GoKawiil
Tech News
Amazon has discounted the recently released Garmin Vivoactive 6 fitness smartwatch by 23% off its list price, marking the lowest price the device has seen since launch. The deal applies to Garmin's latest wearable, which tracks fitness and health metrics.
Apple unveiled a Health Age feature for the Apple Watch, joining Whoop, Oura, Garmin, Withings and other companies in offering a metric that claims to estimate a user's physiological age based on fitness and health data. The Verge's Victoria Song tested several of these tools on herself and found wildly inconsistent results, with different devices estimating her age anywhere from 26 to 42 despite her actual age being 38.
Counterpoint Research's Q2 2026 report found global smartwatch shipments fell 4% year over year, even as Apple, Huawei and Garmin posted gains. Apple grew 14% to capture a 20.1% share, trailing only Huawei's 21.8% share, with the Watch Series 11 and Watch SE 3 driving over 80% of Apple's volume. Huawei's growth was concentrated in China, which made up about 80% of its shipments.
A Brazilian ANATEL certification filing lists 10 unannounced Garmin products with nearly identical model numbers, differing mainly by a single letter prefix. This pattern mirrors a similar Indonesian filing last month for a 'CIRQA Smart Ring' that was later removed from public view. The number and structure of variants suggest Garmin is preparing multiple sizes of a wearable device rather than a smartwatch.
Amazon is selling the Garmin Instinct 3 Tactical Solar 45mm for $399.99, a $100 reduction from its $499.99 list price. This matches near the lowest price seen outside June's Prime Day sale, and the watch carries a 4.6-star rating from buyers.
Florida International University researchers tested the Apple Watch Series 8, Fitbit Sense 2, Samsung Galaxy Watch 5 and Garmin Forerunner 955 against a Cosmed K5 metabolic device and ECG chest strap during controlled workouts with 58 participants. All four smartwatches overstated calorie burn, with margins of error ranging from 15% to 25%, meaning a reported 200-calorie burn could really be closer to 160-174 calories. Apple Watch was the most accurate, while Samsung and Garmin overestimated more, and Fitbit had enough tracking glitches that some of its data had to be excluded.
ZDNET tested two sub-$300 AMOLED sports watches, the Garmin Forerunner 170 and Coros Pace 4, over several weeks of running, biking, and hiking. Both offer similar 1.2-inch displays and weight, but the Coros Pace 4 lasts roughly 19 days per charge versus 10 for the Garmin, with a similar edge during GPS use. The Garmin counters with a traditional five-button interface that some athletes prefer for reliability in bad weather or heavy sweat.
Garmin has launched the Cirqa, a $200 screenless health and fitness band that markets 24/7 monitoring without a subscription fee. A reviewer found the device technically solid but questioned its value, noting Garmin's software lags behind rivals in turning raw data into actionable coaching insights.
A wave of screen-free fitness trackers—including the Garmin Cirqa, Google Fitbit Air, Polar Loop, Amazfit Helio Strap, and Whoop—are gaining traction by design: they collect health data continuously but require almost no daily interaction. Bloomberg reports Apple is reportedly exploring its own take on the format, signaling the trend could expand into mainstream smartwatch territory.
Garmin's CIRQA fitness tracker is experiencing Bluetooth heart rate broadcasting failures following the August 20 firmware 2.50 update, according to user reports on a Gadgets and Wearables forum thread. Affected users say Bluetooth connections cycle between connected and disconnected on Garmin Edge devices, while broadcasting fails outright on apps like Zwift, TrainerRoad, Rouvy and Strava, plus Bluetooth-enabled gym equipment. ANT+ connections remain unaffected, and a Garmin representative confirmed the issue has been escalated internally with no fix timeline given yet.
Amazon has cut the price of the 47mm Garmin Fenix 8 AMOLED Sapphire and Titanium edition to $849.99, a $250 reduction from its $1,099.99 list price. The discount ties the watch's previous all-time-low price set during a past Prime Day event.
Amazon has cut the price of the Garmin Vivoactive 5 to $173, down from its $299.99 list price, marking the lowest price the smartwatch has ever hit. The device offers a 1.2-inch AMOLED display, built-in GPS, extensive health tracking features, onboard music storage, and up to 11 days of battery life.