Which Garmin Watch Is Best for You?

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• A Basic Fitness Tracker

  Would you prefer a Garmin that doesn’t look like a watch at all? The Vivosmart 5 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is Garmin’s basic fitness tracker whose direct competitor is probably Fitbit’s flagship Charge 6 (7/10, WIRED Recommends). Garmin updated it in 2022, four years after its last iteration. It’s now a much more capable tracker with a host of small but necessary improvements.

  Probably the biggest change is that it now has connected GPS, with a roomier screen that makes it easier to manipulate the touchscreen display. Like the Vivoactive 6 above and other lifestyle watches, like the Vivomove Trend, it also shows you your Body Battery and your SpO₂ and has Move IQ to auto-detect activities. Unlike the Fitbit Charge 6, it also has incident detection.

• My Favorite Garmin

  I’m always excited to test an Instinct. It’s Garmin’s most popular line, because it has all the backcountry functionality of the Fenix line but it’s much cheaper. It also has a cool, chunky retro ’80s aesthetic. I was very excited to see the Instinct 3 debut at CES 2025. I tested the 45-mm AMOLED version. (There’s also a cheaper version with the old memory-in-pixel (MIP) display.) This year’s updates include a built-in flashlight and a metal-reinforced bezel with a scratch-resistant display and built to the durable MIL-STD 810 standard, meaning that’s undergone heavy thermal and shock resistance tests.

  I took the Instinct 3 weightlifting, snowboarding, biking, and rock climbing, where I made certain to bang it repeatedly into a rock wall (along with my head, and my glasses). It can record all of these activities and come through without a scratch. (I even managed to scratch the Epix’s titanium bezel, so that says a lot.) Even though it doesn’t augment its battery life with solar power, it still lasted 20 days without recharging. Garmin also recently partnered with Therabody, a maker of high-end massage guns. If you sign into your Garmin account in the Therabody app, Coach by Therabody suggests recovery routines with whichever Theragun you own depending on which workout you tracked with Garmin Connect. I have been trying this with the Theragun Pro Plus. The routines are a little overkill, but the massage is nice and I do feel better with reminders to stretch and drink water.

• Note: We are currently testing the new Forerunner 970 ($750) and will update this guide with the review shortly.

  Garmin continues its tradition of really solid running watches at a variety of price points. The Forerunner 265 is its midrange offering, but we think it hits the sweet spot between features and affordability. The 265 offers multiband GPS, which greatly improves tracking accuracy among tall buildings in a city, but also in canyons and forests. The watch features a 1.3-inch AMOLED display that is bright, colorful, and easy to read. You can store music offline from services like Spotify, Amazon Music, and YouTube music, then pair your earbuds with it and leave your phone at home (with Garmin Pay allowing you to tap-to-pay if you need a snack or water while you’re out).

  The Forerunner 265 also has some advanced metrics like Training Readiness, which takes into account your overall recovery levels and leads your Garmin Coach to make appropriate training (or rest) suggestions. If you tell it that you’ve got a race in three months, you just enter how long it is and what your goals are for it, and it will generate a dynamic running plan to get you there. With the new PacePro feature it will even help you stick to a recommended pace on race day. It also has robust 24/7 health monitoring, smartphone notifications, and options to track more than 30 activities (including triathlon, pool and open water swimming, cycling, pilates, skiing, and more). Toss in a battery that lasts up to 15 days and you get a lot of bang for your buck. —Brent Rose

• Best Outdoor Watch

  For several years Garmin would release an annual update to its do-everything Fenix line and also to its Epix line which was, effectively, just a Fenix with an AMOLED screen. Well, Garmin finally decided to consolidate, and the Fenix is now the one line to rule them all. And I mean that, because it is very literally the best watch I’ve ever worn, but it comes with a hefty price tag. Not only can you now choose between a bright and colorful AMOLED screen or a solar-charging display with mind-boggling battery life, but there are some new features that make the latest Fenix even more versatile.

  For starters, the Fenix 8 has cribbed the depth sensor from its Descent line, which means this everyday watch now works as a full-on dive computer for recreational scuba as well as free diving. The watch also now features a microphone and a speaker. This allows you to make some basic voice commands (start an activity, change modes, set a timer, open stopwatch, etc), record voice notes, and even answer a phone call—which I did a couple of times while showering. (There’s still no cellular connectivity, though, which is a bummer.) It also has a built-in LED flashlight (three levels of white and one red for maintaining night vision), which I ended up using all the time. It also has built-in topographic maps, 24/7 health monitoring, 15-plus-day battery life, and tracking for over a hundred different activities.

  The Fenix 8 comes in 43-mm, 47-mm, and 51-mm sizes and is available in both AMOLED and solar screen options. Personally, I think AMOLED is the way to go because it looks so good, and charging it once every two weeks isn’t a big deal, but if you’re going to be doing some month-long treks in the hinterlands, the 51-mm Solar edition starts with a full month of battery life (up to 48 days with regular exposure to the sun). It’s expensive, but it’s fantastic. —Brent Rose

• Your Apple Watch Dupe

  The Venu line is very similar to the Vivoactive line in that it’s made to track holistic health stats, but it has a slightly nicer build quality with a full-screen AMOLED, a stainless steel bezel, Corning Gorilla Glass for the lens, and a fantastic two weeks of battery life. You also get upgraded software features. I particularly like waking up to Morning Report, which gives you the day’s information—your Body Battery, the weather, et cetera—and a new sleep coach with nap detection.

  Health-wise, it has Pulse Ox blood oxygen monitoring. You can opt for either spot-checking or continuous checks. It also has Garmin’s FDA-cleared and clinically validated ECG app, which is one of the few ECG wearable apps that actually works on me. (I am fine! No atrial fibrillation here!) Workout-wise, it has GPS, Glonass, and Galileo satellite capabilities, a barometric altimeter, a gyroscope, and an accelerometer for finely tuned workout tracking. You can also now take calls with an onboard speaker and microphone, which is just OK. It sounds low and tinny, and on the other side, my spouse says it sounds like I’m sitting inside a can. However, it works! This is the watch to get if you have an Android phone and want better battery life and a slightly more extensive set of health features than a Pixel Watch 3 (8/10, WIRED Recommends). It still doesn’t have built-in body temperature sensing, though.

• The Prettiest Garmin

  One factor that makes trackers like the Withings ScanWatch 2 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) and the Google Pixel Watch 2 (7/10, WIRED Recommends) stand out above the crowd is how beautiful they are. Unfortunately, most of the time, chunky, technical Garmin watches just look like, well, chunky, technical Garmin watches. The Lily 2, on the other hand, is very pretty.

  This is the first update to the Lily line that we’ve seen in a few years. It comes in two forms, the Lily 2 and the Lily 2 Classic, the upgraded version which looks more like an analog watch and has Garmin Pay and a nylon or leather band. It’s one of the smallest Garmins and has a pretty short battery life; I got 3 to 4 days of wear out of it. But it also has a Pulse Ox sensor, a pretty beautiful Corning Gorilla Glass lens, a metal bezel, and standard Garmin features like Body Battery and fall detection. It’s the seamlessly functioning Garmin tester that I referenced in my review of the Amazfit Balance.

• Best Satellite Messenger

  Garmin

  inReach Messenger Plus

  While there’s something to be said for getting off the grid and being incommunicado, there’s also something to be said for letting your loved ones know if you are safe—or more importantly, if you aren’t. This satellite communicator pairs with your phone and comes in at 3.1 x 2.5 x 0.9 inches and just 4.1 ounces, so it fits in the palm of your hand and any clothes or backpack pocket. It allows you to send and receive messages back home to anyone with a cell phone number or email address, and it has an SOS button that allows you to contact search and rescue if things really go sideways. It also allows you (and others, if you choose) to track your route, and even get you back to your trailhead.

  If that sounds like every other Garmin inReach, this one has a couple new tricks up its sleeve, namely the ability to send and receive photos and voice notes up to 30 seconds long. This could be useful for those longer expeditions, when you really want to share a highlight or two from your adventures, or when you’re lonely in the woods and you want a slightly more personal way to connect. Texts can go straight to your contacts, but for photo and voice notes they’ll have to install the Garmin Messenger app on their phone, and of course you’ll have to pay for an inReach subscription plan (starting at $15 a month), but I’ve come to think of it as my cheap insurance policy in the backcountry. —Brent Rose

• Best Heart Rate Monitor

  The affordable, accurate HRM-200 comes in two strap sizes, which can be thrown in the wash (minus the sensor) and features a hook clasp that keeps it securely in place. Unlike other Garmin monitors, there’s an LED indicator on the EKG sensor module, which lights up to see when it’s successfully paired and transmitting your data.

  You can connect it to up to three Bluetooth devices and technically unlimited options using ANT+. Whether you’re pairing it with a Garmin watch or a connected piece of gym equipment that supports heart rate tracking, the HRM-200 delivers where it matters and can handle monitoring slow, long runs or interval-style rides with zero fuss. It uses a standard CR2032 watch battery and, impressively, can last up to a year, though that depends on how much you use it. If you have a wrist-worn Garmin, you can also track the battery life. Check out our guide to the Best Heart Rate Monitors for more.

• The Best Bike Computer

  The Edge 840 Solar (8/10, WIRED Recommends) is one of the most powerful cycling computers around—in a package that’s about the size of a deck of cards. It has multiband GNSS support for accurate wayfinding and 32 GB of internal memory for your cycling routes. It also has Garmin’s Power Glass, which extends the battery life up to 60 hours with battery saver on.

  Our writer Steph Pearson noted that the Edge 840 Solar comes with a new series of software training features that (with a power meter and a heart rate monitor) basically make it a coach that you can take with you anywhere. Real-Time Stamina gauges your output before you bonk. Cycling Ability maps your output to the course you’re riding. Garmin’s navigation features let you map out routes to and from nearby coffee shops, all without interfering with your ride data. Adaptive Training will even give you personalized custom workouts for the day. In fact, Pearson says the only downside is that it’s so compact it’s sometimes a little hard to see all your maps and data.

• The Best Smart Scale

  Yes, Garmin makes all sorts of wearables—but the company also makes a smart scale as well! The Index S2 first came out several years ago, but it’s still the only smart scale that Garmin makes. A color display walks you through six body metrics for up to 16 users, and you can see your weight trend over time on the display. It also connects directly to Wi-Fi and to Garmin Connect. However, our reviewer Christopher Null found navigating the scale through Garmin Connect to be a little difficult.