Garmin has announced the Lily 2, a new smartwatch, alongside the HRM-Fit heart rate monitor for sports bras.
The Lily 2 is said to be a “small, stylish smartwatch”. Priced from £249.99 / $249.99, it includes features such as an optical heart rate monitor, activity tracking and “up to 5 days” battery life.
The HRM-Fit is a chest strap heart rate monitor, designed to clip on to “medium and high-support sports bras”.
Priced at £139.99 / $149.99, the Garmin HRM-Fit has claimed battery life of up to one year.
The brand has also detailed an upcoming redesign of Garmin Connect, its activity analysis app.
Garmin Lily 2 smartwatch
Available now, the Garmin Lily 2 is a smartwatch pitched at the cheaper end of the market.
Garmin describes it as small and stylish, and it includes basic features such as an optical heart rate monitor and activity tracking.
Garmin says it can also track other data such as your blood oxygen saturation, sleeping, breathing and stress.
However, unlike many of the best cycling watches, the Lily 2 doesn’t have a built-in GPS. It instead relies on a connection to a smartphone to provide GPS tracking.
Available now, the Garmin Lily 2 costs £249.99 / $249.99, or £299.99 / $299.99 for a version equipped with Garmin Pay (which enables contactless payments via the smartwatch), called the Lily 2 Classic.
Garmin claims the Lily 2’s battery lasts “up to 5 days”.
Garmin HRM-Fit heart rate monitor
The Garmin HRM-Fit is a chest strap heart rate monitor designed to clip on to medium and high-support sports bras.
Garmin says the clip-on design makes wearing a chest strap – typically regarded as the most accurate kind of heart rate monitor – and a sports bra at the same time easier and more comfortable.
The Garmin HRM-Fit can connect to bike computers, smartwatches and other smart devices via Bluetooth or ANT＋.
Garmin says it can also connect to up to three Bluetooth devices simultaneously, and to an unlimited number of ANT＋ devices.
Additionally, Garmin says the HRM-Fit can capture “running dynamics” data, such as “vertical oscillation, ground contact time balance, stride length, vertical ratio and more” when paired to a compatible Garmin smartwatch.
Powered by a CR2032 coin cell, Garmin claims the HRM-Fit has a battery life of up to 12 months.
The Garmin HRM-Fit costs £139.99 / $149.99 and is available now.
Garmin Connect app redesign
Rolling out in Beta form as of today, Garmin says its Garmin Connect app is set to receive an “extensive” update to its overall look and functionality.
According to Joe Schrick, Garmin’s vice president of fitness, the refresh will “bring a simplified design and more relevant insight” to app users.
Once live, Garmin says the app will more prominently feature “health and fitness metrics that allow users to track their personal goals”.
The updated Garmin Connect homepage will also feature six new customisable sections enabling users to tailor the app to their own preferences:
- Today’s Activity: A space to view activities recorded that day, plus any scheduled workouts or events.
- In Focus: In-depth analysis of metrics and trends.
- At a Glance: This offers a broad overview of a wide array of stats captured by Garmin smart devices.
- Events: Details upcoming events with information such as a countdown clock and the weather forecast.
- Training Plans: For viewing and monitoring Garmin Coach running and cycling training plans.
- Challenges: Compete to climb leaderboards or sign up for challenges to earn badges.
Garmin says Garmin Connect users can sign up to its Beta software programme via the app itself, with a general release to all users set for “later this year”.
