I’ve long-term tested every model of Garmin’s D2 aviator watch since the first in 2013, and as reported in the November 2022 issue of Aviation Consumer, of them all the D2 Air is arguably Garmin’s best attempt at a watch for aviator athletes. It’s just the right size, has a feature set that’s easy to navigate on the fly, has good connectivity and best of all, it keeps track of SpO2 and heart rate data with built-in pulse ox and heart rate sensors.
But the D2 Air lacked voice capability—something that’s been standard in other smartwatches, including Apple’s Watch. The latest-gen $550 D2 Air X10 has voice assistance and on-device calling capability, more health monitoring and aviation utilities.