The Amazon Spring Sale has yet to land, but I can already tell this early deal on the Garmin Vivoactive 5 will be one of the most underrated savings of the season.

The Amazon Spring Sale officially starts tomorrow - March 25 - and lasts until Monday. But, as my Garmin Vivoactive 5 review reveals, this is a smartwatch worth snapping up whenever there's a Garmin sale. It has a bright display, long battery life, advanced heart rate sensors, and health-tracking sensors that easily monitor sleep, stress, and exercise. Put side by side next to the most advanced smartwatches around, you'd be impressed. I certainly was.

Yet, compared to these advanced watches, this one is a fraction of the price - and more so now than ever. With a saving of £70, this deal is even better than the one I saw during last year's Black Friday sale.

Why is this Garmin Vivoactive 5 deal so underrated?

This Garmin Vivoactive 5 deal is not one to miss if you're looking for one of the best fitness trackers to get in shape now the weather's a little warmer. It might not be the biggest saving this week - I've already spotted the Garmin Forerunner 255 for over £100 off - but with the £70 discount, this deal marks the Garmin Vivoactive 5 's lowest price since the Black Friday sale last year. Not even the Christmas and New Year deals could keep up.

If you're considering the newest Apple Watch or weighing up the pricey Garmin Venu vs Forerunner watches for your workouts, take a look at this watch before heading to the checkout.

The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is the "perfect fitness tracker" for beginners and those looking for a simple smartwatch with advanced health insights, our writer and reviewer Ciara McGinley found during testing. It's easy to navigate with a bright AMOLED touchscreen and manual controls on the side. You can start one of the 30+ workout profiles in just a couple of taps and get unique, sport-specific information for your activity (alongside the basics like heart rate, calories burned, distance for cardio workouts, and so on). For example, you'll see reps and sets for strength training and stress insights in a yoga session. You can also find out your fitness age.

As is standard on many of the best Garmin watches, you can see how many steps you're doing a day at any time by glancing down at your wrist. What's more, the insights are actually accurate and the device is streamlined, constantly connecting with the Garmin Connect app on your phone to deliver even deeper insights in real-time.

The Garmin Vivoactive 5 also tracks your sleep with metrics like sleep duration, stages (amounts of deep vs light vs REM sleep), resting heart rate, and breathing rate to offer a sleep score every morning. From here, you can use Garmin's Sleep Coach for tips on improving your sleep routine.

You wouldn't miss out on smartwatch features with the Vivoactive 5 either. This watch can receive texts, emails, and call notifications from your connected phone (Apple or Android). You can also make payments, get your daily weather report, and set timers and alarms.

While the Apple Watch Series 10 or SE (on sale with 10% off right now) are excellent smartwatches and undoubtedly winners for iPhone users, the Vivoactive 5 has more to offer in a key area: battery life. You'll need to charge your Apple Watch at least every few days, while the Vivoactive 5 can last up to 11 days.

Equally, the Vivoactive 5 measures up against the best Garmin watch. While you won't get on-screen animated workouts, you'll find it has the same amount of workout modes, you can control music playing from your phone into your headphones or speaker. Plus, the Vivoactive 5 is lighter on your wrist, making it ideal for running and walking.

Are there any downsides?

While the Garmin Vivoactive 5 is one of my favourite Garmin watches and will work excellently for most people, it does lack some features. This watch doesn't have dual-band GPS, unlike the Garmin Forerunner 265S, so if trail running is more your speed than gym workouts then it may struggle to keep up with you as you go into more remote areas. Equally, it doesn't feature in-built maps so you won't be able to get turn-by-turn navigation. You'll want to shop the Forerunner 945 for that.

It also doesn't have a barometric altimeter, which won't matter to some, but if you are a climber or like to keep an eye on your 'floors climbed', then it would be better to opt for a fitness tracker with this sensor - like the Garmin Forerunner 165.

But that's about it! At under £200 in the Amazon Spring Sale sale right now, it's well worth the spend if you're looking to buy a fitness tracker before the summer.

An Android phone opens up a world of possibilities for tracking your workouts, steps, sleep and everyday wellbeing. If you're looking for your first fitness tracker or an upgrade, you've probably weighed up a Garmin vs Samsung Watch.

Recent releases from both mean there's even more of a reason to. The new Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 is officially on sale and ready for shipping, while the Garmin Venu 4 is less than a year old but it's knocked many of the best Garmin watches out of the water in features and design already.

I've taken both of these devices for a spin recently, wearing them for at least a week each across all my walking, running, and gym workouts, sleep-filled nights, and everyday activities. Both are worth buying, but one may be a better choice for you.

Garmin vs Samsung Watch

Specifications

Design of the Garmin vs Samsung Watch

Both smartwatches are sleek and stylish. The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 is more futuristic, with its contrasting, soft-square aluminium bezel and bright, round AMOLED screen. The Garmin Venu 4 is more discreet, with the AMOLED screen flush with the round, thin bezel. They both have a silicone band that can be swapped for alternatives, purchased individually.

The Garmin Venu 4 feels weightier - perhaps down to the stainless steel materials, versus the Samsung's lightweight aluminium. This should be a consideration if you're a longer-distance runner looking for a running watch, but otherwise I've found it doesn't make much of a difference.

If you go trail running or bouldering, I'd be cautious of the Samsung Watch's design. As far as I know, the metal bezel hasn't been made particularly scratch-resistant, and it's a large space open to scratches and bumps.

They both have a visible screen in all light conditions. I've tested both these devices in the scorching summer sun at about midday, and all the data is totally readable, which is very important for any outdoor workouts - and not a guarantee.

Winner: Preference

Activity tracking on Garmin vs Samsung

Garmin is top of the class for activity tracking, but Samsung has come on leaps and bounds in recent years. It's now a real competitor in this area. Both devices track the usual metrics: live heart rate, steps, active minutes and calories burned. There are hundreds of activity profiles to choose from on both, and the Samsung Watch even allows you to break your strength workout into individual exercises (e.g., press-ups) and record them as separate activities.

For strength workouts, the Garmin is my favourite of the two, however. In Garmin's strength workout mode, you can log individual sets and reps and time your breaks between them with a stopwatch-style counter. The Samsung 'Weight Machines' profile is like any other, recording heart rate and predicted calorie burn only. I find this really helps me keep equal breaks between my exercises, which is important for building strength. On Garmin, you'll also find animated workouts you can follow along with on your screen, making it even easier to get a strength workout done as a beginner.

My favourite new feature as a runner was the Nutrition Tracking on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9. This alert reminds you to eat and drink while walking, running, or cycling. It's a feature that nearly all Garmin watches have had for a while, and it comes in very handy for longer distances.

The Garmin Venu 4 is my favourite of the two for recording workouts. The Samsung Watch has Energy Score, a basic reading of how your exercise, sleep, and overall wellness impact your energy levels. Garmin Venu 4 has Training Readiness, Status, and Load. Together, they provide a complete picture of how your workouts and recovery impact your body and fitness, and importantly, where and how you need to improve.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 has better GPS tracking than previous models, like the Galaxy Watch 7 (especially in cities). The Garmin Venu 4 still wins here, though, as it's also more accurate than previous models in dense trail areas. This makes it a winner for runners and hikers in all environments.

Winner: Garmin Venu 4

If you're a runner, I suggest you also weigh up the Garmin Venu vs Forerunner series. The Forerunner is a watch designed especially for cardio activities, with even more to offer.

Sleep tracking on Garmin vs Samsung

Compared to the likes of Oura Ring 5, Garmin and Samsung still have a way to go in sleep tracking. Nevertheless, both offer excellent sleep tracking metrics.

In 2026, fitness trackers have to offer more than the basics (an overview of how long you slept for and the quality of that sleep, broken down into REM, deep, and light, and an overall Sleep Score). Even the oldest of the best Fitbits can do that.

Both Garmin and Samsung offer written overviews of your sleep so you can see the essentials in one sentence. They can also take your overnight data and compare it to your baseline, and flag when something's up. For example, if your oxygen saturation levels are low and your overnight heart rate is higher than normal, you might be getting under the weather. It could tell you you're getting ill even before symptoms emerge.

The new Lifestyle Logging feature on the Garmin Venu 4 means it just clinches the top spot. Every morning and evening, you manually log elements of your day that might impact your sleep, such as any late-night exercise, alcohol or caffeine intake. You'll then be able to see how these impact your sleep. It's quick to do, and I've found it a genuinely useful way to understand how even small habits impact my recovery.

Winner: Garmin Venu 4

Health tracking on Garmin vs Samsung

Samsung has a plethora of new features to help keep an eye on your overall health, including Heart Health Score. This is based on your daily Energy Score, which was also a feature on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7. It measures metrics in the background, such as exercise and sleep, BMI, and cardio load, crunching the numbers through AI to determine how healthy your heart is.

Fitness Index is another. This compares your VO2 max (a measure of overall health), body composition, and heart rate metrics with others in your age and gender group.

Along with the new Vitals tab, these are two serious upgrades worth investing in. However, the Garmin Venu 4 has an established Heart Age metric and can measure your essential metrics against your baseline, so they are very similar.

Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 wins here because of how the information is presented. Compared to the Garmin Venu 4 (or any Garmin watch), the Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 is very readable. Each feature is presented in an accessible way, so even if you've never used a fitness tracker before, you'll be able to read and understand all the important information. When it comes to keeping an eye on your health, simple layouts with graphics and further reading in each area are key.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Watch 9

Battery life on the Garmin vs Samsung

Even though the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 has a longer battery life than some smartwatches, it's still only 40 hours maximum. You'll need to turn off the always-on mode. Otherwise, it's only 30 hours, which is less than the Google Pixel Watch 4, for example. I've also found it takes a while to charge compared with some other fitness trackers, so there'll be times when you'll be without your insights.

The Garmin Venu 4 has a battery life of 10 days. I've found it often exceeds this as well when I only do a few GPS workouts, since this drains the battery.

Winner: Garmin Venu 4

Price of the Garmin vs Samsung

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 is cheaper than the Garmin Venu 4, at £349 RRP compared to £439.99 RRP. However, as the Garmin model is now older than some (like the Forerunner 170), you can often find it on sale for a similar price to the Samsung watch.

That being said, both watches are a serious price investment - and there are cheaper alternatives. For example, the Garmin Vivoactive 6 is very similar to the Garmin Venu 4 aside from a few features and design details. That one is under £270 at full price.

The Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 might offer a unique display of wellbeing metrics that are easy to read, but so does the Huawei Watch Fit Pro 4 - less than £200 at full price.

The new Fitbit Air is also worth considering. It's only £84 but has a full suite of Google excellence, logging workouts, sleep, and other vital metrics automatically with AI integration that makes it very simple to understand. This is missing an ECG, however, which both the Garmin Venu 4 and Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 have.

Winner: Samsung Galaxy Watch 9

Which one is better?

It's a difficult decision to make, as most people would be happy with either of these fitness trackers. Unless you're after smartwatch features, where the Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 does have the upper hand, I would say the Garmin Venu 4 wins out.

For fitness fans, the plethora of workout features, including better GPS and heart rate accuracy, and the longer battery life make it a winner overall. The higher price would be a point in the 'against' column, but it's likely on sale everywhere given its age.

Overall winner: Garmin Venu 4

The Garmin Forerunner 265S is one of the brand's more advanced smartwatches for runners. It offers personalised coaching plans to help you improve your performance and a range of daily health-tracking features to monitor your overall wellbeing. Released in early 2023 alongside the slightly bigger 265, its compact design makes it a comfortable choice for women with smaller wrists.

Earlier this year, fed up with having to charge my Apple Watch every night and wanting to take my running more seriously again, I bought the Garmin Forerunner 265S. On paper, it's the best Garmin watch for runners, with a long battery life, accurate GPS and onboard music. But how does it perform in real life? And how do its general fitness tracking features shape up?

If you're wondering which Garmin is right for you and the Forerunner 265S is on your shortlist, read on. I've worn the 265S almost every day for over six months, running for over 30 hours and 200 miles on roads, trails and in competitive races. These are my honest thoughts and findings to help you decide.

Garmin Forerunner 265S review

Garmin Forerunner 265S: Overview

Garmin released the Forerunner 265S in spring 2023 as the next generation from the mid-range Garmin Forerunner 255 smartwatch (still currently on sale). It has a sharper, brighter screen, a battery life of two weeks in smartwatch mode and daily training insights designed to offer you a personalised coach on your wrist. Unlike the 255, the 265S also comes with music built-in as standard.

Although the Forerunner is designed for runners, there are over 30 activities onboarded - including cycling, open-water swimming, strength training and yoga. It's best described as the 'Goldilocks' of Garmin's current running watch lineup - not as expensive as its rugged Fenix series, but with more data chops than the lifestyle-friendly Venu (more on Garmin Venu vs Forerunner here) series.

The Forerunner 265S can measure daily health signals like sleep, heart rate variability, and stress, and it has some basic smart features like answering calls. However, it comes into its own for runners like me who love stats and are looking for deeper training insights to see how all that pavement pounding adds up over time.

What I like about Garmin is that once you've bought a device, you don't get hit by monthly subscriptions to access the most useful features - unlike the WHOOP 4.0 or the Oura Ring. As with all Garmin watches, you'll sign up for the free Garmin Connect app (Android and iOS) and connect the 265S to view your fitness data and make the most of it. The Connect app is sensibly laid out for beginners and advanced users, even though the black and grey interface is a little boring.

Garmin Forerunner 265S: Specifications

Who is the Garmin Forerunner 265S suited to?

While the Forerunner 265S can often be found in a Garmin sale, it's still more expensive than the best Fitbits. For this reason, I'd recommend the Forerunner 265S to runners taking on fitness challenges and races, who want help improving their times and performance and are happy to pay more for advanced features like Garmin's coaching, training plans and guided runs.

The Garmin app has more insights than some users will ever need or look at. If you're new to the Garmin ecosystem, I think it takes a few weeks to understand and fully interpret your stats, and see those all-important metrics change over time.

If you're looking for a simpler smartwatch that integrates seamlessly with your phone, the Garmin Forerunner 265S might not be best suited to you. It does give you alerts for calls, texts, and emails on your wrist - and it's easy to customise what you get pinged for - but I've found the "smart" experience more basic than my Apple Watch Series 9.

If you're after the richest smartphone experience and fitness is just a bonus rather than the main event, I'd recommend matching your watch to your phone. Apple Watch to iPhone, Google Pixel Watch 3 to Pixel phone – you get the idea.

Garmin Forerunner 265S: Design

The Forerunner 265S is a smaller but almost identical version of the standard 265 model. It's a big upgrade on the previous Forerunner 255, the biggest difference between these two generations being the new display. The 265S has a bright AMOLED touchscreen that's easier to view in sunlight, tap while training and navigate around to view your stats.

The 265S' 360 x 360 px AMOLED is simply gorgeous. You can customise the standby watch face with accent colours and styles, and surface the info that's most important for you to have at a glance. It's also worth pointing out how hard-wearing the Corning Gorilla Glass lens is. After six months of trail runs, drops and dog chews, there's not a scratch on my screen.

Having used my partner's entry-level Garmin Forerunner 55 without a touchscreen, I can attest to how much time and frustration you save by being able to scroll around the watch's menus rather than only using physical buttons. There are still five buttons around the bezel though, including a larger, raised 'Run' button top right which is welcome during a run for starting or pausing an activity – especially if you're wearing gloves or out in the rain.

The 265S has a flexible silicone strap that's comfortable to wear while sleeping, training and generally living. I barely take the watch off, except to charge it, and don't have any skin complaints from the strap material. Like most Garmin watches, it's easy to customise the look of the 265S by swapping the strap. Remove the band using the quick-release pin and you can choose from a huge range of official and unofficial options.

Running with Garmin Forerunner 265S

I've recorded over 30 hours of running with the Garmin Forerunner 265S, in half-marathon, 10K and 5K race settings, on countryside trails with my dog and for regular road routes around my home city. I've put it through its paces in a variety of settings and made it my mission to use every single running feature at least once.

To start a run with the Forerunner 265S, it's as easy as pressing the Run button on the side, waiting for the GPS to lock on - lightning fast compared to watches I've used without Multi-band GPS - and pressing the button again to start recording. On the screen, you'll see your time, distance, pace, and heart rate by default, and scrolling gives you lap times. After a few minutes of running, you also get an analysis of your Performance Condition for a real-time assessment of how you're doing.

It's not always easy knowing how far and fast you should run on any given day. That's where Garmin's suggested runs come in, appearing when you've been wearing the watch long enough for it to profile you. Setting up a training plan in the Connect App also gives you a suggested run based on how long away your race is, and what part of the plan you're in.

With these guided runs, the watch aims to keep you within a certain pace to benefit your long-term performance (and alerts you when you're outside of this). On one day, I'd have a slow and steady run to maintain long-term fitness, while repeated sprint intervals on another day were designed to improve my cardiovascular health.

When you've finished a run, an in-depth session analysis is in the Connect App, where you'll see yet more stats on your pacing, speed, running power and training effect. You can also connect the 265S to third-party running apps like Strava, which often shows similar data in a more user-friendly way.

Having such an intelligent system in the Forerunner 265S has genuinely improved my performance, and taken a lot of the thought out of how I should run. I used to jog fairly randomly with my Apple Watch, with little to tell me whether it had been better, worse or about the same as a previous run. But the Forerunner 265 pushes me to sprint harder and run further than I would have done before. It also recommends rest days after I've pushed myself. As someone who's previously overtrained and suffered from exhaustion, the balanced approach the 265S gives me is for my long-term running fitness, not just short-term gains.

Of course, the 265S isn't the top-tier running watch from Garmin. It misses a few tricks, including the Forerunner 965's advanced built-in maps - but does give you a basic electronic breadcrumb trail during activities like hikes. Several apps in the Garmin Connect store can also add maps to the watch, including AllTrails and Komoot. If you're someone who wants to run off the beaten track, the multi-band GPS tracking is more accurate than single-band, but stick it in Auto and Garmin will automatically find the best option for you.

Fitness tracking on the Garmin Forerunner 265S

The Forerunner 265S is a running watch first, but it also caters to a huge range of indoor and outdoor sports, plus wellness activities like Breathwork. There's even a Triathlon mode, which I found could automatically detect when I transitioned from one section to the next.

Starting any session is done with the run button and scrolling down, and you can customise your list of favourite activities so they're quick to access. For me, that's Strength, HIIT and Pool Swim. So many fitness trackers fail to offer useful insights during a workout, and with the Forerunner 265S, I like that what you're shown on screen is relevant for each activity. For yoga, where the whole point is slowed relaxation, you see your stress level and respiration rate. For Strength, it's reps. Like your runs, fitness sessions are automatically synced to the Garmin Connect app once finished.

The Forerunner 265S might offer many fitness tracking options, but it misses out on the preloaded workouts and on-screen exercise animations of the Garmin Venu 3S. This isn't a dealbreaker for me, as I mainly use the FiiT app on my phone for follow-along HIIT classes, but it might be a drawback for those new to certain workouts.

However you're training, the 265S will show you how it affects you and how your body reacts to it. New for the 265S over the 255 (and other advanced Garmin watches like the Fenix 7) is Garmin's Training Readiness Score. It's essentially a mark out of 100 on how prepared you are to perform that day.

Similarly, Garmin’s Body Battery gives you another 1-100 score indicating your general energy levels for any given day and time. Then there's the Training Status tab, which will tell you whether your recent activity efforts have been productive, maintained your fitness or even strained your body. By understanding my body's readiness, I've made more informed decisions about my training schedule, and whether I need a high-intensity session, or a low-impact recovery walk with my dog.

Despite how much my Forerunner 265S has helped my fitness, it does have a major flaw. I've noticed the heart rate tracking is glitchy for some workouts, getting stuck on the same number for up to five minutes until I pause the activity, rejiggle the watch on my wrist, and give it a chance to catch up.

I've also noticed that Garmin's "effort algorithms" seem to favour high heart rate activities like running, but treat activities in a lower zone as if nothing much happened. It's rare for my heart rate to reach over 120 bpm while strength training and a current limitation of how effort is recorded on the watch is that heavy lifting doesn't affect my training readiness as much as a run. I certainly feel tired and sore the next day, but Garmin thinks I'm ready for a big dash in my trainers.

Sleep tracking on the Garmin Forerunner 265S

The Garmin Forerunner 265S is designed to be worn every night and has advanced sleep-tracking sensors as well as nap detection (which I can attest to working, almost scarily well). I always take sleep tracking with a pinch of salt, however, I found that Garmin's sleep score correlated with how I felt I'd slept, and how sprightly or sluggish I was during the day.

As with all of Garmin's tracking metrics, you can view basic sleep information – your overall duration, score and sleep stages – on the watch itself, while a wealth of data and information awaits further analysis in the Connect app. Aside from just giving you data, I like that the app delves into your sleep score factors, explaining why Light, Deep, and REM sleep is important, what it's for and how much the optimum amount is. I felt like I was learning a lot about health in general by delving into this section.

On the other hand, I think Garmin's Sleep Coach needs more work in this direction. On most days it either tells me I need 8 hours exactly, or half an hour over or under, with repetitive phrases explaining why. Given how much Garmin's training coaching has come on in the last few hours, I've no doubt they can bring sleep coaching to a similar standard, but it's just a shame it doesn't yet compete with the Oura Ring for features like Bedtime Guidance.

Is the Garmin Forerunner 265S worth it?

I've run regularly for over a decade - at varying levels of seriousness - but I've only taken trackers and watches seriously in the last few years. The Forerunner 265S is finally proof that you can have a good-looking watch, solid tools for better health and enough battery for real off-grid adventures. I found battery life a standout compared to the daily charge of an Apple watch, and even with music and GPS enabled you can get a marathon out of the device. Plus, a full charge takes just over an hour.

For women specifically, given our naturally smaller wrists, the size of the Forerunner 265S is more manageable than the brand's chunkier watches. The onboard Women's Health app lets you view and log cycle information from your wrist and adapt your training depending on your menstrual cycle. You can also pause training altogether, should you feel like you need a break.

There's a saying out there that goes "What gets measured gets managed", meaning that when you have data on something, it can increase your understanding and motivation to make positive changes. I've always believed that health is something we can also measure holistically - how we feel rather than what numbers say - but there's no denying that the Forerunner 265S helps you to reach specific running goals.

The 265S provides data in spades and justifies its price point for the guidance it gives you to become a better athlete - without mindlessly pushing you. It's helped me to get my best 5K time for a decade, train quickly for a half marathon, and take my stress levels more seriously with regular yoga and meditation. If you're looking for a reliable and feature-rich running watch that can handle your daily needs, the Garmin Forerunner 265S is absolutely worth it.

Garmin Forerunner 265S vs 265

There are two models for this device: Garmin Forerunner 265S and 265. The 'S' here stands for 'small', with the 265 having a larger case size of 46mm while the 265S is 42mm.

Despite being smaller, the 265S boasts a slightly better battery life. Garmin says the battery life is up to 15 days in smartwatch mode, 6 hours if you have the Multi-Band GPS enabled, plus wrist heart rate tracking and music playback.

Connectivity (Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi), GPS options and waterproofing are the same for both models.

Garmin vs Polar - one of the debates to have if you're looking for a new fitness tracker, whether you're a hiker, runner, or gym lover. These two top brands might have much in common, but a few key differences will push one above the other for you.

Garmin and Polar devices are favourite among the best fitness trackers. Sleek in design and function, they both have excellent workout and sleep monitoring sensors, health data, and smartwatch features. Choosing just one among the bunch can be tricky.

To help you decide which of the two brands is best, I tested the Garmin Venu 3S (a smaller version of the Garmin Venu 3) and the Polar Ignite 3. While it all comes down to personal preference, some interesting findings during testing brought a couple of need-to-knows to light. Let’s dive in.

Garmin vs Polar

Garmin vs Polar: Design

Of all the smartwatches I’ve tested over the years, the Garmin Venu 3S and the Polar Ignite 3 are two of the most stylish designs. Lightweight with large digital touch screens and the same hardy glass display, they are comfortable to wear and, thanks to the range of neutral colours to choose from, should fit in easily with your everyday wardrobe.

Both the Garmin Venu 3S and the Polar Ignite 3 feature larger circular touchscreen displays. You'll find other Garmin watches with a different navigation and display appearance though, so don't let that put you off this brand if the circular design isn't for you.

The Garmin Venu 3S has three hardware buttons on the side of the screen as well, which helps navigate the device mid-workout or when you're on the move. The Polar has just one button, used to ‘wake up’ the screen, cycle through activities and start tracking workouts - but it’s a bit fiddly and can occasionally be unresponsive.

Winner: Garmin, thanks to the manual control buttons.

These devices have a more ‘sporty’ feel than other trackers though, so it's worth exploring your options and weighing up Garmin vs Fitbit. The Fitbit Charge 6 is an excellent slimline, rectangular tracker, that isn't nearly as chunky or weighty.

Garmin vs Polar: Accuracy

I’ve tested a lot of fitness trackers over the years, and often find most to be fairly accurate give or take. However, I had some issues with the Polar Ignite 3 in the first few days. The heart rate monitor would bounce up and down when I was working out and resting, and the device didn’t track my steps or activity accurately several times. As the testing period went on, I found this did improve and perhaps it would do so even more as it gets more familiar with my baseline over time.

On the other hand, I’ve always found the Venu 3S to be accurate when tracking activity and sleep. It’s hard to say any fitness tracker is 100% accurate but, in general, the Garmin device wins for me in this instance. I didn’t get any unusual data throughout the testing period and beyond.

Winner: Garmin

Garmin vs Polar: Activity tracking

The Garmin Venu 3S and the Polar Ignite 3 pride themselves on their versatility. The Venu 3 offers almost 30 activity profiles - everything from running to kayaking - and doesn't prioritise one sport. As well as recording workout essentials - such as time, pace, distance, calories burned, and so on - you can follow along with visual strength training, yoga, Pilates, and HIIT workouts on the Venu 3 screen, making it easy to improve your technique and form. The Polar Ignite has over 150 activity profiles you can choose from in the app and send to the watch, offering the same variety of useful data.

While some Garmin devices (particularly in the Forerunner range) have multi-band GPS for the most accurate location data, the Venu 3S does not. The Polar Ignite 3 has it though, and so may provide more accurate GPS data - especially off-road or in tree-dense areas. There is also plenty of running data to explore on the Polar Ignite 3 that goes beyond what the Garmin provides, making it a better option for those more interested in running and hiking.

However, Garmin does offer running and hiking-dedicated watches too. If that's your sport, the Garmin Forerunner 255 and Garmin Forerunner 165 are worth looking at instead of the Garmin Venu 3.

When it comes to recording your calorie burn, the Polar Ignite 3 offers a very unique insight I've not seen on any other fitness tracker: a breakdown of how much fat, protein, and carbohydrates you used up during your workout, helping you to refuel appropriately. Whether this can be entirely accurate or not remains to be seen though.

As two of the more advanced fitness trackers out there, they both served up the usual data and then some - with insights into step count, heart rate, readiness, and recovery time (although, as I said, I initially had some issues with the heart rate and step tracking on the Polar Ignite 3). In both apps (Polar Flow and Garmin Connect), I could access even more data - including pace and laps for running, calories burnt, and heart rate zones.

However, the Venu 3 wins out just for ease of use. I tested both devices and so did Health Editor Grace Walsh. During her workouts, she found the Polar Ignite 3 a little more fiddly to use than the Garmin and said the display felt unreliable at times, freezing on occasion.

Winner: Garmin - unless you're hooked on running data

As someone who enjoys moving my body in various ways and who uses a fitness tracker to get a better overall picture of my health and progress, both the Polar and Garmin devices deliver a lot of data that may feel overwhelming if you're new to exercise or coming back to it.

For everyday activity trackers, these fitness-first devices probably aren’t the most beginner-friendly and the data isn’t presented in the app in the most user-friendly way either - especially when compared to the best Fitbits, for instance. So, I'd recommend one of these - or the Google Pixel Watch 3 if you have an Android phone - if you're looking for a more basic tracker with similarly useful insights.

Garmin vs Polar: Sleep tracking

While most people think of a Garmin watch as a fitness-first tracker - but that's far from true. I've been really impressed with the brand's sleep sensors in recent months - so much so, my Venu 3 is rivalling my beloved Oura Ring. Along with the standard review of hours slept and the type of sleep, Garmin monitors stress levels throughout the day and night to provide a single sleep score. This can offer an insight into how rested you are versus the amount of activity you've done.

The Polar Ignite 3 doesn’t disappoint either though. In fact, it provides even more detailed insights into the amount of sleep you're getting and how it compares to your usual routine - known as sleep regeneration. Sleep solidity looks at any interruptions you experience during the night. With this, Polar provides an ANS charge, which assess how well your autonomic nervous system calmed down overnight to activate the 'rest and digest' response. This can offer an indication of how you are recovering from daily stress. With all this, you get a sleep score.

It's fair to say this is all rather advanced and I have to note that neither brand does particularly well at explaining what all this means. So, if you're not familiar with the terms, you may be left wondering what exactly is going on - and whether your scores are good or bad. For a simpler approach, consider weighing up the Oura Ring vs Garmin.

Winner: Polar, but it's a close call.

Garmin vs Polar: Smartwatch features

Given the release of the Apple Watch Series 9 and newest Apple Watch both in recent years, fitness trackers have had to compete by offering some smartwatch features alongside health and fitness tracking. As standard, you can receive notifications on both the Garmin Venu 3 and Polar Ignite 3 and listen to your music via the watch, rather than your phone. However, in the debate between Garmin vs Polar, Garmin wins out.

While the Venu 3 uses Garmin Pay, which isn't as widely available as other on-wrist payment methods like Apple Pay, the Polar Ignite 3 has no way to make contactless payments at all so you'll have to take your phone or purse with you, should you want to stop for coffee on your walk. You also can't answer phone calls or send a text from the Ignite 3 - although you can receive one - and the limited storage on board means the music playback just isn't as good as on the Garmin Venu.

The Garmin Venu 3 offers full music playback so you can leave your phone in your pocket during your workout. You can also make and receive phone calls with a connected phone, and send and receive text messages.

Winner: Garmin

Garmin vs Polar: Battery life

While the Polar Ignite 3 boasts an impressive battery life of up to 100 hours in power-saving mode, most of us will need at least a couple of GPS enabled sessions - and you can have up to 30 hours of continuous GPS usage, which is pretty impressive for a device at this price point.

Health Editor Grace Walsh has also taken the Polar Ignite 3 for a spin. On this, she said: "I got about five days into using this watch for one workout and 10,000 steps at least every day before I had to charge it. I'm happy with that - especially when you consider other, more pricey trackers sometimes need to be charged every day or every other day at least."

The Garmin Venu 3 offers about four days of battery life in my experience, with some recorded workouts and daily wear, monitoring step count and heart rate consistently.

Winner: Polar Ignite 3

Garmin vs Polar: Price

This is where the sticking point will come for many people. While comparing the Garmin Venu vs Forerunner will leave you spending the same amount of money either way, the Polar Ignite 3 (£249 for standard, £329 for titanium) is almost half the price of the Venu 3 (starting from £449).

So, unless you can get a good saving in the next sale, that's a serious consideration to make.

However, the Venu 3 isn't the only Garmin watch out there. If Garmin wins in the Garmin vs Polar debate for you, it's also worth exploring other models - such as the Garmin Vivoactive 5. It has many of the same features as the Venu 3 but not all, and it's not as advanced so it's easier to use and it costs about the same as the Polar Ignite 3.

Winner: It depends on your budget.

Garmin vs Polar: Which is better?

Overall, when looking at these two individual trackers, the Garmin Venu 3 wins out. It's a fitness tracker-smartwatch hybrid that makes it easy to track workouts of all kinds, with animated on-screen workouts, advanced sleep and stress sensors, all wrapped up in a sleek design with smooth performance.

While the battery doesn't last as long as the Polar Ignite 3, it lacks some of the running-related insights, and it's a price tag that isn't necessarily justified by the device, if it's in your budget, these are worthy trade-offs for the reliability of the Garmin. There are also other Garmin devices with similar features available at a lower price point.

If you're looking to upgrade your fitness tracker, you're probably thinking about a Garmin watch, among others. I'd say it's a good choice, as an avid wearer and fan of the brand for a few years now.

Those who prefer going to the gym, walking, cycling, and running across light trails outside the city or through the streets will find that a Garmin Forerunner or Venu is the best option. The Garmin Forerunner collection is made for runners, while the Venu is a brilliant lifestyle range for all activities.

But how do you choose between the two? I chose to compare the Garmin Venu 3 (the second-newest of the collection) and the Garmin Forerunner 265. They are two of the best Garmin watches at a similar price tag.

The Garmin Venu collection is sleek in design with advanced wellness tracking capabilities, making the Venu 3 a great choice for anyone who enjoys multiple activities, from running to Pilates. The Forerunner range is designed for runners of all kinds, but the 265 is advanced, featuring the same excellent GPS and advanced tracking features that help you reach your next race at full speed. Here's how to decide which Garmin is right for you...

Garmin Venu vs Forerunner

Specifications

Garmin Venu vs Garmin Forerunner: Design

When it comes to design, both the Garmin Venu 3 and Forerunner 265 are comfortable and lightweight with bright AMOLED touch screens and manual buttons on the side for easy navigation. In 2026, you can also buy the Garmin Venu 4 as an upgrade to the 3. It's one of the best fitness trackers, so I'd recommend it if you have the budget to do so.

I was initially surprised when I took the Forerunner out for the first time. It felt surprisingly light on my wrist, given the almost 40g weight (without the silicone strap), and as I opted for the smaller 41mm version that's just 1.1" across on the display, it was suitable for smaller wrists like mine. I did find that some of the navigation on screen was a little cramped, but the 46mm felt too big on the wrist, so the smaller version was a good compromise for me.

The Garmin Venu 3 comes in two sizes as well. The 45mm size has a display larger than the Forerunner at 1.4″ in diameter, but the smaller version of the Venu 3 is basically the same size at 1.2". So really, there's no difference in size between the two if you want a smaller device.

However, the Garmin Venu 3 wins on the design front for me. It feels a lot more effortlessly stylish with its stainless steel (rather than plastic) bezel around the screen and leather strap option. Overall, the Forerunner 265 has a more rugged design that may put you off wearing it casually if you don't want everyone to know you're wearing a fitness tracker.

Winner: Garmin Venu 3

Activity tracking on Garmin Venu vs Forerunner

Garmin devices excel at activity tracking - and the Venu 3 and Forerunner 265 are no exception. The devices track the usual metrics on the watch face, from steps and heart rate to recovery time, and you can see even more data in the app, including sleep score, stress level, HRV status, and calories burned.

There are over 30 built-in activity profiles on both these watches for GPS outdoor and indoor activities, often with multiple options for one sport. e.g. trail running and treadmill running along with a standard outdoor run mode. This is what makes the Garmin models stand out among other fitness trackers like the best Fitbits.

The Venu 3 and the Foreunner 265 have Garmin Coach, which I've found very useful in the past to help train for half-marathon runs, and it has useful on-screen animated tutorials for exercises in activities like Pilates, yoga, and strength training. These can help you perfect your form and offer guidance for future workouts.

However, that's about where the similarities end. The Forerunner 265 is a more advanced fitness tracker than the Venu 3. It features multi-band GPS, which is essential for anyone walking, running, or cycling in dense woodland or built-up cities, as it's more accurate. It also has a barometric altimeter, which measures elevation, and Training Readiness and Training Load insights to help optimise your recovery between runs. The Venu 3 lacks these (although the Venu 4, which is £100 more than the Forerunner 265, does not).

Winner: Forerunner 265

Sleep tracking on the Garmin Venu 3 vs Forerunner 165

My favourite part of testing any health tracker is diving into the sleep data, and both Garmin devices really delivered. By providing detailed insights into sleep duration, sleep stages, sleep needs and more, I could better understand how my body was recovering each night and where there was room for improvement.

For similar reasons, I love the Oura Ring, so it's worth weighing up the Oura Ring vs Garmin if sleep tracking is a priority for you.

The Sleep Coach feature on both devices uses sleep data from the night before to predict how much sleep you’ll need the following evening. It often reminded me that my personal sleep need is around eight hours. I already knew this, but as I find myself hitting about six hours a night and feeling the brunt of it throughout the day, it was a good nudge to carve out an earlier nighttime routine.

I’ve always been a fan of the mindful breathing exercises available on Garmin devices with the on-screen guidance to unwind, de-stress and prepare the body and mind for rest. I did these at my desk when I was feeling particularly stressed, and at night to help me relax.

Winner: Either device. They both have the same features.

Health tracking on the Garmin Venu vs Forerunner

The best fitness trackers do more than just track activity and sleep - they also offer health insights. Take the V02 Max, for example. It calculates oxygen consumption by managing your performance, providing insights into your current fitness level and indicating how to meet your health goals. This can be particularly helpful if you are at the start of your fitness journey and want motivation to help you track your progress and reach your goals.

In this switched-on world, the stress tracking feature available on the Venu 3S and Forerunner 265 could be a game-changer for your health. It provides excellent insights into how you manage stress throughout your day and is a reminder that you might need to reset your nervous system with mindful breathing techniques.

The Venu 3 is a little more advanced in health tracking via advanced sensors, though. For example, this watch has an ECG - a sensor that measures the heart's electrical activity, helping to pick up signs of atrial fibrillation. It's not a diagnostic tool, but it could be handy for those worried about heart problems, and the Forerunner 265 is missing this sensor.

Winner: Venu 3 - but only just

Smartwatch features on the Venu vs Forerunner

Just as today’s fitness trackers provide plenty of helpful health insights, they also act as smartwatches. You can receive text messages and other notifications straight to the watch face with both devices, though I actually have mine turned off. I like to keep my phone activity to a minimum and find constant pings distracting.

Having the ability to make contactless payments comes in very handy for those post-gym coffees, and you can use Garmin Pay via your wrist anywhere that accepts it. Naturally, Apple Pay is used much more widely, so if you're still thinking about which fitness tracker to buy, it's also worth weighing up the Garmin vs Apple Watch before deciding on one.

The benefit of the Garmin Forerunner 265 vs the Forerunner 165, another good choice in the Forerunner range and cheaper, is that this one comes with built-in music playback on all models. You can plug in your exercise headphones after connecting them to your watch and leave your phone at home during your run. You'll be able to connect to Spotify, Amazon Music, and Deezer with a tap of a button. The Venu 3 has the same function.

Winner: Either - both are very similar

How much does the Garmin Venu cost versus the Forerunner?

In May 2026, I spotted the Garmin Venu 3 on sale for between £315 and £379.99. It's about the same as the Forerunner 265, which I've seen for between £320 and £369.99, depending on the model and retailer you choose to buy from.

At the moment, there isn't a substantial price difference between the two, as they are both older models now. However, it's always worth checking the Garmin sale when there's a big shopping weekend around the corner as the watches tend to be even more discounted at this time.

Garmin Venu vs Forerunner: Which one should I buy?

All in all, if you're a runner, then I'd recommend opting for the Forerunner 265. It offers significantly more for those who prioritise this sport and want to get fitter by pounding the pavements or the treadmill in their trainers. For anyone else, I'd recommend the Garmin Venu 3.

As the price has dropped on most retailers with the newer Venu 4 now released, it's still a premium buy, but it has become slightly more affordable. It has advanced workout profiles, detailed health tracking sensors, and is packaged up in a sleek, discreet design that doesn't look out of place in the gym or at a restaurant.

Overall winner: Garmin Venu 3 - unless you're a runner

If you're looking for a new fitness tracker and have decided on Garmin, you may be asking which one you should buy. Given that there are over 70 options live on the website right now, we don't blame you for wondering where to begin.

Garmin devices sit among the best fitness trackers and are specifically designed for those who regularly exercise and want to record their workouts, monitor recovery, and improve their overall health. What makes them different from other devices are the features that help along the way though - from superior GPS navigation for runners and hikers to on-screen, follow-along workouts for the gym.

It's rare to find fitness trackers that wrap so many brilliant features into one wrist-sized device. However, there are a few ranges and different watches to choose from. As woman&home's digital health editor, I've been testing and wearing this brand for years - my favourite being the Garmin Forerunner 945, which I bought in the Garmin sale a couple of years ago and still wear every day. Here, I reveal which Garmin is likely to fit you best based on lifestyle and exercise habits.

Top 3 picks

Which Garmin should I buy?

The best Garmin for most people

Excellent fitness tracking sensors, advanced health monitoring and must-have smartwatch features wrapped up in a smooth design for less than an Apple Watch? It must be the Garmin Vivoactive 5, with over 40 workout modes from running to pickleball, advanced sleep and stress tracking, and on-wrist call and text notifications. If I had to choose just one device that could work for most people, it would be this one.

Start a workout in just a few taps and get all your 'must-have' information displayed on a full-colour AMOLED screen. Take walking, for instance - start a walking workout and you'll see your distance, pace, duration, and your heart rate zone on your wrist. When your workout is finished, you'll see the session logged in the Garmin app (which is the same across all devices) and be able to view more detailed insights, including the route you took.

This watch offers the same sleep insights as most other devices from Garmin, with sleep quality and duration recorded and an overall Sleep Score (a rating out of 100) provided, so long as you wear the watch to bed. It can even detect any naps you take - one of few devices with this feature - and add them to your sleep profile for a complete overview of your recovery efforts.

The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is more than a fitness tracker though. With this watch, you can pay with one tap of Garmin Pay, control your music with phone-free access, and view photos, bridging the gap between tracker and smartwatch just as seamlessly as the newest Apple Watch. Plus, the Vivoactive 5 is smaller than many others from the brand (screen size: 30.4 mm), comes in four colour options off the shelf (you can customise all Garmin devices to some degree), and lacks the classic 'rugged' design seen on models of the Forerunner and Fenix, so it's more suitable for daily wear. It also offers 11 days of battery life in smartwatch mode between charges, so provided you're only doing a couple of workouts a week, you could go for almost a fortnight between charges.

However, the device is missing a barometric altimeter. This is a floor counter essentially, so this device won't be able to count how many 'flights' of stairs you climb every day and may lack some accuracy when it comes to tracking undulating terrains on a run or bike ride. Unlike the Vivoactive 4 - the previous model - it also doesn't offer workout animations for the gym, yoga, Pilates, HIIT, and so on (go the Garmin Venu 3 for that feature) and the hardware is made from aluminium rather than stainless steel, so it may lack the same durability as other devices.

Yet, while it's not the top choice for hikers or cycling obsessives (though you can connect this watch to a power sensor and other indoor cycling kit), this is the watch that'll work for most people. It has all the essentials for tracking workouts and recovery, helping to improve your health without any faff. Our tester Ciara McGinley, who reviewed the watch, said: "I can't fault this device for accurate stats and useful insights into my workouts, daily life, and sleep. It's also so easy to use, which is a big plus."

The best Garmin for runners

If you're a keen runner, you may already be familiar with the Forerunner range - of the lot, it's the one that's best suited for regular runners - whether that's indoor track running, running on the treadmill, or city jogs. The Garmin Forerunner 265 is widely considered to be the 'catch-all' of the range, offering advanced insights into running and cycling workouts, with on-wrist programmes to follow, advanced health sensors, and sleep and stress tracking.

There are over 30 workout modes to choose from - with seven just for running and eight if you include Triathlon. Complementing these, there are individual HIIT, strength, yoga, and Pilates modes to choose from with workouts available to download to your watch and follow in real-time. The watch also uses your VO2 max and your previous running data to predict your time in a 5km, giving you a simple idea of how your fitness is progressing - the faster the time, the fitter you are.

Unlike the Vivoactive 5, the Forerunner 265 has a barometric altimeter - which means it can record how many 'flights' you're doing. When you're running, this means the watch can detect when you're going up a hill and recognise you'll be putting in a harder effort while doing so.

As standard across all Garmin types, you'll be able to record your sleep duration and quality, as well as stress scores, to give you an overview of your recovery. Together, your efforts and recovery come together to create a Body Battery score. This is a score that can offer a good indication of what your body needs on any given day - more sleep, more rest, gentle workouts, or full-on efforts - and is included in the Morning Report, which sits on the screen of your watch at the start of every day.

The AMOLED display is excellent, offering a complete view of the watch face even in bright sunshine, and dual touchscreen and manual navigation offer easy access no matter how you're moving.

The Forerunner 265 also comes with plenty of useful smartwatch features that complement your workouts, enough to rival the Venu 3. All versions of the 265 offer music storage and playback directly via your headphones - no need to buy a special model for this or take your phone with you. Training Readiness is also included on the 265 - a feature which takes into account your stats to advise on the best type of exercise to do that day.

My only gripe with the 265 is that there is no feature for on-board maps. For the £399 price tag, that's to be expected but it's still an investment, so if the 265 isn't quite in your budget, you'll find similar features on the Garmin Forerunner 165 for just over £230. For on-screen maps, you'll have to go up the levels to the Forerunner 965, which is currently on sale for £539 at Amazon. This means you can't get turn-by-turn navigation on-wrist for your runs, so you'll need to do this on your phone or know where you're going.

The best Garmin for gym workouts

The Garmin Venu 3 could have easily made our top pick. The Vivoactive 5's excellent features for a lower price tag won us over in the end but this excellent device comes in a very close second and is the closest you'll get to an advanced smartwatch with lifestyle tools and superb fitness tracking.

For gym-goers, this is the best Garmin in my view. It has over 40 workout modes, with different options for types of strength training and options for indoor, machine-based workouts like treadmill running and cycling on a stationary bike. What impresses me (and our tester for this watch, Ciara McGinley) the most about the Garmin Venu 3, however, is the on-screen workouts. Covering key fitness areas such as strength, HIIT, yoga and stretching, choose one from the Garmin app and send it to your device to follow along with at the gym. It replaces the need for popular workout apps at no extra cost and offers fitness newcomers a little more confidence and structure to their sessions.

You can also create your workout within the app, choosing from over 1,600 exercises. Send it to your device to follow along with, recording sets and reps as you go on your wrist.

Going hand-in-hand with these excellent fitness features are the Garmin Venu 3's smartwatch capabilities, which can be useful for distraction-free workouts at the gym. "The Garmin Venu 3 comes with all the bells and whistles. On your wrist, you can see notifications, reply to texts, and even take phone calls [with a connection to Android devices]. It also has Spotify connectivity so you can control your music without touching your phone. If you're considering another advanced smartwatch with fitness-tracking features, like the Apple Watch Series 9, then it's certainly worth weighing this one up too."

However, some smartwatch features are only available on Android phones - such as sending texts from the watch - so if you have an iPhone, this is worth bearing in mind in the toss-up between Garmin vs Apple Watch.

The best Garmin for hiking

If you regularly go off the beaten track when walking as a workout, the Instinct 2 could be the Garmin for you with the two stand-out features being the superior GPS - needed if you find yourself in dense forests or built-up cities and accurate within just a few meters, which is more than what many devices can promise - and battery life - up to 28 days in smartwatch mode and up to 70 hours in constant Max Battery GPS mode. That's way more battery than any other fitness tracker I've seen.

Much like any other Garmin device, the Instinct 2 has multiple workout modes, allowing for specific statistics to be measured during your workout (like pace for running or speed for cycling). You can track your sleep with light, deep, and REM sleep stages available to view on your wrist, monitor your menstrual cycle and see predictions for your next period on your wrist, and even view your fitness age at a glance. It's safe to say, this watch covers the basics and more.

Where it differs from others on this list is the maps feature. The Instinct 2 Solar watch allows you to upload maps from the Garmin Connect app so you can track your location, find your way back to the start of the route, and get a turn-by-turn navigation. It's relatively simple and lacks detail compared to other Garmin devices but given the price difference between the Instinct 2 Solar and watches that offer full-colour maps, like the Garmin Fenix 7 (£519.99), I'd say that's not too bad.

While the rugged design may not be for everyone, you do have a choice of sizes with the Garmin Instinct 2 so you can size down or size up your device based on your preferences for appearance and readability. Equally, if you're looking to avoid constantly checking in on your device, this could be a good choice since the display is about as neutral as they come with grey and black pixels - and though the watch does receive smartphone notifications, that's about it where smartwatch features are concerned.

The best budget-friendly Garmin

For those new to fitness trackers, the Garmin Forerunner 55 is a great choice - and under £180 at full RRP. Designed to be easy to use (though lacking a touchscreen) with five buttons to navigate the watch on the move, all clearly labelled to avoid confusion in the early days of use.

It's an excellent Garmin for those looking to do more exercise and take their fitness more seriously. For example, one feature new to this watch on release is training suggestions - these appear before you start a workout and are based on your activity history. They advise interval training, an easy run, or a speed session for your workout, for example. You can choose to take the advice or dismiss the notification and exercise as you like, of course.

For a watch with a lower price tag than many other Forerunner devices, I was impressed to see many advanced features - including built-in GPS (so you can leave your phone at home to track your route), daily workout suggestions, cadence alerts, race predictor widget (that tells you your predicted time for a 5km run), and post-exercise recovery advice, alongside other regular workout modes.

In the sale, I saw the Garmin Forerunner 55 for the same price as the Fitbit Charge 6 (another excellent tracker with fewer features). However, it is missing several features that are worth bearing in mind. The one that I immediately noticed was the lack of sleep widget on the device - you'll have to look at all your sleep data in the app. Music playback also isn't possible without a phone connection. This means you'll be able to control the music through your watch but you'll need to take your phone with you on the move.

The best Garmin smartwatch

With its stylish design, choice of several colourways, and a discreet but brightly-lit face, the Garmin Lily 2 is the device for you if you want a fitness tracker with smartwatch features that looks and acts like a regular timepiece.

With the Lily 2, you can record up to 15 workouts and track your sleep at various light, deep, and REM stages with additional insights into your heart rate, stress levels, Pulse Ox2, and breathing throughout the night. Advance sleep insights I'd expect to see as much on the advanced Oura Ring as this fitness tracker, so if sleep insights are important to you, it's worth weighing up Oura Ring vs Garmin Before making a decision.

You can see your Body Battery on your wrist and get a Morning Report at the start of every day, highlighting your key need-to-knows - such as sleep score, upcoming appointments, and weather. Also, it's possible to receive text and call notifications on your wrist when the device is paired with your phone.

This Garmin watch wouldn't look out of place with a regular daily outfit - you'd have to look pretty hard to see that it was a smartwatch at all. However, as a compromise, it is missing a couple of key features which may call the device's almost-£300 price tag into question. For me, the main ones are a lack of in-built GPS (so you'll need to bring your phone with you on outdoor workouts and the data is unlikely to be as accurate) and limited workout modes, with half the amount of the Garmin Forerunner 55, instance, but with the essential running, cycling, and gym workouts all still there. Given the smaller screen size, reading notifications and navigating through the menus on the Lily 2 is a little harder than it would be on other devices too.

The lack of advanced data and features makes it a good option for those just starting out with fitness and tracking their workouts too as it cuts it back to the necessities. Also, if features like built-in GPS aren't important to you (because you don't run outdoors, for example), they shouldn't put you off. The answer to the question of 'which Garmin should I buy?' ultimately comes down to personal preference - you won't miss these features if you don't plan on using them anyway.

The best Garmin for tracking your step count

Still wondering 'which Garmin should I buy'? If getting steps in is your priority, the Garmin Vivofit 4 could be the best option. It's a stripped-back tracker that truly goes back to basics, prioritising step count and walking above all else, with some basic sleep tracking and smartwatch features.

For those new to exercise, this is no bad thing. Walking has been shown to improve cardiovascular fitness, help maintain muscle mass, and enhance emotional wellbeing by boosting your mood. It's an excellent way to get on the path to improving overall health and wellbeing. Even though I work out multiple times a week, I still consider my step count to be one of the most important indicators of how much movement I'm getting in and whether I need to do more exercise on any given day.

With the Garmin Vivofit 4, you'll see your step count, distance, and predicted calorie burn on your wrist for walking, running, cycling, and swimming activities. The goal is to hit 10,00 steps and then the watch offers a personalised daily step goal to help you make progress over time. There are no workout profiles to enable - the watch automatically recognises which one you're doing, sending the session to your Garmin app when you're done. Simple.

You can also track how many hours you spend asleep - but there aren't any insights into your sleep stages or a sleep score. So naturally, if you're looking to gain detailed insight into your fitness across a range of activities and want to prioritise more than just your step count, I'd recommend any of the other devices on this list instead - with the Vivoactive 5 coming up top.

What are the different types of Garmin watches?

Forerunner

• Best for: Runners and cyclists, discreet design, bright displays

The Forerunner range from Garmin is designed for runners of all levels as well as cyclists and triathletes. While anyone can use one of these watches and find some benefit, the superior GPS, on-wrist workouts, and multiple sub-genre modes across running, cycling, and swimming workouts make them especially suitable for those looking to improve their fitness through these sports.

On some, the watch face will prioritise running insights so you can see how many kilometres or miles you've run that week at a glance. Widgets such as Body Battery (which takes into account your strain vs recovery to give you a score for the day, which aims to advise you on what your body needs), Training Status (the impact your workouts are having on your fitness from Detraining to Peaking), and Intensity Minutes (the amount of time spent in moderate or vigorous activity measured in 60-second periods) are also available to view at the touch of a button.

The Forerunner design tends to be sleek and lightweight with multiple colourways in each model to suit your style and preference. There's no getting away from the fact that these watches are fitness trackers but they aren't as bump-proof and rugged in design as the Instinct or Fenix.

Vivoactive

• Best for: Daily workouts, sleep tracking

The Vivoactive range - of which the Garmin Vivoactive 5 is the latest - will keep you moving, prioritising daily exercise, step count, and sleep metrics over specific sports activity stats as the Forerunner range does. There are over 30 workout modes, including indoor track running, open water swimming, and stand-up paddleboarding, among more common activities like HIIT, running, cycling, yoga, and more.

Where recovery is concerned, users can log their rate of perceived exertion post-exercise to monitor their fitness efforts, work out their fitness age, and create personalised workouts on the app to follow along with on the watch. It's a great choice for all-rounders and those who like to exercise in various ways over the week.

Nap detection - alongside sleep score, sleep stages and duration puts it a step above the other ranges for sleep tracking and it's one of the only Garmin devices to offer Wheelchair Mode, which tracks pushes, offers weight shift alerts, and recommends individual workouts for wheelchair users.

Venu

• Best for: Gym workouts, advanced features, strength training

The Venu and the Vivoactive range are very similar in many ways - but the Venu is more advanced, offering users a more premium experience and design with more smartwatch features in exchange for a higher price tag.

Fitness tracking is all about prioritising regular exercise and good recovery instead of focusing on sport-specific insights with the Venu range offering a great range of workout modes - everything from Padel to yoga. The full-colour animations accompanying the on-screen workout programmes set this range apart from others by the brand, offering users a complete demonstration of each exercise and giving a helping hand to those working out. However, not all have this feature - it's missing on the Venu Sq 2, for example.

Design-wise, you'll notice an elevated look with a stainless bezel on the most recent Venu 3 and a bright AMOLED screen, visible in any kind of light and at any time of day. These devices are also all touchscreen and manual navigation-enabled, so you have a choice when you're on the move, and there are multiple sizes to choose from.

Instinct

• Best for: Hiking, distraction-free workouts, battery life

The Instinct range from Garmin has the double benefit of being the best watch to buy for accurate, super-detailed GPS and long battery life and the one to buy for distraction-free workouts as the display on these watches is not AMOLED and uses minimal colour.

Designed for hikers, trail runners, cyclists, and exercise enthusiasts with a penchant for getting out in the wilderness, the Instinct is an advanced watch with a rugged design built to withstand the bumps that come with these sports. Reflecting its purpose for outdoor use, you can buy the watch in multiple versions: Camouflage, Surf, Tactical, Dezl, and standard, each other built for a different outdoor pursuit.

This certainly isn't the best Garmin for those who prefer city running, walking, and gym workouts. That'll be the Forerunner or Vivoactive range. But if you've started surfing recently or love hiking, this will be the top choice.

Fenix

• Best for: Surfers, skiers, mountain bikers, hikers, long-distance running.

If you don't regularly go surfing, mountain biking, skiing, or long-distance running, then the Fenix range isn't for you. But if you do - and you've got a budget to play with - then it could be the best option.

Along with all the standard fitness tracking stats (from step count to distance and calories burned) and plenty of workout modes, this range has specialist features to enhance your understanding and performance in sports like mountain biking, ultra-distance running, surfing, and skiing, with tools designed to improve your endurance and stamina specifically.

Many keen runners also prefer the Fenix range to the Forerunner range as the design is a little more premium with the watches built in a fibre-reinforced plastic casing with a stainless steel bezel casing rather than aluminium and more advanced insights for hill training and pace monitoring.

Get to know Garmin: FAQs

Are Garmin watches waterproof?

Yes, all Garmin watches have a waterproof rating of 5ATM or more. This means they can withstand water pressure equivalent to 50 meters and are suitable for basic water activities like showering, swimming, and recreational snorkelling.

Unless otherwise stated, these watches aren't suitable for continued submersion over multiple hours or swimming deeper underwater in activities like diving.

Does Garmin work with iPhone?

Yes, all Garmin devices are compatible with iPhone and Android models. This means they can connect to Bluetooth without an issue and it's free to download the Garmin Connect app, which you need to use the device most successfully.

However, some smartwatch features are only available with Android devices. For example, on the Vivoactive 5, you can only send text messages via your watch if connected to an Android phone. That's where the Apple Watch has the advantage over Garmin.

Does Garmin track sleep?

All Garmin devices can track sleep duration and most will record the sleep stages (light, deep, and REM sleep) and offer a Sleep Score at the end of the night from a rating of 100 - perfect if you want to learn how to sleep better.

As well as recording when you fell asleep and woke up in the morning, Garmin watches will record how long you were awake during the night and how long you spent in each of the three sleep stages.

Many advanced Garmin watches, such as the Lily 2, also record other data relating to sleep - such as respiration rate and blood oxygen saturation (Pulse Ox) levels through the night - which can tell you even more about your sleep quality.

However, no data on any Garmin device is designed to be a diagnostic tool. If you notice issues with your sleep data and have concerns, speak to your doctor.

Do Garmin watches go on sale?

Yes, Garmin watches are on sale throughout the year direct from the retailer and via third-party sites like Amazon, Argos, and John Lewis. I've noticed deals around Amazon Prime Day and Big Deal Day, happening on October 8 and 9 2024.

Before buying a Garmin in the sale, consider what you need to know before buying a fitness tracker, compare products from the brand (for example, a heart rate monitor like the Garmin HRM-Fit could be the better choice for you), and weigh up competitors. For example, compare Fitbit vs Garmin as these two brands have similarities across some devices.

The Garmin Vivoactive 5 might not be the brand's newest fitness tracker - but it's the one we can't stop talking about. With a versatile set-up, sleek design, and seamless lifestyle features, it's the perfect all-rounder for those who want a little bit of everything.

Whether you’re new to the world of fitness wearables or looking to upgrade to one of the best fitness trackers or find your best Garmin watch, it’s worth checking out Garmin’s Vivoactive 5. The sleek and lightweight fitness tracker was created to help you get to know the real you, providing insights into your health, fitness and sleep so you can set goals and track your progress at the touch of a screen. 

I’ve tried many fitness trackers and smartwatches over the years, from Garmin wearables to rings for fitness tracking, so I was excited to put the Vivoactive 5 to the test to see how it weighed up to some of the more expensive devices on the market. 

Garmin Vivoactive 5 review

Specifications

• RRP: £259
• Size: 42.2 x 42.2 x 11.1 mm
• Weight: 26g
• Material: Silicone & Anodised aluminium
• In-built GPS: Yes
• Battery life: up to 11 days
• Waterproof: up to 50m

Garmin Vivoactive 5: An overview

The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is an upgrade to the Vivoactive 4 and was released in September last year. This new edition is smaller than the last, creating a more streamlined look on the wrist. It has a brighter display, a longer battery life, upgrade heart sensors, advanced health tracking abilities for sleep and stress, and 30+ sports modes. Perhaps a better way to put it would be - what doesn't this watch have?

What’s more, compared to other Garmin devices such as the Garmin Venu 3 and devices from the Forerunner range, it comes at a more budget-friendly price with an RRP of £259.99 - and perhaps even cheaper if you can find a Garmin sale.

I tested the Garmin Vivoactive 5 for two weeks across multiple workouts, nights of sleep, and daily life. 

Design of the Garmin Vivoactive 5

Comfortable and lightweight, the Vivoactive 5 has had a design update. It features a new silicone strap and it’s smaller than its predecessor, with a 42mm round watch face and a brighter screen. Unlike some of Garmin’s other models made from stainless steel, the Vivoactive 5 watch is made from aluminium, making it lighter - a positive for daily life. This may mean it's not as durable as other devices but it does feature the same sturdy and scratch-resistant glass as other watches, so my hopes are high.

I’ve always found Garmin watches easy to use, even for those who don’t consider themselves tech-savvy. It could be easier to swipe or click through the on-screen features and access your stats with the touch-screen interface and two buttons on the side of the device. These come as standard across most Garmin watches and I like the dual navigation as it gives you options for when you're on the move.

However, there aren't as many colourways for the Vivoactive 5 as for other Garmin watches. I opted for the navy tracker for testing, which was a nice change from my usual go-to black watches. You can also pick up the Garmin Vivoactive 5 in black, lilac or white. If colour and design are particularly important to you, it's worth checking out the Apple Watch Series 9 or the Fitbit Versa 4, as these come with more options. 

Fitness tracking with the Garmin Vivoactive 5

When it comes to fitness tracking, Garmin devices are top of the range - and the Vivoactive 5 is no exception. I’m always impressed with Garmin’s ability to accurately track my activity and daily movement, from my humble attempts at playing tennis to my indoor rowing workouts, yoga sessions and evening walks. After my indoor rowing workout, I compared the Garmin stats with those on my rowing machine and was pleasantly surprised to see they were almost identical. Big points for accuracy! 

Thanks to the update to the Vivoactive 5 model, similar to the latest Venu 3, there are now 30+ preloaded workout modes on the watch. This meant I could easily find my activity and start my workout at the touch of a button. For wheelchair users, the Vivoactive 5 can track daily pushes and offer built-in workouts designed for you, which is a new feature. 

Once you start a workout, you'll be able to see all your vital stats on your watch screen. For example, if you're going out on a run, you'll be able to see your distance, pace, heart rate zone, and a timer for how long you've been out. Start a strength training workout and the watch can count your reps - although, you will have to tap your wrist to start a new set.

When the workout is done, you'll find all the detailed insights you need in the free Garmin Connect app. Unlike many fitness trackers, such as the Oura Ring and Whoop 2.0, you don't need an additional subscription to use the Garmin app and get insights, which is always positive. This is standard across all Garmin devices though, so the Vivoactive 5 isn't doing anything new in this way.

Where the Garmin Vivoactive 5 differs from other Garmin devices is some of the sensors. The device is missing a barometric altimeter - which is essentially a flight counter - so the Vivoactive 5 doesn't count how many 'flights' of stairs you do every day. It's unclear why the brand has removed this feature, especially as it's promoted as a general fitness smartwatch rather than a specific sports watch where this metric wouldn't be so useful.

If you’re a keen runner and detailed running stats are important to you, it may be worth looking at one of Garmin’s Forerunner devices instead. While the Vivoactive 5 has accurate GPS data and tracking features for indoor and outdoor runs, it doesn’t offer the same detailed information that other Garmin devices in the Forerunner range do - for example, vertical oscillation and stride length. If you're just a regular runner or looking to run more, I don't think this should put you off as these aren't essential data points. 

In general, if your goal is to increase your daily activity and monitor your workouts, then the Vivoactive 5 is a great place to start. Set daily step goals, join activity challenges or use the Garmin Coach feature to help you on your journey to a 5k, 10k or half marathon.

Sleep tracking with the Garmin Vivoactive 5

I’m always intrigued to learn more about my sleep, how to sleep better, and how to recover better post-workout, so accurate and detailed sleep analysis is a key feature I look for in any smartwatch or fitness tracker I review.

I’ve previously raved about the sleep-tracking abilities of the Garmin Venu 3, impressed that it weighed up against my beloved Oura Ring - and I have to say the Vivoactive 5 is equally impressive. 

It tracks the usual metrics including sleep duration, resting heart rate, breathing rate, and sleep stages to give you an overall sleep score. My favourite feature, however, is the Sleep Coach which offers an insight into how much sleep I may need each night and if I need to add any additional Zzz’s for my baseline to recover. 

The effective guided meditations and breathwork practices on the watch face can help you to relax at night and fall asleep easier and the insights provided by the Sleep Coach can tell you if you’re meeting your sleep needs based on your activity and recovery. In the future, I’d love to see Garmin add more sleep support in the app with more resources for better sleep, such as explanations of sleep stages and their importance, and sleep hygiene tips.  

Health tracking with the Garmin Vivoactive 5

Like most other smartwatches and fitness trackers available today, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 tracks more than just activity, workouts and sleep. It also comes with impressive health monitoring sensors that can help give you a greater picture of your overall health and track your progress as you work towards your goals. 

With enhanced health tracking abilities, the Vivoactive 5 can accurately monitor everything from HRV status to respiration rate, blood oxygen saturation, and even your menstrual cycle. I love the Fitness Age feature, which estimates how fit you are compared to your actual age and offers recommendations on how to use this metric to improve your overall health and reach your target age with activity suggestions. 

Similar to other fitness trackers, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 has a readiness score called the Body Battery which monitors your energy levels throughout the day. The Vivoactive 5 uses HRV to monitor your stress levels too, giving you an insight into how much time you spend in a stressed state. I found the on-watch guided meditation and breathwork tracks really helpful. It made it easier than ever to take a few minutes to relax at my desk during busy work days. You can also set Relax Reminders that will alert you when your stress is high and encourage you to take a moment to yourself. 

Is the Garmin Vivoactive 5 worth buying?

Like any fitness tracker, it depends on what you’re looking for. The Garmin Vivoactive 5 is a great entry-level watch for those new to fitness tracking and dedicated to learning more about their overall physical health with a view to working towards certain fitness goals. I can't fault this device for accurate stats and useful insights into my workouts, daily life, and sleep. It's also so easy to use, which is a big plus.

Though there have been updates to both the design and technology, if you already own the Vivoactive 4 and are happy with how it supports you on your journey to a healthier you, it may not be worth the upgrade as the two devices are fairly similar. 

While the Vivoactive 5 is cheaper than the Venu 3 or the Forerunner range, for example, it’s still an investment with an RRP of £259.99 and comes out about the same as one of the newest Apple Watches. If the money's in your budget then I believe it's worth the investment - but if not, other similar options are available. For example, I can also recommend weighing up Garmin vs Fitbit with the Fitbit Charge 6. This device has many of the same features as the Garmin Vivoactive 5 and retails at under £150. 

FAQs

Is the Garmin Vivoactive 5 waterproof?

No, the Garmin Vivoactive 5 is not considered completely "waterproof" but it can withstand pressure up to 50m. This makes it fine to wear through water-adjacent activities where you might get splashed - like paddle boarding or kayaking - as well as while swimming, diving into the water, casual snorkeling, and in the shower.

Unless you're diving underwater or scuba diving, you should be fine to take your Garmin Vivoactive 5 along with you. However, read the instructions just to be sure. 

Garmin Vivoactive 5 vs Venu 3

I've mentioned the Garmin Venu 3 a few times in my review. As one of the newest Garmin watches that's designed as a general fitness tracker like the Vivoactive 5, it's a worthy comparison. However, the first point worth noting is that the Venu 3 is significantly more expensive than the Vivoactive - almost £200 more (£449 vs £259.99 ) so it's worth considering this before anything else.

Secondly, the Venu 3 is made from steel rather than the aluminium material of the Vivoactive 5. In testing both, I didn't notice too much of a difference in daily life but the steel is more scratch-resistant than the aluminium and will be able to bear the brunt of more physical activity. So if you're a trail runner, hiker, or cyclist and tend to bang your watch around a bit, the Venu 3 may be a better option. 

Equally, if you are a cyclist, you may be better off with the Garmin Venu 3 as the Vivoactive 5 lacks some connectivity features. For example, the Vivoactive 5 can't connect to indoor cycling trainers for programs like Zwift, power meters, cadence, or speed sensors. 

While there are differences in battery life between the two - with the Venu 3 (45mm) lasting for 14 days and the Vivoactive 5 lasting for 11 days - the last big difference is in the lifestyle features. The Venu 3 has a speaker and a microphone so you can receive and make calls on your wrist provided you have a Bluetooth connection to your phone. You can also play music out loud through your watch, should you want to. The Vivoactive 5 only allows you to stream music through your headphones.

Winner: Vivoactive 5. Though it may lack some of the Venu 3's features and hardware qualities, the Vivoactive 5 contains all the essentials of the Venu 3 at more than half the price. Unless you're a super keen cyclist, I reckon the Vivoactive 5 will be just perfect.

Garmin Forerunner vs Garmin Vivoactive: Which one should I buy?

Comparing the Forerunner to the Vivoactive range is a little different as these two watches have quite different purposes. For one, the Forerunner range is specifically designed for running. That means it's set up to help those of "all levels and abilities" to run so these watches prioritise runner-friendly metrics over general health and fitness tracking ones. For example, on the home screen, you'll be able to see how many kilometres (or miles, that's down to your preference) you've run so far that week.

The Forerunner range does, however, come with a barometric altimeter so you can count the number of 'flights' you climb in a day. While I wouldn't say this is a big game changer (unless that's the metric by which you're tracking your fitness), it's something to consider. 

In many other ways, it's very similar to the Garmin Vivoactive range - including in the design. Taking the Forerunner 165 as an example, both devices have brightly lit screens with touchscreen interfaces and three buttons down the side for navigation, though the Forerunner is set into polymer rather than aluminium.

The Garmin Forerunner 165 is the newest release in the fitness brand's running-focused range, designed for the newcomer or those who want a simple fitness tracker. It's simple to use, easy to view essential statistics, and suitable for so much more than running with advanced sleep metrics and stress scores available too.

With persistent heat waves this summer and no sign of the warmer nights coming to an end, it makes sense that many of us are thinking about how we can keep running this autumn by investing in one of the best Garmin watch, one of the best fitness trackers.

Whether you have a goal in mind this year with your fitness or just want to get to know yourself better with insights into your workouts, sleep, and stress scores, if you're wondering 'which Garmin should I buy', we have you covered. The Garmin Forerunner 165 could be your next must-have fitness accessory - it's even in the Garmin sale at the time of writing. As woman&home's digital health editor, I took the watch for a 2-week spin - here's what I learnt along the way.

Garmin Forerunner 165 review

Garmin Forerunner 165: An overview

The Garmin Forerunner 165 covers the basics of fitness tracking with a running-focused approach. With a bright AMOLED screen, long battery life, and simple-to-use display, and over 25 workout modes, it's a great watch for daily workouts, tracking fitness essentials like steps and floors climbed, and monitoring your sleep habits.

This watch is a paired-back version of the previous Forerunner 265 model, and in my view, almost just as good at half the price. Having tried and tested the 265, along with other advanced models in the Forerunner collection, I can safely say this watch packs in the essentials of premium Garmin watches at a more reasonable price point.

Garmin's Forerunner 165 comes in just one size (43mm case,1.2inch screen), fitting nicely on my wrist with plenty of space to view the stats - without feeling too bulky. It works via touch screen and five buttons around the outside, a combination that I found useful when running outdoors as it was easy to navigate to music controls and start/stop my workout. However, I did accidentally touch the screen a couple of times, navigating away from the screen I needed on my watch. I've had the same problems with even some of the best Fitbits since these are also touchscreen, so it's not an issue exclusive to this watch or even the brand.

The Garmin 165 comes in neutral (black and white) and bold (hot pink and turquoise) colourways, offering plenty of choice. Being a Garmin, it has a more rugged, sports-orientated design than the Apple Watch Series 9, for example.

As with all Garmin watches, you'll need to sign up to the Garmin Connect app to get the most from your device. This is where you'll see all your data, including workout insights from the last few weeks, advanced deep dives into your sleep habits, and recommendations for improving your fitness - and it's totally free to download and use.

Garmin Forerunner 165: Specifications

• RRP: £249.99
• Size: 43 x 43 x 11.6 mm
• Weight: 39g
• Material: Fibre-reinforced polymer with a silicone wristband
• In-built GPS: Yes
• Battery life: Up to 11 days
• Waterproof: 5 ATM (up to 50 meters)

Who is the Garmin Forerunner 165 suited to?

The Garmin Forerunner 165 is designed for new runners and those looking to improve their running - without getting too adventurous. This watch is great for running on roads in cities or in well-mapped countryside and good for anything up a marathon distance and training - but if you're running in denser, building or tree-heavy environments or longer distances, you may need a higher-tech smartwatch companion.

For those who like to walk regularly, this is a great watch for monitoring fitness and recording routes and distances. The brand does offer watches specifically designed for hiking - like the Fenix and Epix collections - but unless you're planning to hike away from the beaten track, you're unlikely to need the advanced GPS tracking and route-planning software.

If you're looking for a daily tracker for strength training, regular gym workouts, or just to keep an eye on your overall health as it relates to your sleep and fitness, the Garmin Forerunner 165 could also be a great option. There are almost 30 workout modes - including Bike (indoor and outdoor), Pool Swim, Walk, Strength, Yoga, Pilates, and even Pickleball and Breathwork. Each mode, when activated, offers specific, advanced metrics for that particular sport - e.g. lengths done during a Pool Swim. It can also measure your fitness age, a prediction of how old your body is compared to your real age.

Running with Garmin Forerunner 165

I ran 30 minutes a day at least six times with the Garmin Forerunner 165 across various terrains - including down Oxford Street in the centre of London, quiet streets in the suburbs, river-side canals, a running track, and trails in the Cotswolds. It was a busy two weeks. This, however, gave me possibly the most comprehensive idea of how running with the Garmin Forerunner 165 can be.

A couple of features make the Forerunner 165 an excellent running watch. Firstly, it's simple and easy to use, with the most relevant metrics available with a glance of the wrist thanks to the AMOLED full-colour display, which is visible even in bright light. I can see distance, pace, time, and scroll to view more lap-specific insights - and also get the time, which is always useful! Simplicity, I feel, is always undervalued in fitness trackers with so many on the market.

Then there's the barometric altimeter, which helps the watch gauge your positioning vertically, so it recognises when you're running up a hill and will reflect this in the distance and effort presumed in the run. It's also the sensor that tracks the number of 'floors' you've climbed.

If you're not a runner, it's also worth weighing up Garmin Venu vs Forerunner as the two devices have much in common - but the Venu is better for all rounders.

Thirdly, the battery life. While the brand says the watch lasts 11 days, this is only in smartwatch mode. With multiple workouts tracked, I found it lasted between five and seven days but that's still an impressive amount. Plus, it's quick to charge.

One missing feature on the Garmin Forerunner 165 would perhaps make me more inclined to spring for the Forerunner 265 or a more advanced model: the dual-band GPS. Dual-band GPS is the technology that uses multiple frequencies to improve position location - and it's missing from the Forerunner 165.

As someone who runs a lot in cities and well-mapped parks in London, I didn't think this would bother me too much. However, when I went for a run while staying in the Cotswolds recently, I found some issues with GPS tracking. The pace monitor dropped out randomly on occasion while I was moving, which was then reflected in my overall distance and pace stats at the end of my run. Not the end of the world - but a little disappointing when it had faired so well down city streets and even along narrow canals with taller buildings on either side.

So, this is something worth bearing in mind. If you are a city runner, the Garmin Forerunner 165 could be an excellent choice and pose no issues to you. If you live in the countryside or plan on trail running anytime soon, perhaps a watch with dual-band GPS may be a better option.

Fitness tracking on the Garmin Forerunner 165

I don't hide that I'm a big fan of Garmin's Forerunner collection as a regular runner myself. However, it's truly been a breeze to use the fitness tracking software on the Garmin Forerunner 165. With four simple taps on the top right button, you can navigate through the homepage to start an exercise and get going. To pause and end the workout, it's another tap of the button.

During the workout, whether that's a run or a full-body Pilates workout, I could see all my metrics on the screen. That includes a timer, pace counter and heart rate monitor on a run. For a yoga workout and Pilates, you'll see a timer, your heart rate, a stress score, and respiratory rate. For strength training, the device counts your reps for you and you can log your sets, and see your heart rate, and calorie burn. While I've never found this feature very useful, if you want to get detailed with your training, it's a good one to have.

On other fitness trackers, it can feel like your workout modes are all the same as the same metrics are shown for each different type of sport. However, it all feels highly personalised on the Garmin Forerunner 165. You can also edit your list of workouts on the watch to favourite your most-used.

When you've finished a workout, the session is automatically synced to the Garmin Connect app, where you can view your insights in more detail. Unlike some other fitness trackers, including the WHOOP 2.0 and Oura Ring, the metrics are available with the app download and you don't have to pay a subscription.

Apart from dual-band GPS, the one thing I wish the Garmin Forerunner 165 did have was the 'Training Status' feature. Having gotten used to this on the triathlon-specific Forerunner 945, I missed it using this watch. Training Status takes into account your load, rest, and recovery status to give you an active idea of where you are fitness-wise - from Recovery to Productive, with insights at each level on how to improve. However, considering the Forerunner 265's price tag, I'm not surprised this isn't included.

It does, however, have the standard Body Battery metric as with any other Garmin device. Similarly, this takes your sleep, activity, and recovery levels into account to offer a score of fatigue out of 100 with insights into your training. I find this useful if I've had a particularly step-heavy or run-heavy week, to make sure I'm leaving myself enough rest between exercise days.

Sleep tracking on the Garmin Forerunner 165

The Garmin Forerunner 165 offers advanced sleep tracking sensors, including nap detection. Provided you wear the watch while you're asleep, the device will automatically detect when you're asleep and monitor your movement during the night.

You can also set your 'normal' sleep hours manually in the Garmin app and the watch will take note of your movements during this time, which can be especially helpful if you're looking to stick to a good bedtime routine and learn how to sleep better. It's these kind of statistics that truly make a fitness tracker worth it.

Insights in the Garmin Connect app will reveal how long you were asleep for, the type of sleep you had (Light, Deep, or REM) and how rested you are post-sleep. If you like to take naps during the day - or find yourself drifting off - you'll also be able to see this data here.

While I find that sleep-tracking data is rarely 100% accurate, the Garmin Forerunner 165 does offer sleep tracking at a close-to-perfect point, matching up to the brand's range of more advanced health-tracking watches.

Is the Garmin Forerunner 165 worth it?

Yes, absolutely. If you are new to exercise, looking to start running for weight loss or any other reason, and you want a basic fitness tracker to get going with, this is a great option. With advanced sleep and workout-tracking sensors, I find that I get a highly accurate and, importantly, understandable and useful insight into my sessions when I use this watch. It has all the information you need to make improvements and none you don't.

As noted, there are some missing features of the more advanced models in the Forerunner range - such as dual-band GPS and Training Status. Take a look at the Garmin Forerunner 265 if you're interested in these. There's also no way to use map features when not connected to a wireless network or Wifi point, no voice assistant, and you won't be able to control your music via your watch unless you have the 'Music' model. Nevertheless, for just shy of £250, this ticks all the must-have boxes. Plus, all these features are packaged up in a slim-fit design with a lightweight build and multiple colour options, making this a device for daily life as well as exercise.

How much does the Garmin Forerunner 165 cost?

The Garmin Forerunner 165 costs £249.99 from the website and various retailers. Both versions, 'Music' (where users can control music from their wrist) and regular (where music must be controlled from your phone), are the same price. I tested the version with music control.

Whether this is a reasonable price comes down to personal opinion, but in my view, it's pretty standard for a watch of this quality. You can get more budget-friendly buys - such as the Fitbit Charge 6 - but you'll find you compromise on something, whether that's the design, GPS accuracy, or features.

Compared to other Garmin fitness trackers specifically, it's cheaper than advanced fitness trackers like the Garmin Venu 3 or the Garmin Forerunner 945, which I have been wearing (and loving!) for the past two years. It's a little more expensive than older models in the Forerunner range though, such as the Garmin Forerunner 55 or the Vivoactive 5, both good alternatives (with their own perks and drawbacks) if you're on a budget.

You'll also find this watch in the Garmin sale occasionally, bringing the price down closer to the £200 mark.

The Garmin Venu 3S is one of the latest devices to join the brand's line-up, purpose-built to help you meet your health and fitness goals while also acting as a sleek smartwatch that will fit seamlessly into your day.

If you’re shopping for one of the best fitness trackers or the best Garmin watch to support you on your journey to becoming the healthiest you, then it’s worth checking out Garmin’s new Venu device. Meet The Garmin Venu 3S - a stylish tracker with smartwatch features that will track your activity, sleep, and recovery, offering a wider picture of your overall health.

In September 2025, the Garmin Venu 4 was released, which is the latest model in the collection.

This device is an impressive smartwatch and fitness tracker hybrid, but with its full-price tag almost matching that of the Apple Watch, is it worth it if you can't find a deal in the Garmin sale? As woman&home's primary fitness tracker reviewer, I've tried and tested many of the brand's devices, answering the question of 'which Garmin should I buy' every time, so I feel fit to judge this one. I put it to the test for a few weeks to see how it fared, while also comparing it to some of the other top trackers out there.

Garmin Venu 3S review

Garmin Venu 3S: Specifications

• RRP: £449.99 (£399.99 from Amazon or John Lewis)
• Size: 41 x 41 x 12 mm
• Weight: 40g
• Material: Stainless steel & silicone
• In-built GPS: Yes
• Battery life: Up to 10 days
• Waterproof: Yes

Garmin Venu 3S: Overview

An upgrade of the Garmin Venu Sq2, the Venu 3 is one of the brand’s newest fitness watches. It’s a premium tracker with all the capabilities of a smartwatch, tracking fitness, sleep and health stats, providing a wider picture of your overall health. It also offers unique features like on-screen workouts, connectivity with top music subscriptions, contactless payment options, and the ability to send and receive text messages and make calls. It comes with an expensive price tag of £450 at RRP outside of the sale deal, but it's worth it for a fitness tracker like this one.

Design of the Garmin Venu 3S

This sleek smartwatch features a circular watch face, a welcome break from the popular square-faced devices that Garmin and many brands promote, with a silicone wristband. I tested the Garmin Venu 3S - the only difference between the 'S' model and standard Venu 3 is the screen size. The 'S' stands for 'small' (41mm), while the standard is the larger option (45mm). I found this was the perfect size for my wrist but if you have a larger wrist, or plan to utilise the on-screen workout demonstrations, it may be worth sizing up to the standard.

The Garmin Venu 3 is available in various colourways that will fit seamlessly with your wardrobe and don't look garish when worn in regular life, unlike some of the more ruggedly designed Garmin watches. But, if the current colourways don’t appeal, you can create a custom watch on the Garmin website by choosing the face and band combination.

The Venu 3 is a touchscreen with three hardware buttons on the side of the screen to help navigate through basic functions. I found it very simple to use, especially on the move or between sets at the gym.

My favourite thing about the Garmin Venu 3 is how easily I can track my stats on the watch screen as I was working out. Previously, when I compared the Oura Ring to the Garmin Venu 3S, I found the screen-free Oura Ring more appealing as it ensured I wasn’t constantly checking my stats throughout the day or distracted by notifications. However, I enjoyed accessing the data on the watch face in real-time when I wanted to monitor metrics during my workout. I found it easy to monitor my heart rate and work out when to switch between zone 2 training, heavier work, and rest periods, which is essential for building fitness.

The Oura Ring and other faceless trackers, like the WHOOP 4.0 don't offer this. What’s more, I wasn't distracted by text or call notifications - which you can receive on your wrist with the Garmin Venu 3 - because I turned them off with the touch of a button. Simple.

Fitness tracking on the Garmin Venu 3S

The Garmin excels at fitness tracking generally and the Venu 3 is no exception. Like with most Garmin watches, the Venu 3 is best for those who are already very active and work out frequently or anyone who wants to improve their fitness while monitoring their activity and overall health stats. However, if you are a beginner then you'll have all you need to make big changes to your fitness routine and lifestyle.

It tracks the usual activity metrics - including steps, heart rate, and calories burned - through the heart rate sensor. It auto-detects activity, such as walking or running, but also has 30 preloaded GPS and indoor sports to choose from, such as cardio workouts, indoor rowing, and Pilates. Post-workout, Garmin delivered key insights to my watch face, such as workout duration, average heart rate and calories burned. However, like all Garmin devices, I read the full low-down in the Garmin Connect App, which you must download onto your smartphone to make the most of the watch.

If you're doing an indoor HIIT workout, the Garmin Venu 3 will track all the essential metrics while determining your Intensity Minutes. Health organisations like the WHO recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. So, by tracking Intensity Zone minutes, based on your heart rate as you exercise, Garmin can help you easily meet basic workout goals.

As noted, the Garmin Venu 3 has animated on-screen workouts you can follow along with, replacing the need for many popular workout apps and making this watch a great option for those new to working out in the gym or at home. These cover key fitness areas such as strength, HIIT, yoga, and stretching.

You can also create step-by-step workouts for yourself in the app and send them directly to your watch, with an impressive 1,600 exercises to choose from. For those looking to do strength training at home, for example, or explore other types of strength training, I found this to be an excellent feature.

If you’re someone who wants to increase their activity, the Garmin challenges can keep you motivated. In the app, you can join monthly challenges, whether that’s a walking, running or swimming target, or you can create your personal challenge.

When I was working out on the Hydrow rowing machine, I appreciated that I was also able to connect my smartwatch to the Garmin HRM-Fit, a heart rate monitor created specifically for those who wear sports bras. This meant I could access real-time insights on the Hydrow as I exercised and then collect the data in my Garmin app and on my watch post-workout.

Any runners will find the wrist-based running power and dynamics testing features a huge bonus on the Venu 3, putting it in contention with other running-specific models from Garmin, like the Forerunner range. Same for cyclists - when paired with indoor cycling equipment, cyclists can see their power output on the watch.

Sleep tracking on the Garmin Venu 3S

The Garmin Venu 3S fares well when compared to the best sleep trackers on the market, such as the Oura Ring. Offering detailed insights into everything from sleep duration to sleep stages, HRV and respiration rate, it gave an overall sleep score with an accurate indication of how well I slept.

One of my favourite sleep features from Garmin is the Sleep Coach. Using sleep data from the night before, it predicts how much sleep you’ll need the following night to ensure you’re well-rested and recovered. Over the weeks that I tested out the Venu 3, I found myself feeling tired when I woke up and throughout the day. It was interesting to discover that the Sleep Coach often predicted I needed an extra 30 minutes compared to my baseline to recover from the previous day’s activities. A great excuse for a lie-in!

If you struggle to fall asleep or want to learn how to sleep better, Garmin’s in-app library of meditation and breathwork classes will help you switch off at the end of the day and may help you nod off quicker too.

Health tracking on the Garmin Venu 3S

Like most fitness trackers these days, including the Fitbit Sense 2 and Versa 4, The Garmin Venu 3S gives a picture of overall health as well as insights into fitness. This includes stress tracking, menstrual cycling tracking, blood oxygen saturation data, HRV and skin temperature changes.

One of my favourite insights in any fitness tracker is the data it can provide around recovery, which is called the Body Battery in Garmin's case. Combining data from your physical activity, stress levels and sleep, it monitors your energy resources to ultimately help you make smarter decisions around activity and recovery, so you can build healthier habits. Typically, your body battery is full when you wake up (if you’ve had a good night’s rest) and will drain as you go about your day, before recharging overnight once again when you’re asleep.

Of course, you know your body best and if you’re feeling tired but your watch is suggesting you're ready for a day of activity, you should always listen to your body and rest.

Another highlight for me was the Workout Benefits feature, which showed how each workout affected my overall health and was used to determine how much recovery time I needed. There are lots of different Workout Benefits within this feature, ranging from Recovery (which Garmin defines as low-intensity activities that help to recover and relieve stress) to High Exertion (demanding workouts that should only be done occasionally and may also require more recovery time). This prompted me to be more mindful of my workouts and reconsider my weekly schedule, so I could ensure I had both high-intensity activities planned, as well as those focused more on recovery.

Is the Garmin Venu 3S worth it?

While the Garmin comes with an expensive price tag, if you’re already very active or on a fitness journey, and have the budget to spend, it’s worth it. Not only will it provide detailed fitness insights and motivate you with challenges and on-screen workouts, but it also offers health data that will allow you to gain a better overall picture of your health and fitness, while tracking sleep and recovery, too.

What’s more, Garmin’s Venu 3 comes with all the bells and whistles, displaying smartphone notifications, on-wrist texting and phone calls for Android devices, safety tracking features, Spotify compatibility and contactless payments. If you're considering another advanced smartwatch with fitness-tracking features, like the Apple Watch Series 9, then it's certainly worth weighing this one up too.

However, it's important to note that Android phone users will benefit from the Venu 3 more than iPhone users. Naturally, as Apple has the Apple Watch Series 9, there is limited connectivity available between Garmin and the iPhone. For example, you can only send and receive text messages and calls if you have a connected Android device.

Also, if you’re new to the world of fitness wearables and just want a device that will monitor your workouts and help you become more active, it may be worth checking out the best Fitbits instead. The Fitbit Charge 6, for example, isn't as premium as the Venu 3S and lacks the more advanced features like on-screen workouts and Workout Benefits, but you'll find many of the fitness tracking features to be the same and if you pay for Premium, you'll have access to a Body Battery-esk feature.

As Prime Day Garmin deals go, we're not sure this amazing offer on the Garmin Fenix 7 is going to be beaten. The specialist hiking watch has an incredible £150 discount today in the retail giant's annual summer sale. 

Garmin produces some of the best fitness trackers on the market – and the Fenix 7 model is no exception. It's one of the higher priced devices normally - given its advanced features, seamless design, and super accurate GPS tracking - but it's had a huge price drop on Amazon today and is now on sale for £349.99. 

It's rare to see the Garmin Fenix 7 below £400, so to see it drop under £350 is jaw-dropping – and worth snapping up if you're interested. According to our expert price tracking, this device reached its lowest price in May last year when it fell to £379 - so this deals is by far the best we've seen. If the Fenix 7 has been on your wishlist for a while now or you're looking to scoop one of the top Garmin sale deals going, this is your chance.  

Garmin Fenix 7: Key features

The Garmin Fenix 7 stands out for three main reasons: GPS tracking, battery life, and unique features. While it's a watch designed for hiking, walking, and trail running in the first instance, there's no reason this device can't see you through all your activities from gym workouts to wild swimming. It's similar to the Garmin Venu 3S in this way. 

Firstly, the battery life. Between charges, you'll find the Fenix 7 lasts for 11 days in smartwatch mode and 37 hours with GPS switched on. While this may not sound like a lot, it's significantly more than what's offered by many fitness trackers - including some of the best Fitbits. Most smartwatches must be charged a couple of times a week and only last for a few hours in GPS mode. This is one of the longest battery lives we've seen in a watch. Not only that but Health Editor Grace Walsh (and many, many online reviews) say it charges quicker than previous models too so you can get going faster. 

Where GPS is concerned, this watch is truly a stand-out. Fitness trackers can struggle to connect in particularly built-up areas of the city or isolated areas of the countryside, but the Fenix 7 doesn't have this problem. It uses advanced dual-frequency or "multi-band" tracking, which improves GPS accuracy ten-fold when you're on the move as it uses more than one radio signal. 

Along with all the advanced sensors you can expect from most Garmin watches - such as 40+ workout modes, advanced sleep-tracking that records sleep stages and quality, and detailed analysis of your workouts on wrist - the Fenix 7 has some unique features that are missing from most other watches. For example, it has a handy flashlight, which you can turn on with one button, making it easier to see your route when you're out walking or running - or simply to help around the house. 

The thousands of rave reviews online follow a similar pattern: they mention the accurate and easy GPS connection, features to help plan your daily exercise, and insights into sleep and recovery time. 

"This device is excellent. I've used it for a few months, mostly for walking/running tracking heart rate, calories and sleep," wrote one reviewer on Amazon. "GPS reliability and speed of connection is great. I have no issues getting an initial connection, nor do I see a drop out whilst using it on an activity, and battery life is fantastic."

One lady addressed the watch's size, for anyone wondering. "I was very concerned about the size of this being a slim woman. I did my research before buying it and people were saying it was way too big, I was worried it would be too big and look ridiculous. I love it, it’s the perfect size, in fact, I’d be disappointed if it was smaller!"

Finally, another rave review on Very said: "As a person who has tried a whole variety of fitness watches, I can say there is none better than the Fenix 7 - the real stamina feature has really helped me up my game."

Can Garmin Fenix 7 receive phone calls?

If GPS is on, the Garmin Fenix 7 can display an incoming call to a connected phone. It will give you an option to select or decline. If you select, the call will then come through to the phone. Unlike the newest Apple Watch, you can't actually take the call on your watch. You can also decline and this doesn't require you to use your mobile phone at all.  

You can reply to incoming calls and texts by selecting reply and choosing a message from the list of pre-saved options. 

Garmin’s latest heart rate monitor has been purpose-built for women, with more accurate heart rate data and a comfortable fit in mind. But, is it worth the investment? Let’s find out. 

If you're in the market for one of the best fitness trackers but the best Garmin watch isn't for you, you'll want to know about Garmin's latest model. The HRM-Fit is designed to fit comfortably and securely onto the band of your sports bra, offering an option out of sight and out of mind. 

After testing many devices over the past few months, I had a lot of expectations of the Garmin HRM-Fit. Of course, this heart rate monitor doesn’t come with all the bells and whistles that smartwatches and fitness trackers do - and standalone heart rate monitors aren’t for everyone - but if you are interested in trying a different approach to tracking your workouts, it could be for you.

Garmin HRM-Fit review

Garmin HRM-Fit review: Overview

The HRM-Fit is the latest heart rate monitor in Garmin’s lineup. However, this one has been specifically created for women and those who wear sports bras - a rarity in the industry. Flipping the traditional design of a chest-strap heart rate tracker on its head, the HRM-Fit has been designed to fit comfortably and securely onto a sports bra while capturing important metrics such as real-time heart rate, steps, intensity levels, and more. 

While the HRM-Fit offers accurate heart rate data and more, it can’t compete with the smartwatches in the range such as the Garmin Venu 3S or Garmin Forerunner 165, or other fitness trackers and devices such as the newest Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 9, or the Oura Ring. But, it’s not supposed to either. Instead, the HRM-Fit is designed to deliver more accurate heart rate data, whether running, cycling, rowing or doing a HIIT workout. It can connect to fitness equipment to give you real-time insights and for runners, it can connect to a compatible Garmin smartwatch and help to improve your running technique.

If the most accurate heart rate data is important to you, or you are training for a race, investing in a heart rate monitor may be worth it. However, if you already have a smartwatch or fitness tracker that does this, the HRM-Fit may not be necessary for you. 

Specifications

• Price: £139.99
• Size: 33.5 x 3.3 x 1.7 cm
• Weight: 53g
• Battery type: CR2032
• Battery life: Up to 1 year
• Fit: Clips onto sports bra

Garmin HRM-Fit: Design

When I opened the box of the Garmin HRM-Fit I was surprised to find a short, small and compact strap inside - rather than a traditional chest strap, which tends to wrap the whole way around the chest and back. The HRM-Fit has been specifically designed to clip onto the front of a sports bra for more comfort and better accuracy. 

The strap is just under 34 cm long with two sensors on either side of the inside of the band, and three clips on the outer side of the band to easily attach it to your sports bra. Garmin recommends wetting the sensors inside the band before use and going through the set-up in the app once you’re wearing the device. 

It’s super easy to attach the device to your sports bra. However, Garmin points out the device should be used with medium-to-high support sports bras. so there isn’t too much movement in the chest area when you work out, and so the device can remain flat against the underband of your sports bra, touching your skin. 

I found the strap itself really comfortable to wear, with no chafing or irritation to my skin as I worked out. I didn’t find the clips bulky or uncomfortable under clothing either - although, I tend to wear loose-fitting gym tops. You can't attach it properly to a sports bra with a zip closure at the front though, so that's worth noting.

What's it like to use the Garmin HRM-Fit?

Getting to grips with the Garmin HRM-Fit was pretty easy once I watched a few set-up videos on the brand’s YouTube channel. I quickly realised I had to wear the device to connect it, so I clipped it onto my sports bra, ensuring it was as flat and secure as possible. I then moved on to the set-up via the free Garmin Connect app, while also connecting with my Garmin Venu 3S and Hydrow machine, so I could see my heart rate in real-time as I worked out.

At first, I tried the HRM-Fit with a low-impact sports bra but I found it moved and bunched up underneath the band. After changing into a medium-support sports bra, the strap felt comfortable against my skin and it didn’t move. In fact, I hardly noticed it as I worked out. If you're looking for a new sports bra, it's worth checking out one of the best sports bras for your chosen workout.

One potential downside to the Garmin HRM-Fit is that it isn’t rechargeable. It uses a coin cell battery that has up to a year of battery life, based on one hour of use per day. Once it runs out you can unlock the battery compartment to replace it.

Fitness tracking on the Garmin HRM-Fit

The Garmin HRM-Fit supports fitness tracking in a variety of ways. Firstly, regardless of whether or not you connect it to a Garmin smartwatch, you can link it to exercise equipment, such as a Peloton treadmill, and get on-screen, real-time heart rate insights. Other fitness trackers, like the Fitbit Charge 6, have this feature as well. 

Perhaps what's most impressive about this device is that it's so much more than a heart rate monitor. While other monitors from Garmin like this nearly always need to be connected to a smartwatch, the HRM-Fit can calculate steps, calories burnt, and intensity minutes when you're not wearing a watch. It sends this data back to the Garmin Connect app - so you need your phone when you wear it, but you don't need a fitness tracker on your wrist. 

I didn’t have the opportunity to try this while running indoors on a treadmill but Garmin says it can also collect data on pace and distance, and send this back to your watch and app. Plus, if you wear it paired with an advanced Garmin smartwatch, such as the Forerunner 945, it can capture running dynamics such as vertical oscillation, ground contact time, balance, stride length, and more.

The HRM-Fit doesn’t have its own heart rate zones - it sends data to the device it’s connected to instead, whether that’s a treadmill or your smartwatch, and heart rate zones are determined by these devices. 

Can you use the Garmin HRM-Fit without a watch?

 Yes, you can still use the HRM-Fit without a Garmin smartwatch. However, the data you collect will be limited. If you don’t have a watch but connect it to fitness equipment, you’ll be limited to the data that equipment can collect. 

For example, if you connect your HRM-Fit to the Hydrow machine, you will see your real-time heart rate data and the metrics the Hydrow already offers, such as distance and calorie burn during your workout. When connected to your Garmin smartwatch, you’ll also see all this and more, including how it impacts your overall daily calorie burn, stress levels and recovery time. 

Is the Garmin HRM-Fit worth buying?

As with any fitness tracker or wearable, it all comes down to your personal preference and needs. If you're looking to monitor workout metrics without a wrist or finger-worn tracker, this is a good device to have as you can get good basic metrics without connecting it to your Garmin device. 

Equally, if you are training for a fitness challenge or need the most accurate heart rate data possible during workouts, I think it's worth the investment. As well as providing accuracy, it also delivers on comfort and it's much easier to wear than the restrictive chest straps I’ve tried previously. 

If you mainly work out using fitness equipment such as a treadmill, rowing machine or spin bike, and you want a device that can track your heart rate as you exercise, it might also be a worthwhile investment. It's also more affordable than a fitness tracker or smartwatch with all the bells and whistles. The HRM-Fit costs £139.99, whereas Garmin smartwatches start at around £250.

However, if you want an overall insight into your workouts, I would suggest just buying a fitness tracker or smartwatch - like one of the best Fitbits or a basic Garmin device. For example, you can buy the Fitbit Inspire 3, one of the newest Fitbits, for £84 from Amazon. This will deliver the same basic insights into your heart rate tracking, calorie burn, and step count - and monitor your sleep and stress levels - but it is a wrist-worn device. 

If you're looking to make health goals this year, there's no need to break the bank when it comes to fitness tech - the Garmin Venu Sq 2 is on sale right now. This watch provides an overview of your general health - including sleep and stress scores - as well as detailed insights into your fitness habits for under £180. 

The Garmin Venu Sq 2 may be one of the best fitness trackers out there, scoring a top spot in our guide for devices across the Garmin range, it's actually one of the most budget-friendly. Given that the Garmin Venu 3 came to market late last year, retailers have cut the price of the previous model. 

As woman&home's digital health editor and a keen runner, cyclist, and gym-goer, I've been a fan of the Garmin Venu Sq 2 for a few years now. It rivals some of the best Fitbits and even beginner-friendly Apple Watches in terms of features and surpasses many of them when it comes to key features like battery life. Here's what you need to know and where to buy. 

Garmin Venu Sq 2: An overview

The Garmin Venu Sq 2 is a budget-friendly smartwatch, ideal for anyone looking to improve their health with unique insights into the core pillars of fitness and sleep. It offers built-in GPS with over 25 different exercise modes to choose from, on-demand blood oxygen saturation level readings (which can help to determine your VO2 Max, a key measure of cardiovascular fitness), and even some integrated lifestyle features like contactless payments (via Garmin Pay) and call/message notifications.

While the build of the watch contributes to its purse-friendly price tag (£199 on sale at the time of writing), the Garmin Venu Sq 2 can rival some of the top fitness trackers on the market. With a battery life of 11 days when used just as a smartwatch, it supersedes more advanced Garmin watches and goes well above the lifespan offered by the premium Apple Watch Series 9 between charges, for example. 

Update: The Garmin Venu 3S has now been released, offering even more exciting features, a seamless round-face design, and advanced fitness and health tracking features. 

Garmin Venu Sq 2: Specifications

• RRP: £229 (at full price)
• Size: 40.6 x 37.0 x 11.1 mm
• Weight: 38g
• Material: Anodized aluminium and fibre-reinforced polymer 
• Built-in GPS: Yes
• Battery life: Up to 11 days in smartwatch mode, 26 hours in GPS mode
• Waterproof: No, swimproof only - up to 50 meters 

How much does the Garmin Venu Sq 2 cost?

The Garmin Venu Sq 2 is currently on sale for £229. However, given that it is not the most recent model in the Venu series, I've seen it on sale a lot lately for under £200 so if you're considering investing in this fitness tracker, there's no better time to buy than now. 

If you have a bit more in your budget and music or podcasts are a non-negotiable for you on runs or during gym sessions, you might like to consider the Music Edition of the Garmin Venu Sq 2. Design wise, they look exactly the same. The core difference is that the Music Edition offer an additional 4GB of integrated music storage, allowing users to download up to 500 songs from Amazon Music, Spotify, or Deezer and connect their Bluetooth headphones to the device. This means you can leave your phone at home and still have your playlists on the move. For the privilege of doing so though, it's an additional £30. 

Design of the Garmin Venu Sq 2

Weighing just 38g, the Garmin Venu Sq 2 is an incredibly lightweight watch - so light that I had to double check I was wearing it several times. In design, it looks very similar to models like the Huawei Watch Fit 2 or the Fitbit Versa 4, with a square-shaped face that covers most of the wrist in the 40mm in casing size.

Unfortunately, the downside to the design is the aluminium and polymer combination in the casing. While this contributes to the lightweight feel, compared to the premium Garmin Venu 2, it looks cheaper. The aluminium only makes up a small slip of the casing around the edges, while the plastic covers the rest, taking away the premium feel. I also found I had to wear the watch for a couple of weeks to get the silicone straps to settle around my wrist, eventually moulding to the shape. Before this, the watch did jut out from my wrist more than I expected it to. 

What new features does the Garmin Venu Sq 2 have?

The Garmin Venu Sq 2 improves on itself in several ways. Most noticeable is the AMOLED display. Compared to the LCD in the original Venu Sq, the graphics are significantly more vibrant and having the brightness of the watch to maximum capacity doesn't drain the battery like it did on the previous model. 

The battery life is another notably big upgrade - and one of the most important features to consider before buying a fitness tracker. Compared to the first model, the Garmin Venu Sq 2 offers double the battery life with 11 days in smartwatch mode versus six days.

A new heart rate sensor improves reliability and watch performance. Considering that almost every element of fitness tracking relies on the good performance of a heart rate sensor, this is another important feature. The new HIIT workouts on screen, albeit not with image demonstrations unlike the Venu 2 smartwatch, add to the fitness offering, and for the first time, users can find out their sleep score by wearing the watch to bed. While this is quite a basic feature in fitness trackers nowadays, given that it's become standard among Fitbit, Apple, Polar, and other Garmin devices, it was not installed on the previous model. 

While it is not a feature exclusive to the Garmin Venu Sq 2 by any means, the body battery feature on the watch does make it stand out when compared to the various types of Fitbit, for example. With these, you can only get this metric if you pay extra and sign up for Fitbit Premium. 

Body battery is essentially an analysis of your energy reserves throughout the day. On the watch, you'll find your score within the list of recorded metrics, you can delve deeper into the insights in the app and discover how and why exactly the combination of your stress, activity, and rest scores has given you this number and how to improve it in the coming days. 

Who does the Garmin Venu Sq 2 suit?

The Garmin Venu Sq 2 is undoubtedly a fitness tracker for anyone looking to improve their health by exercising more. It's not set up as a daily smartwatch like the Apple Watch, for instance, designed to complement your life and fitness routine together. It's an entirely fitness-dedicated watch with features like on-screen HIIT workouts and integrated Garmin Coach (which can help you aim for a specific fitness goal). 

It's also an excellent choice, in my opinion, for anyone who does any kind of exercise regularly and wants to stick to a routine. The integrated Garmin Coach feature works with the Garmin Connect app to offer users an on-wrist coach, to help develop key fitness metrics like VO2 Max for better exercise performance. I found the coach to be just as valuable at times as one of the best fitness apps - if not more so - as it delivers on-screen programs and training tips that match your current fitness levels as recorded by the watch.

There are also timed workouts available on-wrist, amazing for those who've just started training and want a little extra support, and the Garmin Connect app offers detailed insights into your workout once it's over - including a breakdown of what muscles were targeted most during the session. You'll also find that the watch will automatically count your repetitions for you during a regular gym training session if you enable the strength training workout mode. It's a feature I didn't find to be hugely vital - especially as you have to tap the side button when you start a new set - but it would certainly be beneficial to track your repetition ranges over a few months. 

What is the Garmin Venu Sq 2 like to use?

Overall, the Garmin Venu Sq 2 is very easy to use. I have used multiple Garmin devices before this one though - and I remember being slightly confused by the brand's interface on my first trial, so I'd recommend reading the instruction manual thoroughly before use. But once you've got the hang of the device, the Garmin Venu Sq 2 it's truly a great companion. With just an upward or downward swipe of your finger on the screen, you'll find all the statistics at your fingertips. Swipe through the list and you'll find your calorie burn for the day so far, step count, sleep score, stress score, and body battery score. By choice, I also receive all the notifications I'd normally get on my phone on my wrist, including calendar, email, and social media alerts. However, you can turn these off. 

Starting a workout is also super simple, provided you've saved your favourite workouts to the shortcuts menu. A simple tap of the top button on the side of the watch will take you to your choice - running or cycling, for example - and from here, you can either select a guided workout to follow or just press 'go' by tapping the top button again. 

What is the difference between the Garmin Venu 2 and Garmin Venu Sq 2?

The main difference between the Garmin Venu 2 and Garmin Venu Sq 2 is the design, a few features, and the price point. Unlike the Garmin Venu Sq 2, the Venu 2 has a round design with stainless steel hardware. Side by side, this one looks and feels more premium and blends in as a lifestyle accessory more seamlessly. 

The Venu 2 also offers a sensor to record the number of floors climbed throughout the day, matching up to more advanced Garmin devices like those in the Forerunner range, whereas the Venu Sq 2 doesn't offer this at all. The HIIT workouts on-wrist are accompanied by a graphic demonstration, whereas the Venu Sq 2 just offers descriptions. 

However, it comes with a price tag to match. At £349.99, it almost rivals the newest Apple Watch in terms of price tag without the integrated advanced lifestyle features to match. This also makes it a full £120 more expensive than the Garmin Venu Sq 2. Between the two, the additional features and design are not enough reason to warrant the extra spend, in my opinion. 

Which one should I buy? The Garmin Venu Sq 2

Should I buy the Garmin Venu Sq 2?

Yes, absolutely. If you want incredibly detailed insights into your exercise sessions and fitness age potential, habit-tracking features for making new goals, superior on-wrist GPS functionality, guided workouts and meditations, a waterproof watch that'll stand the test of a swimming session, as well as useful daily assistance like Smart notifications and a new payment option for in-store purchases when you're out and about, this could certainly be the fitness tracker for you. 

Asking yourself are fitness trackers worth it in 2024? While the Garmin Venu Sq 2 comes in at a higher price point than others that have a very similar design and relatively similar features, it's well worth the cost in my opinion. While this might be a watch designed for entry-level runners and fitness enthusiasts, it's certainly capable of pro-level performance for those who are ready to use the Garmin Venu Sq 2 at its full potential. However, for more insights into what's out there, consider weighing up Oura Ring vs Garmin and Oura Ring vs Fitbit.