| General | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Garmin |
| Type | Golf GPS smartwatch |
| Series | Approach |
| Released | 21 January 2025 |
| Price at launch | GBP 349.99 / USD 399.99 |
| Predecessor | Approach S42 |
| Successor | Not yet announced. See Release Radar. |
| Sizes | 43mm (small) |
| Colours | Slate aluminium bezel with black ComfortFit nylon band, Cream Gold aluminium bezel with ivory ComfortFit nylon band |
Specifications and features as at launch.
Jump to: Expert opinion | What’s new | Specifications | Battery life | Features | Activity profiles | Further reading
Expert opinion
The S50 is the Approach watch that earns its place on the wrist for the rest of the week. It gives the golfer PlaysLike distance as standard, where the cheaper S44 holds that behind a Garmin Golf membership, and it adds the wrist heart rate sensor, the full Garmin wellness suite, music storage and Garmin Pay that the S44 does without.
The weight is the part that gets overlooked. At 29g on the ComfortFit nylon band it is lighter than any other current Approach watch, and the band comes in two lengths, so it suits small wrists as well as large. Against that, the hole map itself still depends on a membership, because the full vector map and touch targeting carry the same subscription gate as green contours. The sensor set is a tier below the flagship: single-frequency GPS, GLONASS and Galileo, and no barometric altimeter, so elevation feeding PlaysLike comes from the course data rather than from the watch.
What’s new versus the Approach S42
Hardware
- 1.2 inch AMOLED touchscreen at 390 x 390 pixels, replacing the colour memory-in-pixel display
- Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate sensor and Pulse Ox, which the S42 does without
- Anodised aluminium bezel with a Corning Gorilla Glass 3 lens
- ComfortFit nylon band at 29g, in two band lengths
- Wi-Fi and ANT+ alongside Bluetooth
- 4GB of storage, supporting offline music
- NFC for Garmin Pay
Software
- The Garmin wellness suite: Body Battery, HRV status, advanced sleep with sleep coach, nap detection, stress tracking, Morning Report and lifestyle logging
- Activity profiles beyond golf, covering gym, running, cycling, swimming, racket, team and winter sports
- Garmin Coach training plans, VO2 Max and workout animations with a muscle map
- PlaysLike distance
- Approach CT1 club tag compatibility, alongside the existing CT10 sensors
Specifications
| Display | |
|---|---|
| Size | 1.2 inch (30.4mm) |
| Type | AMOLED, optional always-on |
| Resolution | 390 x 390 pixels |
| Lens | Corning Gorilla Glass 3 |
| Touchscreen | Yes |
| Physical | |
| Case size | 43mm (small) |
| Dimensions | 43 x 43 x 11.4mm |
| Weight | 29g |
| Bezel material | Anodised aluminium |
| Strap material | ComfortFit nylon, 20mm industry-standard quick release |
| Wrist fit | Small and medium band 127 to 190mm, medium and large band 145 to 217mm |
| Water rating | 5 ATM |
| © the5krunner. Link required. | |
| Sensors and positioning | |
| GPS | GPS, GLONASS, Galileo |
| Heart rate | Garmin Elevate wrist heart rate |
| Other sensors | Pulse Ox, compass, gyroscope, accelerometer, ambient light |
| Connectivity and storage | |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth, ANT+, Wi-Fi, NFC (Garmin Pay) |
| Storage | 4GB |
| Music | Yes, stored on the watch and played to Bluetooth headphones |
| Maps | 43,000 preloaded golf courses. Full vector CourseView maps need a Garmin Golf membership |
Battery life
Garmin rates the S50 on default display settings, which means gesture wake-up in smartwatch mode and an always-on screen while golfing.
| Mode | Battery life |
|---|---|
| Smartwatch | Up to 10 days |
| GPS | Up to 15 hours |
| © the5krunner. Link required. | |
Features
Feature explanations are covered in the relevant the5krunner Garmin features hub.
Plan
- Garmin Coach adaptive and prebuilt training plans
- Downloadable training plans and advanced workouts
- Morning Report
- Recovery Time and HRV Status
- Advanced sleep tracking with sleep coach and nap detection
- Body Battery energy monitoring
- Women’s health tracking
- Hydration logging
Prepare
- Wrist heart rate sampled every second, with high and low alerts
- Pulse Ox, as a spot check or in sleep
- Health Snapshot and Fitness Age
- All-day stress tracking, meditation and breathwork
- VO2 Max for running and trail running
- Strength, cardio, HIIT, yoga and Pilates workouts with on-screen animations and a muscle map
- Automatic rep counting
- Intensity minutes, step counting, Move IQ and TrueUp
Perform
- 43,000 preloaded courses with automatic CourseView updates
- Yardages to the front, middle and back of the green, and to layups and doglegs
- Hazards and course targets, custom targets and PinPointer
- PlaysLike distance, adjusted for elevation and conditions
- Green View with manual pin position
- Garmin AutoShot, with Approach CT1 and CT10 club tracking through accessories
- Digital scorecard with handicap scoring and stat tracking for strokes, putts, greens and fairways
- Swing tempo and a round timer
- Tournament Mode for sanctioned events and handicap rounds
- Full vector maps, touch targeting and green contours with a Garmin Golf membership
- Pool swim metrics with underwater wrist heart rate
- Speed and cadence sensor support over ANT+ or Bluetooth
- Heart rate broadcasting over ANT+
Connect
- Music stored on the watch, and control of music on the phone
- Garmin Pay contactless payments
- Smart notifications, calendar and weather
- Incident detection and assistance
- Find My Phone and Find My Garmin
- Connect IQ, with the store on the watch
- Garmin Connect Challenges
Activity profiles
| Category | Profiles |
|---|---|
| Golf | Golfing |
| Running | Running, Treadmill Running, Indoor Track Running |
| Cycling | Biking, Indoor Biking |
| Swimming | Pool Swimming |
| Gym and fitness | Strength, HIIT, Cardio, Elliptical Training, Stair Stepping, Floor Climbing, Indoor Rowing, Indoor Walking, Pilates, Yoga, Boxing, Mixed Martial Arts |
| Outdoor | Walking |
| Other | Water sports: Stand Up Paddleboarding, Rowing, Kayaking. Winter sports: Skiing, Snowboarding, XC Classic Skiing, Snowshoeing. Team sports: Basketball, Volleyball, Field Hockey, Ice Hockey, Football, American Football, Lacrosse, Rugby, Ultimate Disc, Cricket, Softball, Baseball. Racket sports: Tennis, Pickleball, Badminton, Squash, Table Tennis, Padel, Platform Tennis, Racquetball. |
Further reading
- Garmin Approach S72 specifications
- Garmin watch specifications
- Release Radar: upcoming Garmin watches
Small things I always use
- Garmin 90-degree charging adapter: Charges your Garmin from any USB-C cable. Essential when travelling. I use one.
- Body Glide: The blue anti-chafe stick swimmers and runners carry. I use it.
- Speedo earplugs: Fewer ear infections and no cold-water dizziness. I use them.
- Dryrobe Advance: My winter changing robe for open-water swims. I use one. A cheaper option is the AONYIYI changing robe.
- Maurten: Race fuel that stays easy on the stomach. I use them.
- Beet It Sport nitrate shots: Beetroot shots I take in the days before a race. I use them.
- Garmin charging puck: The quickest way to top up before a session. I use one.
- Injinji: Toe socks that stop rubbing, so you run more. I use them.
- Ultimate toe protectors: Stop black toenails on long runs. They work. I use them.
- Compressport R2 v2 calf sleeves: My calf sleeves of choice. I use them.
- Cellucor C4: My pre-workout before hard sessions.
- TPU tubes: Schwalbe Aerothan, Tubolito and Pirelli SmarTube. Light, tiny spares. I use all three.
- G8 insoles: Adjustable insoles that are good. I use them.
- Cycplus Cube: A 97g electric pump that gets a road tyre rideable in two minutes. I carry one. 5% off with code THE5KRUNNER.
Watches and sensors
- Polar H10: My daily driver for waking HRV.
- Polar Verity Sense: My backup arm-worn HR sensor.
- Nomad bedside charger: Charges my iPhone and Apple Watch overnight. I use it, and many of their bands.
- Train.Red: The best muscle oxygen sensor I’ve used.
- Tymewear: Accurate heart rate and reliable ventilatory zones. I use it to pace endurance rides over an hour.
- Garmin Forerunner 970: A pro-grade triathlon watch. I use this.
- Apple Watch Ultra 4: My daily smartwatch. No phone needed on rides.
- Garmin Fenix 9 Pro: I’ve just bought one.
On the bike
- Continental GP5000 for everyday riding, and Aero 111 on the front for special occasions.
- Helmets: Specialized S-Works Evade 3 for road riding, and Rudy Project Wing for TT-style races. I use both.
- Ravemen FR300: A front light that mounts under your Garmin or Wahoo. I use one.
- Wahoo TRACKR Radar: I use it on one bike and Varia on the other. They perform the same.
- Garmin Varia RTL515: Radar that warns you of cars from behind. I use this model.
- Wahoo ELEMNT Roam 3: The bike computer that’s easy to use. I use mine on most rides.
- Favero Assioma Pro RS2: Accurate power pedals that swap easily between bikes. I use this model.
Home and indoor training
- NPE Runn: Makes my basic treadmill smart, sending more accurate speed and distance to my watch and Zwift. I use it.
- Google Wifi: Keeps Zwift connected in my pain cave. I use it.
- Apple TV 4K: Zwift on the big screen. I use two.
- Google Nest Doorbell (wired, 2nd gen): My video doorbell, running in both Google Home and Apple Home. I use it.
Health, recovery and sleep
- FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus: Shows how my blood sugar responds to diet.
- hDrop: Measures my sweat loss in summer and indoors.
- Fourth Frontier Zone: Checks my heart under load in hard sessions.
- Oura Ring 5: My partner’s recovery tracker of choice.
- Eight Sleep: A cooling mattress cover my partner and I use nightly.
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