Customer Ratings & Reviews

I have been looking for a decently looking "fitness smartwatch" with built-in GPS and good software to go with it. I looked at several brands before and concluded that something was always missing. In some cases it was poorly developed software, in others sub par GPS performance, poor aesthetics / build-quality, or most importantly, limited battery life. I recently tested the Garmin fēnix 3 honestly thinking that I was going to be disappointed. To my surprise; however, I found a device that meets or exceeds my expectations in just about every area important to me. In fact, I was so pleased with the unit I tested that I decided to pay a bit more and upgrade to the Garmin fēnix 3 Sapphire. The Garmin fēnix 3 Sapphire is a large, but extremely well-built piece of hardware. In exchange for its relatively large size; however, you get battery life in the order of days, and a wide variety of built-in features such as barometer / altimeter, temperature sensor, compass, and, of course, GPS. In addition this, you also get a connectivity package that includes Bluetooth, WiFi, and ANT+. The features that I find most valuable about the Garmin fēnix 3; however, come from its software. Not only from the smartphone app that connects to the Garmin fēnix 3 via Bluetooth, but also from the device's user interface. On one hand, the layout of the Garmin fēnix 3's screens make it very easy to use at all times. This simplicity, coupled with dedicated hardware buttons, greatly eases navigating through the multitude of features offered by the device. On the other hand, the smartphone app provides a variety of tools to help you analyze and track the data collected by the Garmin fēnix 3. Another feature I really like about the Garmin fēnix 3 Sapphire is its screen. Although passive (i. e. does not generate light), the Garmin fēnix 3's color screen has great contrast, particularly when exposed to direct light. This makes the device extremely legible outdoors. Although there are a lot more features I didn't cover in this brief review, it suffices to say that the Garmin fēnix 3 Sapphire has impressed me not only because of its vast feature set and software, but also because of its great build quality. This device offers, in my opinion, the best balance of functionality and quality I've found in this category of device so far.