Garmin Lily 2 review: Classy but capable Leave a comment

It is well-known that Garmin makes an in depth listing of high-end health watches. Whereas a few of its gadgets function much less sporty designs, most scream, “I am a health or journey watch!” There are jokes and memes within the health and outside worlds about the kind of individuals who put on their Garmin watch as a each day wearer. Maybe I should not admit it, however I’m a type of folks — or I used to be till just lately.

Past its extremely succesful health watches, Garmin affords a smaller number of extra fashion-focused smartwatches. These are supposed as an possibility for each day put on while you need a extra formal-looking watch. They might present much less superior health options however nonetheless operate as succesful health trackers. One such watch is the Garmin Lily 2. I have been carrying the Lily 2 Basic for a couple of weeks and have been impressed by this little watch.

Value, specs, and availability

The Garmin Lily 2 is obtainable in two configurations, one with out Garmin Pay and one with, and a number of colorways. Pricing ranges from $250 to $300, relying on the configuration.

Design, supplies, and match

So light-weight you may neglect it is on

Garmin designed the Lily 2 particularly for ladies or anybody with small wrists who needs a extra discreet watch. My wrists are so small that I can put on kids’s watches, and the Lily 2 appears to be like proper at dwelling there. I went with the leather-based band, which is way narrower than all of my different watches, making it much less noticeable on my wrist.

It is so light-weight that I typically neglect it is on my wrist, one thing that by no means occurs with my bigger watches.

The watch weighs solely 21.5 grams with the leather-based strap and barely much less with the nylon. It is so light-weight that I typically neglect it is on my wrist, one thing that by no means occurs with my bigger watches. The grayscale liquid crystal show affords a 240 x 201-pixel decision with a 1 x 0.8-inch dimension. It is small however massive sufficient to see a very good quantity of knowledge. The case has been upgraded from plastic to anodized aluminum on this second iteration of the Lily, making it a bit classier.

One of many distinctive elements of the Lily 2 is the patterned lens. As a substitute of a transparent glass show, the Lily 2 encompasses a design resembling etched glass beneath the Corning Gorilla Glass 3 lens. Every colour encompasses a totally different sample. The one I have been carrying, Cream Gold, has an Artwork Deco look, whereas some are easier and extra trendy.

The patterned lens elevates the watch’s look, particularly when the show is off. Sadly, I discovered that it made the show exhausting to see in sure mild. I must rotate my wrist simply so as an alternative of having the ability to look at it shortly. It would not be a deal breaker for me, however it was admittedly annoying at instances.

Past appears to be like, Garmin constructed the Lily 2 with helpful well being and health monitoring sensors. It options Garmin’s optical (PPG) sensor for measuring coronary heart charge, a blood oxygen saturation monitor, an accelerometer, and an ambient mild sensor. That coronary heart charge sensor is not Garmin’s latest one with a wrist temperature sensor, which is a little bit disappointing.

Options

The small dimension doesn’t suggest the function listing can also be small

It would not be a Garmin watch with out a lengthy listing of options. Whilst a extra fundamental smartwatch, the Lily 2 has a lot happening. At the start, it affords smartwatch capabilities. The watch connects to your telephone by way of Bluetooth, permitting you to obtain notifications out of your iPhone or Android system.

Past smartwatch features, the Lily 2 may observe your sleep. It tracks your coronary heart charge, blood oxygen ranges, respiration, and motion to supply perception into your totally different sleep levels every evening. Garmin then applies a Sleep Rating to that data, supplying you with a broad image of how good (or dangerous) your sleep was. That data pairs with stress monitoring to supply Garmin’s Physique Battery rating, which might help you higher prioritize relaxation or exercise.

The Lily 2 additionally affords a variety of actions for monitoring. New actions have been added to this second model, together with HIIT, indoor rowing, and indoor strolling. A brand new Dance Health function can observe numerous dance varieties, comparable to Afrobeat, Bhangra, Bollywood, EDM, Hip Hop, Latin, and extra. There’s additionally the usual power coaching, strolling, yoga, operating, and extra. There aren’t as many actions as Garmin’s extra superior health watches, however it hits the most typical ones.

The Lily 2 additionally gives some security options that the primary model didn’t, together with Incident Detection. These require you to have your telephone on you because the watch does not have cell service, however it offers me extra peace of thoughts when on a run or stroll. Lastly, as a female-focused watch, the Lily 2 gives ladies’s well being monitoring proper on the watch itself.

Efficiency

A lot of the options carry out nicely, however not all

The Lily 2 depends on a touchscreen with none bodily buttons on the facet of the bezel. That implies that you swap and faucet to work together with the watch. There’s a little circle on the backside of the display that acts like a button and gives some haptic suggestions while you press it. That pseudo button is the way you entry the actions and settings or return to the earlier display. I’ve had some points with the touchscreen not being responsive sufficient and infrequently having to faucet or swipe a couple of instances earlier than it picks up on it. Accessing the highest merchandise within the settings menu is extraordinarily irritating, requiring many faucets earlier than it lastly opens. It is not the worst touchscreen I’ve used, however it’s positively not the most effective, both.

It is not the worst touchscreen I’ve used, however it’s positively not the most effective, both.

Garmin guarantees as much as 5 days of battery life for the Lily 2, however that will depend on your settings and the way you utilize the watch. I’ve gotten roughly 4 days per cost whereas monitoring a number of actions per day. The Lily 2 makes use of the identical clip-style charger because the earlier model, which differs from Garmin’s different health watches. It makes use of a USB-C charging finish, which is the best way of the long run, however all my wall hubs use USB-A, so I had to purchase a brand new hub for this watch.

The Lily 2 is probably the most correct related GPS system I’ve used throughout any model or system kind.

By way of knowledge accuracy, I discovered the sleep data to be hit-and-miss. That’s typically the case with all sleep-tracking gadgets for me, although. Whereas I did not do an exhaustive comparability, the center charge knowledge appeared fairly correct for my exercises.

As a substitute of built-in GPS, the Lily 2 depends on related GPS, which means it makes use of your telephone’s location data. That implies that if you wish to observe your distance, tempo, and route on an exercise, you may want your telephone. Telephone GPS is not as dependable as multi-band techniques present in watches, so if you’re coaching or centered on hyper-specific knowledge, the Lily 2 will not be the most suitable choice for exercises. Nevertheless, every related GPS system handles related GPS in another way, with various ranges of accuracy. The Lily 2 is probably the most correct related GPS system I’ve used throughout any model or system kind.

One of many issues I used to be stunned to see on the Lily 2 was the automated rep detection throughout power exercises. That is usually a function of costlier watches, however the Lily 2 was in a position to precisely choose up what number of reps I did of actions that contain arm actions, comparable to bench press, deadlift, and seated rows. It even appeared nearer to selecting up correct numbers for core strengthening workout routines in comparison with my epix Professional, which was stunning.

Verdict: Is the Garmin Lily 2 a winner?

Total, I used to be pleasantly stunned by the Lily 2. The scale is right for these of us with small wrists, and look-wise, it is a good change of tempo from Garmin’s extra aggressive health watches. I like having the ability to put on it after I’m a bit extra dressed up and never have it look misplaced.

Regardless of the comparatively affordable value, it’s nonetheless a lot feature-rich, with largely correct knowledge throughout the varied sensors. It’s able to monitoring the most typical forms of actions, although will probably be limiting for some. The Lily 2 positively will not function a substitute for Garmin’s extra athlete-focused watches, however for individuals who need a easy and engaging watch that does not completely skimp on health options, the Lily 2 suits the invoice.