{"id":328642,"date":"2025-12-06T10:26:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T10:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/328642\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T10:26:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T10:26:15","slug":"garmin-vs-apple-watch-which-smartwatch-is-right-for-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/328642\/","title":{"rendered":"Garmin vs. Apple Watch – which smartwatch is right for you?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a smartwatch reviewer, I often field questions from Apple Watch<\/a> owners about whether they should switch to a Garmin smartwatch<\/a>, and vice versa. In 2025, Apple and Garmin are easily two of the most popular smartwatch brands, but is one better than the other?<\/p>\n

That depends on what you’re hoping to get out of your smartwatch. To help you choose, I’ve compared the current generation of Apple Watches to Garmin’s modern lineup across eight categories, with a winner declared for each. The categories include price, design, durability, health tracking, fitness tracking, safety tools, smart features, and battery life.<\/p>\n

Apple Watch vs Garmin: Price<\/p>\n

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\"Close-up\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Dan Bracaglia\/Tom’s Guide)<\/p>\n

Garmin’s least exspensive smartwatch model that we recommend is the Garmin Forerunner 55<\/a>, which starts at $200<\/a> or $50 less than Apple’s cheapest model<\/a>, the Apple Watch SE 3<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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On the higher end of the scale, Apple’s priciest option is the rugged Apple Watch Ultra 3 at $799<\/a>. Some of Garmin’s most advanced smartwatches, meanwhile, cost even more than that. For example, the Garmin Fenix 8<\/a>, an Apple Watch Ultra 3<\/a> competitor, starts at $1,000<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, both brands offer models at a wide range of price points to suit most budgets. As a result, this category is a draw.<\/p>\n

Winner: Draw<\/p>\n

Apple Watch vs Garmin: Design<\/p>\n

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\"Close-up\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Dan Bracaglia\/Tom’s Guide)<\/p>\n

Sleek or sporty? The majority of Garmin’s modern smartwatches exude a sporty aesthetic (except for the Garmin Venu X1<\/a>, which looks like an Apple Watch). Unlike the Apple Watch, Garmin watches tend to come in a variety of bold colors and often with lots of physical buttons on the case.<\/p>\n

Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.<\/p>\n

As someone who hates interacting with a touchscreen while sweaty during a workout, I appreciate Garmin’s commitment to tactile controls. Many Garmin models are also touch-sensitive, giving users maximum decision-making power over how they interact with the device.<\/p>\n

Apple Watches have fewer physical controls than most Garmin watches. The Apple Series 11<\/a> and SE 3 each sport a single button and a digital crown; the Ultra 3 offers two buttons and a digital crown.<\/p>\n

Depending on which model you go with, both Apple and Garmin offer super-bright displays that can be easily viewed in direct sunlight. However, only Garmin offers models with solar charging.<\/p>\n

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In terms of wearability, Garmin watches tend to be a little chunkier than their Apple Watch alternatives, though no heavier. Lastly, both brands offer their most popular smartwatches in a range of sizes. For example, the Apple Watch Series 11 comes in your choice of 42mm or 46mm, while the Garmin Instinct 3<\/a> (a personal favorite) comes in 45mm or 50mm.<\/p>\n

Winner: Draw<\/p>\n

Apple Watch vs Garmin: Durability<\/p>\n

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(Image credit: Dan Bracaglia\/Tom’s Guide)<\/p>\n

The Apple Watch Series 11 and SE 3 are each rated for 50 meters of water resistance, which is enough for short surface-level swims, though not diving or high-impact water sports. For that, you’ll want the Apple Watch Ultra 3, which is rated for 100 meters of water resistance.<\/p>\n

Most or all of Garmin’s more entry-level models, like the Forerunner 55 and Forerunner 165, offer 50 meters of water resistance<\/a>, while higher-end models, and those built for outdoor adventuring, are rated at 100 meters of water resistance, like the Apple Watch Ultra 3.<\/p>\n

In my several years of testing smartwatches, I’ve never incurred any serious damage to an Apple Watch or a Garmin watch. Both brands incorporate scratch and crack-resistant glass screen protection into their designs.<\/p>\n

However, for the especially accident-prone, there are plenty of Garmin watches with thick bezels, adding an additional layer of protection to the screen. Apple Watches, by comparison, offer no sort of screen bezel protection.<\/p>\n

Winner: Garmin<\/p>\n

Apple Watch vs Garmin: Health features<\/p>\n

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\"Close-up\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Dan Bracaglia\/Tom’s Guide)<\/p>\n

Smartwatch makers have doubled down on health features over the past few years, and both the latest Apple Watch models and Garmin models offer loads of ways to keep track of your well-being.<\/p>\n

For example, Apple and Garmin each provide detailed sleep reports with insights into sleep cycles, disturbances, and more. You also get a daily sleep score each morning, ranging from one to 100, regardless of which brand you choose.<\/p>\n

I prefer the depth of Garmin’s sleep reports to Apple’s, but Apple is catching up to Garmin (Apple sleep scores, for example, are new for 2025).<\/p>\n

When it comes to monitoring for serious health conditions, though, Apple has Garmin beat. All of the current Apple Watch models can alert users if signs of sleep apnea<\/a> are detected. Garmin doesn’t have this. The Apple Watch Series 9, 10, 11, Ultra 2, and Ultra 3 also feature hypertension alerts<\/a>, something no other smartwatch brand offers.<\/p>\n

Winner: Apple Watch<\/p>\n

Apple Watch vs Garmin: Fitness features<\/p>\n

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\"Garmin\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

When it comes to fitness tracking, training, and recovery, Garmin has the edge over Apple, with a larger toolkit of insights and features. Garmin watches also tend to track a wider range of nuanced activity types.<\/p>\n

For example, while Apple recently added a dedicated snowboard tracking mode to the fitness app, Garmin watches let you choose between backcountry snowboarding or resort riding.<\/p>\n

I’m also a big fan of Garmin’s vast array of fitness metrics. For example, Garmin’s ‘Body Battery’ score, which, like your sleep score, is out of one hundred, reflects, in real-time, a user’s energy levels.<\/p>\n

Garmin also provides a ‘fitness age’ metric that compares your lifestyle and abilities to others in your age group. Other handy fitness tools include insights into your heart rate variability, your body’s VO2 max (how effectively you’re able to use oxygen during peak physical performance), and recovery time suggestions. Apple doesn’t have any of these features.<\/p>\n

Winner: Garmin<\/p>\n

Apple Watch vs Garmin: Safety tools<\/p>\n

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\"Apple\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Both Apple and Garmin take safety quite seriously. Safety tools on the latest generation of Apple Watch include fall and car crash detection, an emergency SOS, and ‘Check Ins<\/a>,’ which lets you easily keep loved ones apprised of your location while out and about.<\/p>\n

Garmin watches have ‘Incident Detection,’ which is essentially the same as fall\/crash detection, and LiveTrack, which, like Apple’s Check Ins, lets Garmin watch wearers share their live location with trusted loved ones. Some, but not all, Garmin watches additionally offer an ‘Assistance Plus’ tool that allows you to manually contact emergency responders for help.<\/p>\n

Higher-end Apple Watches and Garmins, like the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Fenix 8 Pro<\/a>, also feature satellite-based emergency communication tools for folks who frequently find themselves off the grid.<\/p>\n

Winner: Draw<\/p>\n

Apple Watch vs Garmin: Smarts and connectivity <\/p>\n

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\"Close\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

This one is easy. When it comes to smart features, even the smartest Garmin watches don’t come close to the Apple Watch. Not only does Apple offer the largest third-party smartwatch app store in existence, but it also ships jam-packed with baked-in smart features, like on-wrist translations<\/a>, a notes app<\/a>, global tide tracking<\/a>, customizable gesture control<\/a>s, and turn-by-turn navigation, to name some favorites.<\/p>\n

Most of Garmin’s mid-tier and above models support NFC for mobile payments, and some even have onboard storage to save music for offline listening, but that pretty much rounds out the list of Garmin smartwatch features. Sure, there’s the Garmin Connect IQ store, where you can download a very small selection of additional apps and tons of watch faces, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the Apple Watch App Store.<\/p>\n

When it comes to connectivity, Apple also has Garmin beat. All three of Apple’s current smartwatch models are offered with optional cellular connectivity. Garmin, meanwhile, has just one current cellular-capable model, the Fenix 8 Pro, and it starts at $1,200.<\/p>\n

Winner: Apple Watch<\/p>\n

Apple Watch vs Garmin: Battery life<\/p>\n

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\"Garmin\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The Apple Watch SE 3 is rated at just 18 hours of battery per charge or up to 32 hours in low-power mode. The Series 11 is rated at 24 hours per charge or 38 hours in low-power mode. Lastly, the Ultra 3 is rated at 42 hours or 72 hours in low-power mode.<\/p>\n

I’m pretty sure that every single Garmin model currently sold \u2014 and there are a lot \u2014 handily beats even the Apple Watch Ultra 3 when it comes to longevity.<\/p>\n

For example, my current favorite Garmin watch, the Instinct 3 AMOLED, is rated at 18 days per charge or 24 days in low-power mode. However, a more direct Garmin competitor to the latest Apple Watch models is the Garmin Venu 4<\/a>, which has more modest battery life than the Instinct 3.<\/p>\n

In smartwatch mode, the Venu 4 is rated for four days of use with the always-on display enabled (12 days without).<\/p>\n

Winner: Garmin<\/p>\n

Apple Watch vs Garmin: Which smartwatch is right for you?<\/p>\n

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\"Close-up\n<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Dan Bracaglia\/Tom’s Guide)<\/p>\n

If your primary reason for owning a smartwatch is tracking your physical fitness, outdoor adventures, or sleep quality, one of the best Garmin watches<\/a> will likely suit you better than Apple Watches. Also, if a nightly need to recharge your device frightens you, definitely go for a Garmin over an Apple Watch.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, if you want the very best smartwatch features paired with decent health, fitness, and sleep tracking tools, one of the best Apple Watches<\/a> is the way to go. Maybe just invest in a portable Apple Watch charger. Finally, those who prefer sleek wrist candy to sporty will likely prefer the latest Apple Watch models to the newest Garmin ones.<\/p>\n

Swipe to scroll horizontallyGarmin vs Apple Watch<\/p>\n

Category <\/p>\n

Winner<\/p>\n

Price<\/p>\n

draw<\/p>\n

Design<\/p>\n

draw<\/p>\n

Durability <\/p>\n

Garmin<\/p>\n

Health features<\/p>\n

Apple<\/p>\n

Fitness features<\/p>\n

Garmin<\/p>\n

Safety tools<\/p>\n

draw<\/p>\n

Smart features<\/p>\n

Apple<\/p>\n

Battery life <\/p>\n

Garmin<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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\"Google\n<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

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More from Tom’s Guide<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As a smartwatch reviewer, I often field questions from Apple Watch owners about whether they should switch to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":328643,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[49,48,195,61],"class_list":{"0":"post-328642","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gadgets","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-gadgets","11":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328642","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=328642"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/328642\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/328643"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=328642"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=328642"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=328642"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}