@@Dcrainmaker Can I ask you a question? No that was not THE QUESTION ;) I have had Garmin swim 2 for 4 years and even got a brand new Apple watch Christmas 2022 (not 2023) that I hardly ever used. I never seem to stick to having them on me for more than couple of months each time (and Garmin is a winner over Apple). I only use the watch as a tracker (for sleep, body battery and more). I dont even use it to see information (I use Connect to see data). Additionally I feel like watches are just so bulky and I have very small hands. Would you say that Lily 2 is THE watch for me based on this? Or would you recommend something else? Im a person that only does outdoor walking - Im collecting data because of health issues (10 diseases).
I loved my Lily 1! Looks like there's some good upgrades. The only thing I wish they added was one physical button. It didn't happen often, but if it froze up or had an issue the touchscreen-only option was very inconvenient. Also would be more helpful with the safety features. Thanks so much for your review!
I've been using the Lily 1 since it came out and I'm always surprised when I see people complain about needing to connect your phone for GPS. Perhaps it's because as a woman, I always want to have my phone with me for safety, especially when I'm outside on a run?
Watch with GPS can sent emergency messages. Just incase your phone out of battery or get stole. At least watch can sent messages. As a woman, you don't know when you need this feature.
I understand what you’re saying - worst case scenario. That said, you need a cell plan or wifi to send messages (not GPS). A cell phone is already your “in case of emergency” tool. You cannot assume that you’ll have your phone but not your watch stolen. You cannot assume that phone will die before a watch with gps and cellular, which drain the battery and both make some Apple Watches last for less than 24 hours instead of 5 days. It is important to prepare as well as possible (charge your phone before going out, always tell someone where you’re going) but many factors aren’t in your control. That simply means prepare, stay sharp - but I would argue it is important to limit it there and leave room to live your life and buy the watch you want to.
Dear DCR, your videos are so great. Focussing on the essential, not missing out on important details though, being really serious and professional, but still allowing for a bit of humour. Also your detailed technical and background knowledge should not be forgotten. You have really set standards and nobody else comes close, congrats! 🎉 Keep it up
I just ordered this watch today. I take dance fitness classes regularly, so I’ll let you know how I feel about that setting. Thanks for doing these videos. They are extremely informative, impartial, and most importantly, helpful.
@@MsEgwene I have used the watch for three weeks of Zumba classes. It has a nice setting where you can choose the type of dance (AfroBeat, Bhangra, Bollywood, EDM, Hip Hop, Zumba, Line Dancing, Pop and Jazz, Video Game or Cardio dance). You can also mark off each song (either song straight to another song, or song to rest) which is helpful because you can see how long the songs are, how many songs during the class, max HR per song, and average tempo per song). It might seem tedious to mark each song on your watch, but I didn’t find it to be annoying. I hope that helps people who are curious about it.
My wife thought Lily was a dream watch. Then we learned there was no on-board GPS. I was so hyped about Lily 2 and wanted to surprise-buy it for my wife. Then I learned it still doesn't have on-board GPS. So, there's that.
I have this watch and had an Apple watch that I sold after I got this one. When I have had a watch in the past with onboard GPS, I still took my phone with me for safety, so I prefer this one over the Apple watch (for me).
I share the same concern. I understand the intended user base for this watch. But the lack of in built GPS makes it not future-proof. I mean, the display is already dated! For the same price I can get a basic budget forerunner 55 or 165 with AMOLED.
I'm happy I got the newer version of Lily 1 in grey instead of this one! I see in the specs of the Lily 2 that it's a millimeter larger, and the shape of the metal seems to "push" the screen out, making it appear thicker/bulkier in my opinion. Would love to see a version of the Lily 1 that's thinner!
I have the Epix Pro (gen 2) for my workouts, but this would be a really great complement to it for those events when the Epix is a little too ... functional-looking.
Using your reviews to help me decide on my first-ever Garmin purchase! Right now I'm trying to decide between the Lily 2 and the Vivomove trend- any thoughts on input on this? I love the size of the lily 2 but really love the extra incognito design of the vivomove trend
I purchased the Lily 2 a little over a week ago and I really like it except the sleep tracking has been wildly inaccurate. It told me I slept over 26 hours in one night! The next night seemed better - but then at some point durning the day my sleep time changed to 7 minutes total. There has only been one night where the sleep times seemed accurate. I have called Garmin twice. The told me to let the watch get to know me for 10 - 14 days. Does anyone have experience with the Lily 2 sleep tracking getting more accurate after wearing it longer? The other suggestion from Garmin was to return the watch. I'm bummed because I really like it. It's just enough tracking for me and the types of workouts I do and it's small enough for my wrist. I don't need it to be 100% accurate - but sleep tracking is important to me so I'd like it to reflect the total time I am asleep much better.
Haha...the hosting provider for my website (dcrainmaker.com) is Foliovision, and they are based there. They sent it over as a little holiday gift basket. :)
Yeah, it's been on my to-do list to figure out. I think it's actually a rendering issue. - as it looks super clear in Final Cut Pro and even on my laptop locally, but once in YT it goes wonk. Might make the cut to figure out this week. :)
Since there is no built-in GPS, if I were to run outdoors without a connected phone on hand, does the watch able to record the route that I used once I finished my run and connect to phone? How does a watch without GPS record or track your run outdoors?
My old Fitbit was this way. It counted my steps, heart rate, etc just as if I was doing an indoor workout or treadmill workout. If I brought my phone, I got a map of the workout. I usually didn’t bother connecting the phone as having the GPS was more of a “that’s cool!” than necessary info.
It has great potential, but I feel it is missing something. The watch should have hands like the Vivomove series. Anyone here seen this one in real life yet? Is it possible to have the screen set to Always On?
I looked at the user manual (very briefly), and I think that it cannot do always on (probably for battery life). FWIW, I had a gesture-activated watch before (Fitbit) and it wasn’t an issue for me. The hands would be cool!
It actually looks better in real-life than on the camera, mostly because the camera is a bit finicky in light angles that the eyes don't have any issues with.
Thanks for a great video. I like my Lily, but one big problem is that it overcounts my steps. When I try to use custom stride length to fix this, the Lily says I need to turn off wheelchair mode first. I didn't put it into wheelchair mode and can't find any way to turn this mode off. I have been all over the internet trying to find a solution but all I have found is other complaints about the same problem. Ray, do you have any ideas?
You have to realize the intended user base for this watch type will generally have their phone with them 99% of the time. And, Garmin makes tons of OTHER watches with GPS of course.
@@ehamadification No but do people often go out for a run without music in their ears? Because you need phone for music so if you are a runner that listens to music meanwhile, then you will realize you forgot your phone pretty quickly.
@@fanneyfririksdottir9407 the price is still quite expensive for the fairly modest specs. And not much difference than prev Lily iteration (only sleep tracking I suppose?). If this watch has built-in GPS and built-in music it would be much more value for money and future proof.
Garmin's US website is listing the base model as not having Garmin Pay. Is that correct? It seems like a very odd differentiator and I don't recall you mentioning it in the video.
It seems to be the primary difference between classic and regular. $280 for Garmin Pay and nylon band vs $250 for regular/silicone. $300 for leather w/Garmin pay.
Pretty, great it has the elevate 4 sensor, but no onboard GPS, Mmm! Alternative I guess is a Garmin Venu 2s, or if one wants to spend the money, a Venu 3s.
There is still 6 mm difference between Venu 3s and Lily 2: 41 mm vs. 35 mm. I want Lily 2 rather than Vivoactive 5 only because I think Vivoactive 5 is just a bit too bulky for me.
I was trying to decide which smartwatch to get. I was interested in lily because of the small size, but I must say that as a dancer, I am now sold on this one!
Seems like swimming would be a different gesture, but if it did activate the screen, that’s not a big deal. It wouldn’t be enough to substantially reduce battery. It is rated 5 ATM (50 meters).
Please don't review only the tech specs, but also the service / warranty etc that is offered. The repair service Garmin is offering is unfortunatly nonexistent - they don't repair but exchange the watch against refurbished models - at a hefty price.
Watched from Garmin have either a 1 or 2 year warranty, replacing units on the fly is actually better than fixing yours. I dug into how that works years ago, for Garmin, it comes from the same factory as the original unit. Literally gets a new case and all.
does the map and gps option come up for walks, too? ive not worked up to a full run yet and i want to track my gps movement during walks too because i walk around a large hospital / school campus so im trying to work out the perfect route!
Before reading the rest of the comments, I just want to say: Thx for this video. It was so informative and funny as well - my husband laughed a lot :)
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@Dcrainmaker Can I ask you a question? No that was not THE QUESTION ;)
I have had Garmin swim 2 for 4 years and even got a brand new Apple watch Christmas 2022 (not 2023) that I hardly ever used. I never seem to stick to having them on me for more than couple of months each time (and Garmin is a winner over Apple).
I only use the watch as a tracker (for sleep, body battery and more). I dont even use it to see information (I use Connect to see data). Additionally I feel like watches are just so bulky and I have very small hands.
Would you say that Lily 2 is THE watch for me based on this? Or would you recommend something else? Im a person that only does outdoor walking - Im collecting data because of health issues (10 diseases).
I loved my Lily 1! Looks like there's some good upgrades.
The only thing I wish they added was one physical button. It didn't happen often, but if it froze up or had an issue the touchscreen-only option was very inconvenient. Also would be more helpful with the safety features.
Thanks so much for your review!
He's actually nice dear 🎉
I love my Lily 1 too! What do you think of the design of Lily 2?
Anyone else disappointed that it doesn't have the Gen 5 sensor??
I've been using the Lily 1 since it came out and I'm always surprised when I see people complain about needing to connect your phone for GPS. Perhaps it's because as a woman, I always want to have my phone with me for safety, especially when I'm outside on a run?
Watch with GPS can sent emergency messages. Just incase your phone out of battery or get stole.
At least watch can sent messages.
As a woman, you don't know when you need this feature.
I understand what you’re saying - worst case scenario. That said, you need a cell plan or wifi to send messages (not GPS).
A cell phone is already your “in case of emergency” tool. You cannot assume that you’ll have your phone but not your watch stolen. You cannot assume that phone will die before a watch with gps and cellular, which drain the battery and both make some Apple Watches last for less than 24 hours instead of 5 days. It is important to prepare as well as possible (charge your phone before going out, always tell someone where you’re going) but many factors aren’t in your control. That simply means prepare, stay sharp - but I would argue it is important to limit it there and leave room to live your life and buy the watch you want to.
are you happy with the step count? feel that it's accurate?
The use of the transparent lcd is so elegant. I love it
4am movie marathon? The Maker family knows how to party. 🍿
Dear DCR, your videos are so great. Focussing on the essential, not missing out on important details though, being really serious and professional, but still allowing for a bit of humour. Also your detailed technical and background knowledge should not be forgotten. You have really set standards and nobody else comes close, congrats! 🎉 Keep it up
I just ordered this watch today. I take dance fitness classes regularly, so I’ll let you know how I feel about that setting. Thanks for doing these videos. They are extremely informative, impartial, and most importantly, helpful.
Have you tried it at dance fitness classes yet? ☺️
@@MsEgwene I have used the watch for three weeks of Zumba classes. It has a nice setting where you can choose the type of dance (AfroBeat, Bhangra, Bollywood, EDM, Hip Hop, Zumba, Line Dancing, Pop and Jazz, Video Game or Cardio dance). You can also mark off each song (either song straight to another song, or song to rest) which is helpful because you can see how long the songs are, how many songs during the class, max HR per song, and average tempo per song). It might seem tedious to mark each song on your watch, but I didn’t find it to be annoying. I hope that helps people who are curious about it.
@@Enchantmentfel thanks!
@@MsEgwene You’re welcome!
How have you found it overall?
My wife thought Lily was a dream watch. Then we learned there was no on-board GPS. I was so hyped about Lily 2 and wanted to surprise-buy it for my wife. Then I learned it still doesn't have on-board GPS. So, there's that.
It's a zumba watch
I have this watch and had an Apple watch that I sold after I got this one. When I have had a watch in the past with onboard GPS, I still took my phone with me for safety, so I prefer this one over the Apple watch (for me).
@@Enchantmentfel Fair enough.
I share the same concern. I understand the intended user base for this watch. But the lack of in built GPS makes it not future-proof. I mean, the display is already dated! For the same price I can get a basic budget forerunner 55 or 165 with AMOLED.
@@ehamadification Exactly.
I'm happy I got the newer version of Lily 1 in grey instead of this one! I see in the specs of the Lily 2 that it's a millimeter larger, and the shape of the metal seems to "push" the screen out, making it appear thicker/bulkier in my opinion.
Would love to see a version of the Lily 1 that's thinner!
I have the Epix Pro (gen 2) for my workouts, but this would be a really great complement to it for those events when the Epix is a little too ... functional-looking.
Using your reviews to help me decide on my first-ever Garmin purchase! Right now I'm trying to decide between the Lily 2 and the Vivomove trend- any thoughts on input on this? I love the size of the lily 2 but really love the extra incognito design of the vivomove trend
Which one did you end up going to?
In 8:51 you can see the matrix making it´s thing 💊
I really thought the slow zoom in was a build up to us seeing you dancing... I'm a little disappointed Ray. 😆 Otherwise, great review!
Next time!
10:52 I'm truly disappointed 😢I hope a QC will resolve this feeling of incompleteness 😀 I'm glad to send local IPA if that helps ;-)
Think the Lily 3 will get an always on display?
I purchased the Lily 2 a little over a week ago and I really like it except the sleep tracking has been wildly inaccurate. It told me I slept over 26 hours in one night! The next night seemed better - but then at some point durning the day my sleep time changed to 7 minutes total. There has only been one night where the sleep times seemed accurate. I have called Garmin twice. The told me to let the watch get to know me for 10 - 14 days. Does anyone have experience with the Lily 2 sleep tracking getting more accurate after wearing it longer? The other suggestion from Garmin was to return the watch. I'm bummed because I really like it. It's just enough tracking for me and the types of workouts I do and it's small enough for my wrist. I don't need it to be 100% accurate - but sleep tracking is important to me so I'd like it to reflect the total time I am asleep much better.
are you able to download apps like bend on the Garmin lily? If not, is there something similar?
How on earth did you get that Slovak snack on your table? :-)
he lives in netherlands. Pretty easy to get anything european while living there.
@@anonymous134y and yet it's something that doesn't usually happen
Haha...the hosting provider for my website (dcrainmaker.com) is Foliovision, and they are based there. They sent it over as a little holiday gift basket. :)
Oh, naozaj! Pozdravujeme z Bratislavy a samozrejme dakujeme za skvely video obsah!😊
HRV is not shown in a widget on the Lily 2, but does it show in the connect app?
Yeah sure, Ray. “Movie marathon!” I know a humble brag when I see one 😁
😇
The horizontal bop dance movie marathon. Those kids came from somewhere!
Hi did you find the steps to be accurate? I felt the lily 1 step count was so off .
Ray I’ve noticed for sometime now your main camera appears washed out, colour isn’t as vibrant
Yeah, it's been on my to-do list to figure out. I think it's actually a rendering issue. - as it looks super clear in Final Cut Pro and even on my laptop locally, but once in YT it goes wonk. Might make the cut to figure out this week. :)
Love your disclaimer about dancing. I bet your Wife can make you 😂
She did...once...for our wedding. One "dance". That's all. 😂
A review of the dance feature or I unsubscribe :(
Dance and be happy!
Since there is no built-in GPS, if I were to run outdoors without a connected phone on hand, does the watch able to record the route that I used once I finished my run and connect to phone? How does a watch without GPS record or track your run outdoors?
It is able to record your stats, but not the GPS route or distance you ran.
@@emmie1176thanks for the clarification
My old Fitbit was this way. It counted my steps, heart rate, etc just as if I was doing an indoor workout or treadmill workout. If I brought my phone, I got a map of the workout. I usually didn’t bother connecting the phone as having the GPS was more of a “that’s cool!” than necessary info.
Good morning,
Can we make calls or receive calls with this watch please thank you, because I bought one and it doesn't work.
It has great potential, but I feel it is missing something. The watch should have hands like the Vivomove series. Anyone here seen this one in real life yet? Is it possible to have the screen set to Always On?
I looked at the user manual (very briefly), and I think that it cannot do always on (probably for battery life). FWIW, I had a gesture-activated watch before (Fitbit) and it wasn’t an issue for me.
The hands would be cool!
8:50 what's notable here is an editing error...
Sorry, love your content but I couldn't resist poking at this. 😂
Omg it has dance?! I need that
Have you seen the Skylabs ring with continuous blood pressure measurement? It’s been certified by the Korean FDA
It looks weirdly thick.
But decide the point. Dance Monkey Dance!
That looks like a great display. Does it look as good in real life?
It actually looks better in real-life than on the camera, mostly because the camera is a bit finicky in light angles that the eyes don't have any issues with.
so sad there is no GPS :( love my Lily (1)
Like button smashed.
Thanks for the video. Nowadays if I want to learn about a Garmin watch, I directly go to you Channel.
Lily 2 or vivomove trend?
Its watherproff?
can you turn off the mobile's notifications and calls and sms so you don't get them on the watch? my mother doesn't like it
Yes, you can disable notifications and calls.
Does this have a timer?
weird
I wanna see you dance!😂
Boa noite. Alguma novidade para CES 2024 para o fenix ou epix?
No
Thanks for a great video. I like my Lily, but one big problem is that it overcounts my steps. When I try to use custom stride length to fix this, the Lily says I need to turn off wheelchair mode first. I didn't put it into wheelchair mode and can't find any way to turn this mode off. I have been all over the internet trying to find a solution but all I have found is other complaints about the same problem. Ray, do you have any ideas?
Sorry I called you Ray . . I thought I saw that somewhere!
Also, I have a Lily 1, so I probably should have posted somewhere else. My apologies if I've just annoyed everyone.
Can you connect lily2 with strava?
Yes
Its 2024 and the watch doesn’t have a built-in GPS? Definitely a dealbreaker for me! Garmin, please do better!
Its the same for my husband... but I dont get it! Why do you need an GPS on a watch?
You have to realize the intended user base for this watch type will generally have their phone with them 99% of the time. And, Garmin makes tons of OTHER watches with GPS of course.
@@narosser can the watch record your running route if you forgot to bring your phone during run?
@@ehamadification No but do people often go out for a run without music in their ears? Because you need phone for music so if you are a runner that listens to music meanwhile, then you will realize you forgot your phone pretty quickly.
@@fanneyfririksdottir9407 the price is still quite expensive for the fairly modest specs. And not much difference than prev Lily iteration (only sleep tracking I suppose?). If this watch has built-in GPS and built-in music it would be much more value for money and future proof.
Garmin's US website is listing the base model as not having Garmin Pay. Is that correct? It seems like a very odd differentiator and I don't recall you mentioning it in the video.
I hope it has - I really dislike the many artificial hurdles that Garmin implements.
From what I read, only the pricier Lily 2 Classic has the Garmin Pay.
It seems to be the primary difference between classic and regular. $280 for Garmin Pay and nylon band vs $250 for regular/silicone. $300 for leather w/Garmin pay.
Pretty, great it has the elevate 4 sensor, but no onboard GPS, Mmm! Alternative I guess is a Garmin Venu 2s, or if one wants to spend the money, a Venu 3s.
There is still 6 mm difference between Venu 3s and Lily 2: 41 mm vs. 35 mm. I want Lily 2 rather than Vivoactive 5 only because I think Vivoactive 5 is just a bit too bulky for me.
Thank you
I was trying to decide which smartwatch to get. I was interested in lily because of the small size, but I must say that as a dancer, I am now sold on this one!
What if you enter to swimming pool?
You cant disable gesture mode because there is no button?
So screen can change by himself in water
Seems like swimming would be a different gesture, but if it did activate the screen, that’s not a big deal. It wouldn’t be enough to substantially reduce battery. It is rated 5 ATM (50 meters).
Please don't review only the tech specs, but also the service / warranty etc that is offered. The repair service Garmin is offering is unfortunatly nonexistent - they don't repair but exchange the watch against refurbished models - at a hefty price.
Watched from Garmin have either a 1 or 2 year warranty, replacing units on the fly is actually better than fixing yours. I dug into how that works years ago, for Garmin, it comes from the same factory as the original unit. Literally gets a new case and all.
does the map and gps option come up for walks, too? ive not worked up to a full run yet and i want to track my gps movement during walks too because i walk around a large hospital / school campus so im trying to work out the perfect route!
That watch screams old rich lady to me.