The smartwatch market is overwhelmingly crowded, but Garmin remains in a category of its own. I've personally been sporting a Garmin smartwatch (the Venu, if you're curious) for six years and continue to sing its praises. If you're in the market for a high-performance smartwatch built to last, I highly recommend going with Garmin — especially when you can find one on sale.
While the Apple Watch may sync with your Apple gadgets seamlessly and serve as a mini phone on your wrist, Garmin shines when it comes with health and fitness tracking, as well as ultra-long battery life. This makes them especially great picks for athletes of all kinds.
A few Garmin smartwatches are on sale for up to 35% off, some at or close to their lowest price ever. In other words, if you're seeking a new smartwatch that can accompany you on your health and fitness journey for years to come, it's a great time to grab a Garmin. I've rounded up my top picks below.
Best Garmin smartwatch deal
$449.99 Save $155.99
Why we like it
The Venu 3S is a great all-rounder, with an abundance of health metrics and fitness tools (over 30 preloaded sports apps), in-depth recovery advice, detailed sleep data, and a built-in speaker and microphone for hands-free calls and virtual assistant access. It's incredibly sleek and comes in two sizes; the 3S is about .2 inches smaller in diameter (41mm versus 45mm). Like every Garmin watch, the battery life puts other smartwatches to shame. The 3S will last you about 10 days in smartwatch mode, while the 3 will last up to 14. While it comes in a variety of colorways, the French Gray and Sage Gray options offer the biggest discount at just $294 (reg. $449.99). Every other option in both sizes is also on sale for just a few more bucks — $299.99. Whichever you pick, you'll be getting the best price ever on this smartwatch.
Best Garmin smartwatch deal for runners
$449.99 Save $100
Why we like it
While the Venu 3 is a great all-rounder, the Forerunner 265 is designed specifically for runners. Whether you're training for an upcoming marathon or just trying to improve your daily run times, the Forerunner 265 will assist you with all the data you could ever want. You'll get a morning report with recovery and training outlooks for the day, a training readiness score, personalized workouts, training tips, race performance stats, course details, and more. After each run, you'll also be able to zero in on things like cadence, stride length, ground contact time, and HRV. The Forerunner 265 will last you up to 15 days in smartwatch mode and 24 hours in GPS mode. Snag it on sale for just $349.99 as of Aug. 18. That's $100 off its list price and about $50 shy of its lowest cost ever.
Best multisport Garmin smartwatch deal
$449.99 Save $150
Why we like it
The Garmin Instinct 3 is a rugged smartwatch that can handle just about anything. You can choose from an AMOLED, Tactical, Solar, or Tactical AMOLED display — most of which are on sale — depending on your preferences. The Instinct 3 is incredibly tough, built with a 45mm fiber-reinforced polymer case and metal-reinforced bezel, and even has a built-in LED flashlight with variable intensities for visibility. It packs a 3-axis compass, barometric altimeter and multi-band GPS with SatIQ technology for the ultimate navigation. And, of course, you'll also get all of Garmin's detailed health and fitness features, as well as an insane battery life of up to 18 days. The AMOLED version is typically $449.99, but as of Aug. 18, it's down to only $299.99 at Amazon. That's just $50 away from its best price ever.
More Garmin watch deals
Garmin Vivoactive 5 — $189.99
$299.99(save $110)Garmin Forerunner 165 Music — $249.99
$299.99(save $50)Garmin Forerunner 965 — $499.99
$599.99(save $100)Garmin Instinct Crossover — $549.99
$649.99(save $100)Garmin Venu X1 — $599.99
$799.99(save $200)Garmin fenix 8 (AMOLED) — $749.99
$999.99(save $250)Garmin quatix 8 Marine — $1,049.99
$1,299.99(save $250)