When fitness trackers evolved into full-blown smartwatches and fitness watches in around 2012, pickings were slim, and Fitbit, Polar and Sony were leading the charge. But fast-forward a decade, and there are now plenty of other brands in the field with incredible options, meaning whatever your training goals, you should be able to find a watch that suits.
Need long-lasting battery life? You can now buy powerful wearables that can last 14 days or more before needing a charge, such as the Garmin Enduro 2 or Huawei Watch GT 3. If you want a fitness watch that can double up as a fine-looking timepiece for a black-tie dinner, the Huawei Watch GT 3 Pro is a stunningly designed, long-lasting digital wearable with classic styling.
For runners, triathletes and fitness enthusiasts, Garmin is the first watchmaker that springs to mind, and its Venu 2 Plus and Forerunner 955 will go the distance – both when it comes to battery life and fitness features. Of course, you can’t talk about smartwatches without mentioning Apple and Samsung. iPhone owners won’t do better than an Apple Watch when it comes to smarts. The standard Apple Watch Series 8 is a mini-computer on your wrist, while the Ultra’s more hardy design and longer-lasting battery make it ideally suited to endurance events. Android phone users looking for Apple-Watch Ultra battery life and durability can look to the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro.
BEST WATCH FOR ENDURANCE SPORT
PROS: Best-in-class battery life Complete training feature set
CONS: High price will put most off Bulky styling won’t appeal to all
Garmin Enduro 2
£929.99 / garmin.com
The Garmin Enduro 2 combines long-lasting battery life with top-tier fitness watch features. Designed with endurance trainers in mind, with solar charging, this thing can keep on keeping on for over a month in standard mode, and delivers up to 150 hours of GPS battery life – incredibly good.
With Garmin’s built-in mapping taking the brand’s heritage sat nav technology and tuning it for fitness, and Garmin’s smart UI, complete with wireless payment solution and app support, the Enduro 2 is a powerful fitness watch on paper, with plenty of smarts to boot.
When you first look at the Enduro 2, its Kindle-style display tech looks novel, but it helps the watch hit best-in-class battery life. The 1.4-inch display is touchsensitive and was extremely responsive in our time with it, and we loved the UltraFit band, which is a velcro strap that’s lightweight and comfortable – offsetting the watch’s bulk nicely.
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