(funky electronic music)
- Let's get this straight,
nearly $2,000 is too much to spend for any smartwatch,
and I'm not gonna end this video saying any differently.
But in the eight months since I purchased
the Garmin Marq Captain for review,
I've covered 12 other smartwatches,
and every single one of them would've been better
if it had a little Captain in it.
Here's five features from the Garmin Marq series
that I wish everyone else would just steal.
Launching things with number five, build quality.
By and large, the wearables I see on most wrists
are made of materials which were chosen
to hit a price point,
not because they're the best.
Look at the third generation Armani Smartwatch,
or the Skagen Falster 3 I'm reviewing next.
Both are attractive,
but they're also so light as to seem insubstantial.
Now sometimes you want a lightweight watch,
but no one wants something that feels cheap,
and if the featherweight cases
don't give you that impression,
the easily scratched glass will.
Now if those watches feel like pogs,
well the Marq Captain is a slammer.
This thing stands more than a half inch above the wrist
and it masses 95 grams.
That's like two of the heaviest Apple watches put together.
If that sounds ponderous to you, I get it,
it's not for everyone.
But every time I put it on,
that heft is a reassuring reminder
that this titanium casing is built to last.
The ceramic bezel and domed sapphire cover reinforce that.
My Marq Captain looks better after eight months
than my Armani Smartwatch 3 did after eight days.
And bottom line, it's not a watch
you need to fuss or fret over.
Number four, the buttons and the bits.
There's no touchscreen here
and so no need to tap a tiny touch target
to get things done.
Instead you've got five pushers on the perimeter,
each with a chunky click stop at the end of its action.
Now look, learning how this works is not easy.
For the first time in years,
I had to sit down and read the manual.
But once you train your muscle memory
to remember which buttons do what,
believe it or not, it becomes second nature.
And while this low res screen might make it seem like
you're living in some alternate universe
where the Apple watch was never invented,
this is a fully featured smartwatch.
Notifications buzz in from your phone
and stack up like you'd expect
on a list that also includes your schedule,
weather, media controls, sunset time,
and readouts from the watch's sensors.
Wanna pay for your coffee with your watch?
You can do that.
Store songs right on board,
plenty of room on the 32 gigs of storage,
alongside the nautical specializations
that give the watch its name,
and the GPS and fitness tracking that Garmin's known for.
It's kinda like one of those modern Victrolas
or Bluetooth boomboxes
that Best Buy is kicking out these days.
Just because it looks low tech doesn't mean that it is.
Number three, staying power.
(laughs) I don't need to say much about this
because it's pretty simple.
While most smartwatches need a top-up
every other night at least,
the Marq Captain lasts over a week on a single charge.
And staying power has another meaning, too.
For the Marq family,
Garmin doubles its standard one-year warranty to two years.
Number two, focus.
Each of the watches in the Marq family
is laser-focused on a specific kind of user.
With its tide tables, Regatta timers,
and ability to link with a boat's Garmin instruments,
the Captain is obviously for sailors.
But there are five other Marq watches.
The Aviator has preloaded airport locations
and weather maps.
The Driver lets you use
one of 250 racetracks as a watch face.
The Athlete has (audio glitching)
pulse, running, I don't know,
I'm too distracted by that beautiful green button.
Let's be real, though.
These features are mostly gimmicks
meant to pander to the kind of person
a Marq buyer wants to be.
I doubt many sailors
are ever gonna buy the Marq Captain for its charts
or man overboard button.
And as one commenter put it on aBlogtoWatch,
real special ops soldiers
are far less likely to buy the military-themed Commander
than so-called "chairborne rangers."
From one perspective,
this whole product family could seem
kind of like expensive cosplay.
Be that as it may,
I like cosplay.
And I like that, unlike a standard smartwatch,
which is customizable only through software and ColorWay!,
each Marq option is special.
And that's my final feature for this video
and the most subjective, distinctiveness.
This is a watch that knows it's not for everyone.
When you put it on,
you feel like you're really wearing something unique.
This is one reason luxury products actually sell.
There's an allure to a carefully crafted timepiece,
and it's something I've found lacking
among conventional smartwatches for years now.
If you're tempted,
I recommend waiting to see
if Garmin puts a better display in the next generation.
And even then, think long and hard
about whether you wanna spend more on your watch
than you do your phone.
Yeah, I know that's common for luxury mechanical watches,
but like I said at the top,
this is too much money for any smartwatch.
For everything I love about the Captain,
there's a lot about the app
and the interface that I'd change,
and being technology, it won't last nearly as long
or build nearly as much value
as a true mechanical heirloom.
You're not gonna be passing this down to your grandkid.
For smartwatches a little closer to sanity in pricing
from Garmin and others,
check out my other wearable reviews
by subscribing to theMrMobile on YouTube,
and follow me at the same handle on Instagram
for the occasional sneak peak
at wearables and other mobile tech
that haven't yet made it to the review desk.
Reminder, MrMobile does not produce paid reviews.
The watch featured in this video
was a purchased retail product,
and Garmin was given no editorial input,
copy approval, or even an early look at this video.
Long story short, disagree with my opinions all you want,
but they are my opinions.
This wasn't a commercial.
Until next time, thanks for watching
and stay mobile, my friends.