Garmin Approach S44 vs Garmin Approach S50
Better figure, where one is clearly better
| GarminApproach S44 | GarminApproach S50 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Released | January 2025 | January 2025 |
| Display | ||
| Case sizes | 43 mm | 43 mm |
| Panel | OLED | OLED |
| Always-on display | Yes | Yes |
| Display detail | 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. | 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 | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 lens. | 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 | GPS, GLONASS and Galileo; compass, gyroscope, accelerometer and ambient-light sensor. No multi-band positioning or wrist heart-rate sensor. Do not infer a heart-rate sensor from generic heart-rate alert wording in the cycling table. | 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 | Step counting, move alerts, automatic daily step goal, calories, distance and intensity minutes. No wrist heart rate, Pulse Ox, sleep/stress monitoring or Body Battery; these belong to the S50. The current maker table and October 2025 guide document activity tracking beyond the step-only description in an April 2025 review. | 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 | Over 43,000 preloaded golf courses; front/middle/back green distances, hazards, layups/doglegs, Green View with manual pin position, PinPointer, digital scorecard, handicap scoring, statistics, Swing Tempo and custom targets. AutoShot detects shots and measures distance without tags; it does not detect putts, and some chips may be missed. Club Prompt records the selected club. Optional CT1 tags require tapping the watch before each shot; CT10 sensors add automatic club tracking, and the Z30 laser range finder shares measured distances. Full vector CourseView maps, touch targeting, green contours and elevation-adjusted PlaysLike distances require Garmin Golf membership. Tournament mode disables non-permitted features. Current UK activity profiles include running, indoor track running, biking, indoor biking and golf. The exact owner guide additionally documents pool swimming; the current web profile list omits it. No open-water swimming claim. | 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 in supported outdoor activities and assistance require Garmin Connect, a paired compatible phone with data service and network coverage. They message emergency contacts; they are not standalone emergency communication. | 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 10 days | Up to 10 days |
| Mobile data option | No | No |
| Works with | iPhone and Android | iPhone and Android |
| Storage | 4 GB | 4 GB |
| Battery life detail | Built-in rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Up to 10 days in smartwatch mode with gesture wake-up, or 15 hours in GPS mode with always-on display while golfing. October 2025 owner guide describes the 15-hour claim as all-satellite-systems typical use. Actual life varies with settings and notifications. | 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 plug to USB-C charging/data cable. Owner guide specifies operating/storage -20 to 60°C and charging 0 to 45°C. Battery capacity, fast-charge wattage and charge duration 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 LE with iPhone and Android; Garmin Golf and Garmin Connect. Phone notifications, calendar, weather, find-phone/find-watch and smartphone music controls. Text response, rejecting calls by text and notification images are Android-only. No standalone cellular connection, Wi-Fi, downloaded music or Garmin Pay. The manual’s 13.56 MHz radio entry and CT1 tap function do not establish payment support. | 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 | 4 GB for preloaded golf/course data and activity history; no offline music storage capability. | – |
| Design | ||
| Weight (lightest version) | 42 g | 29 g (better) |
| Software | Garmin | Garmin |
| Case materials | Anodised aluminium bezel and fibre-reinforced polymer case; silicone band. Swiss exact-model datasheet labels the buttons as plastic. | 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 x 43 x 11.4 mm; 42 g including the silicone band. Fits wrists 125–202 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, pressure equivalent to 50 m; this is not a dive-depth rating. Do not press buttons under water. | – |
| Reference and release detail | Available now in Garmin’s US and German 21 January 2025 announcements; exact UK first shipping day was not specified. Current UK standalone and CT1-bundle SKUs are sellable. No explicit maker predecessor relationship found. | 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 industry-standard quick-release bands; not QuickFit. | – |
| Colours | Silver aluminium bezel with Black or Twilight silicone band; Black also sold with 16 CT1 club tags. | – |
| In the box | Approach S44, USB-C charging/data cable and documentation. Black CT1 bundle additionally includes 16 club tags; the tags are not included with the standalone watches. | – |
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