The bottom line: Garmin has packed an impressive amount of tech into this stylish wearable, and while the Approach X40 activity tracker is designed to appeal to fitness junkies of all persuasions, it's golfers that will get the most out of it. From tracking shots to displaying precise distances to the front, middle and back of the green, the Approach X40 takes advantage of GPS functionality. Reviewers have been impressed by the breadth of functions they can access from their wrist, although not all the functions are at the same level as some of the more pricey dedicated golf watches out there.
Pros: Massive list of functions, multi-activity tracker
Cons: Clunky
Garmin Approach X40 Activity Tracker: everything you need to know
Firstly, let’s look at the golfing functions. With more than 40,000 courses pre-loaded, simply search for the course you’re heading to and it’ll display precise distances, as well as details of lay-ups and doglegs. There's also a handy 'hazard view' which shows locations of and distances to both bunkers and water hazards. The Approach X40 can also give you a detailed post-game analysis via the Garmin Connect app. As a bonus, you get free course updates as soon as any new courses are opened.
The built-in scorecard feature enables you to record the amount of fairways you hit, putts and more – and if you’re a golfer who likes to brag about your exploits, the Approach X40 can even upload the info of your round to the internet.
Activity tracking functions
The Approach X40 also comes with a range of non-golfing activity-tracking functions. The wrist-based heart monitor uses your heart rate to work out how many calories you’ve burned, and displays steps and distance covered. It can track running, walking and cycling, while being waterproof up to 50m, making it well pretty versatile – all this, and it can even monitor your sleep if you wear it to bed.
Design
The design of the Approach X40 is sleek, although some might find that the watch face is too small to display the amount of data they want. Garmin claims the battery can last up to 10 hours in GPS mode, although in real-world use you can expect it to be slightly less than that. Fingers crossed that's enough for a round of golf! If you’re only using it to monitor activity, meanwhile, the battery can last as long as five days.
Other information
Compatible with Garmin's TruSwing swing sensor, the Approach X40 enables you to analyse your swing metrics as well as the details of your round. When paired with your iPhone or Android device, the X40 will also display texts, emails and other notifications too.
