Garmin Approach S20 vs X40

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Garmin Approach S20 and Garmin Approach S40 are two golf smartwatches that also acts as fitness tracker. These devices does not only work well in the course but also performs really good outside the course for everyday use. If you are interested on purchasing one of them, you may want to read our article below first, just to ensure you are making the right decision.

In this article, we are going to give you information about:

– What is Garmin Approach S20 and Garmin Approach X40
– How to use Garmin Approach S20 and Garmin Approach X40
– What Garmin Approach S20 and Garmin Approach X40
– Garmin Approach S20 vs Garmin Approach X40

About Garmin Approach S20

Garmin Approach S20 is a smartwatch aimed for golfers to be their partner on the course as well as every day watch. The design is simple, stylish and convenient with light body. The watch comes in four available color options including white, black, midnight teal, and slate to suit your taste. The Garmin Approach S20 is built entirely of plastic, which is why it is so light, but this material is somehow less exclusive for everyday golfers use. However, it is very comfortable when use in course.

The appearance of Garmin Approach S20 is very similar to Garmin fitness watches with square display and wide strap. The screen is using transflective memory in pixel with 128 x 128 pixel resolution to displays basic texts and basic graphics, but does a really good job in bright condition. In the watch, there are four buttons to access the menus and literally very easy to use. Garmin Approach S20 is 5 ATM water resistant, so you can use it in even under not friendly conditions, such as rain.

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How to use Garmin Approach S20

To start the GPS function in Garmin Approach S20, you only have to click top right button and select start round. The watch the will found the course you are currently in within 1 one minute. After that you will see the yardages to front, middle and back along the hole number and the par on the screen. You may scroll down the holes using the up and down buttons on the left.

Garmin Approach S20 Features

The unit is pre-loaded with more than 41.000 courses around the world and will keep the maps updated to make you always ready for the play. Garmin Approach S20 also provides you with daily activity tracking and smart notifications to keep you connected throughout the day. After you are on the course, the watch will track shots, measure distance and records shot locations for post round analysis on Garmin Connect using AutoShot round analyzer.

With Garmin Connect Golf Community you can share and compare your results to other users. You also can download your round and compare it to your last round and see how you have improve for every course you play. The Garmin Connect golf community even able to assemble your ideal round and combining all of your best score for each hole to get your ideal 18 for the course.

In addition, Garmin Approach S20 uses a long running lithium-ion battery to accompany you through long runs if you play with extra holes. The company claims that this watch can last up to a whole weekend with 15 hours in full GPS mode before you need to charge the battery again. If you only use it in activity tracking mode, the Garmin Approach S20 can even last up to 8 weeks between recharges. It also charges quickly with USB cable and dedicated clip to hold the watch.

About Garmin Approach X40

Garmin Approach X40 is a golf smartwatch that also acts as fitness tracker and can be used as daily activity tracker outside the course. Different from its brother the Garmin Approach S20 we have talked above, which came with pretty wide screen and strap. Garmin Approach X40 is smaller than that and somehow looks more stylish and simpler. The strap is made from silicone and 1” x 0.42” touchscreen LCD with 160 x 68 resolution. Moreover, the unit is very light, weighing no more than 31 grams.

Garmin Approach X40 also comes in various colorful straps aside from the standard black or white, such as frost blue and limelight. With 5 ATM waterproof ability, you can practically use the watch under various conditions, such as rain or snow, but you shouldn’t take it with you on extreme water sport, since the unit is not made for it. If you need recommendation on another golf related devices, you may want to read our article on Precision Pro Golf NX7 review here.

How to use Garmin Approach X40

Garmin Approach X40 is claimed to be pre-loaded with more than 41.000 golf courses all around the world, so the unit wont take so much time when tracking and deciding where is your current course; mostly the watch will takes up to 20 seconds to determine the course for you. After the watch determine your position, you will be shown with front, middle and back distance in yards or meters. The auto holes works really good and there is also green view, if you want scroll through a variety of preset hole positions to change the middle yardage to the flag location in that day.

Garmin Approach X40 Features

Garmin Approach X40 has a hazard screen that will show you all pitfalls on the hole and even though the graphics are somehow odd, it still able to show type of hazard, plus reach and carry distances and works really well for the screen size. When on the course, the watch will utilize its AutoShot round analyzer to automatically detects shots along the fairway and measures distance for post-round analysis on Garmin Connect.

In addition, since the Garmin Approach X40 has dual functionality as a fitness tracker, it also has the capability of counting your heart rate for 24/7. With this, you don’t have to purchase any additional heart rate monitor when you are working out outside the course. As fitness tracking device, this smart watch provides you with information, such a calories burned information and quantifies the intensity of your fitness and provide you with better credit for your efforts.

Comparison

Now, let’s compare Garmin Approach S20 with Garmin Approach X40. Both of them are released in the same years and have dual functionality as fitness tracker outside the golf court. Their differences are the shape and screen and strap size, which is clearly larger in S20. However, the smaller screen in X40 is touch screen unlike S20. Looking form the inside, the capability of X40 seems to have been upgraded to make the watch performs faster than its older brother. In the fitness tracker side, X40 able to measure heart rate, while this feature in not available in S20.