
Argos beats Amazon as Garmin smartwatch with no negative reviews reduced in Easter sale
Argos has kicked off its Easter 'Big Red Event' by slashing prices across its tech range, including a Garmin watch with no negative reviews. The latest deal that caught our eye is on the Garmin Forerunner 255 Smart Watch, which usually costs £199.99.
During the sale, shoppers can shave 10% off the price with the discount code RED10, taking the price down to £180. The Argos deal beats Amazon 's price, where the Garmin watch is available for £186.97.
This fitness tracker is the perfect device for helping Brits monitor their health and exercise activities after indulging in one two many treats over the Easter break. It boasts a 14-day battery life, daily suggested workouts and HRV status, which tracks the heart rate variability during sleep.
The watch is ideal for tracking fitness and gaining a better understanding of their health as it provides a morning report summarising sleep and HRV status after waking up. It can also evaluate training status to indicate if you're undertraining or overdoing it, with tracking of more than 30 activities including cycling, swimming and strength training.
The Garmin weighs 49g but is made with tough Gorilla Glass 3 and has a water-resistance rating of 5 ATM, so it can be worn in the shower or while swimming. For those seeking a more affordable option, Samsung's Galaxy Fit3 is available for £59 and features tracking for more than 100 exercises.
Apple fans may want to consider spreading the cost of an Apple Watch SE, which Sky Mobile offers from £7 and also monitors calories, steps, workouts and more. But the Garmin Forerunner 255 Smart Watch has earned a near-perfect 4.9-star rating from 23 Argos reviews – all of which are four or five stars.
One happy customer said: 'Cool and functional Garmin watch. Very easy to use and looks stylish. Good smart watch for day to day sports activities and also a nice watch to wear generally.'
Another said: 'I've been using this for two weeks now and am very happy. Especially pleased with the battery life after transitioning from an Apple Watch which barely lasted a day and less if I'd been running. I've only had to charge my Garmin Forerunner 255 once since purchasing and I'm delighted. I love the variety of features too – especially the 'body battery' and the sleep recommendations.'
A third said: 'Amazing features for the price. Best run/bike/swim watch for the money.'
However, despite their five-star review, the same buyer added: 'Only missing the full maps features but you need to double the price to add this so not worth it.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Scottish Sun
27 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
First-time buyers to get ‘leg up' onto housing ladder under mortgage plans unveiled by government
Thousands more mortgages are set to become available to new home buyers under the plans HOUSE THAT First-time buyers to get 'leg up' onto housing ladder under mortgage plans unveiled by government FIRST-TIME buyers will be given a 'leg up' onto the housing ladder under plans to be announced by the Chancellor today. Rachel Reeves is expected to announce sweeping changes for those looking to buy a house. 1 Chancellor Rachel Reeves is expected to announce changes for home buyers today Credit: AFP More mortgages will be available at over 4.5 times a buyer's income, which will create more than 36,000 additional mortgages for first-time buyers over the first year, the Government said. It follows recommendations from the Bank of England that some lenders can offer more high loan-to-income mortgages if they choose to. The reforms, which the Chancellor hails as having an "instant impact" on consumers, will be outlined in Leeds today ahead of Ms Reeves' Mansion House speech on this evening. Britain's biggest building society Nationwide also announced plans last week to make its "Helping Hand" mortgage scheme for first-time buyers available to people on lower incomes. From Wednesday, eligible first-time buyers can apply for Nationwide's Helping Hand mortgage with a £30,000 salary, down from £35,000, and joint applicants with a £50,000 combined salary – down from £55,000. It is estimated this will support an additional 10,000 first-time buyers each year. In her Mansion House speech, the Chancellor is expected to tell the City of London: 'I welcome the recent changes the (Bank of England) Financial Policy Committee has announced to the loan-to-income limit on mortgage lending, which the PRA (Prudential Regulation Authority) and FCA are implementing immediately.' She will hail the reforms as having an "instant impact for consumers, such as Nationwide offering its Helping Hand mortgage to more first-time buyers – supporting an additional 10,000 each year.' The changes will sit alongside the creation of a permanent mortgage guarantee scheme, pledged by Labour in its manifesto, and a review of Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) lending rules that could allow prospective buyers' records of paying rent on time to be used to show they can afford mortgage repayments. The reforms have been welcomed by mortgage experts, who say it will make a huge difference to Brits on lower incomes. 5 things to check before applying for a mortgage Mortgage technical manager Nicholas Mendes, of broker John Charcol, said: 'The decision to widen access to Nationwide's Helping Hand mortgage by lowering the income thresholds will offer an immediate and practical benefit to a group of people who have often found themselves just on the wrong side of affordability criteria. 'For someone earning £30,000 on their own, or couples on a combined income of £50,000, this change could be the difference between continuing to rent and finally being able to move into a home of their own. 'It will also bring particular value to those in stable, lower-paid roles that are so essential to society but are often overlooked by traditional lending models. 'People working in care, education, retail, and public service are typically in long-term employment and manage their finances carefully, yet they are the very people who have found the doors to homeownership closed to them. 'This reform suggests that financial discipline is being recognised more broadly than by salary alone, and that is a very welcome shift." What else is being announced by the Chancellor? The Chancellor is also expected to announce the launch of a permanent mortgage guarantee scheme, which will see the state offer to help first-time buyers and home movers with deposits as low as 5pc. First announced in last month's Spending Review, it is set to replace the previous mortgage guarantee scheme, which came to and end on June 30. The scheme provides a guarantee that the Government will cover some of a lender's losses if a borrower can't afford to repay their mortgage and the home is repossessed. Meanwhile, plans to cut the tax-free allowance for cash ISAs have been put on hold by the Chancellor, after speculation that reforms to the savings account would also be announced. Cash ISAs currently offer tax-free interest on savings of up to £20,000. It's understood that the Chancellor has now scrapped the plans following backlash from banks, building societies and campaigners, and will instead focus on encouraging more people to invest in stocks and shares. In her Mansion House speech this evening, she is expected to add: 'This is the foundation of an economy, and a country, that is more active and more confident. 'Where people and businesses look to the future and talk about hope about opportunity. Assured of their own capability, and of the ability of our country to boldly face the challenges that lie ahead. 'And certain of the prize if they succeed. Of higher wages and higher living standards. 'The renewal of Britain in every home and every high street. To put it simply: a Britain that is better off.' How to get the best deal on your mortgage IF you're looking for a traditional type of mortgage, getting the best rates depends entirely on what's available at any given time. There are several ways to land the best deal. Usually the larger the deposit you have the lower the rate you can get. If you're remortgaging and your loan-to-value ratio (LTV) has changed, you'll get access to better rates than before. Your LTV will go down if your outstanding mortgage is lower and/or your home's value is higher. A change to your credit score or a better salary could also help you access better rates. And if you're nearing the end of a fixed deal soon it's worth looking for new deals now. You can lock in current deals sometimes up to six months before your current deal ends. Leaving a fixed deal early will usually come with an early exit fee, so you want to avoid this extra cost. But depending on the cost and how much you could save by switching versus sticking, it could be worth paying to leave the deal - but compare the costs first. To find the best deal use a mortgage comparison tool to see what's available. You can also go to a mortgage broker who can compare a much larger range of deals for you. Some will charge an extra fee but there are plenty who give advice for free and get paid only on commission from the lender. You'll also need to factor in fees for the mortgage, though some have no fees at all. You can add the fee - sometimes more than £1,000 - to the cost of the mortgage, but be aware that means you'll pay interest on it and so will cost more in the long term. You can use a mortgage calculator to see how much you could borrow. Remember you'll have to pass the lender's strict eligibility criteria too, which will include affordability checks and looking at your credit file. You may also need to provide documents such as utility bills, proof of benefits, your last three month's payslips, passports and bank statements. Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@ Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories


The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
I wore the Garmin vivoactive 6 for two months – it's great, but not ideal for everyone
To cut a long story short, I'm a fan of the Garmin vívoactive 6. As someone who rarely wore watches growing up, I like how the slimline design sits inconspicuously on the wrist – it's so light I often forget I'm wearing it – and having up to 11 days of battery life means I'm far less likely to be caught out than with my usual Apple Watch. The round face doesn't derail your style choices, I can record pretty much any sport I try my hand at thanks to the 80-plus tracking modes, and the general health insights around sleep and stress offer actionable insights to help me tweak my weekly routine for the better. It can't match the Apple Watch for apps and smartwatch features, the Whoop for lifestyle insights, or even more specialist Garmin wearables for run-tracking. But as a more affordable jack of all trades, it's excellent value for money for generalists like myself. I don't have a sub-three hour marathon time, nor has anyone ever paid me to play any sport. I can lift weights that are heavy for some and a warm-up for others, while my Hyrox time is good-not-great. But I love moving and make a point of doing it in as many ways as possible. This is where the vívoactive 6 excels. Whether I decide to climb a mountain with friends, pick up a padel racket or hit the water for some paddleboarding, there's an option for that. The only area I felt it missed the mark somewhat was during my gym sessions. My general workouts contain a CrossFit-inspired blend of strength training, Olympic lifting, gymnastics and HIIT-style workouts. On the Apple Watch, I liked that I could hit go on a 'functional fitness' workout at the start of my session and let it run until the end. With the vívoactive 6, I had to record my strength training and HIIT workouts separately. The strength training tracking also tries to automatically count reps and sets, although I found this wasn't too helpful for me. When I have my head down during a lifting session, I prefer to focus on the exercise at hand without looking at my watch all too often. As you might expect from a Garmin, the running features are very solid – if not quite on par with the likes of the brand's fenix and forerunner lines due to a lack of barometric altimeter to track elevation, and the use of the brand's last generation heart rate monitor. You can create custom interval sessions fairly easily on the app, setting target times and paces; there is a virtual coach available for a range of distances at no extra cost via the Garmin Coach feature; it provides race-day pacing strategies; and you receive in-depth running metrics on factors such as cadence, ground contact time and stride length. However, perhaps unexpectedly for a Garmin, it was the non-exercise features I enjoyed the most. Where Apple challenges you to 'close your rings' by completing a daily step, move (active calories) and stand goal, Garmin scores your sleep and body battery out of 100 to dissuade you from 2am social media spirals. A snackable morning report reveals your sleep quality and how long you spent in each sleep stage (deep, light, REM, awake) then provides actionable advice on how to approach your day – this includes how much sleep you should aim for the following night, and the 'recovery hours' needed before your body is back to feeling its best after hard workouts. The app also has an 'at a glance' section showing your heart rate, intensity minutes, steps, estimated daily calorie burn, heart rate variability status, stress, fitness age (calculated using factors such as BMI, levels of vigorous exercise and resting heart rate) and VO2 max. Several of these are presented on colour-coded graphs to signify whether your results are poor, fair, good, excellent or superior, and the app provides guidance on how you can improve them. The sum of these parts is actionable takeaways I was able to use to improve my health and performance, which in my eyes is exactly what a fitness tracker is for. You don't get premium features like an ECG, skin temperature sensor, Garmin's latest sensor technology or multi-band GPS, so data might not be quite as accurate as the likes of the most recent fenix and venu models. But for the vívoactive's target audience – the everyday exerciser – these features are likely surplus to requirements. I did find the Garmin Connect app a little less user-friendly than the Apple Fitness app at first. Being an iPhone user, the latter's bright colours and blocky, almost childlike, designs came naturally to me, while the Garmin app was a bit more wordy and officious. But after a few weeks of wear, I was navigating the Garmin platform with relative ease.


The Sun
7 hours ago
- The Sun
My Nespresso Vertuo Next coffee machine is on sale for £89 – but Argos has an even cheaper deal
I love my daily coffee, so investing in a decent machine for my home was a must. Right now, the exact Nespresso Vertuo Next coffee machine I have sitting on my kitchen counter is slashed from £149 to £89 at Nespresso. I have had my machine for nearly a year now, and it is probably my most-used appliance, and in my opinion, one of the best coffee machines on the market. The stunning £60 discount at Nespresso also includes 50 free pods, a chic tumbler and an ice cube tray with your new coffee machine. You can also upgrade and throw in a milk frother (which I also own for days when you want barista-style frothy milk on your cappuccino or latte), for £138. The machine and milk frother bundle also comes with the freebies and works out as a saving of £90. It's a pretty good deal when you consider the milk frother alone usually costs £79. But I have found it for cheaper at Argos. Nespresso Vertuo Next Coffee Machine, £69 (was £150) at Argos BUY HERE The high street store is selling a grey or cream version of the Nespresso Vertuo Next machine for £69 - better than half price. While John Lewis has matte black or light grey versions of the machine for £69.99, reduced from £149, which is a saving of £79.01. All the deals are great value in my opinion, and if you want a premium coffee machine at a fraction of the normal RRP, now is the time to take the plunge. The biggest difference with this machine versus the classic Nespresso machine models is the pod size, which is larger. The Vertuo Next machine also provides seven different cup sizes, so you can make a multitude of coffee drinks, not just a standard espresso or latte. The biggest draw is how sleek and compact the machine is. The slimline footprint also means it takes up minimal space on your worktop, which is ideal for those limited on space. It also comes in several colourways, so you can choose one that is in keeping with your kitchen decor. I also love how tall the water tank is at the back of the machine, which means I don't have to constantly refill after use, as you can make a few drinks before it empties.