Garmin S62 - Any long term thoughts/reviews?

[mkuether]

Hi everyone,

 

I've been currently using the Garmin S20 watch (had it for about two years) and generally like it a lot (especially the automatic shot tracking which has given me a lot of insight into my game). While it's not a bad watch, its features are a little light (and it's not the most attractive watch for everyday wear) so I'm considering upgrading to the S62.

 

For users, who have had and used the S62 for a while, would you buy it again? What are your thoughts on the following:

 

Battery life - Seems like the battery is pretty good at least initially, but has it held up over time?

Screen Quality - Obviously this won't be a match for something like the Apple Watch, but what do you think of the screen? Is it easily readable in all conditions? Being disappointed in the quality of the screen is one of my major concerns on a $500 device (I know this is related to having decent battery life, but still).

Ease of Use - Any issue navigating the touch screen? Accidental button presses a problem? Other issues?

Features - Do you feel the additional features over a basic golf watch really add value? e.g. wind info, plays like, virtual caddie, whatever.

How are the non-golf features? - I would like this watch to function as a fitness tracker and it seems to check all the boxes, but curious if there are any "gotchas".

 

Anyway, anything you can share would be helpful, but mostly just trying to get your take on the features and if you think it was a worthwhile purchase. Appreciate the feedback.

 

Matt

[nezander]

I've had the watch for nearly a year.  I would definitely buy it again.

 

Battery Life - Astounding up front, coming from a more traditional Galaxy watch, which had to be charged pretty much every day and could barely make it through a round of golf using some crappy 3rd party app, even on a full charge.  The S62 will last for 2 weeks if you just use it as a regular watch, and even now I play 2-3 times per week, full rounds, at least one morning of hiking, and 3-4 sessions at the gym.  I still have 20%+ at the end of the week before I charge it up.  I would say the battery has begun to slip just a little, but it's still miles better than anything else.

 

Screen quality was an issue at first, it was a noticeable downgrade from the bright colorful screen on my previous watch.  However, its only indoors under artificial lighting conditions where I notice it.  Outdoors, the screen is actually very good, which is what the watch was designed for.  It works extremely well in natural sunlight, or even overcast days, much better than a traditional smartwatch screen.  Once I had spent some time digesting that, I never really thought much about the screen afterwards, and yes, I am sure that does help contribute to the outstanding battery life.

 

Ease of use.  No, I never have issues with button presses or navigating the touchscreen.

 

Features - Yes, as I mentioned previously, I use the device for a lot more than golf.  I use it for strength training, cardio, hiking, etc etc.  It performs all of these tasks pretty well.  Not as good as the Fenix model, but well enough for me.  I could have upgraded to the Fenix for a couple hundred more dollars, but I did not want to give up the golf functionality that was inherent in a watch made for golf.

 

If there are any gotchas, it's that the Garmin Connect app does not connect with many third party applications, probably by design.   It will connect to MyFitnessPal, and Strava, but not much else.  Which makes sharing data across multiple platforms problematic.  I wish they would open it up more, but Garmin doesn't seem inclined to do that.