Garmin · 2021
Approach S42Size, Dimensions & Wrist Fit
The Garmin Approach S42 sits best on flat wrist widths of about 46–62mm (≈ 12.3–16.6cm wrist circumference). Adjust the slider below to check your wrist.
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The Approach® S42 in short
The figures that decide whether this watch suits you, pulled out of the full specification sheet further down.
- Between 15 hours and 10 days per charge depending on the power mode — smartwatch at best, gps at worst.
- Water rated to 50 m.
- 11.7mm thick. Thinner than 87% of 43mm watches, so it slides under a cuff more easily than most of its size.
- 1.2 in (30.4mm) diameter LCD display, always-on capable.
- chemically strengthened glass case, chemically strengthened glass glass.
Does the Approach S42 fit your wrist?
Drag the slider to your wrist width and see the Approach S42 overlaid at true scale. Lug-to-lug — not case diameter — decides whether a watch overhangs your wrist.
Watch Fit Tool
For sports watches, lug-to-lug (L2L) is what matters most — it decides whether a watch overhangs your wrist. Bulky is fine; overhang is not.
Measure at the point where you wear your watch — typically just below the wrist bone.
Flat width — lay your arm on a table, palm facing up, and measure straight across the top of your wrist with a ruler. Bone to bone; do not follow the curve down the sides.
Around — wrap a tape measure snugly round the wrist. No tape? Wrap a strip of paper, mark the overlap and hold the strip against a ruler.
Width ≠ circumference. They are different numbers — around 170mm is about 64mm across — so set the toggle to whichever one you actually measured before you type it in.
Garmin Approach® S42
Case 43.4mm · Lug-to-lug 43.4mm · Thickness 11.7mm · 43g
Balanced Fit
43.4mm on a 55mm wrist
Comfortably inside the edges of your wrist, and it seats and sits low enough to wear without thinking about it.
On a 55mm wrist the sweet spot is 47–53mm lug to lug. This one is 43.4mm, so you could go bigger.
Measure where you wear it, just below the wrist bone. Either of these works — the tool converts between them.
- 1. Flat width — arm flat on a table, palm up. Measure straight across the top of the wrist, bone to bone, ignoring the curve down the sides.
- 2. Around — a tape, or a strip of paper marked and held against a ruler, snug the whole way round.
Leather: Attaches at the lugs, so the case back rests on your skin. Thins and softens with wear. Typical figures, not this model’s own.
Show the measurementsHide the measurements
- Across the wrist5.8mm spare each side
Comfortable, with visible skin either side.
- Off the wrist11.7mm off the skin
Normal sports-watch height for a wrist this size. (11.7mm case, back against the skin)
- How it seats~4.5mm under the rim
Seats well, with the case back following most of the wrist.
- Weight on the wrist43g
Light enough to forget you have it on. (0.8g per mm of wrist)
Happy with the fit? Check current availability for the Approach S42.
Check offer2D Dimension Schematics
The Approach® S42 drawn to scale — from above, and in profile against the wrist.
- Garmin Approach® S4243.4mm · 11.7mm thick
3D preview
Garmin Approach® S42 on a wrist
On an arm sized to your own wrist — the view a product photo never gives you.
Shapes are built from published measurements, not manufacturer 3D models — accurate proportions, generic dial.
How long the Approach® S42 lasts, by power mode
Runtime changes by a factor of 16 depending on what you leave switched on. Bars are scaled against the longest mode.
- Smartwatch10 days
- GPS15 hours
How the Approach® S42 ranks on battery
Against the 296 Garmin watches in our database, ranked on each figure Garmin publishes.
- Everyday use10 days#211 of 285
- GPS tracking15 hours#213 of 267
Approach® S42 specifications
The figures that decide a purchase, followed by every line Garmin publishes.
- Battery life
- 10 days
- Display
- 1.2 inches
- Resolution
- 240 x 240 px
- Water rating
- Waterproof
- Bezel
- metal
- Glass
- chemically strengthened glass
- Strap
- silicone
- Storage
- 64 MB
- Charging
- Garmin proprietary plug charger
Full specification sheet
162 published lines across 20 groups, unedited
Overview
- Family
- Garmin
Design
- width
- 43.4
- height
- 43.4
- volume
- 22.04 cm³
- weight
- 43 g
- thickness
- 11.7
- resolution
- 240 x 240 px
- screen size
- 1.2 inches
- Display type
- LCD
- Has a display
- pixel density
- 282 ppi
- water resistance
- Waterproof
- Always-On Display
- has a touch screen
- waterproof depth rating
- 50 m
- Watch band is replaceable
- Has sapphire glass display
- has branded damage-resistant glass
Battery
- battery life
- 10 days
- has wireless charging
- has a removable battery
- battery life with GPS on
- 15 hours
- Has a solar power battery
- has a rechargeable battery
General
- Battery life
- Smartwatch mode: Up to 10 daysGPS mode: Up to 15 hours
- Display Size
- 1.2 in (30.4mm) diameter
- Color display
- Lens Material
- chemically strengthened glass
- Bezel Material
- metal
- Memory/History
- 64 MB
- Strap material
- silicone
- Charging method
- Garmin proprietary plug charger
- Display resolution
- 240 x 240 pixels
- Quick Release bands
Sensors
- GPS
- has GPS
- Gyroscope
- Accelerometer
- has a compass
- Has a barometer
- has a gyroscope
- Has a cadence sensor
- has an accelerometer
- Monitors perspiration
- Has a heart rate monitor
- Has a temperature sensor
- Monitors blood oxygenation levels
Features
- release date
- 2021-03-16
- Has a stopwatch
- Has smart alarm
- Has call control
- Has silent alarm
- internal storage
- 0.64GB
- Has notifications
- Locates your phone
- Acquires GPS faster
- Can be used to answer calls
- Has a built-in camera remote control function
Connectivity
- has NFC
- supports ANT+
- supports Wi-Fi
- has a cellular module
- Is compatible with iOS
- Is compatible with Android
Product Info
- Main SKU
- 010-02572-10
- Product ID
- 743387
- Product Name
- Approach® S42
- Release Date
- 3/16/2021
- Product Variation
- Gunmetal with Black Band
Miscellaneous
- Has auto pause
- Available on PC
- Is compatible with Windows
- Is compatible with Mac OS X
- has an external memory slot
- Compatible with smart scales
- has a battery level indicator
- has a socket for a 3.5 mm audio jack
- Compatible with external heart rate monitors
App & Software
- Ad-free
- Free app
- Tracks BMI
- Has coaching
- Includes maps
- Supports routes
- Has achievements
- Has goal setting
- Has live tracking
- Has exercise diary
- Predicts ovulation
- Can be personalised
- Has weight tracking
- Predicts start date
- Tracks water intake
- Has period notifications
- Has temperature tracking
- Doesn’t require account
- Provides activity reports
- Displays fertile window notifications
- Counts how many calories you've burned
Clock Features
- Timer
- Stopwatch
- Time/date
- Alarm clock
- GPS Time Sync
- Sunrise/sunset times
- Automatic daylight saving time
Golfing Features
- Custom targets
- Handicap scoring
- Tournament legal
- Digital scorecard
- Garmin AutoShot™
- Round timer/odometer
- TruSwing™ compatible
- Auto CourseView updates
- Yardage to layups/doglegs
- Hazards and course targets
- Pairs with Garmin Golf app
- Green View with manual pin position
- Preloaded with 43,000 courses worldwide
- CT10 Automatic club tracking compatible (requires accessory)
- Yardage to F/M/B (distance to front, middle and back of green)
- Stat tracking (strokes, putts per round, greens and fairways hit)
- Measures shot distance (calculates exact yardage for shots from anywhere on course)
- automatic
Running Features
- GPS-based distance, time and pace
What You'll Love
- Touchscreen
- Display type
- Sunlight-visible, transflective memory-in-pixel (MIP)
- Water rating
- 5 ATM
- Battery life (smartwatch mode)
- Up to 10 days
Activity Profiles
- Cycling
- Biking, Indoor Biking
- Indoor running
- Indoor Track Running
- Outdoor running
- Running
- Outdoor recreation
- Golfing
Activity tracking
- Measures pace
- Tracks distance
- Tracks elevation
- Designed for golf
- Tracks your sleep
- Tracks steps taken
- Has a route tracker
- Has exercise tagging
- Has multi-sport mode
- Tracks calorie intake
- Provides sleep reports
- Detects activities automatically
- Has a stroke counter for swimming
Daily Smart Features
- Calendar
- Connectivity
- Bluetooth® Smart
- Find My Phone
- Weather forecasts
- Smart Notifications
- Smartphone compatibility
- iPhone®, Android™
- Pairs with Garmin Connect™ Mobile
Activity Tracking Features
- TrueUp™
- Step counter
- Move alerts (displays on device after a period of inactivity)
- Auto goal (learns your activity level and assigns a daily step goal)
Health & Wellness Monitoring
- Hydration
- yes (in Garmin Connect™)
- Women's health
- yes (in Garmin Connect™)
Training, Planning and Analysis Features
- GPS speed and distance
- Touch and/or button lock
- Auto Pause® automatic timer halt
- Auto Lap® interval tracking feature
Alternatives to the Approach® S42
Watches that cover a similar amount of wrist, with the measurements that separate them.
Garmin
Approach® S40
- Width
- 43.4mm
- Thick
- 11.7mm
- Weight
- 43g
Garmin
vívoactive® 3
- Width
- 43.4mm
- Thick
- 11.7mm
- Weight
- 43g
Garmin
D2™ Air
- Width
- 43.2mm
- Thick
- 12.4mm
- Weight
- 46.3g
Garmin
Venu®
- Width
- 43.2mm
- Thick
- 12.4mm
- Weight
- 46.3g
Garmin
Venu® 2 Plus
- Width
- 43.6mm
- Thick
- 12.6mm
- Weight
- 51g
Garmin
D2™ Air X10
- Width
- 43.6mm
- Thick
- 12.6mm
- Weight
- 51g
Approach® S42 — Frequently Asked Questions
Will the Garmin Approach S42 fit my wrist?
The Garmin Approach S42 looks balanced on flat wrist widths of roughly 46–62mm (about 12.3–16.6cm circumference). Drag the slider above to check it against your own measurement.
How long does the Garmin Approach S42 battery last?
Between 15 hours and 10 days per charge, depending on the power mode. Garmin rates Smartwatch at 10 days and GPS at 15 hours; the chart above lists all 2 modes.
How does the Garmin Approach S42 battery compare with other Garmin watches?
At 10 days in everyday use it ranks #211 of the 285 Garmin watches in our database — below the middle of the range. The full ranking, including GPS and power-saving figures, is on our Garmin battery life comparison.
Is the Garmin Approach S42 thick for a 43mm watch?
At 11.7mm, thinner than 87% of 43mm watches, so it slides under a cuff more easily than most of its size. Thickness, not case width, is what decides whether a watch catches on a shirt cuff.
What other watches are the same size as the Garmin Approach S42?
OnePlus Watch 3 43mm, Oppo Watch X2 Mini, Omega Speedmaster Moonphase Stainless Steel / Black Meteorite / Bracelet, Zenith Defy Extreme Diver Shadow / Bracelet all sit within half a millimetre of the Garmin Approach S42's 43.4mm case, so they cover the same amount of wrist.
