Review: Garmin Epix

Cheatsheet:

• The Garmin Epix is one of the most expensive smartwatches in the brand’s portfolio and is loaded with wellness features
• The Epix is kitted with a high-res AMOLED touchscreen and a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal lens.
• Has over 40 built-in outdoor and indoor sports modes, supporting over 42,000 golf course maps and 2,200 ski resorts around the world.
• The Epix comes with a range of 24×7 health monitoring factors like the Body Battery Energy Monitor, which measures the body’s energy throughout the day.
• Garmin promises up to 21 days of battery life with Power Manager activated

Garmin has been a cult favourite among runners and fitness enthusiasts who rely on the fitness data to keep a tab of their active lifestyles. Garmin’s Epix is aiming to stretch this appeal beyond fitness fanatics. It’s among the brand’s most expensive smartwatches launched in India and makes a pitch as a premium lifestyle smartwatch with heaps of wellness data. A big part of this pitch is built around a vibrant AMOLED display – one of the best on any smartwatch. At an asking price of close to a lakh for the top-of-the-line variant, the Garmin Epix will give you some serious bragging rights.

Rugged meets stylish

When I first unboxed the Epix, I thought it would be too big for my small wrist and tough to wear for long periods of time. I was wrong. I got used to the 70gm heft on my wrist after a week with the Epix, where I only took it off during my shower and to charge once. We checked out the Sapphire Black Titanium version. It’s finished with a fibre-reinforced polymer with a titanium rear cover and protected with a sapphire crystal lens. Bottomline? This is one of the most rugged smartwatches out there.

During my review and trials with the Garmin Epix, I plunged into a pool, and tried a mix of outdoor activities including archery, zorbing and cycling aside from gym workouts. I didn’t worry too much about scratches thanks to the rugged build. This is one of those rare smartwatches that is ready for the rough and tumble, and for a business meeting.

Fitness first

The Epix hits all the right notes on the fitness front. No surprises here. There’s a whole bunch of wellness tracking options, including over 40 built-in indoor and outdoor workout modes. I found the body battery function particularly handy. In simple terms, this features uses a blend of heart rate variability (HRV), stress and activity to estimate your energy reserves (on a score of 1 to 100).

A higher number is an indication that you can push yourself to more tasks and activities, while a lower number tells you that’s it’s time to conserve your energy. More often than not, it corresponded with my own assessment of my energy levels. It’s the same with the sleep tracking. The sleep scores on my Epix were in sync with how I felt after a good night’s sleep. The Epix, however, doesn’t offer ECG monitoring that some of its rivals do currently.

Smartwatch stuff

We would have liked to see LTE mode on the Garmin Epix. This allows you to leave your phone behind when you head for a run and still be reachable for calls and texts from your wrist. I paired the Epix with an iPhone 13 Pro Max and the companion app is very intuitive. I was able to view all alerts on my wrist but there’s no speaker on the watch that allowed me to answer calls. The one smartwatch feature that works really well is Spotify integration. I could sync playlists for offline playback and tune in with Bluetooth earbuds. I, however, didn’t try the option of manually transferring music via my laptop with Garmin’s companion app.

Is the Garmin Epix for you?

The Garmin Epix is easily one of the best smartwatches that the brand has launched in India. Visibility on the 1.3-inch (416 x 416 pixels) touchscreen is terrific even under harsh sunlight. I managed about 6 days of battery life with close to maximum brightness and an hour of workouts with the GPS on. Battery life is an area where Garmin has a huge lead over its rivals. The Epix is for you if you take your fitness and outdoor routines seriously. It tracks multiple wellness metrics and yet looks stylish enough with customisable watch faces for a night on the town.

The Garmin Epix comes in two variants: Slate Steel (Rs 89,990) and Sapphire-Black Titanium (Rs 99,990)