Garmin S40 Review 2023 – Is It Worth The Money

With the release of the S40 in 2020, Garmin plugged the gap between their entry level watches and the premium S60. The S62 was also released around the same time which upped the game in terms of premium golf watches for the whole industry.

While the S40 was a little bit expensive for what it was at the time, the price is now more favourable and makes the watch a serious contender in the market and it is extremely popular.

The S40 brings a stylish 1.2″ color touch screen to the game and it shows your distance to the front, middle and back of the green as you would expect on over 42,000 courses worldwide.

You get distances to hazards and dog legs too along with a green view option with manual pin positioning, the only thing missing really is the full hole overview like you get with the S60 and S62.

The battery life is about 10 hours in GPS which will definitely complete at least one round.

The watch is fast, slick and accurate, coming with fitness features like a step counter but no heart rate monitor like the S62.

The watch comes in three colors as well, Black, metallic and white with gold. The bands are quick change and you can also download a watch interface to match your strap for the day.

A great credit to the S40 is that it’s successor, the S42, is an almost identical watch but it does address the issue of the short battery life in the S40 which will only guarantee one full round in GPS mode.

Key Features Of The S40:

  • 42,000 Course that fast on arrival at the course you are playing
  • 1.2″ Color Touch Screen
  • Distances To The Front Middle And Back Of The Green
  • Distances To Hazards And Lay Ups For Dog Legs
  • Green View With Manual Pin Position
  • No Slope – Making It Legal For Tournament Play
  • Step Counter, Fitness Profiles And Bluetooth Connectivity To Your Phone
  • Auto Shot And Score Card
  • Auto Hole Progression
  • Access To The Free Garmin App
  • Biggest Drawback is the inferior battery life.

Is The Garmin S40 Worth Buying & Who Should Buy?

The S40 was quickly upgrade by the S42 model which has the exact same shape and features but it performs slightly better and has a much better battery life.

If both watches were available for the same price, I would say to go with the S42 hands down.

The S40 has come down to around $200 currently while the S42 costs about $100 more.

If you are on a budget or want better value, I would recommend the S40.

It’s also great for those who want to use it in tournaments as it doesn’t have a slope mode, making it legal to use.

Garmin S40 Golf GPS Watch

In 20 Words Or Less

The S40 is a mid range golf watch from esteemed brand, Garmin. It combines a color touchscreen with exquisite looks and plentiful features.

Garmin S40 Golf GPS Watch – First Impressions

The Garmin S40 is a beautiful looking watch that sits excellently on the wrist, it is also packing a crystal clear colour touch screen and ample features.

The watch looks a lot less bulky than the S60 and it has changeable straps and downloadable interfaces to suit your mood or the occasion.

The watch comes in White, Grey and Black with downloadable interfaces and quick change bands which allows you to have a completely different looking watch to suit your clothing or any occasion.

Key Features:

As you would expect with any Garmin watch, the features, performance and responsiveness of the watch are second to none.

For a start, you get 42,000 courses around the world and they load faster than the competition.

You get the Free Garmin app as expected which can track your performance over time through autoshot which tracks your strokes on the watch.

If you buy the CT10 censors, also from Garmin, you can get a real idea of how your game is progressing and which areas are letting you down, to the exact club.

You get an automatic scorecard with auto hole progression and the watch will ask for your amount of putts when you finish each hole.

The colour touch screen gives distances to the front middle and back of the green, distances to lay ups and an impressive green view with manual pin positioning to suit the course on the day you are playing.

You can connect to watch to your phone via Bluetooth but where this watch comes into it’s own is in it’s appearance.

This is a slick looking watch and the screen is 1.2″ wide and high. Quick change bands and downloadable interfaces give a different look and fell depending on what you want on the day.

The battery life, unfortunately will only guarantee one round in GPS and is perhaps the biggest set back of the watch

For the current price of $200, this watch is very competitive in the market and certainly worth considering for most shoppers.

Garmin S40 Golf GPS Watch – Selling Points

  • 42,000 Courses Worldwide that load fast
  • Excellent looking watch with variable customization available.
  • Distances F/M/B of Green, Hazards and lay up options.
  • Green View with manual pin positioning
  • Free Garmin Golf App
  • Bluetooth Connectivity
  • Add the CT10 features for more detailed performance tracking over time.

Who Are The Garmin S40 Watches For

The Garmin S40 is mid level watch that was released in 2020 and at the time, it was a little bit overpriced.

When the S42 came out as pretty much the same watch, the S40 has dropped to $200 and it is now a very strong canditate for a mid level watch.

For anyone looking for a very good quality, excellent value, exquisite looking color touchscreen watch, this is definitely worth a look.

For anyone interested in the best looking watch, this is also a runner.

If you need a watch without slope for tournaments, this is a quality watch to think about as well.

Garmin S40 Pros And Cons

Pros:

  • 1.2″ x 1.2″ Color Touchscreen Watch
  • Fast & Responsive, Highly Accurate
  • One Of The Best Looking and Fitting Watches
  • Quality, Customizable Looks
  • Free Garmin App
  • Green View With Manual Pin Position
  • Add CT10 Sensors For Better Tracking
  • Auto Score Tracking
  • Step Counter And Fitness Features
  • Excellent Value

Cons:

  • Battery Life Could Be Better
  • Gorilla Glass Not Included For Free
  • No Heart Rate Monitor
  • Lacking More Advanced Features

Overall Score: 94/100

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