoactive). While fitness revenue exploded due to launches like the Garmin Vivoactive 6 last quarter, Garmin's outdoor section remained fairly flat. However, a big flashy product launch like its flagship Fenix series would certainly deliver the boost Pemble's promising.

Earnings calls are designed to update and reassure investors, so Pemble's promise of big things on its outdoor roadmap can only really mean one thing: a high-profile flagship product launch. The timing tracks, too: the Garmin Fenix 8 was released in August 2024, so releasing the Fenix 9 two years later, also in the back half of the year, certainly makes sense.

What might the Fenix 9 look like?

It's hard to imagine how to improve on the Fenix 8 (which we gave five stars) and the Fenix 8 Pro.

Perhaps the Fenix 8 Pro's satellite messaging feature will come as standard, the battery will last even longer, or Garmin might even have finally cracked the trick of creating a solar-charging AMOLED watch.

Garmin's Power Glass solar charging technology, which slows the battery drain if the user spends three hours a day in sunny conditions of 50,000 lux or brighter, only works with its lower-power memory-in-pixel displays. Power Glass can't offset the power consumption of its AMOLED screens in its current form.

If Garmin can create a bright AMOLED-style watch while still pulling off the solar charging trick, it's likely to ditch MIP for ever, starting with the Fenix 9 — which would be a sad day for old hands.

Perhaps you’ve been eyeing a Garmin wearable to replace your more conventional smartwatch. Or, considering one for workouts. Your heart is in the right place, but we understand how easy it is to be turned off by the high prices. Now is the time for action, then, with these fresh discounts on some of our favourite Garmins here in time to tempt you.

The Garmin watches with discounts include some from our best Garmin watches and best running watches lists, all curated and rigorously tested by our team of reviewers here at TechRadar.

I personally have been eyeing some of these watches for myself to upgrade my Fenix 5 from 2017, as I look to continue my training for the upcoming City2Surf fun run in Sydney later this year.

Here are my top picks for the best Garmin deals that I’ve spotted across the internet this week to cover a range of activities and budgets:

Garmin has established itself as a top brand for GPS technology for decades with its maritime and aviation satnav products, and has brought that expertise over into fitness devices to help athletes more accurately track their runs, hikes or bike rides.

Apart from the accurate GPS, Garmin’s wearables famously have battery lives that can last weeks before charging, whereas many conventional smartwatches would have all-day batteries to match most mobile phones. Garmin’s training metrics like its Body Battery (a score that tells you how much energy you have left for the day based on sleep, stress, and activity) and a recovery timer can serve as a virtual “coach” to ensure you don’t push yourself too much. These features are also free with the device, which could make up for the relatively high upfront cost.

The wearables also have a range of different models to suit various needs, with the flagship Fenix series packed to the brim with features to help track pretty much any fitness activity, and down to some budget friendly options like the Vivosmart series that nail the essential features very well. They also have models that more closely resemble something like an Apple Watch or Galaxy Watch like the Venu series.

• A recent Garmin Connect update has disconnected users’ wearables
• The problem seems to be limited to iOS, with Android unaffected
• Solutions have been proposed, but they might not work for everyone

Garmin Connect has proven to be controversial since it launched, but that’s mostly been confined to how it locks certain features behind a pricey paywall. Yet now the discontent has broadened, as the latest update to the software has disconnected many users’ wearables and smartwatches from the service and left them unable to sync their progress.

The problem has been variously reported to have arisen with the 5.21 and 5.21.1 updates, and users are venting their frustrations across social media. Posts are flooding Reddit, for example, as spotted by Gadgets & Wearables. It’s left users exasperated with the disruption to their routines and with the inability of Garmin Connect to work with their existing devices.

Writing on Reddit, user Fantastic-Class-8252 explained that “I just updated my app on the iPhone, and now it says I have no watch connected to the app!!” That was backed up by other users, including PrimaryHuckleberry11, who said in another post that they “updated today on my iPhone and I lost all devices from the app.”

Incidentally, the problems seem to be confined to iOS, with Android users of Garmin Connect indicating that their app was running without issue. That suggests the problem lies with how the Garmin Connect app interacts with some element of iOS, and that the latest update broke this functionality.

We've asked Garmin if it's aware of the problem or has as estimated timescale for a fix to be rolled out, and will update this story as soon as we hear back.

What can you do?

Some users have posted solutions in the Reddit posts’ comment sections, with the claim that they were able to get things working again.

One user, for example, explained that they first needed to remove their wearable device from Garmin Connect’s web app. After that, they removed their wearable from the list of paired Bluetooth devices in the iOS Settings app. Once that was done, they were able to re-add their device in the Garmin Connect app.

For others, the solution was slightly different. This user suggested opening the Garmin Connect app then, while it is looking for connected devices, switching to the settings screen on your Garmin watch and heading to Connectivity > Phone > Pair Phone. This should make your watch appear in the app, whereupon you can set it up like a new device in Garmin Connect.

That said, not everyone has been successful with these methods. The issue also appears to affect a variety of Garmin wearables, so there’s no guarantee that what works for one product will succeed for another.

If you’ve fallen victim to this problem, it’s worth trying the methods mentioned above. But if you still can’t connect your wearable, you might have to wait for a patch to be released that gets things working the way they should again.

• Garmin's next device may well be the Cirqa smart band
• That's according to screenshots taken by Reddit users of a leak on Garmin's website
• The new device is reportedly set to ship in '4–5 months'

Garmin's next product may well have just leaked, and it's not a sequel to anything on our best Garmin watches list, a cycling computer, an InReach messaging device, or any of the other hardware the company is famous for – instead, it could be the brand's long-rumored, screenless fitness tracker.

Spotted via Android Authority, eagle-eyed Redditors caught the appearance of a device called the 'Garmin Cirqa smart band' on Garmin's own website, and screenshotted it before it disappeared. The screenshot, embedded in the Reddit comment below, revealed that the band could be released in around '4–5 months', which would be May or June.

It lists two sizes and two colors, Black and French Gray, although what's conspicuously missing is pricing information.

Comment from r/Garmin

Leaker site The5KRunner also followed up with a screenshot of some information indexed by Google before it vanished. This confirms that the band is designed to fit on the wrist, along with some grainy placeholder thumbnail imagery and a few sizing details.

It's quite clear from both of these screenshots that we've got a Whoop competitor on our hands. We previously thought the Garmin Index Sleep Monitor might have been it before its release last year, but that particular screenless tracker ended up being an armband designed for wearing in bed.

Whoop, there it is

We've heard rumblings for a while that Garmin is working on something to rival the Whoop MG and Whoop 5.0. It's a simple design concept – a fabric band stretched over an optical heart rate monitor that passively records workout and recovery metrics, rather than being designed to be interacted with like a smartwatch – but one that's seen a surge in popularity over the last few months.

The Polar Loop and Amazfit Helio Strap have recently been released, with the Luna Band and Speediance Strap to come this year. It's no surprise then that Garmin might finally be throwing its hat in this ring – now it's a proven concept outside of Whoop, and this feels like the right moment.

Unfortunately, Whoop isn't likely to be happy about the competition. Our sister site Tom's Guide reported that Whoop attempted to sue Polar over its Polar Loop band, citing intellectual property infringement, so it'll be interesting to see how the company reacts to Garmin getting in on the screenless-tracker action.

When people talk Garmin, it’s usually about one thing – the best running watches. And sure, that’s the bit most of us see. You buy a Forerunner or a Fenix, sync it to the Connect app, and then spend the next few years being a bit too smug about battery life, especially when your friends complain about their Apple Watches dying after a day.

But when I was invited to Garmin’s HQ in Olathe, Kansas for a media tour to coincide with the surprise launch of the new Forerunner series last year, I was excited to see behind the scenes. As a smartwatch enthusiast, it was like a golden ticket straight out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

I’ll admit, I was expecting the usual checklist of activities a trip like this brings: product demos, a few executive chats, and a polite tour of a shiny office. And while there was still plenty of that, what I didn’t expect was just how much of Garmin’s wider operations I'd be privy to, including the unglamorous, behind-the-scenes bits most runners don’t even know exist.

And while not every part of the tour delivered the juicy, headline-grabbing stuff journalists always hope for, it did offer some genuinely surprising insight into a brand that builds expensive things – and they're built to last, unlike most smart technology, not just to the next upgrade cycle. Here are three of my biggest takeaways from the trip.

1. Garmin tests all its watches in-house to breaking point

The highlight of the tour for me wasn’t a shiny new watch reveal, it was the testing labs. Not because they’re glamorous (they’re really not), but because they explain why Garmin owners tend to have the same device for ages.

It was quite amusing to hear how Garmin actually want their devices to break in these labs. But the point is, it really helps them understand why failures happen, so they can fix them before a product goes to market.

The guide explained that the whole point of this kind of testing is to get ahead of potential “field failures” as early as possible in development, then keep rerunning tests as the design matures. They would much rather a prototype to fall apart in a lab than for a retail unit to die halfway through a user's triathlon, which makes complete sense.

The variety of tests happening in those labs was also quite impressive. I was shown specially-made chambers for cold, heat, humidity and UV-style weathering, designed to accelerate the kind of slow damage that normally manifests after months of sun, sweat and winter runs.

There are also salt fog chambers for corrosion, including one that cycles exposure to mimic real-world conditions, and chemical testing for the stuff people actually get on wearables, such as artificial sweat, sunscreen, and even nastier things like fuel and transmission fluid.

Then there’s the physical abuse the wearables undergo. Drop testing is a given, but Garmin uses rigs that can orient a device so it lands exactly on a specific point (like a button) over and over, with high-speed footage so they can watch what fails in slow motion.

Cycle tests make up a big part of the testing, too, where parts get actuated thousands of times – like straps stretching repeatedly, buttons being hammered, or mechanisms being worked until something gives. It’s not just about whether it can survive a fall, but if it can survive being used how a normal person would, repeatedly, over months, years, and maybe even decades.

I wasn't allowed to take photos in this area, annoyingly (but understandably), but what I will say is that experiencing it left a stronger impression than any product slide deck did that entire trip. It’s also the sort of thing that makes Garmin’s, err, premium pricing a bit easier to swallow. You might still wince at the cost, but at least you can see where some of that money is going.

2. Garmin's enormous warehouse is basically a super-advanced robot motorway

If the test lab is where Garmin proves its products’ durability, the company’s warehouse is where it showcases scale. This area was unbelievably huge but it wasn’t just its size that surprised me, it was seeing everything that happens here.

It’s definitely not the sexy side of tech, but I got to see how the company ensures you get your watch quickly, handles returns efficiently, and how much (or little) waste gets created along the way.

The warehouse operation is perhaps the most impressive, since it’s absolutely packed with automation, employing towering machines and robots that shuttle products around so that staff aren’t constantly trekking up and down endless aisles or stairs.

The guide here explained that the warehouse robots follow set routes, drive underneath a mobile storage rack, lock into its base and lift it slightly, then carry the whole rack to wherever it’s needed, all directed by tablet requests from staff and cutting out a ton of pointless walking.

The most oddly satisfying bit, though, was the packaging line. There’s a machine that measures the height of what’s in a box, scores the cardboard, folds it down, glues it, and basically trims the packaging to fit.

That doesn’t sound like a big deal until you remember that shipping is based on size as well as weight. When stacked together, those small savings in space really add up, meaning Garmin is saving emissions by not paying to send a load of air, resulting in fewer trips.

All this automation and efficiency is highly advanced, and might explain where some of those high asking prices are going.

3. Garmin's aviation roots mean reliability is its cornerstone

So here’s the part I really didn’t expect – just how much of Garmin’s DNA is ingrained in other industries like aviation, not just fitness, and how that feeds into our fitness watches.

On the tour, Garmin's ties to aviation were flaunted as one of its foundational areas – something the early team was apparently deeply rooted in. And they spoke about it with the kind of pride you normally hear when brands talk about their “hero” product category, and not just some side business-to-business side hustle.

They walked me through the sort of systems Garmin builds into aircraft, from big cockpit displays, sensors, GPS, comms, even connectivity for keeping databases up to date, so pilots aren’t manually fussing with backgrounds while in the air.

There was also a lot of emphasis on flight control tech such as autopilot systems and safety features, including a one-button emergency function that can take over, communicate, pick a landing location and bring the aircraft down safely if something goes wrong.

They even took us up in the air in some of their planes (yes, they have their own hangar) to show us how it all worked, which wasn’t terrifying in the slightest…

Obviously, this is all worlds away from a Forerunner buzzing your wrist because you’ve drifted out of the Zone 2 heart rate zone, but it does explain that Garmin is obsessed with reliability in situations where failure isn’t just annoying, it’s dangerous. Whether you're in the air or out in the wilderness, tech needs to be reliable. And this – for me – helps reframe the conversation around how expensive Garmin devices can be.

I now see Garmin as not just a brand that just makes good-quality wearables, but one that builds serious navigation and control systems, and then brings some of that mindset and engineering culture into its consumer gadgets.

All of the above made the campus feel less like a running watch HQ and more like a weirdly broad tech empire with fitness, outdoors, aviation, marine, and automotive all under one roof, which, I must admit, gave me some serious Apple HQ vibes.

I flew there thinking I was covering a sports watch launch and came away with a totally different perspective on the brand. That the reason Garmin kit feels so dependable isn’t just the watches themselves, it’s the fact it’s a capable engineering company built around building complicated navigational tech extremely well.

So, if you’re about to buy your next Garmin, it's probably worth remembering these three things: the watches are tested in genuinely brutal ways; the logistics operation is far more advanced than most people realise; and the company’s serious engineering roots run much deeper than fitness.

That doesn’t mean Garmin is perfect, but its devices not only stands the test of time, but they also tend to make day-to-day training feel smoother and more reliable, which is the sort of thing that’s hard to give up once you’re used to it.

• Strava has released a new feature for Apple Watch, allowing you to view and follow a pre-generated route map
• This allows you to view a map on your wrist and follow a route, ensuring you run a precise distance and don't get lost
• This is a feature other apps like AllTrails, and other watches like Garmin, have had for years

As Techradar's Senior Fitness & Wearables Editor, I test smartwatches of all kinds. However, in my day-to-day, I'm generally a Garmin-wearer. There's a couple of reasons for this, but a big one is that I'm a regular runner, and Garmin has one of the most comprehensive suites of running features out of all the different wearables categories. Notably, many of the best Garmin watches allow you to generate routes in the Garmin Connect app, sync them to your watch and follow a full-color map on your wrist.

Users of even the best Apple Watches can't do this, at least not natively within Apple's own Workout app. You need to switch apps from Workout to Maps, running Workout in the background, and have a destination or route pre-loaded in the Maps app. It's frustrating and annoying.

Alternatively, the easier option is to download a third-party app, such as WorkOutdoors, Footpath or AllTrails (if you're hiking), all of which allow you to follow maps of a pre-planned route while recording a workout.

Strava has just released its own version of this feature. Spotted via Gadgets & Wearables, users can now pick from their saved Strava routes when recording a workout such as a Walk, Run or Ride in Strava's Apple Watch app, and it'll show a route overlay onto a Dark Mode map.

Unfortunately, there's reportedly no Garmin-style breadcrumb trail or rerouting if you stray from the path, but I hope that gets added in a future update as it's dead useful. During marathon training in busy London, Garmin's instant rerouting when I went off-course helped me focus on staying on pace during my long runs.

As most regular runners and riders are likely Strava users anyway (even though they might not be Premium members) this is a worthwhile integration that allows users to cut a few apps out of their stack. If you're using WorkOutdoors, syncing that to Apple Fitness, then uploading to Strava from there, doesn't it make more sense to record on Strava directly?

I'll be sticking with Garmin for now, due to a combination of Garmin's superior routing features and a desire to keep everything under Garmin's singular ecosystem, including fitness metrics, routes and training plans. However, Strava's acquisition of mapping software company FATMAP and AI-powered coaching platform Runna indicate that Strava's also looking to become a one-stop shop fitness umbrella platform to rival Garmin Connect.

My Garmin watch has recently been getting into hot water, and I mean that literally. I'm wearing the Garmin Venu 4 pretty much all the time these days, including on runs, in the gym, in the sea and in the shower.

Unfortunately, this has given rise to an unexpected problem. Four times now, I've noticed in the shower that I've been on an unintentional phone call, usually to my Dad, who's first in my contacts list on my watch. This is caused by the cascading water in the shower activating the watch's touchscreen, but it's very odd that it reacts the same way each time.

I love my Garmin Venu 4. I think it's a great watch, and the ability to use the built-in microphone to set timers and issue other simple commands via the onboard voice assistant is great. Likewise, Garmin's touchscreens have improved in recent years to become almost as snappy and responsive as Apple's. But that combination means my family have been unintentionally earwigging on me singing in the shower.

You may have experienced the same thing with your Garmin, as most of the best Garmin watches now offer touchscreens in addition to the usual button controls. Whereas when you start an activity such as swimming, the watch automatically enters a Touch Lock mode, simply showering requires manual tinkering.

How to set up a Touch Lock short cut

Depending on which Garmin watch you own, there are several ways you can set up a shortcut to Touch Lock your Garmin watch.

I own a Garmin Venu 4, and while it does have two buttons, many other Garmin watches have five, which allow you to set up several 'hot key' shortcut options. The two-button Venu series doesn't have those.

Instead, by holding down the UP/MENU button, you can summon a selection of settings-based controls such as Find My Phone, Do Not Disturb, and Power Off.

Scrolling down, you'll see an Edit bar. Tap that, then Add, then scroll down the list until you come to the yellow Touch Lock button. Hit the green + sign next to it.

After that, you'll be able to hold the UP/MENU button to summon your list of shortcuts, and simply tap Touch Lock to activate it before you hop in the shower, safe in the knowledge no-one can hear you sing.

How to set up a hot key

If you've got a watch with five buttons, such as the Garmin Fenix 8 or the Garmin Forerunner 570, you can set up a shortcut via hot keys.

In your settings, select System > Hot Keys, and choose the combination of buttons you want to use in order to instantly turn the Touch Lock setting on and off.

• Garmin drops new tactix 8 Cerakote Edition
• The ultra-premium adventure watch now gets a new baked-on rugged coating
• It's being released at the same time as new golfing equipment, including a watch for juniors

While the Garmin Fenix 8 is well-known as Garmin's super-premium adventure watch (it's on our best Garmin watch guide for a reason), the military-style Tactix 8 is every inch its equal, and then some. Garmin has just released a new version of this watch, now with a Cerakote ceramic coating.

A 51mm monster priced at $1,599.99 / £1,379.99 / AU$2,799, the Garmin Tactix 8 Cerakote Edition is slightly more expensive than the standard 51mm tactix 8, priced at $1,399.99 / £1,279.99 / AU$2,449 due to its toughened ceramic coating.

Garmin describes the coating process as having the coat "sprayed onto each smartwatch, then baked to help cure the coating, providing a unique look and feel that becomes more refined as the watch is worn".

Otherwise, the Tactix 8 is exactly the same watch as the non-Cerakote version, with a 1.4-inch AMOLED display, LED flashlight – although due to the military connotations, the light is green rather than the usual red – and all the usual GPS features you'd expect in a top-flight outdoor watch like TopoActive maps and SatIQ GPS connectivity.

The watch has tactical- or military-flavored features such as a low-light Stealth Mode, a 'kill switch' to remove all your data, and an Applied Ballistics solver feature. This last one is on almost all Garmin's tactical watches and works like Garmin's best golf watch features (but for guns), offering wind information and other contextual environmental information that might affect your shot.

Garmin Pay, a speaker for calls, activity tracking, sleep and recovery tracking, race prediction for runners, and a huge 29-day battery life on top, means even without the tactical features, the Tactix 8 can cut it with the best civilian smartwatches.

New golf gear: Garmin Approach J1

The Garmin tactix 8 Cerakote Edition is not the only new addition to Garmin's lineup. A new range of golf gear has also dropped, including the Garmin Approach J1 – the company's first golf watch aimed at junior golfers.

Said to be "purpose-built to help youth golfers learning the game and play with confidence and track their performance", according to a Garmin press release, the watch is very light at just 29g, with a 1.2-inch screen and battery life lasting up to 10 days. A water-resistant design allows young golfers to play through "light rain and wind" although it doesn't have the usual waterproofing that most of Garmin's adventure watches get.

The watch provides tee-off guidance, club selection guidance, and other golfing features, while also acting as an activity-tracking smartwatch for general use. It's priced at $299.99 / £309.99 / AU$499.

Garmin has also released a new handheld golf unit, the Approach G82, for those who don't want to wear a golf watch.

• Tech firm UnaliWear is suing Apple, Google, Garmin and Samsung
• At issue is the use of fall detection tech on some of the best smartwatches
• If UnaliWear wins, there could be huge ramifications for the industry

Fall detection is a key feature of many of the best smartwatches, including the Apple Watch and models from Garmin, Samsung and Google’s Fitbit. Yet its future on your device might be in jeopardy, as one company claims that all these devices have illegally copied its technology relating to trips and falls. If it prevails, the smartwatch industry could look very different.

At issue is the aforementioned fall detection tech, which wearables company UnaliWear says infringes on its patents. UnaliWear makes wearables for older adults, with these products featuring a fall detection system called RealFall that it says can distinguish between actual falls and everyday movement.

It’s that ability to differentiate real falls from false alerts that is at the core of the dispute. UnaliWear says that the wearables it has taken issue with – those from Apple, Google, Garmin and Samsung – have infringed upon its patents in order to solve a specific problem.

Right now, the case is being investigated by the US International Trade Commission, with responses expected from the affected companies by roughly the end of January. The case is expected to take over a year to complete, but it could have massive ramifications once it concludes.

For one thing, if UnaliWear is successful, it might request a limited exclusion order. This would block the import of affected smartwatches into the US, leaving the likes of Apple and Garmin unable to ship some of the most popular smartwatches to US customers. As well as that, UnaliWear has filed cases in several US district courts – if it prevails there, it could lead to massive financial penalties being handed out.

How likely is a ban?

Ultimately, it's unlikely that we'll see the likes of the Apple Watch or the Samsung Galaxy Watch banned from import into the US.

One more likely option is that the big-name players might have to license their fall detection technology from UnaliWear. Or they could create a workaround or alternative solution that does not infringe on UnaliWear’s patents, as Apple did when its blood oxygen sensor was ruled to have overstepped on patents held by medical tech firm Masimo.

Speaking of which, the Masimo case demonstrates that this is not the first time that Apple has been sued by a smaller company over the tech it uses in its Apple Watch. In the Masimo case, certain models of the Apple Watch were restricted from import into the US, which meant Apple had to disable the feature for US customers – a significant headache for the Cupertino company.

No doubt Apple – and Samsung, Google and Garmin – will want to avoid anything as drastic this time around. If you’re interested in any of these smartwatches and want to know whether you’ll still be able to buy one in the future, keep an eye on this case.

Garmin devices have a ton of activity and watch settings to go through and tweak, even when you’re not actually exercising. From building new workouts to choosing new watch faces, checking your Body Battery and Readiness scores to looking at live progress of your stock market options, there are all sorts of things you can do on the best Garmin watches.

Sometimes, when you’re deep in your settings, you need to push the ‘back’ button about half a dozen times to return back to your watch face through the labyrinth of menus one by one, which can be irritating. Technology should be easy, seamless, with a single gesture allowing you to return to the home screen with minimal fuss.

I’ve tested tons of Garmin watches over the years, from the cheapest Vivoactive to the top-flight Garmin Fenix 8, and in the middle of testing GPS accuracy and finding scuba divers to check the dive computer features, and all the rest of it, you occasionally just forget some features are there at all. I wrote about this a couple of days ago with the Gear Tracking feature in Garmin Connect, and a recent conversation reminded me about yet another less well-known Garmin watch trick.

When chatting to TechRadar’s Homes Editor (and former Fitness Editor) Cat Ellis about her new Garmin, she bemoaned the fact that the Lily 2 Active couldn’t perform the classic Garmin touchscreen gesture, which involves a tapping the screen of the watch with your palm, covering the watch face to return it to the home screen. It’s a neat hidden feature on most Garmin watches, not shouted about at all (again, just like Gear Tracking) but a useful timesaver. Garmin calls it the ‘palm gesture’.

The gesture doesn’t work if you’re tracking an activity, but it does have an alternative use. When I used the gesture on my everyday-wear Garmin Venu 4 while tracking a run, it doesn’t return to the home screen – instead, it acts as a touchscreen lock, which prevents any sweat, water or rubbing clothing shifting the watch away from the view you need at that point in your workout. This works on any watch with a touchscreen lock function: the Lily 2 Active doesn’t have one, which is why the gesture doesn’t work.

For watches that do, the palm gesture is simple, clean, effective and easily forgotten about – although fortunately, I’m here to remind you about it.

How to do the palm gesture in Garmin Connect

• On a touchscreen Garmin watch, navigate around a few of its many menus and settings in the usual way
• To return to the home screen, briefly cover the entirety of the watchface with your palm
• The watch will revert to the home screen

Garmin says: “If you want to return to the watch face from any screen (except for while recording an activity), you can press your palm to the entire watch face. This will also turn down the backlight. You can turn on the back light or wake the display by tapping it.”

Garmin Connect is a detailed app with a ton of features under the hood. Users of the best Garmin watches can break down all sorts of stats in all sorts of ways using the app, from seeing the last year's worth of stress scores on a graph to analyze trends, to planning routes and courses to export to your Garmin watch.

It doesn't just work in the background to enable your watch, collecting and displaying data:: it's a powerful health and fitness tool in its own right. Garmin recently debuted Lifestyle Logging, a feature which requires users to add tags like "morning caffeine" or "heavy meal" or "cold shower/bath" in order to provide additional context to your metrics. That got me digging back into Garmin Connect in order to see what other 'active' features I'm missing out on, rather than the 'passive' data collection aspect.

While rooting around in the app like a pig after truffles, I hit a tab I genuinely haven't even looked at in the last 18 months: the Gear tab, and its ability to track the mileage of your running shoes, bikes, and other kinds of equipment.

It's not a feature I see talked about often in Garmin's marketing materials, or even among fellow users online. A few years ago, I asked one of Garmin's experts how to get the most out of the app, and the Gear tab didn't even come up.

The Gear tab shows subcategories for running shoes, bikes and other items. It allows you to input a brand and model, a maximum distance before you get a notification about the gear needing to be retired, and the categories of exercise the gear will be automatically added to.

This is important. The foam in running shoes wears down after around 300-500 miles, and that doesn't mean a loss of speed and comfort: old, worn-out running shoes affect your gait, putting you at risk of Achilles tendonitis after miles and miles of microtraumas.

I've been running with my old Altras for a while now, and I haven't been tracking the total mileage. To be honest, I wouldn't even be able to give you a proper estimation. While I haven't experienced any discomfort, it's a little like a frog-in-boiling-water situation: if I notice, it's probably too late.

However, as luck would have it, I'm just in the process of switching running shoes: I'm about to put some serious miles into the Saucony Ride 19s. What a perfect opportunity to track my shoes from the very start of their lives!

I also own several pairs of trail shoes, so I'll need to make separate profiles for those and remember to switch them over each time I go for a trail run. That's a tad more annoying, and will require input. This is the kind of thing I frequently forget to do, like starting a set in the gym without pressing the button on my Garmin watch, so it still thinks I'm resting.

Nevertheless, away from the injury issue, I think it's a cool addition to the running hobby to be able to see the lifespan of your gear over time. It's a nice way to retire a pair of much-loved shoes with a bit of ceremony after a tough year of marathon training, while also avoiding any niggles that might come with old and used-up gear.

You likely know Meta’s Neural Band as the companion controller that lets you use a hand as an input for the Meta Ray-Ban Display Glasses, but it might one day be sold separately and work with a bevy of other hardware.

Garmin, which makes a boatload of technology inside devices, showed off a concept of its next generation of in-vehicle systems at CES 2026 – one where its own-made computer can power way more than just a heads-up display and main screen, but also integrate with dynamic lighting, ultra-wideband tech, and even new inputs from voice to hand gestures.

And while this is just a concept, I got seated in the demo car, which was very much non-movable and just four seats in a rough frame, slapped on the Meta Neural Band, and was off to the races, able to spin the electronic version of the car on the main screen and even pinch to zoom in or out. It’s basic, but it’s mostly a proving ground for how these different types of inputs could prove useful in the car.

It’s part of Garmin’s Unified Cabin concept, which is basically a next-generation, much smarter interior for future vehicles. The ability to use the Neural Band is part of a collaboration between Garmin and Meta, exploring how this tech could be used.

The idea, though, is that within Android Auto, instead of saying “Hey Google” or swiping with your fingers, you can use gestures without needing to extend your hand. I was sitting in the passenger seat and had my hand just above my lap, able to make the right gestures to control the display. It was limited, but you could also use it to swipe through the interface and interact with various input elements.

There was no steering wheel in this cabin concept, but it might even work with hands on the wheel – though I’m not sure about the safety there. And the way the Meta Neural Band works is pretty ingenious; this was my first demo with it, and it’s essentially able to read finger gestures and movements via electrical signals from your wrist. It’s neat and provides feedback with subtle haptics in the band.

The Unified Cabin concept also highlighted the ability of UWB, potentially in future vehicles, to know the position of a digital key – either a fob, phone, or maybe even a Meta Neural Band one day – to welcome you with lighting as you approach, but also to provide more accuracy for when you’re in the vehicle. If you’re with a partner who also has a digital key on their phone, it can be more precise in setting the right seat style for whoever is actually in the driver’s seat. That’s not perfect as it is today.

While this is just a concept, it’s neat to see that the folks behind the tech used in vehicles are looking at future inputs. The Meta Neural Band could one day be sold on its own rather than just bundled with the Display Glasses – and who knows, it could be the key fob of a smart car you get in the future.

TechRadar has been extensively covering this year's CES, and is bringing you all of the big announcements as they happen. Head over to our CES 2026 news page for the latest stories and our hands-on verdicts on everything from wireless TVs and foldable displays to new phones, laptops, smart home gadgets, and the latest in AI.

And don’t forget to follow us on TikTok and WhatsApp for the latest from the CES show floor!

• The Garmin Venu X1 is getting a new Soft Gold color
• The Soft Gold comes with a new French Gray strap color, and retains its titanium caseback
• It starts at $699.99 / £679.99 / AU$1,499

The Garmin Venu X1 was one of my favorite smartwatches of last year, because it was a genuine innovation – the antithesis of Garmin's normal design philosophy. Where most of the best Garmin watches are chunky and round, this one was square and very slim with an exceptionally bright screen, while still packing in the titanium backing, LED light, speaker, microphone, GPS and powerful health tracking tools Garmin is known for. It was a real Apple Watch Ultra 3 rival, in both design and performance.

Long story short, I gave it 4.5 stars after testing, and called it "Garmin's most innovative watch in years". Now we're getting a new Garmin Venu X1 and we're less than two weeks into the new year, albeit it's only a new color rather than a fully-fledged sequel.

The Garmin Venu X1's new Soft Gold colorway continues to echo the Venu series' design philosophy of straddling the line between 'powerful fitness tracker' and 'stylish smartwatch'. The Soft Gold color features a lighter gray polymer casing, with gold-colored buttons and clasp and titanium backing. A French Gray velcro band completes the new look.

It's priced at $699.99 / £679.99 / AU$1,499 (like the rest of the Garmin Venu X1 line) and is available to buy from Garmin right now.

A sign of things to come?

Garmin released a whole slew of watches last year, revamping almost its entire range. As CES 2026 has come and gone without a new Garmin watch announcement (only a Nutrition Tracking feature for Connect+ users) I'm wondering if this is a sign of things to come.

I imagine we'll see less watches coming out this year and more minor tweaks to the range like this one. However, I'm sure Garmin will make an exception for the Garmin Fenix 9.

The Garmin Fenix 8 arrived in September 2024, while the upgraded Garmin Fenix 8 Pro with a MicroLED screen and satellite connectivity arrived last year. If I was to take bets, I'd say we'll see a Garmin Fenix 9 towards the end of this year, with a Fenix 9 Pro sometime in 2027.

Garmin sports watches have seen me through many years of running. My first was a chunky but functional Garmin Forerunner 35, which saw me through my first foray into 'serious' training, through to a Garmin Fenix 7S, which was frankly much more watch than I needed.

My love of the brand's watches didn't last forever though. Worried by a prolonged server outage, and feeling jaded by the launch of Garmin Connect+ (which sneakily put LiveTrack text alerts for runners behind a paywall – but not ones for cyclists), I decided that my next device would be from Polar.

The switch was easy, and I was already familiar with the interface and the Polar Flow app from my time as TechRadar's fitness editor many years ago. Everything went perfectly smoothly – until it didn't.

The problem was a heart rate monitor. I've owned a chest strap heart rate monitor for several years, and find it particularly useful for interval training on a spin bike, where a wrist-based monitor isn't as quick to respond as I'd like, and can be affected by me gripping the handlebars. Having a reading from the chest strap fed straight to the bike's screen via ANT+ is quick, convenient, and makes it easy to see how my efforts are impacting my heart rate in as timely a manner as possible.

The problem is the strap itself. If you wear a bra to exercise, as I do, you have to position the heart rate monitor somewhere below the bra's bottom band, meaning it's sitting awkwardly around your ribs. Even if it doesn't slip down (which it might), it's not a particularly comfortable arrangement.

I was therefore very pleased when, a few years ago, Garmin released the HRM-Fit – a heart rate monitor that snaps directly onto your bra's band. No more worrying about a second strip of elastic sliding down mid-workout. It's a brilliant idea, and one I've not seen copied by any of the other major fitness tech brands to date.

Sure, there are HRMs that get around this problem by strapping around your arm rather than your chest (eg the Polar Verity Sense), but these use the same tech as the monitor in a watch and are therefore subject to the same limitations

My Polar watch supports sensors via ANT+ and Bluetooth, so I put the HRM-Fit on my Christmas wish list. Santa kindly obliged, and I quickly connected the two, excited to take the new duo on their maiden run on Boxing Day.

Running smoothly?

With the HRM-Fit clipped comfortably into place and wrapped up against the British weather, I stepped outside, hit the start button, took a few paces and... nothing. Not only could I see no heart rate on my watch, there was no pace or distance visible either. I cancelled the workout and began again, making sure to wait until the watch had established a firm GPS link before hitting 'start'. Again, nothing.

Starting to get cold, I decided to go ahead and start running anyway, making up a rough 5km route along my home town's empty footpaths.

When I got home, the workout showed no speed or distance in the Polar Flow app, though the route had been tracked somehow, and even appeared plotted on a map when synced with Strava. Most strange.

A quick search online suggested that it might be a temporary GPS hiccup with the watch, but that seemed like a strange coincidence considering the only factor that had changed that day was the new heart rate monitor. Then I found it. Apparently several Garmin heart rate monitors, including but not limited to the HRM-Fit, misidentify themselves as foot-pods when connected to Polar watches.

Comment from r/Polarfitness

The watch is therefore expecting data like cadence and stride length, not heart rate, and to make a long story short, everything gets very messed up. There's no fix for the problem; the devices are simply incompatible. Bother.

It was then a choice – keep either the heart rate monitor or the watch, and stick the other on eBay. I decided I valued the comfort of the Garmin HRM-Fit more than my (possibly somewhat childish) urge to stick it to Garmin for bringing out a paid tier to a previously free-to-use app.

After a lot of research (I used to review sports watches as part of my job, but that was several years ago) I opted for a Garmin Lily 2 Active. It's the company's smallest sports watch with on-board GPS (I've never been a great fan of connected GPS that piggybacks off your phone), and unlike the standard Garmin Lily 2, it supports accessories via ANT+ and Bluetooth.

Its feature set is much leaner than the Polar, or even my previous Garmin, but that's fine for me. I've never actually used maps on a watch unless I'm writing a review, so their absence isn't an issue, and I don't miss a color screen. As long as it allows me to sync a plan from TrainingPeaks and nags me when I'm outside the appropriate heart rate range, it's all good.

The Lily 2 Active's tiny size means it's also comfortable enough to wear at night, so I'm actually tracking my sleep without feeling like I have a brick strapped around my wrist. It has everything I need and absolutely no more, and that's fine.

The moral of the story is clearly that if you're planning on picking up a new sensor or accessory, make sure you search for the names of both products together to find out whether they're truly compatible – even if the specs suggest that they should be.