A lot of watches claim to be designed for use by pilots, but just because they have an orange backlight to preserve night vision doesn’t mean they’re truly useful for aviation. That’s not the case with Garmin’s new D2 GPS watch, though. It seemingly puts an entire cockpit’s worth of instrumentation and data on a pilot’s wrist, without looking like a giant monstrosity.
Available sometime in November for around $500, the D2 comes with a built-in worldwide aviation database allowing pilots to not only locate landmarks like airports, but also plot courses and fly-over waypoints from their current GPS-determined location. The watch also features a highly accurate altimeter, barometer, and compass, and even features custom alarms to let a pilot know if they’ve inadvertently descended too low or gone off course.
The D2’s tiny monochrome display does come with a night vision-friendly orange backlight so as not to blind a pilot during evening flights. And even though it’s small, it still provides a scrolling map view for pilots who just want to quickly glance at their progress. The watch can connect to other Garmin hardware too, like the company’s larger navigation units, or even its compact action cams if pilots decide to get adventurous at the controls. About the only thing it’s lacking is a button to summon the steward for another Diet Coke — no ice, please. [Garmin via SlashGear]