- Garmin releases three new GPS products for 2021
- Improved battery life
- Approach S42 GPS $299.99 – Approach S12 GPS $199.99 – Approach G12 GPS $149.99
Garmin’s Dynamic Trio
Today Garmin announced new additions to its popular Approach series of GPS golf products – the Approach S42 smartwatch, the Approach S12 watch, and the Approach G12 GPS rangefinder.
All three products come with more than 42,000 preloaded courses, more than enough courses to explore in a lifetime. The new Approach lineup offers exemplary battery life and supports connectivity with Garmin’s very own club tracking sensor via the Garmin golf app.
“Garmin brings technology to the forefront with the new Approach product line to help golfers play their best game while staying competitive and connected within the golfing community,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin vice president of global consumer sales. “From smartwatches to GPS rangefinders, our latest Approach devices will also equip novice and veteran golfers alike with precision, style and attention to detail on every swing.”
Three of a kind
The Approach S42, Approach S12, and Approach G12 share a host of features to benefit golfers of every skill level:
- With the Approach S42, golf with style and rely on smartwatch capabilities to easily transition on and off the course.
- Avid players can rely on the easy-to-use Approach S12 and focus on a practical golf watch solution designed to obtain key yardages to the green, hazards, doglegs and more.
- And with the Approach G12, players can glance at golf data like distances to the green, from a compact GPS rangefinder that clips on to their pocket or golf bag.
Golf with style
The lightweight Approach S42 offers an easy-to-read 1.2-inch color touchscreen display with a sleek design that easily transitions from a daily timepiece to a comprehensive golf watch. Once on the course, golfers can rely on a loaded feature set that includes the AutoShot round analyzer to track and auto-record shot distances. Golfers can wear the smartwatch in and out of the golf course and peruse smart notifications3 and activity tracking features that include steps, sleep, calories, vibration alerts, move bar and built-in sport profiles. Whether golfers are looking for style points or sportiness, switching bands is easy with the Approach S42’s quick release bands. Enjoy more time on the links thanks to the Approach S42’s versatile battery life that lasts up to 15 hours in GPS mode, and up to 10 days in smartwatch mode.
Ready to tee off
Easy-to-use and practical for beginners and seasoned players alike, the Approach S12 includes interchangeable quick release bands and introduces a unique round watch design with a 1.3-inch sunlight-readable high-resolution display. Thanks to the new Big Numbers display mode, Approach S12 makes it easier than ever to read yardage numbers during play. When paired with the Garmin Golf app on a compatible smartphone, the Approach S12 wirelessly updates a player’s most frequently played golf courses for up-to-date course information. Golfers can confidently play round after round thanks to the Approach S12’s internal, rechargeable battery that lasts up to 30 hours in GPS mode.
Clip and play
Golfers can fine-tune their game with the Approach G12 GPS rangefinder featuring a thin, compact design with a 1.3-inch high-resolution sunlight readable display that lasts up to 30 hours on a single battery charge. Offering all the benefits included in the Approach S12, the versatile Approach G12 GPS rangefinder adds a built-in clip and a lanyard loop to securely attach the device to pockets or golf bags.
Why Garmin?
- Link with the Garmin Golf app to participate in weekly leaderboards, tournaments, review live scoring, strokes gained analysis, automatic scorecard uploads and much more.
- Pair with the optional Approach CT10 club sensors for automatic club tracking to see how far players hit each club.
- Gain precise yardages to the front, middle, and back of the green, hazards, doglegs, layups and more, thanks to a built-in high sensitivity GPS that zeroes in on a player’s location.
- Use the Green View feature to see each green’s true shape and to move the pin for better yardage accuracy, regardless of where a golfer is on the course.
Where can I get my hand on these products?
All three products are available TODAY March 16th. To learn more about these products and Garmin’s full line of golf electronics, visit Garmin.com.
Terry Chapp
4 months agoI’ve looked for reviews of the S42 and, not surprisingly, there are none. Based on the reviews for the S40, the biggest negatives seem to be an occasional difficulty in finding a satellite. I have the Garmin Approach G8 which works pretty well except at times, it seems to be completely lost. On a course I’m not familiar with, this could have serious consequences. Would like to know if the software/firmware has been upgraded on the S42 to overcome these kind of problems.
CUPLIS UNYIL
4 months agoI own Garmin S6 first, then S20 and S60… all have terrible battery problems. It stopped charging after a year and so… while under warranty, it took more than 30 days in get it done. Just recently purchased S40 and it stop working after 2 days. Getting replacement is paint in the ass in Indonesia.
Jarrad S
4 months agoI purchased the Vivoactive 3 last year, and I have no complaints with the watch so far. It performs all of the same functions when paired with the Garmin Golf App, at a much cheaper price point.
Avid Golfer
4 months agoAs a Fenix 5 plus owner, I’d suggest doing your research before buying a Garmin golfing device. Yes, they do a great job of providing yardage, but if you’re looking for significant insight from their mobile app, then you might want to temper expectations.
Garmin has pushed out two updates to the golf iOS app in the past 7-8 months, while other garmin apps regularly receive updates, so its apparent that Garmin isn’t fully invested in supporting their golfing community. The insight provided in the app itself is very limited when compared to something like Skycaddie, and you can’t export you data & take elsewhere.
Point being, yes they make good devices, but thats about it. If you’re expecting anything more than a yardage device, then you’ll probably be a bit disappointed..
Matt Kuether
4 months agoAre there any material improvements on the S42? Other than slightly different color choices, I could not see anything. Battery life is mentioned in the article, but on Garmin’s website the S42 and S40 are listed as having the same battery life (15 hours GPS, 10 days as a normal watch). I checked the feature list between the two and I didn’t see any differences there either. Just curious if this is meaningful refresh or simply a branding update.
Steve
4 months agoS62 is the flagship and was released last year. These are just the refreshes for the lower models to bring them in line with that one.
For what it’s worth, the battery life on the S62 is WAY better than the S60… but I have no idea if the difference will be the same down the chain. Feature wise, there are a few updates to improve QOL but they’re not dramatically different than what they’re replacing.