What you need to know
- The Garmin Lily 2 ($249) and Lily 2 Classic ($279+) were announced at CES 2024, with a 5-day battery life and monocolor touchscreen display.
- They add sleep scores and dance fitness activities over the original Lily, while only the Lily 2 Classic adds contactless payments.
- Garmin also announced the new HRM-Fit heart rate monitor for women, designed to clip onto a high-support sports bra and last one year per charge.
At CES 2024, Garmin announced two new hybrid smartwatches targeted towards women — the Garmin Lily 2 and Lily 2 Classic — and a new heart rate monitor designed to clip onto sports bras.
Nearly three years after the original Garmin Lily brought sleek style to a bulky Garmin watch lineup, the Garmin Lily 2 mostly keeps to the same formula. It has a 5-day battery life, monochromatic touchscreen, Body Battery scores, women’s health monitoring, tracked heart rate, calories, and intensity minutes.
Also like the Garmin Lily, the Lily 2 series has distinct patterns etched into the lens glass that add a stylish backdrop to your health data. Each color option has its own distinct pattern, from leaves to flowing waves.
The Garmin Lily 2 starts at $249 and comes in Cream Gold and Metallic Lilac finishes, paired with silicone straps. Upgrade to the Lily 2 Classic, and you’ll get either a Nylon strap ($279) or Italian Leather ($299), along with NFC contactless payments that the standard Lily 2 lacks. The Lily 2 Classic comes in Cream Gold, Silver, or Dark Bronze.
All Lily 2 watches come with a 35mm metal case, close to the original Lily’s 34.5mm case. We don’t have other dimensions yet, but we can assume it’ll be close in thickness (10mm) and weight (24g) to the original Lily. That’ll make the Lily 2 significantly more comfortable to wear than most of the best Garmin watches.
On the other hand, its petite size means there’s no room for features like built-in GPS; you’ll need to keep your phone on hand to track outdoor workouts.
Instead, Garmin is targeting the Lily 2 for indoor workouts: its one main feature upgrade is the addition of dance fitness activity tracking. You’ll choose specific dance styles like Zumba, Afrobeat, Bollywood, EDM, or hip-hop before starting your activity.
Garmin also added Sleep Scores to the Garmin Lily 2; it’s not on par with the Sleep Coach widget found on the Garmin Venu 3, but you’ll at least know whether you’re properly rested for the day’s HIIT routine.
While the Lily 2 Classic could easily number among the best hybrid smartwatches, it also didn’t make many changes from its three-year-old predecessor, which we gave a 3.5-star rating. We gave another Garmin hybrid, the Vivomove Trend, the same score last year.
In other words, the lightweight Lily 2 is also light on health sensors, tracking data, or Garmin training tools that you might want. With your expectations tempered, though, its beautiful and petite design will appeal to more casual athletes who might not normally pay attention to Garmin watches.
If features matter more than looks, we’ll point you towards the Venu 3 or Venu Sq 2 instead; they’re both “mainstream” Garmin watches that give you more of the essentials, and the Venu 3 in particular looks pretty stylish.
As for the new Garmin HRM-Fit, it’s specifically “created for women” with a clip-on design meant to attach to “medium- and high-support sports bras” like those from Adidas, Athleta, NOBULL, or Under Armour.
It transmits your heart rate data to your smartwatch, cycling computer, or gym exercise equipment in real time. It also stores steps, calories burned, and intensity minutes, similar to the Garmin Lily 2, while also adding running form data for compatible Garmin watches.
Best of all, it lasts up to a year per charge, according to Garmin. That number will be lower if you use it actively, but that’s still an excellent perk. The COROS Heart Rate Monitor I recently reviewed lasts 80 days in standby mode, and that’s better than the industry standard.
The main perk of the Garmin HRM-Fit is, presumably, its comfort. Instead of a full, tight chest strap constricting your entire body during workouts, the HRM-Fit will be perched along the bottom of your sports bra, putting no extra pressure on you. Presumably, the only challenge will be remembering to detach it before your bra goes in the wash.
Costing $149, the Garmin HRM-Fit is available now and sound like it could be one of the best heart rate monitor straps of the year.