I’m trying to pick a smartwatch for my mom, who’s almost 60. She’s in good health (thankfully), but I’m a bit of a worrier since she lives on her own. I’m torn between the Garmin Venu Sq 2 and the Apple Watch SE.
The key features I care about are:
Incident detection and emergency call
Heart rate monitor
Battery life
I like the Garmin for its much better battery life, but if the Apple Watch does a better job with incident detection and emergency calls, I’d go with that. What do you think? Thanks for your help!
Does your mom have an iPhone? The Apple Watch needs one to work. For incident detection, the Apple Watch is better since it works all the time, not just during tracked activities like on the Garmin. Both allow you to manually send an emergency alert, though.
Also, the Apple Watch has an LTE version that works for emergency calls even without the phone nearby, which is a big plus.
The downside is the battery life—expect to charge it every day or so, especially if you use LTE. Garmin lasts way longer, about a week or more.
I looked this up, and here’s something to consider:
The Garmin Venu Sq 2 came out on September 1, 2022, and has great features like all-day health tracking, fitness monitoring, and GPS. But if you’re open to alternatives, AliExpress has some interesting options.
Some of their smartwatches come with SIM cards for making calls and better GPS accuracy. Many have fall detection and SOS alerts, which could be useful. Plus, their batteries tend to last about a week.
Examples:
Smart 4G GPS Tracker for Elderly – heart rate monitor, SOS alerts, and phone calls.
Fall Detection Smartwatch with GPS and SOS Notifications – waterproof and long-lasting.
These cheaper units get updated pretty often, so you might find yourself upgrading every year or so. Also, wrist straps come in a ton of styles and materials if customization matters to you.