I have said many times before that I consider one of the best value smartwatches out there to be the Apple Watch Series 3. Not only is it a great companion for iPhone users, but it also has built-in GPS meaning you can go for a nice run without needing your phone. When you have a sale price of $169 for all of that, it is pretty much the best deal around.
Great Sale – Apple Watch Series 3 for $169!
Link: Apple Watch Series 3 38mm (this is an affiliate link that supports the site – thanks for the support!)
Yes, the Apple Watch Series 4 and 5 have larger displays and things like built-in ECG but they also cost more. At $169, you are getting a full-fledged smartwatch that works great for travel and everyday life. Oh, and the built-in GPS for outdoor sporting activities.
To put it into perspective, the closest modern Garmin GPS watch in price to this is the Garmin Forerunner 45. It is much more than a basic running watch and likely has more than many runners would even need in terms of metrics and data and it retails for $199. Sometimes, it goes on sale for $149.
Garmin Forerunner 45?
Read: Garmin Forerunner 45 vs Apple Watch Series 3 – the Battle of the Sub-$200 Running Watches
But, the smartwatch functions of the Garmin 45 are limited to pretty much smart notifications – meaning you get notified on the watch when a notification pops up on your phone. I am a Garmin user myself (Garmin Fenix 6 Pro) so I am fine with that. But, if you are looking for some kind of watch in the sub-$199 area that works for running and has smart capabilities, the Apple Watch Series 3 could be for you.
Just be ready to charge every day and a half or so! It does not have the all-week battery life that Garmin watches do so you will need to plan to be without it every 30-36 hours or so for about 1-2 hours.
Note that the sale price of $169 is for the 38mm model – the 42mm is $219. You can get the 38mm in either space gray or silver.
