The best gift?

Thanks to their functionality and convenience, smartwatches is now all the fad these days. And for good reason too, they’ve pretty much become indispensable and go hand in hand with our smartphones as with our everyday lives. With their practicality and usability, its small wonder why they actually make really fantastic gifts! A watch is of course, something that is more than for telling the time, it’s a memento or a mark of a milestone for us. And what better gift to gift someone than one that they can always use every day, and remind them of you whenever they look at it?  

The Garmin Brand

Looking at the range of smartwatches available now can be daunting, and it’s no secret that  is one of the top brands leading the charge in advancements in wearable tech. Founded in Kansas in 1989, and currently incorporated in Schaffhausen since 2010, the company has always been a pioneer in creating smart devices and it’s showing no signs of slowing down. If you’re looking for a smartwatch to gift a loved one with great performance and reliability, it’s likely a Garmin that you should be looking to. But with a wide variety of smartwatches in their inventory, finding the right one can be intimidating. However, fret not, as we have, as we often do, narrowed down the top 7 (In our opinion of course) Garmin watches and we’d love to receive as gifts.

GARMIN VIVOMOVE HR PREMIUM GOLD GM-010-01850-9C HYBRID SMARTWATCH

We’re starting off with a rather interesting and fetching smartwatch; . It’s one of the best-looking smartwatches in the market now, and in a relatively uncontested field of  , is certainly the best one too. As the name suggests, it combines both an analogue and a digital sub-dial that shows essential information such as the time, heart-rate, steps and call notifications. There’s no GPS however, so you’re gonna have to depend on your phone instead if you want an accurate running/cycling tracking, but you do get a good array of overall health tracking. It is a touch screen too, adding an interesting blend of modern technology with ‘old-school’ timekeeping. The hidden digital display technology responds incredibly well and is home to a wide array of features too. If you’re looking for a serious activity tracking smartwatch, this might not be the one for you. But if its style and practicality that you’re looking for in your gift, then it’s certainly hard to find one better than this one.

GARMIN VENU SQ MUSIC GM-010-02426-82 NAVY/LIGHT GOLD SMARTWATCH

There’s no hiding what Garmin has its sights set on when developing the Venu SQ; The Apple Watch. Though what it essentially is, is a watered down Venu with all the features you’d come to expect but at a much lower price point. You do get (as the name suggests) music compatibility too, as well as a slew of trackers and GPS too. Pretty staple stuff from Garmin, and that’s not even a complaint. Running, cycling, swimming, heart monitors and many, many more are just some of the base features that this smartwatch is capable of. Add that with an incredibly user-friendly UI and what you have is an incredibly capable smartwatch at an ‘Apple-watch’ killing price of well under $400. Really, if you have a friend or family who likes the aesthetics of the Apple watch but you don’t want to break your bank without compromising on the features, then the Garmin Venu SQ Music is certainly the gift for you.  

GARMIN INSTINCT SOLAR CAMO EDITION GM-010-02293-56 LICHEN CAMO SMARTWATCH

The Garmin Instinct Solar is a rugged sports smartwatch that shares a similar DNA with the . Though the current Instinct has been given an update to be solar powered, that only means better news for hikers and outdoors types in terms of a more significant battery life and performance. The Instinct already provides many of the power-saving modes featured on the Fenix as well, making it an even more indispensable companion on your adventures. The Instinct is capable of tracking hiking, running, swimming, cycling, climbing, skiing and even boating along with other types of outdoor pursuits. Built to withstand the toughest of elements, the Instinct has all the usual functions you would come to expect from a high-end Garmin smartwatch. A GPS for plenty of mapping coverage, barometric altimeter to measure elevation when you’re climbing up mountains as well as a heart rate monitor and an oximeter. Which can be used to check elevation against blood oxygen on its new Acclimatisation widget. It should come as no surprise that this tough as nails outdoor smartwatch places a large emphasis on features that will come in incredibly handy when you’re trekking or hiking. If you’re looking for a rugged and dependable outdoors smartwatch, for your rugged and outdoors loving someone, then the Garmin Instinct Solar Camo edition is gonna be the perfect gift for them.

GARMIN FORERUNNER 645 GM-010-01863-80 SMARTWATCH

The Forerunner 645, was the first Garmin to introduce music features, add on a slew of other useful features such as payment support, barometer/altimeter, activity tracking and many more. It is a proper performance smartwatch for runners and it shows in its abilities. Capable of providing data such as height elevation, cadence, stride length, ground contact time and balance, vertical oscillation and vertical ratio too, it packs one hell of a punch for runners. Throw in a convenient music streaming feature which allows you to sync and access your offline playlists from Spotify and it’s the perfect companion for your daily runs. And even if you’re not going for a run, it’s simple and stylish design makes it an incredibly versatile and handsome piece of kit too. Overall, it’s one of the best performance smartwatches money can buy these days and certainly one of the most versatile all-rounders as well. Making it the perfect gift for everybody.

GARMIN FENIX 6S SAPPHIRE SHALE GRAY GM-010-02159-8P SMARTWATCH

The Garmin Fenix 6a is part of the very strong line-up of flagship smartwatches from the brand and for good reason. It has an extremely premium finish to its materials; from the brushed bezel to the matte finished case, polished buttons and sapphire crystal screen, it also packs a punch with its wide array of features. Equipped with a heart-rate and pulse monitor, GPS, ABC Sensors, smart notifications, Garmin pay services, multi-satellite support and multi-sport watch OS, there will be almost no situation in your life where you won’t find this watch useful for. Of course, the design plays an equally significant factor in choosing this watch, it’s a proper good-looking piece of kit. With a shale gray vintage style leather strap paired against a gray case with a brushed gold bezel and sleek, unobtrusive buttons. The Fenix 6S certainly looks the part of a flagship model, and with its features, it goes like one too. If you’re looking to gift your loved one a truly high performance, practical and eye-catching smartwatch, it’s hard to do better than the Shale Gray Fenix 6S.

GARMIN LEGACY HERO FIRST AVENGER GM-010-02174-49 SMARTWATCH

We all love superheroes, don’t we? Even if it’s not us, we certainly know someone who does. Well with the Legacy Hero series, paying tribute to our favourite superheroes, we ought to take a look at the one that celebrates one of the most iconic on-screen super-hero; Captain America. Now right off the bat, the Legacy series features the same software and specifications as the Vivoactive 4 and the Venu, so you get the usual Garmin Pay and Spotify compatibility. Along with the trackers for running, cycling, swimming, golfing, strength, cardio, elliptical, indoor rowing, yoga and the lot. Though the main difference would be that the Legacy series offers a bit more fun in its design compared to the other 2. This one features Cap’s iconic deep blue colours on its case and trim, with his recognizable shield on the screen and bezel as well. Its subtle, yet instantly recognizable and that’s what makes it work so well as a tribute piece. If you’re looking for a smartwatch for your loved ones to show their love for these on-screen heroes. Or, are just looking for a handsome and nicely speced smartwatch in general, then the Legacy Hero series is certainly the perfect gift for them.

GARMIN GM-010-02441-60 VIVOFIT JR3 KIDS FITNESS TRACKER

This one is for the little ones in our lives, and while reviewing kids’ watches is pretty new to me, let alone a Garmin kids watch, because well, I’m not a kid and nor do I have one either. But the Garmin kids Vivofit JR 3 looks to be a very impressionable and rather cool (for kids) wearable to have. Now, much like the Captain America themed Legacy Hero that we’ve looked at, the Vivofit JR 3 is also an appropriately marvel themed watch, with variations such as an Iron Man one, or a more feminine Cinderella one as well. The one we’re looking at today is, if you can’t already tell the Black Panther version. Now, this smartwatch may not have all the features and sensors that we’re used to seeing in our full-sized smartwatches (and if you think about it, the omission makes sense too). But it makes up for these gaps with its features, thanks to the companion app and a rather neat Marvel’s; The Infinity Saga app pre-built into the device. And unless your kids hate anything Marvel related, this app is sure to get them interested. And this particular feature leverages on two things. The app, which holds the adventures through four of the avengers from the MCU, and the daily activity goals, which is how you can advance through the adventure in the app. Granted, the kids won’t be able to see the adventure on the tracker itself, but the idea of being able to go through the adventures with some of their favourite super heroes should be enough to get them motivated and excited to complete these daily goals. All in all, if you’re looking for a smartwatch that is not only useful, but actually entertaining for your little one, then it’s hard to do better than the Vivofit JR3 Marvel edition.

No shortage of choices

Whether you’re looking to splash a lot of cash on your gift, or just want something memorable and equally usable for your special someone, we hope you’ll find what you’re looking for in our list. And if you don’t, don’t worry about it, Garmin’s collection of smart wearables is so expansive and diverse, you’re bound to find the right one there too.