These are the 5 Garmin watches our readers bought the most this year – see what models

ZDNET readers loved buying this watch during Prime Day in July. Before the Garmin Fenix 9 Pro arrived this year, the Fenix 8 Pro was the most advanced Garmin watch out of the lineup, with a vivid AMOLED display, inReach satellite communications, and 15 days of battery life. Think of the Garmin Fenix 8 Pro as if it’s the iPhone 18 Pro Max of smartwatches. This is a hyper-rugged smartwatch that can withstand many environments, with IP ratings to boot.

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It’s built for anyone who wants to use their smartwatch to explore off-grid environments (while keeping connected to emergency services and loved ones just in case), charge their watch twice a month, or view a vivid watch display regardless of the environment.

Given that it’s the iPhone 18 Pro Max of smartwatches, the Fenix 8 Pro, like that iPhone, so too has a high price tag of $1,100. It will surely go on sale during October Prime Day next week, and we might see a deeper cut this time around, now that the Fenix 9 Pro renders the eighth-generation watch outdated.

The Epix Pro also has an AMOLED display, but it’s got only 30 hours of battery life, compared to the Fenix 8 Pro’s 15 days of battery life. However, the Epix Pro is half as expensive as the Fenix 8 Pro. What you lose in battery you make up in a slightly more approachable exercise watch. It’s got that Garmin flashlight feature, which Reddit users say comes in more handy than you’d think. The case is titanium, just like the Fenix 8 Pro, so you’ll get a highly durable smartwatch in the Epix Pro. Users say that it’s one of the best value smartwatches out of Garmin’s lineup.

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The Forerunner series is the one many marathoners love wearing most. For good reason. It’s more affordable than some of the more rugged, outdoorsy smartwatches Garmin designs, and it has every metric under the sun for tracking and improving performance. This is a more general-purpose running watch, and it’s also an older generation. It was released two years ago. You could buy the later generation, but it will cost you around $120 more.

Garmin’s most recent smartwatch has already made it onto the most-purchased Garmin list. The Garmin Fenix 9 Pro is the most expensive on this list, with a starting price of $1,299.

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ZDNET’s Matt Miller calls the watch “a big, bold, beautiful watch that gathers a ton of data, providing many ways to analyze metrics and help you perform your best.”