Garmin Lily 2 review: A beautiful smartwatch that’s lacking in fitness tracking

There are a lot of choices for smartwatches available on the market. From extra “conventional” smartwatches from Apple and Samsung to fitness-focused choices from manufacturers like Fitbit and Garmin, selecting your excellent smartwatch may be overwhelming — particularly if you’d like one thing with kind and performance. 

Personally, I’ve been an Apple Watch person for a number of years, however — whereas I really like the comfort of my Sequence 4 — I’m form of uninterested in carrying it. The looks of my Apple Watch was by no means my favourite, however many different choices available on the market sported the identical issues. They’re both too sq., too clunky, too sporty, or too huge — which is why I used to be thrilled to see that Garmin had launched its new Lily 2 smartwatch. 

Billed as a fashion-forward smartwatch for girls, the Garmin Lily 2 ticked numerous the bins I didn’t know I used to be on the lookout for. With a smaller watch face, a hidden show, and 6 totally different colour choices obtainable, it definitely seems to be higher than many of the smartwatches I’ve seen available on the market — however is it definitely worth the $249 price ticket? 

I made a decision to attempt it out for myself, and right here’s what you might want to know: 

The Garmin Lily 2 smartwatch seems to be completely gorgeous 

Straight out of the field, the Lily 2 is without doubt one of the prettiest smartwatches I’ve seen. I selected the Garmin Lily 2 Traditional in cream gold with a tan leather-based band, and I used to be impressed by how well-made this watch is. The patterned watch face isn’t one thing I assumed I’d respect, nevertheless it’s a delicate function that lends an Artwork Deco really feel to what’s already a gorgeous watch.

The watch face itself is small and durable, with two totally different finishes on the cream gold exterior, and the Italian leather-based band is a far cry from the silicone bands I’ve used previously. The watch itself additionally holds a waterproof ranking of 5 ATM — as much as a depth of fifty meters — which Garmin says ought to stand up to splashes, rain or snow, showering, swimming, and extra. (Nonetheless, the band you select would possibly influence the way you deal with the watch round water.)

The watch additionally contains a hidden show, which is gorgeous in principle, however I discovered the dearth of analog watch palms barely disappointing. Different Garmin watches sport bodily watch palms — permitting you to inform the time with out “activating” the digital show — and I felt like this function would’ve given the Lily 2 slightly bit extra polish. Plus, the show itself is grayscale and considerably pixelated, making the expertise really feel barely much less luxe than the bodily watch.

The swipe capabilities have been additionally slightly slower than these on my Apple Watch, which meant the expertise of utilizing the Lily 2 didn’t fairly match the way in which it regarded. It’s a gorgeous accent, sure, and it packs a strong punch with well being monitoring — however the smartwatch functionalities have been a bit missing in comparison with different choices available on the market. It does embrace Garmin Pay, and it’s suitable with each Apple and Android smartphones, so you may obtain texts, emails, and calendar alerts in your watch. Nonetheless, it’s additionally extremely tethered to your telephone — so that you’ll want to hold your telephone with you to get options like GPS information on exercises, climate information, and many others. 

Most of Garmin’s monitoring options have been unbelievable

Whereas I used to be impressed by the Garmin Lily 2 out-of-the-box, most of the monitoring options have been even higher than I anticipated. The Lily 2 boasts a collection of Garmin’s finest well being monitoring options — together with the sleep rating — permitting you to trace every thing out of your coronary heart price, steps, exercises, respiration, stress ranges, and extra. As somebody new to Garmin watches, I used to be significantly impressed by the “physique battery” rating, which estimates your vitality ranges all through the day by using your coronary heart price variability (HRV), stress ranges, sleep high quality, and train exercise. 

In comparison with my Apple Watch — which additionally tracks issues like steps, train exercise, respiration, and coronary heart price — I discovered that the addition of the stress rating, sleep rating, and physique battery gave me deeper perception into the information I used to be monitoring. Not solely did this assist me monitor my stress and vitality ranges all through the day, nevertheless it additionally helped me higher interpret my very own well being information.

My Apple Watch Sequence 4 in comparison with the Garmin Lily 2.
Credit score: RJ Andersen / Mashable

As a result of the stress rating relies on physiological stress not simply emotional stress, for instance, I began discovering which issues contributed to a high-stress rating — like a heavy meal, an intense exercise, or my tendency to tempo on telephone calls — which allowed me to regulate my habits all through the day. If my physique battery was depleting quicker than I needed it to, for instance, I’d swap my exercise for a meditation session (or a nap). As somebody who’s an avid proponent of vitality administration, this made the Lily 2 an unbelievable companion for structuring my day to take care of optimum vitality. 

And surprisingly? A lot of the information appeared fairly correct. I don’t love carrying watches or bracelets at night time, however I did sport the Lily 2 for every week of bedtimes, and the sleep rating was a useful piece of knowledge. That being stated, I wasn’t fairly health-obsessed sufficient to wish to preserve carrying it at night time, however the remainder of my data — like my Stress Rating and Physique Battery — nonetheless felt fairly correct even with out monitoring my sleep. 

What I preferred concerning the Garmin Lily 2: Monitoring, aesthetic, connectivity

Clearly, the Lily 2 gave me loads to like. The aesthetic of the watch was unbelievable, other than minor disappointment with the show, and the monitoring options have been an awesome asset. I cherished with the ability to use the watch to handle my vitality ranges, perceive how totally different selections impacted my well-being, and alter my habits accordingly. Plus, the battery life held as much as the five-day estimate, and — because it charged extremely quick — I used to be capable of take the watch off throughout a bathe and put it again on, absolutely charged. 

Not solely is it a surprising smartwatch full of some nice monitoring functionalities, however the Lily 2 additionally paired simply with my Apple iPhone 11 Professional, which means I might obtain textual content messages, notifications, climate updates, and extra. Whether or not I used to be figuring out, going for a stroll, or deep in my workday, the watch was cute, comfy, and surprisingly handy — apart from a couple of key options.

What I didn’t like about it: Exercise UX and the Garmin Join app

Whereas the Garmin Lily 2 labored nice more often than not, it fell flat in a couple of key areas: exercise monitoring and the Garmin Join app. 

With exercise monitoring, the watch typically carried out okay, however sure actions provided some critical points. Treadmill actions, for example, didn’t log any distance — every thing else was monitoring simply superb, together with my step depend and coronary heart price — however after half a mile on the treadmill, I glanced at my watch and noticed it had registered a distance of zero toes. 

I hopped off, opened the app to troubleshoot, and spent the following thirty minutes battling with the Garmin Join App. I attempted trying to find options on Garmin’s help types, restarted my telephone and watch, and even reset the watch again to manufacturing facility settings, however nothing appeared to work. I might modify the gap within the Garmin Join on-line portal to match my treadmill’s studying — and the gap appeared to work simply superb on outside walks and runs — however treadmill exercises continued to be a supply of frustration. 

Different actions appeared to operate superb  —  distance logged accurately on outside walks and runs — nevertheless it felt just like the “actions” function on the app was surprisingly missing for a fitness-focused smartwatch. As soon as I began an exercise, for instance, I used to be locked into monitoring it. I couldn’t entry the rest on the watch with out stopping the exercise, and I couldn’t discover the choice to even pause and resume an exercise as soon as it was began. 

Have a look below the hood.
Credit score: RJ Andersen / Mashable

Once more, it felt like the information I used to be receiving was unbelievable — other than my hiccups with the Treadmill exercise — however the precise expertise of utilizing it fell quick. It wasn’t essentially unhealthy, nevertheless it simply didn’t really feel fairly as good in comparison with different smartwatches I’ve tried. 

Sadly, my expertise with the Garmin Join app was additionally considerably lackluster. The app labored superb, nevertheless it was cluttered, overwhelming, and complicated — even for somebody who’s pretty tech-savvy. Some settings have been buried below a number of menus, whereas others appeared to be accessible solely on the Garmin Join on-line portal, not the app itself. 

Whereas I’m not often a fan of companion apps, particularly after they’re pointless, the Garmin Join app is needed — which made the dearth of user-friendliness much more irritating. Some days my data wouldn’t seem on the “my day” window in any respect except I refreshed my watch’s connection a number of instances, and making an attempt to know the totally different settings below the “extra” part felt inconceivable. That being stated, it wasn’t essentially a deal-breaker for me — the app’s performance didn’t appear to influence my expertise with the watch, other than the problem with distance measurements on treadmill exercises — it simply felt unnecessarily sophisticated.

Is the Garmin Lily 2 price it?

If you happen to’re on the lookout for a small, lovely watch with some easy on a regular basis health-tracking performance, the Lily 2 is perhaps the right smartwatch for you. Garmin has clearly constructed an incredible piece of {hardware} with this watch, however as I discussed above, it’s the software program that feels a bit missing. Nonetheless, not everybody will discover (or care) about these issues, making the Lily 2 an awesome choice for somebody who desires a trendy, easy smartwatch to trace exercise with out a ton of bells and whistles. 

As a smartwatch for the fitness-obsessed, nevertheless, I discovered myself wishing for extra. The watch is trendy, sure, nevertheless it doesn’t arise in opposition to extra highly effective sports activities watches — and it’s definitely not as “sensible” as different smartwatches. So for those who’re on the lookout for an awesome exercise companion — otherwise you wish to check out extra superior smartwatch options — you would possibly wish to look elsewhere.