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Garmin’s new Vivoactive watch can track your yoga sessions
Garmin has turned up at IFA with a whole host of new watches, including the flagship Venu and its Avengers-branded special editions. But the company has also taken the time to refresh its line of cheaper Vivoactive GPS watches. The new Vivoactive 4 and 4S models offer the same features you would expect from the series, with the addition of respiration tracking. Watches can now monitor your breathing when you're doing yoga — previously limited to when you wore a chest strap.
Garmin's new Fenix 6 watches are prettier and last longer
Garmin continues to upgrade its Fenix line of GPS watches, making them more useful for outdoor sports enthusiasts. With the new Fenix 6 series, Garmin is also trying to give its fans more options by offering variants in prettier styles and more premium builds. The Fenix 6, 6S and 6X come in Sapphire editions featuring scratch-resistant, you guessed it, sapphire faces. There are also new rose gold, champagne and gray cases, as well as nylon bands and a variety of colors for a wide range of designs. Garmin has added new power management and coaching features to the series as well, but the update that really stands out is solar charging.
Garmin adds Amazon Music to its fitness watches
After adding support for Spotify last October, Garmin is expanding the music streaming services its wearables support to include Amazon Music. What's more, this time around the company is doing a broader rollout. Not only is Amazon Music available on Garmin's high-end devices like the Fenix 5 Plus series, you can also download the app on affordable models like the Vivoactive 3 Music. Also included in today's rollout are the Forerunner 245 Music, Forerunner 645 Music and Forerunner 945, as well as the ritzy MARQ collection.
How to give your hike a high-tech upgrade
Here's all of the gear you need to take your hiking game to the next level.
In case of emergency: The tech that might save you
Nature is beautiful, but it can also be unpredictable and dangerous. Here's the gear that might save you when you're spending hours hiking, camping or adventuring outdoors.
Summer boondocking gear: Car camping done right
Earlier this year I was infected with the #vanlife bug. Well, more like the #overlanding bug in my case, but I've been camping and working from the road for over a month now. I get to soak up this country's natural splendor and scurry after Slack notifications. But be warned, would-be digital nomads, this is no walk in the (national) park. I need a lot of gear, like solar panels, batteries, a refrigerator, cell boosters and tons more to make it happen. Here's what I took on the road for my first month (and why).
The tech elite athletes use
When a field of 127 runners lined up in Central Park on September 13, 1970, to run the first New York City Marathon, the only gadgets, per se, that could help them were a smattering of watches. A grainy finisher photo shows winner Gary Muhrcke breaking the tape with a watch band on his left wrist. Both of his hands are throwing peace signs. The only equipment required then was a pair of shoes, short shorts and enough grit to run 26.2 miles without collapsing. Today, running without a GPS watch is as much a protest against screen time and the intrusion of tech as it is a tactical racing decision. Some of us, meanwhile, can't imagine running without headphones. Then there's all the self-care. Vibrating muscle relaxers help athletes recover. Sport-centric social networks, like Strava, help us bask in our best workouts. Meditation apps help us calm down before bed while calorie counting apps track our macros. Even the most basic of fitness devices capture heart-rate data; on running watches, it will soon be standard. Speaking of sports watches, we have an entire buying guide for that, which we recently published as part of this outdoor gear series. But we were also curious about what it means to be better, faster, stronger when money is no object. We asked five elite runners, all of whom are flush with sponsorship deals and prize money, on what they use to train and how they protect their most important piece of equipment: their bodies. A couple of items on this list were universally recommended, namely the Hyperice Volt ($349) massage-ball gun (as I'm describing it) and NormaTec's compression boots ($1,295), both muscle-recovery tools. And, of course, plenty were eager to tout the wares of their sponsor partners. Here's what they're using.
The best Prime Day 2019 deals: Day two, the morning edition
This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commissions. that support its work. Read Wirecutter's continuously updated list of Amazon Prime Day deals here.
Garmin hopes Alexa will convince you to buy a dedicated GPS
There's no question that dedicated GPS units are on the decline in an era when your smartphone is often good enough for navigation, if not better. Garmin, however, thinks it can stave off obsolescence in a simple way -- by adding a voice assistant you'd use on your phone. The new DriveSmart 65 is the company's first full-display GPS (but not its first ever) to incorporate Alexa, and uses the AI helper to handle the tasks that would normally require staring at your phone or infotainment system.
Garmin's latest GPS is designed for off-road explorers
With GPS now a basic cell phone feature, and more vehicles rolling off the production lines with built-in satnav systems, the role of standalone satellite-navigation devices is diminishing. Why have an extra bit of kit in your car that needs additional maintenance? But Garmin thinks there's still a place for them, particularly in the world of off-roading and overlanding.
It's not just the Apple Watch powering the smartwatch market's growth
The smartwatch market is still growing at a breakneck pace several years in. Counterpoint Research estimated that smartwatch shipments jumped by 48 percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2019 -- no mean feat in a season that's typically quiet. The Apple Watch's leading share barely budged at 35.8 percent, although that came precisely because its shipments grew a sizeable 49 percent. The real stars of the show were some of Apple's rivals, though, as they enjoyed success they haven't had in a while.
Garmin's fitness watches are getting period-tracking via an update
Garmin has added a feature for tracking menstrual cycles to its line of connected wearables and smartwatches. Women can now track their menstrual cycle and log symptoms through the Garmin Connect app. They can opt-in to receive reminders for periods and fertility windows on their Garmin smartwatches or wearables. With its new period tracker, Garmin joins other major fitness tracking apps such as Fitbit and Apple Health in giving their female users an option to track their reproductive health.
The best 360-degree camera
By Geoffrey Morrison This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full 3060-degree camera guide here. After 70-plus hours of researching over nearly three years, including days of hands-on testing for this update and two months using our main pick, we've found that the Insta360 One X is the best 360 camera. It produces attractive, high-resolution, 360-degree, fully spherical images and videos that you can scroll around to show a view of every direction surrounding the camera, plus unique non-360 "FreeCapture" 1080p videos that show just the most interesting sections of your 360 content. The camera is small and easy to use and has excellent apps for your phone and computer. The Insta360 One X is the camera that does everything well. The specs on the One X read like a 360 camera wishlist: 5.7K resolution (the highest you can get in this price range), removable battery, on-camera display, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, an app with advanced editing methods, and more. It's as if Insta360 looked at everything people wanted in a 360 camera, and stuffed it all into the One X. Even better, it performs as well as you'd hope looking at the features list. The camera isn't waterproof, but two waterproof cases are available, along with numerous other accessories. Though it lacks some of the advanced features of the Insta360 One X like robust image stabilization, a removable battery, and 5.7K video, the Ricoh Theta V is a solid alternative if our main pick is sold out. The Theta V's simple design belies the complexity within, offering high-quality images and videos that look more natural and immersive than those taken by most other cameras. Though its resolution isn't as high as that of some others, the quality of its lenses and image sensors let it take excellent photos and videos. If you're looking for something you can take surfing, swimming, mountain biking, or otherwise action cam-y, the Garmin Virb 360 is waterproof to 33 feet (10 meters), records 5.7K video, and has a number of cool editing features. It's significantly more expensive than our other picks, but offers a lot more for people looking for a 360 action cam. While the similar GoPro Fusion has a bit better image quality, it is significantly more difficult to use and live with. So for most people, the Garmin is the better option.
Garmin gives its Vivomove smartwatch more style with four new colors
It's been a long time since smartwatch wearers had to settle for boxy lumps of plastic around their wrists. Now manufacturers are able to cram these wearables full of features, style is firmly back on the agenda, as demonstrated by Garmin which has just announced four new color options for its Vivomove HR smartwatch.
Garmin's adventure-based smartwatch line starts at $1,500
Garmin is hoping its new line of smartwatches will strike a chord with the kind of thrill seekers you might find flying planes and racing cars -- and we might assume they're expensive planes and cars, given the high asking prices. The new MARQ collection, as it's called, is geared toward pilots, ship captains, explorers and athletes. The smartwatches range from $1,500 to $2,500 and can supposedly do everything from calculate your performance vehicle's average speed to send email notifications while you zip around a racetrack.
The best dash cam
By Rik Paul, Molly K. McLaughlin This post was done in partnership with Wirecutter. When readers choose to buy Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, Wirecutter and Engadget may earn affiliate commission. Read the full dash cam guide here. After researching about 200 dash cams and testing 30, we've found that the Garmin Dash Cam 55 is the dash cam we'd want on the windshield in case something crazy happens when we're out for a drive. This camera produces crisp, detailed video day or night, and its compact body sits securely in a magnetic mount that's among the simplest to set up and use daily. The Garmin Dash Cam 55 records at a 1440p resolution, delivering better-quality video than most of the models we've tested, with sharp enough resolution to clearly read license plates and see other details in lighting conditions that other cameras struggled with. At only 2¼ by 1½ inches, the Garmin takes up less room on the windshield than most, and its small magnetic mount makes the camera easy to adjust, attach, or remove. You can perform basic functions through voice commands—a rare feature that helps make up for some awkward physical controls. It also has details common to higher-end units, like an integrated GPS receiver, Wi-Fi for connecting to a compatible smartphone app, and some handy driver assistance functions.
Spotify finally lands on Garmin's VivoActive 3 Music
Some potential buyers might have backed out of buying Garmin's music-focused Vivoactive 3 fitness watch, because it didn't support Spotify when it launched in mid-2018. Now, the wearables maker is finally patching that compatibility hole. The Vivoactive 3 Music watch now supports Spotify like the company's other fitness watches already do.
Garmin's latest golf GPS can throw you into virtual tournaments
Garmin doesn't just want to help you improve your golf game -- it wants to enable golf matches with players who are nowhere near a course. It's launching an Approach G80 golf GPS that includes new game modes, including a Virtual Tournament option that pits you against players at the driving range and at home on recreations of famous courses. It's not going to have the slick presentation of a video game on its 3.5-inch touchscreen, but it could feel more like the real thing. If you're looking for simpler contests, a one- or two-player Target Practice mode can help you improve your accuracy.
Hitman convicted thanks to fitness watch location data
An alleged hitman has learned hard lessons about the the value of GPS data on fitness watches. A Liverpool jury has found Mark Fellows guilty of the 2015 murder of mob boss Paul Massey in part thanks to location info from the accused's Garmin Forerunner. An expert inspecting the watch's info discovered that Fellows had recorded a 35-minute trip that took him to a field just outside Massey's home ahead of the murder. He appeared to be scouting the route he would take later to perform the hit, a claim supported by cell site and CCTV evidence showing Fellows driving his car past Massey's house numerous times in the week before the slaying.
Garmin adds LTE to its Vivoactive 3 Music watch
Garmin has made plenty of smartwatches in recent years, and today the company is introducing its first with LTE. It's an update to the existing, awkwardly-named Garmin Vivoactive 3 Music that can connect to Verizon's LTE network for a variety of features including text messaging, some safety-focused features and, naturally, music.
