Garmin MARQ Commander Smartwatch Sounds Almost Like A Spy Gadget

Smartwatches are a dime a dozen these days, including those not even running on Wear OS by Google, many of them sporting nearly identical hardware and features. Standing out from the crowd, therefore, all boils down to how you market those features and when it comes to presentation, Garmin's new MARQ Commander might take the cake. Save for one or two features, the smartwatch almost sounds like any other but the way Garmin talks about this "tactical timepiece" makes it sound like you're reading about 007's latest toy.

One the surface, the Garmin MARQ Commander does look like a tough watch that a soldier would have no problems wearing though, interestingly, the company does have one image that is almost taken from spy flicks. In terms of materials, the latest member of Garmin's MARQ collection does walk the walk, with a titanium body, sapphire crystal lens, jacquard-weave strap, and a "stealth matte design". Curiously, Garmin doesn't mention anything about dust and water resistance.

Garmin's talk about a tactical tool for accomplishing missions isn't just for show, so to speak. The MARQ Commander doesn't just have maps, it has topographical maps, dual-format GPS coordinates for military references, multiple GNSS support, advanced navigation features. And, of course, there's the usual activity tracking complete with a Jumpmaster profile for airborne activities.

The watch's most curious features are perhaps its stealthiest. There's an actual kill switch for clearing the user memory and a stealth mode that disables wireless connections and stops GPS storing and sharing. Definitely a spy tool, but one that also connects to your Android or iPhone.

It might also be something that only MI6 or CIA operatives may be able to afford, on a loan from the organizations at least. The Garmin MARQ Commander fetches a handsome $1,950 price tag, which is quite a hefty cost that does seem to fit an advanced tactical device.