-
A solid alternative
Garmin Lily
This sleek and elegant smartwatch features a signature patterned lens, a responsive touchscreen, multiple biometric sensors, fitness apps and more. It delivers great performance with a less macho style than your typical Garmin product.
Strong Points- Accurate Activity Tracking
- An interesting design concept with a beautiful finish
- Small, compact and lightweight
Cons- No built-in GPS
- No always-on display option
-
Overall the best
Garmin Lily 2
The Garmin Lily 2 offers subtle improvements over the original Lily, adding new activity profiles and safety features. Garmin has also added a model with NFC payment capabilities, all while maintaining the stylish, slim design.
Strong Points- A wide range of stylish designs available
- Extremely compact, lightweight and comfortable
- Accurately track your sleep, stress, activity and more
Cons- No built-in GPS
- The display is a little hard to see
Garmin is well known for its advanced fitness watches, but many of their products are large, somewhat bulky, expensive, and have a decidedly fitness-focused look. Less well known, the company also makes some excellent, affordable smartwatches and fitness trackers that are perfect for smaller wrists. One such product is the Garmin Lily, which launched in 2021. Garmin designed the Lily specifically for women, and you can tell by its small size. This minimalist smartwatch offered simplified fitness features while still offering a more fashionable style that’s suitable for office or party wear.
Garmin has launched the Garmin Lily 2 in early 2024. With a three-year span between the two models, one would expect quite a few changes in the second iteration. Unfortunately, that won’t be the case. So, what’s the difference between the Lily and the Lily 2? Is it worth upgrading?
Related
Garmin’s Lily 2 smartwatch is a sleek yet capable fitness tracker
The Garmin Lily 2 is a stylish smartwatch designed for smaller wrists with plenty of fitness and health features.
Pricing, Availability and Specifications
The original Lily is becoming harder to find. You can still buy the Lily Sport in cream gold and dusty rose with a silicone band new on Amazon for $198.99. The Lily Classic, however, is hard to find new, so you might have to look for a used one on eBay or elsewhere.
The Lily 2 also comes in Classic and Sport versions, but Garmin is now just calling them the Lily 2. The difference is that the Lily 2 Classic offers Garmin Pay, while the Lily 2 does not. The Lily 2 sells for $249.99 in Metallic Lilac or Cream Gold, both of which come with lilac and coconut silicone bands, respectively. The Lily 2 Classic comes in Cream Gold with a Coffee Nylon Band and Silver with a Sage Gray Nylon Band, both for $279.99 each. It also comes in Cream Gold with a Tan Leather Band and Dark Bronze with a Mulberry Leather Band, both for $299.99 each.
-
Garmin Lily Garmin Lily 2 brand Garmin Garmin Heart rate monitor yes yes Color Screen no no Notification Support yes yes Battery life 5 days 5 days On-board GPS no no Customizable straps yes yes SIM Support no no Lens Material Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Corning Gorilla Glass 3 Case material plastic aluminum Connected GPS yes yes calendar yes yes weather yes yes Smartphone music controls yes yes screen liquid crystal liquid crystal Strap Size 14 mm 14 mm size 34.50 x 34.50 x 10.15 mm 35.4 x 35.4 x 10.1 mm Weight 24.0 g Fabric: 20.6 g, Leather: 21.4 g Mobile Payments no Yes, in Lily 2 Classic Exercise mode Strength training, cardio, elliptical training, stair climbing, walking, pilates, yoga, treadmill running, cycling, pool swimming Strength Training, HIIT, Cardio, Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Indoor Rowing, Dance Fitness, Jump Rope, Walking, Pilates, Yoga, Breathing, Treadmill Running, Running, Cycling, Pool Swimming
design
There are many similarities
Design-wise, not much has changed from the Garmin Lily to the Garmin Lily 2. As mentioned before, there are two versions of the watch, offering a slightly sportier look and a more classic look. The size is roughly the same between the original and the second edition, with the Lily 2 being slightly larger in diameter and slightly thinner, though not enough to notice. The Lily 2 retains the hidden LED display and patterned lens that were present in the original.
Three years later, as expected, Garmin has updated the color options for the Lily 2. Garmin has also adjusted where the band attaches, which is a welcome change. The original Lily required tools to change the band, which wasn’t ideal if you wanted to regularly switch between the silicone and leather options. But the Lily 2 uses a quick-release design, so no tools are required.
Another subtle difference is the move to all-aluminum construction. The original Lily used a stainless steel bezel and plastic body, while the Lily Sport was made with an aluminum bezel and plastic case. Now the bezel and case are aluminum, making for a lightweight design that’s a bit more durable than plastic.
The Lily 2 also upgrades its sensor array. However, the core functionality of the sensors remains the same: you can still track your heart rate, respiration, pulse oxygen level, and stress, all day and night. Finally, the Lily 2 and Lily 2 Classic retain the original’s five-day battery life and proprietary clip-on charger.
Features
Get in the groove
Like the design, the Lily 2’s features are similar to the original Lily, but there are some worthwhile updates. The most notable change is that Garmin has added NFC to the Lily 2 Classic, which means you can use Garmin Pay. This means you can use the Lily 2 Classic to make contactless debit and credit card purchases. If you don’t need Garmin Pay, you can save $50 and opt for the Lily 2, which doesn’t offer Garmin Pay.
While the original Lily and Lily Sport were able to track all the most popular activities, including walking, running, yoga, and cycling, both versions of the Lily 2 offer new dance fitness activities that weren’t available in the first version. This allows you to track a wider range of dance styles, including Zumba, Afrobeat, Bollywood, and Hip Hop. Additionally, HIIT, indoor rowing, skipping rope, and more have also been added to the Lily 2 models, providing a more complete activity profile.
Garmin has also added incident detection to the Lily 2 and Lily 2 Classic. The watch can message you with a live location if it senses an incident occurring. You can also manually send a message if you feel unsafe. This is a safety feature that should be on the watch, so it’s nice to see it added to the Lily. Additionally, as a watch designed for women, Garmin has added female health tracking to the watch itself, without the need to open Garmin Connect on your smartphone.
Beyond these changes, the Lily 2 and Lily 2 Classic don’t have onboard GPS, so you still rely on your phone for GPS tracking. However, Garmin’s tethered GPS is the most accurate I’ve tested, so as long as you don’t mind carrying your phone, you’ll get pretty accurate distance, speed, and pace.
Like the original Lily, both Lily 2 models can track steps and sleep, provide reminders to exercise, and even automatically count repetitions during strength training. You’ll also have access to heart rate alerts, heart rate zones, VO2 max and Garmin’s Body Battery feature to help you manage your fitness and recovery. Smartwatch functionality remains the same, with phone notifications, Bluetooth music control and weather forecasts.
Which one should I buy?
If you don’t already have a Garmin Lily and this is your first purchase into this wearable line, we recommend opting for the Garmin Lily 2. The original Lily is hard to come by and doesn’t offer many options in terms of colors and band styles. The updates are minimal, but the additional workout profiles, incident detection, and onboard female health tracking features will be worth the extra cost for most people.
Garmin Lily 2
The Garmin Lily 2 has a slight edge over its predecessor, with more extensive activity profiles, safety features and female health tracking, plus you can now choose a model with Garmin Pay and choose new colors.
If you already have a Garmin Lily, the incremental update may not be worth upgrading to unless you want access to Garmin Pay or the ability to track more types of exercise. But for most people who already have the original Lily, there aren’t enough features to justify buying the new version.
