Garmin Watches

The important health & wellness features provided by Garmin smartwatches are the adequate monitors of heart rate, respiration, blood oxygen saturation, body energy, sleep pattern, stress levels, hydration and women’s health. They are typically equipped with sensors for monitoring heart rate and blood oxygen saturation level.

The other sensors fitted with Garmin watches are the barometric altimeter, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer and thermometer. For navigational purposes, they use technologies like GPS, GLONASS and GALILEO and for connectivity: Bluetooth, ANT+ and Wi-Fi. The brand has its proprietary smartwatch application named CONNECT IQ. It is compatible with iPhone and Android Operating systems. The standard smart functions are notifications, calendar, weather, battery saver, music play and storage, control smart phone music, find my watch, find my phone, remote and Garmin Pay.

The activity tracking features available are step counter, move bar, auto goal, calories burned, steps climbed, distance travelled and, etc. Some models incorporate additional features to handle activities like tactical missions, diving and, etc. 

History of Garmin watches

Garmin was founded by Gary Burrell and Min Kao in 1989. This Kensas (USA) based company’s initial name was ProNav and its initial product was a GPS unit. In 1991, Garmin started supplying its products to the US Army. Gradually, it has grown tremendously into a recognized world leader in manufacturing GPS-based navigational gadgets and systems. During this period, it also acquired several companies. To expand its business to a wide range of tech-savvy customers, Garmin has also kick-started the production of activity trackers and smart sports watches.

Garmin Watch Collections

Garmin’s smart watch portfolio is comprised of a considerable number of outstanding collections. Each of them has its own capabilities, features and technical specifications. Here below is a quick glance on some of their best-selling ranges.

(1) Garmin D2

D2 is a GPS smart watch dedicated to pilots and globetrotters. It comes with a fiber-reinforced polymer case fitted with a Corning Gorilla glass, silicone and leather strap, stainless steel bezel and polymer case-back. It offers various case sizes (from 42mm to 51mm) and water resistance ratings typically ranging from 50m to 100m. The Garmin D2 series features models like Air, Delta, Delta S and Delta PX.

(2) Garmin Enduro

Garmin Enduro is a durable, weather-resistant rugged yet lightweight GPS smartwatch. It is designed for extreme adventurous activities and endurance sports. This massive 51mm model features fiber-reinforced polymer case with metal rear cover, Power Glass solar charging lens, stainless steel or DLC coated titanium bezel and ultra light-weight elastic nylon loop strap. It has a sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) display. The water resistance of Enduro is 100 meters.

(3) Garmin Fēnix

This collection offers GPS smart watches designed for outdoor sports activities. It comes in Standard, Sapphire and Solar Editions. Three sizes are available: 42mm, 47mm and 51mm. The Garmin Fēnix features fiber-reinforced polymer case with metal rear cover and 100-meter water resistance. Depending on the model, the bezel is made of stainless steel, titanium or DLC coated titanium. The glass material also varies, subject to the edition: Corning Gorilla Glass DX, Power Glass with solar charging or sapphire crystal.

(4) Garmin Forerunner

Garmin Forerunner is a handy GPS smartwatch capable of assisting user in tracking fitness goals and monitoring the overall health and wellness. This round-case model features chemically strengthened glass, sunlight-visible, MIP display and silicone strap. It has a water resistance of 50 meters. Two cases are available: 39mm and 42mm.

(5) Garmin MARQ

Garmin MARQ is a comprehensive collection of luxury modern tool watches endowed with wearable technology functions. They are built for handling various activities, ranging from flying to golf. The notable iterations from the collection are Adventurer, Athlete, Aviator, Captain, Commander, Driver and Golfer. Each model features its distinct characteristics. MARQ spotlights a titanium case with or without DLC coating. The other prominent features are domed sapphire crystal, bezel with titanium/ceramic and 100 meter water resistance. In this collection, Garmin provides a titanium, leather, rubber or nylon strap.

(6) Garmin Tactix 

As the name indicates, this one is a tactical GPS smartwatch that built and tested according to U.S. military standards (MIL-STD-810). It comes with an extreme 51mm diameter fiber-reinforced polymer case with metal rear cover, steel DLC bezel and knurled buttons. With water resistant to 100 meters, it offers a number of tactical-specific attributes like night vision compatibility. Depending upon the version, this watch features nylon or silicone wristband. The tactix® Delta Solar Edition features a scratch-resistant sapphire glass incorporated with solar-charging technology. The tactix smartwatch is also available with a domed sapphire crystal glass without solar-charging feature.

(7) Garmin Venu

Venu is a GPS smartwatch with advanced health monitoring and fitness features. It is available in round or square-shaped case. Made of a fiber-reinforced polymer, it features Corning Gorilla glass, anodized aluminum bezel and silicone wristband. In the round case category, the Garmin Venu® 2 model has a 45mm diameter case where as the Venu® 2 S measures 40mm.

Summary

Garmin’s smartwatches always stand out in the crowd because of their capabilities and distinct features. The company has been associated with the world of adventurous, exploration and sports arenas since long time. Naturally, their wearable smart devices proudly reflect this legacy and technical known-how.

Most of the smartwatches from the other brands lack original features. On the other hand, Garmin’s products come with innovative designs, indigenous technologies and better materials. They are robust and extremely reliable in comparison with their counterparts available in the market. For the same reason, they are known as sports or tactical smartwatches.

Garmin’s smartwatches are exceptionally water resistant and weather proof, making them ideal for carrying out various outdoor activities and sports events. Garmin also offers professional-grade variants suitable for aviation, diving and industrial activities. For example, the Descent series is a smaller, watch-style dive computer with 100m water resistance and various smart functions.

They are made of high-quality materials like stainless steel, reinforced polymer, titanium, DLC coated metals and aluminium. Garmin typically provides their watches with three types of glasses: standard sapphire crystal, Power Glass with solar-charging capability and Corning Gorilla glass.

A high-performance smartwatch should have a high-quality display system. Garmin employs two types of smartwatch screens. The first one is AMOLED with an optional always-on mode. The second is the transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) display. Depending upon the model, the pixel quality of the screen varies, for example: 240 x 240, 260 x 260 and 280 x 280.

The brand also offers various types of straps: metal, leather, nylon and silicon. Depending upon the model, the water resistant rating varies from 50m to 100m. Garmin’s smartwatches are also known for their impressive battery life.