Garmin Forerunner 70: One minute review

The Garmin Forerunner 70 is a Garmin watch that we’ve waited a long time for. This is the natural successor to the Forerunner 55, the watch that was pitched at beginner runners or runners who like to stick to the basics (and can even run a marathon in under two hours, as it was worn by record-breaker Sebastian Sawe).

With such a large time gap between the two watches, it’s hardly surprising to see Garmin make some big changes, not only with the hardware but the software too.

It’s clearly been a task of bringing the 70 in line with other new Forerunner watches, which includes adding an AMOLED display and touchscreen while keeping the full array of physical buttons to give it that traditional running watch feel. While keeping the AMOLED on at all times does dent the battery much quicker, it elevates the software and what it’s like to use the 70 as a smartwatch.

There’s some upgrades to the sensors, and while you don’t get Garmin’s latest multi-band GPS or Gen 5 Elevate optical sensor, the improved GNSS sensor and move from Gen 3 to Gen 4 sensors does deliver strong GPS and heart rate tracking performance still.

The additions made in the training and smartwatch departments also make this feel like a more advanced watch than the Forerunner 55. You now have a watch that has full access to Garmin’s Connect IQ store and brings in some of Garmin’s nicest smartwatch features like morning and evening reports. No you don’t get payments, Bluetooth calls or a music player, but if you’re looking for the basics that go beyond what the 55 offered, the 70’s got you well covered.

It’s also great to see some of Garmin’s best training features. Training Readiness now features on a cheaper Garmin to help you decide when to train and rest. You can now use the 70 to navigate your way. You don’t get full maps, but the breadcrumb navigation still makes it useful to have on your wrist when exploring new surroundings or struggling to get back home after a run.

Those added features do, unsurprisingly, come at an added cost. A cost that does push the Forerunner 70 out of that entry level category into more of a mid-range one. That does mean you can find cheaper alternatives like the Suunto Run or can pay a bit more for the Coros Pace 4 and get newer sensors including dual-band GPS. If you’re sold on Garmin’s software, still want that strong tracking performance and like the idea of having an AMOLED screen and the best smartwatch experience you’ll find on a running watch at this price, those are going to be the biggest reasons to grab the Forerunner 70.

Garmin Forerunner 70: Specifications

Garmin Forerunner 70: Price and availability

• $249.99 / £219.99 / AU$399
• More expensive than the Forerunner 55
• Cheaper than the Forerunner 170

The Garmin Forerunner 70 has a launch price of $249.99 USD / £219.99 UK / $399 AUS, which puts it firmly in the mid-range running smartwatch category. That’s in contrast to its predecessor the Forerunner 55, which launched with a sub-$200 price tag when it landed back in 2021.

Given there’s been some pretty sizable upgrades with the hardware and software, including adding an AMOLED display and richer smartwatch features, it’s not surprising that the price has leapt up a bit. It does feel like it’s lost a bit of the beginner-friendly appeal of the Forerunner 55 in the process.

The Forerunner 70 was launched alongside the Forerunner 170, which at $299 / £259.99 / AU$479 gives you additional features like contactless payments and a music player, longer battery life and additional sensors like an altimeter.

• Value score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 70: Design

• One case size option
• Added AMOLED screen
• Combination of touchscreen and physical buttons

Like the Garmin Forerunner 55, the Forerunner 70 remains a watch that sits pretty small on your wrist. That might be an issue for fans of bigger watches like a Fenix. For runners, typically smaller and lighter is better and that is what you get here.

Garmin has moved up slightly from a 42mm sized-polymer case to a 42.6mm one. It’s just the one case size that’s light to hold and comes in four different colors. Whether you want something plain or like a splash of color, you’re catered for here. The strap attached to the case is pretty typical of the ones you find partnered up to most Garmin Forerunners. It’s a 20mm silicone one that uses a pin mechanism, so you can remove it when the strap included gets sweaty or dirty or you just fancy switching to another color.

Garmin sticks to including five physical buttons for that classic running watch navigation experience. That’s now matched up with a 1.2-inch, 390 x 390 resolution AMOLED touchscreen. That sees Garmin move away from the memory pixel display on another watch line, sacrificing the longer battery life and more impressive viewing angles in brighter outdoor light for that added colour, vibrancy and to be more in keeping with other smartwatches. It’s still going to be a screen you can view comfortably outside when it’s really sunny. You just might need to crank up the brightness to do that, which will have an impact on battery life.

Like the Forerunner 50 and most other more affordable Garmin watches, the Forerunner 70 carries a 5ATM waterproof rating. That makes it safe for swimming and showering with it. There’s only a pool swimming tracking mode as Garmin leaves out open water and triathlon modes. That’ll be disappointing for anyone hoping they could pick this up as an affordable triathlon watch.

• Design score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 70: Features

• Upgraded Gen 4 Elevate sensor from Forerunner 55
• Includes latest training insights like Training Readiness
• Offers breadcrumb-style navigation

Garmin is pitching the Forerunner 70 as an entry-level running smartwatch, so it’s giving you some running features, but not all that it has to offer.

Like the GPS support, where the Forerunner 70 uses multi-GNSS, as opposed to the latest multi-band GPS included on the Forerunner 570 and above watches. This means you miss out on having improved tracking accuracy when running or moving near tall buildings or locations with a lot of tall trees.

Other hardware improvements include upgrading from the Gen 3 Elevate optical heart rate sensor to the Gen 4 version. That’s actually not the latest version of Garmin’s in-house sensor technology. That’s Gen 5, which gives you added features like ECG heart rate measurements. This will cover continuous monitoring and tracking heart rate during exercise. You can also pair external heart rate monitors to it as well.

In terms of software features, there’s a lot that’s been added to the Forerunner 70 over the Forerunner 55. Along with bringing the UI up to date with other AMOLED-toting Garmins, you’re now getting more smartwatch features. You can set up smart alarms, view morning and evening reports for a summary of your day and recommendations for the following day.

There’s improved notification support for Android users, so now you can view more information being shared in notifications. A big one is the added Connect IQ support: previously, this was restricted to only downloading watch faces. Now you have full access to the storefront to download apps, watch faces and data fields.

There’s plenty that’s been upgraded on the tracking and training front too. You can now follow routes using breadcrumb-style navigation as opposed to the full maps you’ll find on pricier Garmin watches. Garmin has brought in a raft of its latest training metrics and features including Training Readiness, wrist-based running power, more strength-focused training support and this is a watch that’s compatible with Garmin’s Coach. That’s free access to Garmin’s training platform that now comprises running, cycling and strength training plans that can be synced over to the watch.

• Features score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 70: Performance

• Good GPS despite lack of dual-band
• Smartwatch features work well across Android and iOS
• Heart rate tracking solid with support for external sensors

In terms of tracking your runs, the Forerunner 70 does a sterling job like most other Garmins and not just for running. When I’ve used it for pool swims, indoor rows, treadmill runs and bike sessions, the tracking has been as solid as other Garmins I’ve tested.

Some will be disappointed that Garmin doesn’t include its latest multi-band GPS technology. As I’ve found when using Garmin’s watches with multi-GNSS setups, they still perform better than a lot of dual-band watches. I’d say it’s the same story for the Forerunner 70. It might get a bit more shaky in places with a lot of tall buildings for the GPS technology to deal with, but I’ve been using it alongside the Forerunner 170 and Garmin’s markedly more expensive Garmin Forerunner 970, and the 70 has more than held its own.

It’s a similar story with heart rate tracking. While you’re getting the older Gen 4 version of Garmin’s Elevate optical heart rate sensor technology, that doesn’t equal a bad performance. For steady paced runs and runs in some significantly hotter running conditions, the 70 held up well against Garmin and MyZone heart rate monitor chest straps. It can take a bit longer to match up when you’re easing off during interval work. Overall though, the 70’s older sensor gets the job done, with the option to pair a Bluetooth heart rate sensor to improve performance.

Where Garmin has really bolstered things on the 70 compared to the 55 is the influx of training insights and bringing it more up to speed in terms of smartwatch features. It’s great to see Training Readiness make the cut where previously Garmin had left this useful insight into your preparedness to tackle a tough session off from its more affordable watches. It’s also about the presentation of these features, which is something Garmin does better than the competition. Like the well integrated daily suggested workouts or helping you keep an eye on your recovery time.

While you’re not getting the best that Garmin has to offer in smartwatch features, the added AMOLED touchscreen and general changes made to the user interface does mean it operates better as a smartwatch than most other running-focused smartwatches. The stream of Glances (widgets) offer a nice snapshot of your data, morning and evening report summaries are great additions, while the music playback controls work well with third party music services like Spotify. Unlike the Forerunner 55, you do now have full access to the Garmin Connect IQ store and that means increasing your ability to personalise the watch software with the features, apps and data fields you care most about.

Sleep tracking has been a bit of a weakness for Garmin. Particularly when overreporting sleep duration and the time it’s taken to recognise when you’d fallen asleep. Things thankfully have gotten better and I count the Forerunner 70 in the 'good' camp of sleep trackers. I’ve been wearing it to bed with an Oura Ring 5 and core sleep stats have largely told a similar story about my night’s sleep. The now added sleep coach and recommendation features brings sleep more into the training equation as well as helping you think more about your recovery time between runs and other workouts.

In terms of battery life, you’re unsurprisingly not getting the best Garmin has to offer on that front. What you are getting is a watch that should hold for a week’s worth of training. If you’re using it with the always-on display mode while tracking outdoor runs, you’re going to get less than a week.

GPS battery numbers give you a good amount to play with as well. I found that an hour's worth of running in the best available GPS mode hit the battery by just shy of 10%. That doesn’t add up to the 16 hours promised.

• Performance score: 4/5

Garmin Forerunner 70: Scorecard

Garmin Forerunner 70: Should I buy?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also consider

How I tested

I’ve been wearing the Garmin Forerunner 70 for three weeks, tracking my outdoor and treadmill runs. I’ve also used it for pool swimming and indoor cycling, wearing it alongside other running watches to compare GPS performance. I’ve also been using it alongside a heart rate monitor chest strap to compare heart rate tracking during exercise.

First reviewed: June 2026

Garmin's range of advanced smartwatches is truly endless, and with that also comes an endless roster of generous price drops in Amazon Prime Day.

Though Garmin produces some of the best smartwatches and has given the Apple Watch a run for its money, some of their devices are sky-high when it comes to prices. With the end of Prime Day approaching, there's still a chance for you to bag that smartwatch upgrade you've been waiting for.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

The top deal in the US right now is on the Garmin fenix 8, a smartwatch with a staggering 10-day lifespan that's now $749.99 at Amazon (was $999.99). Equally, there are solid savings over in the UK too, but the best deal isn't on Amazon funnily enough.

Instead, UK shoppers should think about heading over to H Samuel, where the highly advanced Garmin epix Pro is now £299.99 (was £739.99) — that's actually a better value deal than Amazon's.

Today's best Garmin deals in the US

Today's best Garmin deals in the UK

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: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

Everyone is flocking to Amazon Prime Day to get their hands on the best tech deals out there, and one of the most sought-after devices are the best smartwatches.

While you can score a fair offer on Apple Watches, the deals for Wear OS models are just as good, if not a little more generous. If you're currently using a watchOS device and want to see what Wear OS is all about, or you're a seasoned Wear OS user and are on the hunt for an upgrade, we've got you covered.

• • Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

We've gathered a handful of deals on some of our favorite Wear OS smartwatches, ranging from top models including the Samsung Galaxy Watch8, as well as Google's Pixel Watch 4, latest member to its wearable family.

US deals

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

UK deals

More Amazon Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £21.99
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• TVs: from £129.99

Just got a Garmin in the Amazon Prime Day sales? Congratulations. If you haven't yet pulled the trigger, the Prime Day deals won't be around for long, so I've included some of my favorites down below. Simply click here to go straight to the deals.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Now, welcome to the Garmin ecosystem! Garmin, the Garmin Connect app, and the Garmin Connect IQ store are cool, stripped-down app ecosystems designed to help you get the most out of exercise. There is a premium tier in Garmin Connect+, but it's entirely optional and, quite frankly, it's not been well received by the Garmin community at large, so I wouldn't recommend subscribing yet.

As well as the usual passive activity tracking, sleep tracking, and notification functionalities, Garmin gives you all sorts of tools to play with on its very modular watches. Here are three things to try as soon as you get your first watch.

1. Create your perfect home screen

When you first get your Garmin watch, you'll be presented with a watch face containing a small selection of stats, such as step counts, Body Battery score, or the watch's total remaining battery. But Garmin watch faces are made to be customized, so you can decide which stats are important to you. On five-button Garmins, you hold the left-middle 'up' button, while on two-button Garmins, you hold 'down', then navigate to Watch Face. You can scroll between different options or edit them in a granular fashion.

If you want to prioritize step count, you can swap it out with a widget showing your sleep score, for example, while VO2 Max can be swapped for another number like Body Battery. In this way, you can truly make the watch your own pretty much right out of the gate, without even touching the companion app to do it.

These are just the most important stats to you: to view the rest, you can scroll up and down from the watch face to view the rest of your widgets, and edit this list as well by scrolling to Edit, then +. Want to know the phases of the moon, your total distance run this week, or your blood oxygen levels? You can add them all to this secondary hotlist.

2. Create a route

Garmins are perfect for going off the beaten track, and even those without actual offline maps offer basic navigation features. You can use these features by creating a Course. You can learn how to create a Course in Garmin Connect here, but the general gist is that you can use Garmin's features to plot a route on a map, then follow that route using instructions from your watch.

Even if you're just going for a short walk, you can use its route plotting to find new circular routes, but it's incredibly handy for long runs, hiking expeditions, and even specialist sports like skiing.

Download the Course onto your watch using the instructions in the link above, then go to your activity of choice and scroll down to Navigation > Courses. If you get lost, most Garmins now have a 'Back to Start' functionality you can access when you pause an activity.

3. Visit the Connect IQ store

Once you've downloaded Garmin Connect and set up your new watch, you should also download Garmin Connect IQ, its app store. From there, you can access loads of free and paid apps, widgets, and watch faces, many simply made by enthusiastic Garmin fans, such as the Walk With Frodo app, which links your step count to Frodo's journey to Mordor in The Lord of the Rings.

You can also get official players for music services like Spotify, Deezer, YouTube Music, and Amazon Music, walking apps like Komoot to help sync the app with your Garmin ecosystem, and watch faces from fans and brands alike, the latter including Star Wars and Pokémon Sleep. The Pokémon watch face is linked to your Body Battery score, and sleeps when you get tired. Adorable!

Today's best Garmin deals

Not bought a Garmin yet? Below are the best Amazon Prime Day deals on Garmin watches in the US and UK.

US deals

UK deals

An Amazon Prime Day deal on Garmin’s Vivoactive 6 for £169 (was £225.62) has tempted me to jump back into the smartwatch arena after a bad experience with an Apple Watch caused me to abandon smartwatches entirely.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

I don’t run or jog and I’m not overly obsessed with statistics about how well I slept and how many steps I’ve taken today, but I think it’s time I got a smartwatch again.

My colleague Matt Evans first brought the Garmin Vivoactive 5 for £117 (was £174.99) to my attention with the great price he’d found it for as part of Amazon Prime Day.

But after researching the Vivoactive range for a little while I decided I actually wanted the Garmin Vivoactive 6 (currently on our best Garmin watches list) and the chance of saving 25% was too tempting — I was sold.

Today's best Garmin Vivoactive 6 deals

Slave to technology

It’s not that I hated my Apple Watch, I just couldn’t be bothered to keep charging it every day. I actually started to resent the watch because it was forcing me into this daily ritual of caring for it that felt like I was a slave to technology, not the other way around.

The main thing that attracted me to the Garmin was that it’s got an 11-day battery life. Why hasn’t Apple made something that will last that long on a single charge? Yes, I know that you can do more with an Apple Watch, but I rarely used the voice control features.

I have definitely missed some aspects of not having a smartwatch. For example, notifications on my wrist are a lot easier to deal with than having to fish my phone out of my jeans pocket to see the latest Whatsapp from a family member.

It’s the same with payments — having the device on my wrist would make it a lot easier to pay for things when my hands are full. And finally, general health tracking, including sleep tracking, would be nice to get back into. I’ve got more and more curious about what kind of sleep quality I’m getting, and even if it’s just counting my steps all day. I miss having all those stats at my fingertips.

Body Battery Score

There is a Garmin subscription service called Garmin Connect+ that has AI and coaching features I don’t want or need, but you’re not required to join it to get any of the watch’s features to work. All the health and fitness features remain gloriously subscription-free.

In fact, the only downside I can see with the Garmin is to do with transferring music to it. I’ve got a subscription to Apple Music, not Spotify, and you need Amazon Music or Spotify Premium to transfer music to a Garmin. (You can transfer MP3 files you've purchased, of course), but if I eventually get back into jogging I might have to be content with podcasts if I want to leave my phone behind.

I'm looking forward to getting to play with a smartwatch again, and to seeing whether Garmin's much-praised Body Battery score really is as useful as its fans claim. But mostly, I'm curious to find out whether a smartwatch has finally become something I actually want to wear every day.

The irony is that the feature that brought me back isn't AI, advanced health tracking, or even fitness coaching. It's battery life. After years of increasingly clever gadgets demanding more of my attention, the thing that finally tempted me back was a watch that promises to stay out of the way for nearly two weeks at a time.

If the Vivoactive 6 can manage that while quietly handling my notifications, music, payments, and the occasional sleep report, then it might just convince me that smartwatches were worth another chance after all.

More Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: get a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire, Ring & Blink from £13.99
• Amazon Haul: up to 30% off
• Apple: up to 33% off AirPods & Apple Watch
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja & Tefal
• Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Essentials: household goods from £5
• Fans: from £20
• Fashion: up to 50% off
• Gaming: £90 off PlayStation 5
• Headphones: up to 50% off Beats & Sony
• Laptops: from £149
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £79.99
• Toys: up to 25% off Lego and Tonies
• TVs: from £129.99
• Vacuums: up to 40% off Shark & Roborock
• Wearables: up to 30% off Garmin & Oura

Amazon Prime Day is the perfect time to find yourself a new smartwatch. But while most people use the word 'smartwatch' in a very general sense, there is a massive variety in the category, and the right smartwatch has to fit your lifestyle and budget.

Do you want something that could pass convincingly for an analog watch that can also field notifications and make calls, or do you want a rugged trail companion that'll withstand everything from seawater to rock-scrambling? A cheap fitness tracker or a super-premium specialist golf watch?

• • Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Below are 24 deals on every kind of smartwatch, mainly from Amazon but here and there from other sites running anti-Prime Day sales, for you to peruse this week. It's likely the wearable you're looking for is here, whether you want a rugged Apple Watch Ultra 3 for Prime Day or a low-priced, high-performer like the Amazfit Active 2.

US deals

Quick links:

• Samsung Galaxy Watch8 Classic: was $499.99 now $349.99 at Amazon
• Apple Watch SE 3: was $249 now $199 at Amazon
• Garmin Fenix 8: was $999.99 now $749.99 at Amazon

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

UK deals

Quick links:

• Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): was £739.99 now £299.99 at H Samuel
• Samsung Galaxy Watch8: was £399.99 now £299.99 at Amazon
• Apple Watch SE 3: was £249 now £189.05 at Amazon

More Amazon Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £21.99
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• TVs: from £129.99

The Garmin Venu 4 is a great Garmin watch, but it doesn't necessarily look like a Garmin. Most people think of the lumpy black Fenix, Forerunner, and Instinct ranges, but the Venu series has always been a bit sleeker, just at home in the office as it is on the trail or in the gym.

Consequently, I labeled it my 'best Garmin watch for most people' when I reviewed it in October last year, and that remains my opinion due to its status as the ideal all-rounder watch: enough features to satisfy everyone but die-hard trail enthusiasts and orienteers, and an understated look ideal for modern life. It was my opinion when the watch was full price, and it's definitely still my opinion now that it's hit a lowest-ever price during the Amazon Prime Day sales.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

Right now, the Garmin Venu 4 can be found on sale at Amazon US for $499.99 (was $549.99) with a $50 Prime Day discount for both 41mm and 45mm models, taking it to just $2 above its lowest price yet, according to our deals-checking tools.

But the real gem of a deal is in the UK: the Garmin Venu 4 41mm in Black is discounted to £354 (was £469.99), a 25% discount and the lowest price. Other colorways and sizes cost more, but all are discounted to some degree. The closest you can get to the Black model's price is the 45mm Grey color, which costs £365 (down from the same £469.99).

Check out the deals in full below. Not in the US or the UK? Scroll down for the best deals in your area.

Today's best Garmin Venu 4 deals

Are you after something a little cheaper? The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is a similar all-rounder fitness tracker, albeit less premium and older than the Garmin Venu 4. Where the Venu uses metal, the Vivoactive uses plastic, and the Vivoactive uses an older heart rate sensor. It misses out on a few key smartwatch features such as the voice assistant and some more advanced workout metrics. However, it's currently very affordable and is a great budget alternative.

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 Amazon Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £21.99
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• TVs: from £129.99

There have only been a handful of devices that I've tested in nearly 10 years of reviewing gear that I have hated having to give back — and the Garmin MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) is one of them.

It is simply the best golf watch I have ever tested or used out on the course, and I wish I had one myself. It has the best features, the best display, the best design and build, the best and most intuitive controls, and is a thing of beauty while out on the course. It's also the best golf watch that Garmin makes to be used on the daily as a wonderful smartwatch too.

However, it's a seriously premium watch, with a seriously premium price tag to boot. But right now folks in the US and the UK can save a hefty chunk on the fantastic golf watch that might make the difference. Seriously, if you've been at all tempted by the MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) in recent years, then these prices — particularly the UK one — is absolutely worth paying attention to.

MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) alternatives

If the price tag of the MARQ Golfer (Gen 2) is a bit steep for you still, or you're interested in another premium watch like the TAG Heuer Connected Calibre E4 Golf Edition, then you can check out a host of the latest prices and deals on a bunch of my favorite golf watches below.

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 Amazon Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £21.99
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• TVs: from £129.99

I've got a special love for the Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2), as I've said elsewhere on this site. It's the watch I used to train for and eventually run the London Marathon, and I'd recommend it to every hobbyist runner out there. It's now cheaper than it's ever been, and considering the amount of features it's got, I'd recommend buying it even though it's not Amazon Prime Day yet.

• Browse the full Amazon Prime Day sale

However, the deal's not even on Amazon: it's actually at jewelry retailer H Samuel, which has been selling the now-discontinued running favorite for so long that I was sure it would have run out of stock by now. However, the Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) is now on sale for £299.99 at H Samuel (was £349.99, formerly £739.99).

This offshoot of Garmin's ultra-powerful Fenix line is now less than the price of a Garmin Forerunner 170 Music, an Apple Watch Series 11, or a Google Pixel Watch 4. Check out the deal in full below.

Today's best Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) deal in the UK

Don't let its age fool you: its up-to-date parts sport accurate metrics. Even though it will now receive only security updates and bug fixes rather than new features, its hardware is rock-solid. It packs Garmin's most powerful heart rate sensor, the Elevate V5, which is also used on the current-gen Fenix 8.

It's great for skiing and golfing, with thousands of preloaded route maps. I actually used its mapping software during marathon training, as I created a street map of my London route in the Garmin Connect app, loaded it onto my watch, and it guided me turn by turn around a 20-mile route. If I went off-course, it rerouted me.

All this with fantastic battery life, health tracking, and a rugged, adventure-proof exterior. It's even got Garmin's LED torch in its casing.

It's definitely the best-value Garmin right now: I'd get it now rather than wait for it to sell out. However, you might not be looking for a large, rugged watch: you might be after something slimmer, like a Fitbit or an Apple Watch. In which case, I have another deal I can recommend: the Garmin Vivoactive 5 is now £149.99 (was £209.99) at Amazon, the lowest price ever.

More Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) deals

More Amazon Prime Day deals in the UK

• Amazon Prime: sign up for a 30-day free trial
• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Ring & Blink from £21.99
• Apple: AirPods Pro 3 for a record-low price
• Appliances: up to 45% off Ninja, Tefal & Sage
• Essentials: household goods from under £10
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Tablets: Samsung & Lenovo from £125
• TVs: from £129.99

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

When I tested the Google Fitbit Air recently, I rated its new app powered by an AI fitness coach to be quite useful, on the whole, but acknowledged that it's not for everyone. The structure of the app is messy and cluttered, and in order to create this new AI-forward app experience, the existing Fitbit app was bulldozed, with cornerstones like challenges and badges deleted.

Furious users took to forums, Reddit, YouTube comments and even our inbox to vent their frustrations. Plenty of people aren't happy that their library of historic digital rewards were deleted, and their regular app has been completed retooled into an AI experience they didn't want.

For those interested in switching, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 is an ideal purchase. For one thing, it's on sale at Amazon right now in both the US and the UK as a result of the Amazon Prime Day deals. Right now, you can get the Garmin Vivoactive 5 at Amazon US for $189.99 (was $299.99), which is just $10 away from its lowest price ever according to our deals-checking tools. In the UK, you can get the Garmin Vivoactive 5 at Amazon UK for £149.99 (was £209.99), a lowest-ever price. Check out both deals in full below:

The best Garmin watches are normally very expensive, but Amazon Prime Day is an excellent opportunity to snap up a good Garmin deal. At $190 / £150, this deal on the Vivoactive 5 isn't too far off a Fitbit Charge 6's price tag, making it an ideal purchase for disenfranchised Fitbit users looking to switch.

I've personally tested this watch and it's great: it's a smartwatch yes, so you do get some notification and connection features, but it's mainly a fitness tracker and an excellent one at that, all while being equipped with Garmin's stellar GPS features.

In our review, we called it "an excellent watch for those with an active lifestyle, who might not be power users or marathon runners". I'd agree with that assessment, although it's also got the juice and some advanced in-app running features to help you train for your first marathon should you wish to do so. Now the Vivoactive 6 is out, the Vivoactive 5 is dropping to record-low prices, making it temporarily better value for budget-conscious buyers.

Amazon Prime Day Garmin deals: Quick links

• Garmin deals in the US
• Garmin deals in the UK

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.

Even though it's an older watch now, we still rate the Garmin epix Pro as one of the best and most advanced smartwatches from the manufacturer. When it launched, though, it came at a very high cost. That's less of a problem now, though, as two retailers in the US and the UK have dropped the price dramatically.

Over in the US, you can find a massive 50% price cut on the Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2) at Amazon US, dropping it to $499.99 (was $999.99). Meanwhile, in the UK, the Garmin epix Pro (Gen 2) is on sale at H Samuel for £299.99 (was £739.99)

These are record-low prices for the smartwatch that scored an impressive 4.5 out of five in our review by fitness editor, Matt Evans. In fact, Matt liked it so much that he used it for his marathon prep and while running the race last year. It was invaluable for planning training routes, tracking his progress and offering accurate health metrics.

Definitely don't be put off too much by the age of the watch, especially if you are a dedicated runner. The navigation and tracking features are still excellent. Plus, alongside that, you get a bright and clear AMOLED display, a built-in LED flashlight, up to 16 days of battery life, and handy on-wrist notifications.

Today's best Garmin deals

You can read through Matt's full Garmin epix Pro review to get a full breakdown of why he scored it so highly. To summarise, he called it a "high-performing endurance watch that operates wonderfully".

It may not have been a transformative upgrade compared to some of the manufacturer's other wearables, but it nails everything it wants to do so well. If you're a runner who wants a high-end device for tracking progress, monitoring key health metrics, and needs the longevity of an extensive battery life, this watch will tick all of those boxes — and it's now available for a much lower price.

• 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.

Want a seriously powerful watch to handle the great outdoors, but don't want to spend big money on the latest model? The Garmin Fenix 7 Pro is the watch for you.

Right now, you can get the mid-size 47mm Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Solar for just £399.99 (was £599.99) at Decathlon. This model isn't just the advanced Pro version, but it's also got Garmin's Power Glass solar charging tech, which extends the battery if you're out for a while in bright sunlight conditions of 50,000 lux or more.

Want something bigger? The giant 51mm Garmin Fenix 7X Pro Sapphire Solar, with Power Glass tech and a super-hard Sapphire Glass screen, is also on sale at Go Outdoors for just £399 (was £870) — that's cheaper than Amazon's price — with a Go Outdoors membership. Check out both deals below, and our pricing tool below that for the best deals in your region:

Today's best Garmin Fenix 7 Pro Solar deal

Today's best Garmin Fenix 7X Pro Sapphire Solar deal

Why get this deal?

In our Garmin Fenix 7 Pro review, we gave the watch an elusive 4.5 out of 5 stars, calling it "an outdoor watch powerhouse."

"Whether you’re a hiker or want the best sports tracking, training, and analysis features Garmin has to offer, this watch isn’t going to let you down," we added.

We only didn't rate it a full five stars due to the watch's high price and iteration on the already-brilliant Fenix 7. Now that the price has dropped a lot lower, I'd recommend these deals to anyone looking to get serious about an outdoor activity.

• 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.

The 2026 London Marathon made history, as not one, but two runners broke the mythical two-hour time barrier. Sabastian Sawe came first, running the London Marathon in one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds. The runner-up, Yomif Kejelcha, also broke the two-hour record, but came 11 seconds shy of winning the race and setting a new record. That's got to sting.

However, I'm just as interested in the equipment Sawe used to run his incredible race. On his feet were a pair of some the best running shoes ever designed, the unreleased Adidas Adizero adios Pro Evo 3. On his wrist... was a five-year-old watch designed for entry-level runners.

The Garmin Forerunner 55 held a place for a few years on our best Garmin watches list, before being edged out in favour of more modern smartwatches like the Garmin Forerunner 165. Nevertheless, the Garmin Forerunner 55 was a consistent recommendation from us when it came to the best cheap running watches, as it's reliable, affordable and has a wide variety of features available in the Garmin Connect app, from Body Battery to virtual pacing — even if it's a bit long in the tooth now.

But it's so good that it seems Sabastian Sawe used it as his running watch du jour in London, to help him break the two-hour barrier, instead of a flagship watch with tons of features like the Garmin Fenix 8 or Garmin Forerunner 970.

Gadgets & Wearables correctly identified a trend of older, cheaper and mid-range watches being worn in London by the fastest runners in the world, suggesting most of them don't actually care about newer features and just want a simple, reliable and lightweight device.

G&W aren't sure whether Sawe is wearing a Garmin Forerunner 255 or the cheaper 55, but I've done some detective work here: zoom in on the image above (you'll have to imagine saying "blow it up" and "enhance" like you're on an episode of CSI) and you can see the thicker line on the "Start | Stop" button caused by the U-shape on the Forerunner 55, as you can see in the picture below.

The Forerunner 255 doesn't have this, indicating it is in fact the basic, entry-level watch being worn by the fastest marathon runner on the planet.

Want to get the watch that broke the boundaries of running? Whether you're just starting out on your running journey or you're looking for a stripped-back running essential for your next marathon PB, Sawe has shown that the Garmin Forerunner 55 is a solid choice.

In the US, it's available at Walmart from $199.99 down to $159.99, saving you $40. In the UK it's available at Decathlon, from £179.99 down to £119.99, saving you an impressive £60. Check out both deals in full below, along with our widget for more of the best prices in your region.

I remember my first-ever smartwatch. I was new to the concept and just wanted a simple watch to track my fitness activities and my health. If I were in the same position again today, I would be snapping up this Garmin Vivoactive 5 at Amazon for £153.44 (was £209.99).

The discount sees the four-star health and fitness smartwatch crash to its best price since Black Friday, but take note that one colourway is only for Prime members. The others are only slightly more expensive. Either way, we're big fans of its bright AMOLED screen, built-in GPS, music controls, and up to 11 days of battery life.

There are more powerful Garmin alternatives, such as the Vivoactive 6 (£270) and the Forerunner (£407), but both are significantly more expensive than the deal I'm highlighting today. So, if it's a great-performing smartwatch at a cracking price, I'd suggest this Vivoactive 5.

Today's best cheap Garmin deal

"The Garmin Vivoactive 5 offers more sports and health tracking metrics than most will need while staying compact and easy to see with that stunning AMOLED display." That's how we described the previous-gen smartwatch in our Garmin Vivoactive 5 review. As a result, we gave it a very respectable four-star rating.

Specifically, we praised the smartwatch's powerful health and sports tracking options, battery life, sleek design, and on-watch music streaming. We also love its compatibility for both Apple and Android users, which makes it a superb fit for all types of people, including runners, cyclists, and triathletes.

In terms of metrics, the Vivoactive excels in serving up accurate GPS and HR monitoring while also reporting on oxygen levels (Pulse OX) and Body Battery. This only scratches the surface of what the watch is capable of. Suffice to say, it delivers a very extensive set of stats.

Garmin makes some of the best running watches in the world right now, and this Vivoactive 5 deal is a great way to own your first ever Garmin. If you'd like a more general smartwatch, you'll want to check out our best smartwatch guide instead.

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 tested a number of the best smartwatches, and I can tell you that if you're a runner, Garmin is the absolute best. Taking up five out of the ten spots in our guide to the best running watches shows how highly we rate them.

One of our favourites, despite being a few years old, is the Garmin Forerunner 265, which is on sale at Amazon for £314.49 (was £369.99). The 4.5-star smartwatch has a gorgeous AMOLED display, a dedicated physical run button, and a ton of features for runners.

If money were not an issue, we'd recommend the Forerunner 570, but for those on a budget, you can't beat this Forerunner 265 deal. Get it now before the deal expires on May 5.

Today's best Garmin running watch deal

The Garmin Forerunner 265 was released three years ago, and yet it still absolutely holds its own. At the time, our smartwatch expert, Matt Evans, called it one of the best Garmin has ever made. It has since been superseded by the Forerunner 570, but at £150 less than the newer model, it's easy to see why the 265 is so attractive.

The highlight of the watch is the super-bright AMOLED touchscreen, which we think competes even with the latest Apple watches. As you'd expect with any running smartwatch, it works well in all conditions and is waterproof. Touchscreen functionality continues even when you're sweating hard.

In Matt's words: "The eye-popping AMOLED touchscreen certainly brings it more into traditional smartwatch territory, rather than a functional sports watch, and the new 'run' button is cute."

The Forerunner 265 is fantastic for runners, but if you're looking for a general smartwatch rather than a dedicated running watch, you'll want to check out our best smartwatch guide instead.

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

There are, strictly speaking, more powerful Garmin watches out there. Likewise, there are also cheaper Garmin watches out there. But the Garmin Venu 4 so perfectly straddles the line between value smartwatch and powerful fitness tool that I called it "the best Garmin watch for most people".

Want one? You're in luck: right now the Garmin Venu 4 is available for just £389.99 (was £469.99) at Amazon, its lowest price ever.

It's a terrific watch. It was my daily driver for a long time as it looks smart, isn't particularly bulky like the Garmin Fenix or Forerunner range, and has enough fitness features to satisfy all but the most serious of athletes.

• View the full Amazon Spring Deal Days sale

Check out the deals in full below. You can also visit the Amazon Spring Deal Days live hub for more discounts before the sale shuts up shop on Monday. Don't miss out!

Today's best Garmin Venu 4 deal

It's just a fantastic watch. In my Garmin Venu 4 review, I said "the Garmin Venu 4 is a gem, and one that should satisfy moderate-to-serious exercise enthusiasts that want a great smartwatch with a generously sized battery and heavy focus on fitness.

"While it isn’t as rugged as the Forerunner, Instinct or Fenix range, this is a watch better-suited to people who want an unobtrusive, premium-looking watch for the office and a powerhouse for runs and rides."

I also put it right at the top of our best Garmin watch buying guide.

Again, this is a never-before-seen lowest-ever price, so I'd recommend snapping up this deal before Amazon's Spring Sale ends on Monday.

More of today's best Amazon Spring Deal Days deals

• Amazon Devices: Fire TV, Blink & Echo from £13.99
• Apple: AirPods & Apple Watch from £139
• Appliances: up to 30% off Ninja & De'Longhi
• Clothing: up to 50% off Sketchers & Crocs
• Essentials: from £5
• Gaming: up to 50% off PS5 & Switch games
• Headphones: Sony & Shokz from £59
• Health & Beauty: up to 60% off Philips & Oral-B
• Laptops: from £149.99
• Smart home: up to 50% off cameras & doorbells
• Smartwatches: Apple, Samsung & Huawei from £99
• Tablets: Fire & Galaxy Tabs from £59.99
• Toys: up to 30% off Lego
• TVs: from £139.99
• Vacuums: up to 30% off Shark & Vax

• 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.