10 Best Garmin Watches 2025 in the UK

The Garmin Forerunner 255 is a compelling choice for runners and fitness enthusiasts seeking a robust smartwatch. One of its standout features is the impressive battery life, lasting up to 14 days in smartwatch mode and 30 hours in GPS mode, allowing you to track long runs without frequent recharging. Its GPS accuracy is enhanced with multi-band satellite tracking, covering GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo networks, ensuring precise tracking even in challenging environments, making it ideal for outdoor activities.

Heart rate monitoring is sophisticated, offering HRV status tracking during sleep, which provides valuable insights into wellness and recovery. This feature can be especially beneficial for those serious about optimizing their training and recovery schedules. The water resistance and durability of the watch make it suitable for various environments, including swimming. Activity tracking is well-rounded, with daily suggested workouts and adaptive training plans through Garmin Coach for distances like 5K and half-marathons. This adaptability helps users personalize their training based on performance and recovery, though beginners might find the abundance of data slightly overwhelming at first.

Smart features are comprehensive, including notifications from your smartphone and the convenience of Garmin Pay for contactless payments. However, responding to texts is only available for Android users, which could be a limitation for iPhone users. The watch’s robust safety and tracking features, such as incident detection and live location sharing, add a layer of security during training sessions, especially when running alone. At 49 grams, its lightweight design ensures comfort over extended periods. While the Forerunner 255 is packed with features, its potential might be best realized by serious runners or those invested in detailed workout analytics, whereas casual users might find some functions excessive.

The Garmin vívoactive 5 is a solid choice if you're looking for a versatile smartwatch with good health and fitness tracking. Its built-in GPS offers reliable location tracking for outdoor activities, and with more than 30 sports apps including swimming and cycling, it covers most workout types well. The battery life is impressive, lasting up to 11 days in smartwatch mode, which means less frequent charging compared to many competitors. Heart rate monitoring is wrist-based and works continuously, helping you track your fitness and stress levels throughout the day. The watch also offers advanced sleep tracking with personalized coaching to improve rest.

While water resistance is indicated by the inclusion of swimming features, it is best suited for casual water use rather than deep diving due to the lack of detailed depth ratings. Smart features like music playback, adaptive training plans, and detailed health metrics add great value without being overwhelming. The AMOLED touchscreen is bright and colorful, making it easy to read even outdoors. One minor drawback is the relatively small screen size (1.2 inches), which might feel cramped if you prefer larger displays. Additionally, some health data like energy monitoring and stress tracking are estimates and should not be considered medical-grade readings.

In terms of durability, the watch is lightweight and well-built, suitable for everyday wear and active lifestyles. This watch is ideal for people wanting a reliable, feature-rich fitness companion with excellent battery life and useful health insights.

The Garmin Forerunner 55 is a GPS running smartwatch designed to be user-friendly and lightweight, making it suitable for beginners and casual runners. Its key strength lies in its GPS accuracy, effectively tracking distance, speed, and location, which is essential for running enthusiasts. Heart rate monitoring at the wrist allows users to keep tabs on their cardiovascular health without needing additional equipment. The watch offers solid battery life, ensuring you won't need to recharge frequently during training sessions or daily use.

Water resistance is another plus, enabling use in wet conditions or during pool swims, although it may not be suited for deep-water activities. Activity tracking is comprehensive, offering insights into various physical endeavors, from running to yoga and cycling. This is bolstered by coaching features like Garmin Coach and PacePro, which provide tailored training guidance and race strategy. Smart features include connectivity via Bluetooth, allowing users to customize watch faces and download applications, enhancing the smartwatch experience.

In terms of durability, the Forerunner 55 is robust enough for daily wear and active use, although heavy-duty sports might require more rugged devices. The limited storage capacity of 32 MB might restrict data-heavy applications or extensive music storage. All these features come in a compact, stylish package that suits a wide range of users irrespective of gender. The Forerunner 55 excels as a reliable, entry-level running smartwatch with advanced features typically required by dedicated runners, although it may not fulfill extreme sports enthusiasts' needs.