Garmin is kicking off 2026 by doubling down on its ambitions at the firing line, unveiling the Xero C2 chronograph as a compact, connected and far more capable evolution of its original Doppler radar chrono. This isn’t just a spec bump; it is Garmin’s bid to become the default data backbone for everyone from PRS shooters and hunters to backyard tinkerers tuning a new bow or air rifle.

On paper, the Xero C2 looks familiar: a pocket-sized Doppler radar unit that sits beside the shooter, measures projectile speeds between 100 and 5,000 feet per second and works with everything from centerfire rifles to arrows and airsoft BBs. That broad velocity window means one device can follow you from an NRL-style match on Saturday to a 3D archery course on Sunday without rethinking your setup. Garmin has kept the minimalist footprint that made the first Xero so popular, with a housing that’s small enough to slip into a range bag yet tough enough to shrug off recoil when mounted directly to a firearm.​

Where the C2 starts to separate itself from its predecessor is speed. Garmin has dropped in a faster processor that can track up to 10 shots per second, depending on projectile velocity, and push near-instant velocity readouts back to the shooter. In early hands-on testing, reviewers have noted that the C2 can post velocity data before you even hear the steel ringing downrange, which is exactly the sort of feedback loop competitive shooters crave when they are burning through a rapid string. For semi-auto platforms in particular, that rapid-fire tracking is a big deal: instead of trying to coax a legacy chrono into catching every shot, you can simply shoot at match pace and let the radar keep up.​

Garmin is also leaning into the reality that a modern chronograph is as much a software product as it is hardware. The C2 plugs into Garmin’s ShotView app, which effectively becomes the brain of your range day. Pair the chronograph to a compatible smartphone and you can watch live session data roll in, compare shot-to-shot velocity, track standard deviation, tag cold-bore shots and export raw data for deeper analysis later. The app lets you create and manage configurations for different rifles, loads and bows, so the data you care about stays separated: instead of a jumble of numbers labeled “Session 17,” you get clean histories tied to specific setups.

The other big software story is Applied Ballistics integration. For long-range shooters, the real value of a chrono is feeding a ballistics solver with accurate, current muzzle velocity, and Garmin now lets the Xero C2 push that data straight into the Applied Ballistics ecosystem on a compatible phone. That closes the loop from shot to solution: you can chrono a new load, sync that velocity and have updated firing solutions ready without retyping anything into a separate app. For anyone stretching out to 1,000 meters and beyond, shaving friction out of that process can be the difference between burning time at the range, fiddling with spreadsheets and actually getting rounds on target.

Garmin’s wearables also step into the picture in a more meaningful way this generation. When paired with a compatible Garmin smartwatch – Garmin highlights the new tactix 8 Cerakote Edition as a prime example – shooters can access session controls from the wrist, view live chronograph data and route muzzle velocity into Applied Ballistics without ever pulling out a phone. In practical terms, that means you can stay prone behind the rifle, glance at your watch for the last string’s numbers and immediately sanity-check your dope before sending the next round. For the Garmin faithful already using a watch to log workouts, navigate off-grid or track hunts, the chronograph feels less like a standalone gadget and more like another node on an existing platform.​

Multi-device flexibility is quietly another strong point. Through ShotView, users can start a session on one Xero C2 and continue it on another if multiple units are paired to the app, which is surprisingly handy for clubs, instructors or friends sharing gear at the range. The chronograph’s “resume session” feature makes it easier to bounce between firearms and setups, letting you maintain segmented data for each rifle or bow without starting from scratch every time you swap. For shooters who routinely juggle different calibers or competition divisions, that kind of session management saves a lot of administrative overhead when you sit down later to actually interpret your numbers.

The design itself is unapologetically purpose-built. The C2 uses a reinforced housing that can be rifle-mounted and withstands recoil, bringing the sensor closer to the bore line and simplifying placement on crowded benches or in cramped bays. It carries an IPX7 water-resistance rating, so getting caught in a rain squall or setting up on wet ground is more of an annoyance than a risk to your investment. A sunlight-readable, high-contrast display keeps the on-device readout legible when you are squinting under a bright midday sun, which has historically been the Achilles’ heel of many compact electronics at outdoor ranges.​

Battery life is tuned for real shooting days rather than lab specs. Garmin claims up to 2,000 shots or roughly 6 hours of use on a single charge from the built-in lithium-ion battery, which should comfortably cover a match, a training day or a long load-development session. Given that the whole premise of the Xero line is “throw it in the bag, set it down and go,” eliminating the need to pack spare batteries or manage external power banks is very much on-brand. Firmware updates are handled over the ShotView app or via Garmin Express on a computer, so the feature set can evolve without new hardware, a key consideration for early adopters.

Of course, all of this tech comes at a premium. The Xero C2 is set to launch at a suggested retail price of $699.99, with availability on Garmin’s website from January 23, 2026, and a physical presence at SHOT Show 2026 at booth 10119. That positions it squarely in the high-end chrono market, up against both traditional optical units and other radar-based systems that have long dominated serious long-range circles. Early community chatter suggests some Xero C1 owners are perfectly content to stay put unless the new features – particularly rapid-fire performance and mounting options – solve specific pain points in their current setups, underscoring how much Garmin now has to prove with this second generation.

Yet the trajectory is hard to ignore. The first Xero showed that an everyday shooter could get LabRadar-style Doppler data without lugging around a big, finicky orange box, and the C2 pushes that idea further by making the chronograph smarter, faster and better connected. In a shooting world where data is increasingly the currency of consistency – measuring spread, dialing in standard deviation, validating drops at distance – Garmin is clearly betting that a chronograph that talks to your phone, your watch and your ballistics app is more than just a nice-to-have. For shooters who live in that data-rich lane, the Xero C2 looks less like a niche gadget and more like the next logical upgrade on the firing line.