Why I'm genuinely excited about Garmin's latest smartwatch

Smartwatches are often smart in the technological sense, but not so much in the sartorial sense. With the emphasis on the various health tracking features and durability, they can be either big and bulky or conspicuously techy. Garmin's been changing that with its 'hybrid' watches, and I think its latest is its best yet.

The smartwatch maker started moving away from the fitness niche some time ago with watches that combine the tech of a smartwatch with the more elegant look of a traditional analogue timepiece, complete with ticking hands – a feature that's lacking on most of the best Apple Watch alternatives. Its latest model, the Garmin Vívomove Trend, adds another fairly novel feature wireless charging with Qi-certified charging pads rather than a proprietary solution.

Many smartwatches that offer wireless charging use proprietary chargers, which means it can be a real pain if you lose the charger. Garmin, perhaps strangely, hasn't had wireless charging yet, but now it's going in for a solution that could be preferable to that offered by other brands. The catch is that there's no Qi pad included; you'll need to already have one one or you'll need to buy one. Battery life itself is stated as five days.

Designwise, the Vívomove Trend sticks with the look of the previous watches in the range. That is, it looks a lot like a sleek traditional watch with domed glass and a stainless steel bezel. The exciting part is that the hands 'dynamically move away' to reveal a 'hidden' full-dial display, which provides the notifications and activity tracking and health monitoring you'd expect from a smart watch (heart rate, blood oxygen levels and sleep and stress tracking). This isn't the first of Garmin's watches to have this hidden display, but we'll be honest, it's the first time we've paid much attention.

Also new to this model is a barometric altimeter and the contactless payment tool Garmin Pay.

The Vívomove Trend is available in black, silver, ivory, gold and grey and starts at $269.99 / £279.99 from the Garmin website. If you prefer the digital look, see the best prices on the current lineup below, or take a look at our guide to the best Apple Watch Series 8 prices.

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