I wanted to share my awful experience with anyone who might be looking into buying the Lily 2 and wants to track outdoor activities.
So, this watch doesn't have built-in GPS. Fine. Garmin says that means the watch "can use the GPS and location information from a paired smartphone to record GPS data for walk, run, or bike activity".
I bought the watch fully aware I'd have to use my phone for the GPS. That didn't bother me because I always take my phone on runs and walks anyway. Being a recent model, my phone has very accurate GPS and the Lily 2 otherwise suited my budget, style and wrist size the best. It's a pretty watch!
Boy am I filled with regret. Nowhere on their website does Garmin disclose that connected GPS is severely lacking in accuracy.
After quite a bit of troubleshooting I've confirmed that the connected GPS on my Lily 2, when paired with my Pixel 8, consistently overestimates distances by +8%. I have validated this by tracking the same workouts in several apps, comparing the GPX files, and validating the distances with manual measurements. The Pixel 8 GPS sensor is not the problem – the distances tracked are accurate within a couple of metres in the raw data files. To add to the annoyance, when I downloaded the GPX files from Garmin Connect and compared them to GPX files generated on the same runs on the same phone but in the Runkeeper app, the distances were identical. Yet the Lily 2 consistently adds 8%.
The kicker: after extensive troubleshooting, a factory reset, etc. etc. I contacted Garmin Support here in Australia and after spending two weeks to get back to me at all, they eventually told me the connected GPS feature is "working as intended", they are not going to do anything about it and it doesn't qualify for a warranty claim.
Needless to say it makes the Lily 2 borderline pointless for live tracking of your outdoor activities if you want to know your pace, distance etc.
Am I just exceptionally unlucky or are other people experiencing distance accuracy problems on their Lily 2s?