Garmin just solved a big problem for women’s fitness tracking
With CES 2024 now underway, Garmin has used the event to unveil two successors to the Garmin Lily smartwatch and a heart rate tracker designed to work around sports bras.
Starting with the former, the Garmin Lily 2 and Garmin Lily 2 Classic are follow-ups to 2021’s female-focussed Garmin Lily smartwatch. The only difference between the two is that the Lily 2 Classic boasts a leather watch band and access to Garmin Pay, giving it a higher price tag of £269.99/$279.99, as opposed to £249.99/$249.99 for the standard Lily 2.
Both watches share a ton of upgrades on their predecessor however, most notably on the software side with the addition of Sleep Score for more detailed sleep tracking, as well as Body Battery which lets you keep an eye on your energy levels and know whether you’re ready to tackle a workout.
The two watches are now also better equipped to track dancing workouts with Bollywood, Zumba, EDM and Afrobeat all thrown into the mix. While the design has stayed largely the same, the previous single-pronged watch strap connector is no-more, favouring a more traditional set-up, and there’s also a few new colour variations including Metallic Lily.
Launched alongside these two watches is the Garmin HRM-Fit, a new heart rate tracker that is designed with sports bras in mind, retailing for £139.99/149.99. Unlike a typical heart rate strap that goes around the torso, the HRM-Fit is a single strap to be worn solely on your chest.
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Courtesy of two clips on either end of the strap, the HRM-Fit can not only sit more comfortably underneath a sports bra (which has long been an issue with older designs), but its placement should allow it sit more securely when in use, preventing it from moving out of place.
According to Garmin, the HRM-Fit can work seamlessly with medium and high-support sports bras, and it can connect with your Garmin watch to provide more accurate heart rate data to your workout tracking.
Between the Lily 2 and the HRM-Fit, Garmin’s push to feature more inclusive devices feels like a genuine consideration of implementing software and design changes that are actually helpful for women, and it’ll be interesting to see if any other companies in the fitness space follow suit.
With several members of the Trusted Reviews team currently on the ground at CES, keep your eyes peeled on our coverage this week for even more stories about the latest fitness tracking and smartwatch tech.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
