Why it matters to you
If you’re the seafaring type, the Garmin Quatix 5 might just be the smartwatch for you.
If you’re the type who prefers the open water to the open road, Garmin wants your business. The wearable company’s Quatix 5, the newest in its line of “marine” watches, packs compatibility with onboard boat systems, high-precision navigation tech, and more activity-tracking features than most sea captains can shake a compass at.
True to the Quatix 5’s seafaring nature, it works with boat systems. If you happen to have one of Garmin’s electronic chartplotters aboard your schooner, it’ll offer features like remote autopilot control, racing assistance, and waypoint marking. Alternatively, it will stream stats like speed, depth, temperature, and wind to your wrist, and automatically track pre-programmed activities like swimming, rowing, and paddle boarding. And when it’s time to let loose on the water, it will pair with Garmin’s Fusion Link Lite app to control onboard StereoActive entertainment systems.
The Quatix 5 is a capable navigator, too — and a fishing aid. It will feed you a stream of up-to-date tide data downloaded for your region, and will save the data for seven days. It’s equipped with useful tools like an anchor calculator that knows the proper length of line to put out. And when you cast a net for sea creatures, the Quatix 5 will keep track of the fish you’ve caught and the time remaining before getting back to weigh-in.
Unsurprisingly, the Quatix is a rugged smartwatch. Its 47mm stainless steel bezel, buttons, and rear case are “more compact” than previous models, Garmin said. In addition, it’s rated at 100 meters, and boasts a bright, “sunlight-readable” color display with an LED backlight. An omnidirectional stainless steel antenna and high-sensitivity GPS (and GLONASS) delivers high-precision location tracking in the remotest waters. And perhaps most impressive of all, the Quatix 5 doesn’t sacrifice great battery to deliver all that — it lasts up to 24 hours in GPS mode, 60 hours in activity-tracking UltraTrac mode, and up to two weeks in smartwatch mode.
The Quatix 5 isn’t just for sea legs. Landlubbers can use it on shore, too, and can record calories from jogs, cycling routes, hikes, and more. Garmin’s proprietary Elevate heart-tracking technology measures your exertion, and smart notifications from a paired smartphone keep you abreast of text messages, phone calls, emails, and social media updates.
All that data can be piped to Garmin Connect, which enables automatic backups via Wi-Fi without the need for a nearby smartphone. And Connect IQ, Garmin’s open third-party development platform, lets you create and download apps, widgets, data fields, and watchfaces.
“From fishermen chasing billfish or bass to canoeists, kayakers, and big sail and power boaters, the Quatix 5 was designed for life on the water,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of global consumer sales. “It combines feature and design qualities from our popular Fenix 5 multisport watch series with boating, fishing, cruising, and sailing capabilities to deliver the most sophisticated and connected general-purpose marine smartwatch on the market today.”
As you might expect for a watch of the Quatix 5’s caliber, it isn’t cheap. The scratch-resistant Sapphire variant, which packs a crystal lens and includes a stainless steel band and a blue silicone QuickFit band, will retail for $850 when it goes on sale in June. The cheaper, non-sapphire Quatix 5 will sell for $600.