Garmin’s top Apple Watch Ultra alternative is more affordable than ever before

Of course, that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for companies like Garmin, which are also enjoying more mainstream attention than ever on Apple Watch Ultra rivals part of the Fenix or Epix families. While most of these super-robust alternatives with stellar battery life tend to be at least slightly cheaper than Cupertino’s costliest intelligent timepiece to date, the Epix (Gen 2) roster typically starts at a whopping $899.99.

Best Buy is currently selling all three Epix (Gen 2) variants at special and unprecedented prices marked down by $200, which means that you need to cough up $799.99 instead of $999.99 if you prefer titanium over steel for this thing’s rear cover and bezel, as well as sapphire crystal over Gorilla Glass as far as display protection is concerned.

Technically, the Epix (Gen 2) is not advertised by Garmin as a rugged smartwatch, clearly looking more elegant and refined than a bulky Fenix 7 while undoubtedly being capable of surviving out in the wild with relative ease and promising to keep the lights on for up to an amazing 16 days between charges in “smartwatch mode.”

This “premium outdoor smartwatch” you can get at a lower than ever price is compatible with both iPhones and Android handsets, and in addition to keeping an eye on fairly basic things like your heart rate, blood oxygen, sleep, and stress, it also aims to improve your fitness by tracking every aspect of your indoor and outdoor workout sessions and anticipating just when and how you can push yourself to the limit without hurting yourself.