Garmin has a new set of sports watches in its MARQ lineup, and all of them are quite expensive.
For most, even the least expensive model is as much or more than a single month’s rent. Which should tell you that these are clearly not aimed at the general consumer, but professionals in each field of the activity that these are made for.
Of the four new MARQ watches that Garmin is launching, there’s the Athlete: Performance Edition, the Driver: Performance Edition, the Aviator: Performance Edition, and the Adventurer: Performance Edition.
Each one is tailored to a specific type of consumer, and each one is probably more than most consumers would spend on one of these watches. But, if you’re looking for something top-tier, and you need something super specific, these are it.
The new Garmin MARQ watches start at $1,600
When we said a month’s rent, we meant a month’s rent. Garmin is pretty well-known in the world of wearables for its smartwatches. Most of which are available for under $400.
But the MARQ watches are a whole different breed of watch. Garmin calls them modern tool watches. As in they’re designed to be used as a tool for everyday life. Just with a highly specialized feature set. Leading to their high price tag.
The MARQ Athlete: Performance Edition for example, retails for $1,700, and offers features like running dynamics, daily suggested workouts, respiration tracking and more. It can even monitor your stress levels and give you an associated score.
The Driver: Performance Edition meanwhile offers features like track timers, lap time repeatability, and a virtual pit wall that lets you hear audio reports of every lap with connected Bluetooth headphones. That model retails for $2,100.
You can buy them direct from Garmin
Eventually these are likely to be available from retail partners, but it looks like you may only be able to buy these direct from Garmin right now.
All of the models feature long-lasting battery life of up to 12 days on a single charge. So you won’t have to worry about whether or not it gets you through the day. Set it and forget it for a week or more and you’re good to go.
You can also use the watches for sending messages through Garmin’s inReach satellite communicators, and some of the watches offer smartwatch features like apps and phone notifications.
Since these are fairly specialized, they come with a few less features than the non-Performance Edition models. They also all come with silicone straps as opposed to more premium materials.