Shootout: Fossil Gen 6 vs Garmin Instinct vs Forerunner 245 vs Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Garmin Venu Sq
Today we’re going to do a little comparison between five different smartwatches, some of the pretty underrated, and way under the radar. The six smartwatch models are the Fossil Gen 6, Garmin Instinct, Garmin Forerunner 245, Garmin Vivoactive 4, and Garmin Venu Sq.
That’s a pretty crowded space, mostly occupied by Garmin watches but bear with us, as we’ll quickly compare all the models in several key areas in order to help you choose the best one for you. Here we go.
Table of contents:
Fossil Gen 6 vs Garmin Instinct vs Forerunner 245 vs Garmin Vivoactive 4 vs Garmin Venu Sq
at a glance:
Fossil Gen 6 | Garmin Instinct | Garmin Forerunner 245 | Garmin Vivoactive 4 | Garmin Venu Sq | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Design | Case: 44MM, Stainless Steel Strap: 22MM, Interchangeable |
LENS MATERIAL chemically strengthened glass BEZEL MATERIAL fiber-reinforced polymer CASE MATERIAL fiber-reinforced polymer |
LENS MATERIAL Corning Gorilla Glass 3 BEZEL MATERIAL fiber-reinforced polymer QUICK RELEASE BANDS yes (20 mm, Industry standard) |
LENS MATERIAL Corning Gorilla Glass 3 BEZEL MATERIAL stainless steel CASE MATERIAL fiber-reinforced polymer with polymer rear cover |
LENS MATERIAL Corning Gorilla Glass 3 BEZEL MATERIAL anodized aluminum CASE MATERIAL fiber-reinforced polymer |
Display | 1.28″ Color AMOLED / 416 x 416 / 326ppi | 128 x 128 pixels monochrome, sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) |
240 x 240 pixels sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) |
1.3″ (33.0 mm) diameter 260 x 260 pixels sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP) |
1.3″ (33.1 mm) diagonal 240 x 240 pixels liquid crystal optional always-on mode |
Features | Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear 4100+ 1GB RAM, 8GB Storage WearOS by Google Loudspeaker, Microphone, Vibration Bluetooth 5.0 LE, GPS, NFC SE, WiFi |
Smart notifications GPS Heart-rate monitor Step counter Fitness tracking: running, swimming, gym Point-to-point navigation |
Smart notifications GPS Heart-rate monitor Step counter Fitness tracking Weather reports PulseOX blood oxygen saturation |
Smart notifications GPS Music Storage Heart-rate monitor Step counter Fitness tracking Weather reports PulseOX blood oxygen saturation |
Smart notifications GPS Heart-rate monitor Step counter Fitness tracking Weather reports PulseOX blood oxygen saturation |
Battery life | 24 hours | Smartwatch mode: Up to 14 days | Smartwatch Mode: Up to 7 days | Smartwatch mode: Up to 8 days | Smartwatch mode: Up to 6 days |
Price | $299.99 | $299.99 | $299.99 | $349.99 | $199.99 |
Design
The Garmin Vivoactive 4 is one stylish smartwatch
Winner: Garmin Vivoactive 4
Display
The Fossil Gen 6 wins the display battle
The Venu Sq comes with an LCD panel, while the Garmin Forerunner 245 relies on transflective technology – which makes it ideal for bright sunlight conditions. The Garmin Instinct is monochrome, while the Fossil Gen 6 gets the good stuff – a high resolution AMOLED display. The winner here is clear.
Winner: Fossil Gen 6
Features
Can’t beat Wear OS when it comes to features
This is not a rule set in stone but the laws of physics are a hard thing to bend. With that in mind, we must hand this one to the Fossil Gen 6 again as it comes with Google’s Wear OS on board, hence it can do a lot of things and run Google apps and services.
Winner: Fossil Gen 6
Battery life
There’s a Garmin Instinct model with unlimited battery life
Winner: Garmin Instinct
Price
Cheap and good looking – the Venu Sq
Most of these models are under $299, so you can have that Fossil Gen 6 if you want. But if budget is of consideration, you should look for the Venu Sq, as can be found at around the $200 mark. Now, the Instinct is also dirt cheap but it’s older, and there are different editions, some of which go up to $345. So Venu takes this one.
Winner: Garmin Venu Sq
Conclusion
And the winner is…
If we are to crown a winner among these, it should be the Fossil Gen 6 – no doubt about it. It’s stylish and smart, it has a beautiful AMOLED display, and it comes with Wear OS onboard. What are a couple of dollars extra in this case?
And with Amazon Prime Day coming fast, these models are guaranteed to receive great smartwatch deals and their prices to fall even as much as 50%. So, stay tuned, keep an eye on this article and pull the trigger on the one you like the most. You can also check out our best Garmin watch pick to see the whole picture.