At the end of January 2021, Garmin surprised everyone with the release of their Garmin Lily collection. The line is centred around the needs of women and the challenges of daily life. The brand promises that not only is the Lily the embodiment of elegance and versatility, but that it also has perfect functionality for day to day life. With such high claims, we at First Class Watches thought it best to write a review of the Garmin Lily. After wearing the smartwatch for a week, I explore the pros and cons of the hardware, apps and set-up process.
The Design
The design of the Lily watch can only be described as subtle yet elegant. The collection comes in several muted neutral colours. This in order to make it easier for the pieces to be incorporated into our everyday wardrobe. The case of the watch is made of fibre-reinforced polymer. As the watch is designed to be worn every day, the bezel is made of stainless steel to guarantee its durability. At only 34.5 mm in diameter and 24g in weight, the watch doesn’t get in the way of everyday tasks. The digital display of the watch isn’t colour, however, it is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass. The timepiece is a touchscreen and has no pushers or side buttons. The strap the watch comes with is leather.
Now if you’re the type to shower with your watch and jewellery I would rethink taking the Lily in with you. Though leather, in general, has some water resistance it is best to keep it dry. I personally found this slightly inconvenient as I found myself forgetting to put it back on straight after. Depending on when you take your shower this might affect some of the data you receive as it might often be incomplete. This, however, might not be an issue for everyone. Overall in other aspects of daily life, ones not involving water, I found the Lily very comfortable to wear and easy to integrate with my style.
Getting Started
If you have had a Garmin timepiece before, you’re likely familiar with the setup process. In order to properly use the watch and reap all benefits, you need to have the Garmin Connect application on your smartphone. It is best to charge the watch before use. Make sure you’re charging it through a laptop or a computer or a similar device. Avoid charging Garmin watch directly from a socket as that might damage their battery life.
Once the Lily is plugged in instructions will immediately come up on the screen of the watch. The set-up process itself is fairly straightforward. Download the app, wake up the watch, open the app and then connect to your timepiece by synchronising it with your phone. It’s easy and takes about 5 to 10 minutes while the watch syncs up. I did have a bit of trouble and had to restart the process. I believe, however, I had moved the watch too far away from my smartphone during set-up. Connect the devices while the watch is off your wrist and placed next to the phone, to avoid similar issues.
After the watch is connected you can start personalizing it. The watch comes with several display options. Each display shows different information. This allows you to choose what you’d like to focus on on a day-to-day basis, whether that would be only the time or it would include health and fitness information.
Features
The Lily watch’s display is not an always-on display. The watch screen is activated as you lift your wrist towards you. Though this is an interesting feature allowing the watch to conserve battery it has a minor flaw. The sensitivity of the display is not too great and I would often have to shake my wrist to get the watch to wake up. Though this isn’t too big of an issue it can be annoying if you’re in a rush or want to get information off the watch quickly.
Notifications on the watch are straightforward. They appear clear and the font used is big enough for you to read without struggling. The watch also offers an option to reply to a text message you’ve received with a pre-generated set of phrases.
Health Tracking
Garmin wants to highlight the importance of good mental and physical health with every one of its models. The Lily does this beautifully and in a very accessible way. When I was using Garmin’s Lily watch I found the health information it provides the most intriguing. To get the full benefits of the watch you do need to play around with the Garmin Connect application a little bit, but the data it has is beyond insightful. The watch recorded not only my heart rate and steps but also my stress levels and body battery. I found the stress and relaxation features amongst the best additions to the model.
The Lily watch offers guided breathing exercises to help you cope with day to day stress and anxieties. With most women juggling between a career, family and social life, even taking just two minutes a day to sit and focus on your breathing can do wonders.
The Body Battery energy monitoring takes most of the health data provided and makes sure to let you know when it’s time to take a break and recharge. By analyzing your activity, stress and rest data the feature gives you a comprehensive picture of your health and some steps you can take to better your day-to-day energy.
Other useful health features included are menstrual cycle and pregnancy tracking, alongside sedentary reminders to get you moving through the day. We’re our best selves when we’re rested and Garmin knows that so they have also put a focus on sleep through the advanced sleep monitoring app. The application shows detailed information on the quality of your sleep and then uses it to help build a more complete health profile for you.
Fitness Applications
When it came to the activity features, the watch automatically tracks steps as well as stair climbing. Unlike other Garmin watches, the Lily focuses more on health than activity. The watch features several activity profiles, but none of them is as developed as they are on other Garmin smartwatches. The running feature provides information on pace and cadence, while the swimming feature only has basic pool swimming. The Lily, however, never claimed to be a fitness watch and that’s ok. The watch’s strengths lie elsewhere as it is more of an everyday activity and health tracker. The Lily does have gym activity profiles such as strength, cardio, yoga and pilates. The profiles are easy to activate and the watch does have automatic rep counting so that’s one less thing for you to worry about.
Final Thoughts
Having worn the Garmin Lily for 7 days I can confidently say this watch delivers on its promises. The watch is advertised to everyday women who want to stay on top of their health and want a smartwatch to help them navigate their busy lives. Though not as technically advanced as other Garmin models, the Lily is perfect for what it is. It offers in-depth health data, easy-to-use smart features and a stylish silhouette. Regardless of its minor flaws, the Lily is perfect for beginners. I recommend it to anyone who wants a more comprehensive smartwatch rather than a specialised one.
If you’re interested in purchasing one of the Garmin Lily watches you can do so by following the links above.
Now that you’ve read our review of the Garmin Lily, would you get one? Let us know in the comments below.
