Garmin has launched a new smartwatch designed specifically with women in mind. The Garmin Lily. Garmin has been upgrading its women's health features in recent years; the company added menstrual tracking to its Garmin Connect companion app in April 2019, and built in pregnancy tracking in November 2020 - but this is its first watch built with female users in mind.
Many of Garmin's existing watches come in two face sizes to accommodate different sized wrists, but the Lily is its smallest smartwatch yet, with a case measuring just 34mm in diameter. For comparison, the Vivomove 3S measures 39mm, while the Fenix 6S is 42mm. Its strap is also noticeably narrower than those of most smartwatches, at 14mm wide.
The Lily comes in two versions: Classic, with an Italian leather band, and stainless steel bezel and hardware, and Sport, with a silicone band and aluminum bezel and hardware.
- We've rounded up the best Garmin watches you can buy today
- Check out our complete guide to the best smartwatches
- The best period tracking apps for monitoring your cycle
In terms of specs, the Lily is very similar to the Garmin Vivomove 3, but with a digital-only display rather than a hybrid digital/analog face.
The Lily monitors respiration, blood oxygen saturation, heart rate (with configurable alerts for high and low rates). Body Battery monitoring shows how much energy you've used and recovered throughout the day, and period and pregnancy tracking are available through Garmin Connect.
There are sports modes for cardio workouts (both indoor and outdoor), and exercises including yoga and pilates, but the watch has on-board GPS. Instead, like the Vivomove 3, the Lily relies on a connection to your phone for tracking walks, runs and bike rides.
In terms of smartwatch features, you can receive app notifications from your phone, notifications of incoming calls and text messages, and Android users can respond to texts directly through the watch. A calendar widget allows you to see upcoming appointments.
There are also two safety and tracking tools: Assistance, which sends your location to emergency contacts, and LiveTrack, which allows friends and family to track your location while you're out and about.
More choice
The Lily is available now in the US and the UK; the Classic version costs $249.99 / £229.99 (about AU$530), and the Sport version costs $199.99 / £179.99 (about AU$320).
That's very similar to the Garmin Vivomove 3, which is currently priced at $199.99 / £219.99 / $399. While the two are almost identical in terms of specs, more choice is always welcome, in terms of design, particularly for smaller wrists.
We'll be putting the Lily to the test soon, and will let you know how it performs.
- Garmin Vivomove 3 vs Garmin Vivoactive 4: which is the right watch for you?
