5 watches are a must-try for every Garmin owner

Key Takeaways

• Garmin watches are customizable with a variety of watch faces and apps through the Connect IQ store.
• Other popular Garmin Forerunner 965 watch faces include Night Gleam, Anassic, GLANCE, QUAINT2, and EASY Round.
• Compatibility and battery life may vary depending on watch model and custom watch face usage.

One of the benefits of using Garmin watches is that — in addition to their strong training and fitness features — they are highly capable smartwatches. Even better, they’re highly customizable — each Garmin watch comes packaged with several watch faces that offer varying degrees of personalization. But the options don’t end there, as you also have access to Garmin’s Connect IQ store, where developers can upload their own watch face designs and apps that differ from the native options.

The options, therefore, are almost endless, so you can fine-tune the look you want on your arm. But the endless variety also means that sorting through and narrowing down which one is best for you can be very difficult. While everyone’s preferences are different, we’ve done the rest of the work for you and found the best watch faces available for Garmin watches.

It’s important to note, however, that each Garmin watch offers a different compatibility of watch faces and apps. The selection below is the best watch face for the Garmin Forerunner 965, and may not work if you have a different model. However, most developers create faces that work across all Garmin models, so there’s a good chance these will work no matter what you use; they may look a little different.

Custom watch faces can drain your watch’s battery faster than the stock ones, so if you install a new watch face and notice a sudden short battery life, that’s probably why.

Night Gleam Garmin watch face

Relive the 80s with this neon style option

Night Gleam is a watch face created by Garmin that offers an 80s style neon light look. There are four different color themes — cyan, yellow, pink, or gold — so you can set the vibe. This design also includes four different custom data fields, including two bar-based fields to track progress for things like steps or your body’s battery.

It’s a very simple face but adds a pop of color and style to your arm. It’s also completely free, which is a nice bonus.

Garmin’s Anassic watch face

Bring analog style to your smartwatch

Your Garmin watch may be sleek and stylish, but that doesn’t mean it can’t look old school. The Anassic watch face offers the style of an analog watch with classic watch hands. There are many design options, varying from very minimal to a few that include several data fields such as weather, heart rate, and weather.

You can choose to use clock hands or choose a hybrid design with digital and analog style. You can also change the colors and style of the clock hands to customize it even more.

GLANCE at the Garmin watch face

It’s big and easy to read

As the name suggests, the GLANCE watch face is designed to be read at a glance. It uses a large, clear font so you can quickly glance at your watch and find the information you need. It’s highly customizable, with six data fields that you can adjust to display the information you like to access quickly.

The colors are also customizable, allowing you to choose anything from black and white to full rainbow. As an added bonus, it’s completely free.

QUAINT2 Garmin watch face

A minimalist option with just a moment

Many watch faces can get really crowded when they provide more information than you might need. Sometimes, you just need time, and that’s it, after all. The QUAINT2 watch face is our favorite minimalist option. It shows the time and nothing else. Despite the simplicity, you can still customize the colors, allowing you to make a subtle statement if you want.

SIMPLE A round Garmin watch face

Round design with heavy data

The LULA Round watch face was voted the best Garmin Watch Face app of 2023 — and for good reason. It’s a data-heavy option, with eight different fields that rotate around time to display the information you want to access quickly. You can choose from 40 different data fields to enter or choose the paid version to access more advanced features, such as the ability to launch widgets on the touch screen, all weather-related metrics, Body Battery, Stress Level, and more.

It includes eight different stock themes to choose from that change colors and style, or you can create your own using the “Customize” menu on your watch.

FAQ

Q: How do I know if the watch face is compatible with my watch?

When you enter the Garmin Connect IQ store it will ask you to select the device you want to load apps to. It will only show you the options that are compatible with your particular device. Alternatively, if you don’t have a device selected, or are thinking about other watches and the Garmin IQ store makes it easy.

Under each app or watch face page, there is a view option Compatible Devices. Tap on that, and you’ll be able to see a list of compatible Garmin devices that can use that watch face or app.

Q: Are Garmin watch faces free?

Garmin’s stock watch faces are free, and many options in the Connect IQ Store are too. However, there are paid watch faces as well.

The price for this varies and is set by each developer, not Garmin. Most offer a free trial of various lengths, so you can test the watch face first to decide if you like it. Payment may be outside of the Garmin Connect IQ store, however.