Garmin Approach S12 vs Garmin Approach S50
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| GarminApproach S12 | GarminApproach S50 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | March 2021 | January 2025 |
| Display | ||
| Case sizes | 43.7 mm | 43 mm |
| Panel | Memory-in-pixel | OLED |
| Always-on display | Yes | Yes |
| Display detail | Sunlight-visible, transflective monochrome memory-in-pixel display, 23 x 23 mm (0.9 x 0.9 inch), 175 x 175 pixels. Four physical buttons; no touchscreen. Big Numbers mode enlarges green yardages. The grouped March 2021 launch and Swiss datasheet incorrectly describe 23 mm as 1.3 inches; the exact current UK and US specifications give 0.9 inches. | 30.4 mm (1.2 inch) AMOLED touchscreen, 390 x 390 pixels; optional always-on display, ambient-light sensor and large-font option. Two physical buttons. |
| Screen protection | Chemically strengthened glass, according to the exact S12 Swiss technical datasheet. | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 lens. |
| Health and fitness | ||
| ECG | No | No |
| Blood oxygen | No | Yes |
| Skin temperature | No | No |
| Sleep apnoea alerts | No | No |
| High blood pressure alerts | No | No |
| Body composition | No | No |
| Fall detection | No | No |
| Crash detection | No | No |
| GPS | Single-band | Single-band |
| Water resistance | 50 m | 50 m |
| Sensors | Built-in GPS receiver. No published multi-band, GLONASS/Galileo, optical heart-rate or Pulse Ox support. | GPS, GLONASS and Galileo; Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate, Pulse Ox, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer and ambient-light sensor. No multi-band positioning is listed; maker does not number the heart-rate sensor generation. External tempe accessory supplies ambient temperature. |
| Health features | Golf-focused device; no wrist heart-rate, sleep or daily activity-tracking features listed in the exact specifications or owner guide. | Continuous heart rate, high/low alerts, respiration, Body Battery, stress, advanced sleep score/coach, nap detection, HRV status, Health Snapshot and fitness age. Pulse Ox spot checks and optional sleep monitoring. Hydration and menstrual-cycle/pregnancy features use Garmin Connect and an optional Connect IQ widget; these are wellness features, not medical diagnosis. |
| Fitness features | Current preloaded coverage exceeds 43,000 worldwide golf courses; the original launch listed 42,000. Front/middle/back green yardages, layup/dogleg/hazard distances, Green View with manual pin positioning, manual shot-distance measurement, digital scorecard, statistics for strokes, putts, greens and fairways, round timer and odometer. Automatic course and hole selection. No AutoShot without club sensors, touch targeting, full colour course maps, PlaysLike distances or virtual caddie. Optional complete set of 14 Approach CT10 sensors enables automatic club tracking; sensors are not included. Current overview specifies the full set rather than the three-sensor starter pack. | Over 43,000 preloaded golf courses; front/middle/back green distances, hazards and layups, green view with manual pin position, PinPointer and elevation-adjusted PlaysLike distances. Digital scorecard, handicap/Stableford scoring, statistics and custom targets. AutoShot detects fairway shots automatically without club sensors; putts are not detected. Optional CT1 tags require tapping the watch; CT10 sensors add automatic club tracking. Compatible Z30 laser range finder shares measured distances. Enhanced CourseView vector maps, touch targeting and green contours need paid Garmin Golf membership; base yardages and PlaysLike do not. Tournament mode disables non-permitted features. Running, cycling, pool swimming, strength, HIIT, yoga, Pilates and other sport profiles; workouts, animated exercises, VO2 max and recovery time. Current web table lists open-water metrics, but the exact activity list and owner guide document pool swimming only; do not treat that generic row as an established open-water profile. |
| Safety features | – | Incident detection during supported activities, assistance and LiveTrack require a paired compatible phone and available network; not standalone emergency communication. |
| Battery and connections | ||
| Battery life (maker's claim) | Up to 70 days | Up to 10 days |
| Mobile data option | No | No |
| Works with | iPhone and Android | iPhone and Android |
| Storage | – | 4 GB |
| Battery life detail | Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Up to 10 weeks in watch-only mode and up to 30 hours playing golf with GPS. The March 2021 Swiss comparison sheet claims 15 weeks watch use, conflicting with the exact English owner guide and current UK/US table; use 10 weeks. Actual life depends on GPS usage and cold temperatures. | Up to 10 days in smartwatch mode and 15 hours in GPS mode. Maker web conditions use gesture wake in smartwatch mode and always-on while golfing; October 2025 owner guide labels the 15-hour figure all-satellite mode. Actual life depends on sensors, notifications and other features. Battery saver is available but no separate duration is published. |
| Charging | Garmin proprietary four-contact USB charging/data cable. USB mass-storage and Garmin modes are documented. Operating -20 to 60°C; charging 0 to 45°C. Capacity, charging wattage and charging time are not published. | Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery; Garmin proprietary charging/data connector and supplied cable connected to a USB charging port. |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth Smart pairing with iPhone or Android through Garmin Golf for scorecard upload, statistics, leaderboards, live scoring, software updates and automatic updates of frequently played courses. Garmin Express on a computer handles course/software updates over USB. No phone notification display, Wi-Fi, Garmin Pay, standalone cellular or offline music. Owner guide indexes ANT+ sensors, while the Swiss comparison table marks ANT+ absent; CT10 pairing is explicitly supported, without claiming a general ANT+ sensor platform. | Bluetooth, ANT+ and Wi-Fi; Garmin Golf, Garmin Connect, Garmin Express and Connect IQ. Garmin Pay with supported banks; downloaded personal music and supported Spotify/Amazon Music/Deezer services may need subscriptions and Bluetooth headphones. Phone notifications; Android-only text replies and notification images. No cellular configuration. |
| Storage | 125 MB memory/history according to the exact current maker table. | – |
| Design | ||
| Weight (lightest version) | 34.1 g | 29 g (better) |
| Software | Garmin | Garmin |
| Case materials | Polymer case and bezel, chemically strengthened glass and silicone quick-release band, per exact S12 Swiss datasheet. White band has black hardware accents. | Anodised aluminium bezel, Gorilla Glass 3 lens and ComfortFit nylon band with hook-and-loop fastening; Black/Slate and Ivory/Cream Gold finishes. |
| Size | 43.7 x 43.7 x 11.5 mm; 34.1 g. Fits wrists 125–202 mm. The Swiss launch table rounds dimensions to 44 x 44 x 12 mm. | Current UK table: 43 x 43 x 11.4 mm, 29 g. Ivory S/M nylon band fits 127–190 mm wrists; Black M/L fits 145–217 mm. 20 mm quick-release attachment. UK web table calls it industry standard, while October 2025 owner guide says not compatible with third-party bands; retain that compatibility conflict. Japanese launch table gives 12.5 mm thickness, so UK dimensions are used here without treating the regional discrepancy as another model. |
| Water resistance detail | 5 ATM, equivalent pressure to 50 m; not a dive-depth rating. Do not press the keys under water. | – |
| Reference and release detail | Available now in Garmin’s US 16 March 2021 release and same-day Swiss launch. Exact first UK shipping day was not specified. No explicit maker predecessor statement found. The current UK security table states updates until at least 16 March 2023; this minimum date is not a claim that support has ended. | Garmin US announcement on 21 January 2025 states available now; this establishes earliest documented on-sale date. Japanese release was 30 January 2025. UK first shipping day is not independently established. S44 is a co-launched lower-feature model, not an evidenced predecessor. |
| Bands | 20 mm quick-release bands; compatible replacement bands are sold separately. | – |
| Colours | Black, Granite Blue and White original finishes; later UK entries include Slate Gray, Tidal Blue and Neo Tropic. At the source read only Black and White were sellable on the UK page; the US page offered Black. Official photos of all six finishes are retained as configurations, not separate models. | – |
| In the box | Approach S12 golf watch, charging/data cable and documentation. CT10 club sensors are sold separately. | – |
More comparisons
- Garmin Approach J1 vs Garmin Approach S50
- Garmin Approach J1 vs Garmin Approach S12
- Garmin Approach S50 vs Garmin vívoactive 6
- Garmin Approach S50 vs Garmin Descent G2
- Garmin Approach S44 vs Garmin Approach S50
- Garmin Approach S12 vs Garmin Approach S44
- Garmin Approach S50 vs Garmin Approach S70
- Garmin Approach S50 vs Garmin Forerunner 165
- Garmin Approach S50 vs Garmin Forerunner 165 Music
- Garmin Approach S12 vs Garmin Approach S70
- Garmin Approach S12 vs Garmin Instinct Crossover
- Garmin Approach S12 vs Garmin Instinct Crossover Solar
- Garmin Approach S12 vs Garmin Instinct Crossover Solar Tactical