Later this quarter, Garmin is launching three attempts to cement its place in the smartwatch market. The Fenix 3 takes Garmin’s GPS features and adds a host of activity tracking options, updating it with color display options and an app platform called Connect IQ. The Epix is focused squarely on navigation. It updates your location continuously on a map; includes an altimeter, compass, and barometer; and supports phone notifications and existing apps. And the less rugged Vivoactive includes fitness tracking and app support in a thinner package. They’ll run between $249.99, for a Vivoactive with no heart monitor, and $599.99, for a sapphire-domed Fenix 3 or an Epix with a built-in topographic map.
Up close with Garmin’s bulky, feature-packed new smartwatches
Barometers, GPS, and more
is a senior tech and policy editor focused on online platforms and free expression. Adi has covered virtual and augmented reality, the history of computing, and more for The Verge since 2011.
We haven’t been able to try out most of these features, but the watches were on the show floor at CES, so we got a few pictures of the chunky alternatives to Android Wear that people might be wearing later this year.
1/9Garmin Fenix 3
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