Garmin Lily 2 Active

Name: Garmin Lily 2 Active
Brand: Garmin
Price: 300 USD
Availability: InStock

Android; iPhone with limitsPaid tier: Garmin Connect+

Garmin calls it its smallest smartwatch with GPS (October 2024 release), and unlike the regular Lily 2 it records runs and walks without a phone. The 38 mm aluminum case weighs 29 g and hides a grayscale touchscreen under a patterned lens. Garmin Pay, HRV status and sleep coach are included; music storage is not.

Approx. price

~$300

maker's list price, not a live price

Battery, smartwatch mode

9 days

the maker's headline

Battery, always-on display

not published

the maker gives no figure

Battery, GPS workout

9 h

maker's figure

Works with

Android; iPhone with limits

see the limits below

Weight

29 g

Garmin spec: 'Weight: 29 g' (band inclusion not stated)

Best for: A smaller wrist that wants a jewelry-like tracker which can still record a run without the phone

Battery: the claim and the other two figures

Claimed (smartwatch mode): 9 days
With always-on display: not published
GPS workout: 9 h

Headline: Garmin: 'Smartwatch Mode: Up to 9 days'.
GPS: Garmin: 'GPS Mode: 9 hours'.
Monochrome 16-level grayscale screen hidden under a patterned lens; Garmin publishes no always-on figure

The ring’s outer track is the headline claim; the inner two are the always-on and GPS figures as a share of it. An empty track means Garmin does not publish that figure. Why the figures differ

Phones, paid tier and updates

iPhone:: Yes, with limits.
Android:: Yes.; Garmin's spec table marks text replies and reject-call-with-text as Android only; iPhone owners get notifications but cannot reply from the watch
Paid tier:: Garmin Connect+, $69.99/year.; No watch feature requires it: Garmin's chart keeps activity details, health stats, performance metrics, Garmin Coach plans, courses and LiveTrack in the free app. Connect+ adds Active Intelligence AI insights, nutrition logging, a desktop performance dashboard, live activity on the phone, 3D maps and offline Garmin Trails downloads; Watch plus two years of Garmin Connect+: ~$440.
Software updates:: Garmin does not publish a guaranteed number of update years for this model.

Cleared health features

Garmin cites no regulator clearance for a health feature on this model. Its heart-rate, sleep and blood-oxygen readings are wellness features.

A clearance says what a feature is allowed to claim, not that it replaces a doctor. Cleared versus wellness features

Specifications

Approx. price: ~$300 (Lily 2 Active, $299.99 list on garmin.com/en-US/p/1196650)
Type: Fitness
Platform: Garmin
Case sizes: 38 mm
Weight: 38 mm: 29 g (Garmin spec: 'Weight: 29 g' (band inclusion not stated))
Battery, smartwatch mode: 9 days (Garmin: 'Smartwatch Mode: Up to 9 days')
Battery, always-on display: Not published by the maker
Battery, GPS workout: 9 h (Garmin: 'GPS Mode: 9 hours')
Battery note: Monochrome 16-level grayscale screen hidden under a patterned lens; Garmin publishes no always-on figure
Works with: Android; iPhone with limits
iPhone: Yes, with limits
Android: Yes
Phone limits: Garmin's spec table marks text replies and reject-call-with-text as Android only; iPhone owners get notifications but cannot reply from the watch
Paid tier: Garmin Connect+, $69.99/year
What the paid tier gates: No watch feature requires it: Garmin's chart keeps activity details, health stats, performance metrics, Garmin Coach plans, courses and LiveTrack in the free app. Connect+ adds Active Intelligence AI insights, nutrition logging, a desktop performance dashboard, live activity on the phone, 3D maps and offline Garmin Trails downloads
Update years: Not published by the maker
Cleared health features: None the maker cites
Display: LCD
Dual-band GPS: No
Maps: No maps (No maps or courses)
Music on the watch: No
LTE: No LTE version
Contactless pay: Yes
Flashlight: No
Water rating: Swim, 5 ATM
Case: anodized aluminum
Released: 2024

Features, per Garmin

Built-in GPS (GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, BeiDou)
Garmin Pay
HRV status, sleep coach and Body Battery
38 mm anodized aluminum case
Golf yardages and digital scorecard
Two buttons plus touchscreen

Where the specs put it ahead

Built-in GPS, which the regular Lily 2 lacks; Garmin calls it its smallest watch with GPS
Small 38 mm case that suits wrists the Venu and Forerunner sizes overwhelm
Garmin Pay at a register without the phone

What it gives up

Grayscale screen with low resolution, harder to read than the AMOLED vívoactive 6 at the same price
No music storage
Nine hours of GPS limits it to shorter workouts
iPhone owners cannot reply to texts
No barometric altimeter

The two lists above are drawn from the maker’s own pages and prices, not from owner reports. Where owner discussion has been read it appears in its own section below, so the two are never mistaken for each other.