CES 2015: Garmin introduces three new, very different smartwatches

If you thought wearables were hot topics in 2014, prepare for an explosion this year. Navigation equipment corporation Garmin International has today announced three new smartwatches at CES 2015 in Las Vegas, all with unique features.

The Vivoactive GPS smartwatch has built-in sports and activity tracking apps; the Fenix 3 watch is for those who play multiple sports; and finally the Epix rugged GPS mapping watch has been designed with harsher conditions in mind. The watches will cost between $249.99 and $599.99.

As The Verge reports, the Vivoactive is the most affordable of the bunch, with prices starting at $249.99. With a clear colour display and a sleek, thinner design than its counterparts, the Vivoactive is arguably the most attractive too and runs on Garmin’s Connect IQ app platform to allow additional apps to be linked with it.

Next up, the Epix is like a miniature GPS system strapped to your wrist. Its 1.4-inch touchscreen can be scrolled through with a fingertip, and keeps you up to date on your whereabouts using a colour map. It has 8GB of on-board storage for adding additional detail, as well as a digital compass, altimeter, and barometer, support for ANT+ devices such as heart rate straps, and water resistance to an impressive 50m. Like the Fenix 3 below, the Epix supports Connect IQ and has Bluetooth connectivity, meaning loading on additional apps and pairing them with your smartphone will be no problem.

Finally, the Fenix 3 is being called ‘smart multisport GPS watch’ by Garmin, and is designed with heart rate straps for gathering data during runs, bike rides, pool laps and more and functions well as a basic step counter. But it also caters to more serious athletes, who will find things like recovery time calculation, VO2 max, and stroke count for swimmers very useful. It also has a a compass, barometer, and altimeter in addition to built-in GPS.

Image: the Fenix 3 smartwatch

This week we’re bringing you all the latest news, videos and gossip from CES 2015 in Las Vegas. Check out the CES 2015 page to keep up to date and subscribe to our YouTube channel to see hands-on news with our editor Holly Brockwell from the show floor.