Garmin Lily Review
Designed by women for women, the Garmin Lily is a beautiful, feminine watch. But with a host of helpful health and fitness features, this smartwatch is more than just a pretty face.
Design:
The Garmin Lily is, as the name suggests, as pretty as a flower. Its slim, feminine style, attractive face and slender band mean that it resembles a beautiful piece of jewellery more than a smartwatch. When not in use, the display even projects a patterned metallic design that enhances this jewel-like quality.
The abovementioned slender band is available in a choice of leather or silicone, depending on whether you’re going for a classic or a sporty look. However, the band is swappable, which means you’re not limited to just the one look. So, feel free to explore our wide range of Garmin Lily Straps, available in an array of materials and fashionable designs, all of which are guaranteed to add to the wow factor of this stunning smartwatch.
With a clear, bright touchscreen LCD display and no physical buttons to detract from the streamlined design, the Garmin Lily looks like a truly premium timepiece.
Functionality:
When it comes to features on offer, this isn’t a case of style over substance. The Garmin Lily has lots of different functions up its sleeve. In terms of health and fitness aids, it has the ability to track 7 different activities, hydration tracking, daily activity and health statistics, menstrual and pregnancy tracking, sleep tracking (with REM monitoring and a sleep report provided) and it’s water resistant. Plus, it has a pulse oximeter to check SpO2 (blood oxygen) levels, not just over- night monitoring like most smartwatches, it also enables you to carry out spot checks whenever you feel like it. Another nifty feature is the abnormal heart rate alert it sends you if it detects that your heart rate is particularly high, coupled with a 5 minute breathing exercise which it automatically takes you through to bring it back down to normal.
There are also a couple of helpful personal safety features at your disposal, such as the ability to quickly and easily send emergency alerts to your nominated contact by repeatedly tapping the screen. A text message will then be sent to your contact of choice, providing them with your GPS co-ordinates. I really appreciated having this reassuring function at my fingertips as, let’s face it, the world doesn’t always feel like a safe place, particularly for a woman on her own. In addition, the Garmin Lily is equipped with Livetrack, which enables your friends and family to track your progress while you’re outside, meaning they can use it to monitor your whereabouts at all times whilst you need them to.
Generally-speaking, there are some handy little techy bits, such as a screen which can be activated by simply raising your wrist, a USB clip for easy and reliable charging and the ability to control music playback on your phone.
Pros:
Not to sound like a broken record, but the Garmin Lily really is beautiful. It’s also comfortable and versatile, with a wide selection of stylish faces to choose from. So, looks-wise and comfort-wise, there are no issues whatsoever.
I also loved the wide range of apps on offer and few would dispute that the Garmin Connect companion fitness app is a joy. Packed with useful features and details, it collates all your statistics in one place and lists them to provide a complete health overview. Even better, there is no subscription to pay to unlock the premium features. So, everything you need to monitor trends and make lifestyle adjustments is at your disposal at no extra charge. You also get free access to an extensive catalogue of challenging workouts, which can be filtered by various different categories for ease of selection. Plus, there are training plans available for running and cycling.
I found the Garmin Lily was an accurate and reliable tracker when it came to basic sports, such as running. It was also an excellent tool for creating healthy habits and sticking to them; offering insights into my health and fitness and collating the data in a clear, comprehensive way.
Cons:
My main grumble is that, for the price, the Garmin Lily was a little light on features. In particular, there is no on-board GPS which is a bit disappointing. Although, it does offer connected GPS from your phone, which works well and provides a clear display of your workout, it would be nice if you could get GPS via your smartwatch direct and leave your phone at home. Another key feature which was lacking is contactless payment. Again, this would have been a nice touch considering the price-point.
For fitness tracking, the Garmin Lily offers great performance when it comes to the mainstream activities. However, if you’re a lover of more niche sports which aren’t catered for here, then this is perhaps not the one for you.
Finally, whilst the gender specificity of the Garmin Lily is not necessarily a flaw as such, it does mean that this smartwatch, by definition, lacks universal appeal. There is perhaps a question-mark as to whether there is a need for a gender specific smartwatch in this day in age, when a lot of unisex smartwatches offer menstrual tracking features for example. That said, if you’re a woman and the Garmin Lily’s many attributes tick your boxes, then there’s absolutely no reason not to put your hand in your pocket.
Verdict:
A beautiful smartwatch which gives a high-class performance when it comes to mainstream sports tracking and offers some handy features for monitoring general health and aiding personal safety. If you’re a man who’s into a niche sport, then this probably isn’t for you. Otherwise, it’s certainly a decent option.