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Anyone buying Garmin Fenix 6
- Thread starter chiefs1968
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I can't afford the Fenix, but I do like the look and features of the new VivoActive and Venu. One of those could be my next watch.
WorkOutDoors uses the 1 second recording and saves it to Apple Health, so all workouts viewed and exported from there will have that resolution. However at the moment the app uses a distance filter of 5m when deciding which points to send to the WorkOutDoors iPhone app. This is to reduce the size of the files stored on the watch and sent to the iPhone app.
Coincidentally I am about to add an option to save the full 1m resolution. It has been on my list of background tasks for a while and I finally have a bit of time to add it. The watch has moved on since I first wrote the app (when the series 0 was the most common model) so I probably don't need to worry about data size quite as much as back then. I will make it an option though in case the extra memory used does cause problems on long workouts.
A couple weeks in with the Fenix 6 solar and I do like it a lot however the extreme lack of the smart features really makes me miss the aw4 I have just sitting on my dresser. The way garmin easily syncs with Nike and strava makes things less convoluted. I like the sleep tracking as well however I don’t really think there is any reason to have it past a week or so just because it becomes ultra repetitive and you can learn quickly what you need to change and then it becomes semi useless. I feel the same way about the body battery. It’s nice and definitely confirms by the reading it gives and how you are feeling that it is probably correct as well however after you know what you need to do you really do not need those readings anymore. I’m seeing posts about how garmin leaves people that own older watches in the dust I do not believe this to be the case as I have a Fenix 5 and it is still getting updates. I wanted the 6 because I was tired of being the 2 watch guy also only really wanting the music capability. Long story short I have to say if I didn’t already have a aw4 I’d be just fine with the fenix 6 as it has all the performance tracking that I love. But knowing how capable the aw4 is (being able to tell Siri to set an alarm or schedule a reminder etc.) it is hard to let it go as well. I know that simple answer is to own both but by doing that you short change the metrics that garmin tries to provide by measuring your daily strain and that is one of the most important aspects of the $800-$1000 watch.
I had the same issue. I liked some of the metrics I could get on the Fenix 5 but I missed the day to day convenience of the AW4. In the end, I opted for AW4 and used Stryd for more detailed running metrics and WorkOutdoors walking and hiking etc. I still use the Fenix 5 if I'm out on the bike and just share it with AW and Strava.
Stryd automatically uploads to Strava and WorkOutdoors has an export to Strava so alls good there. The only thing I miss is the Training Effect score for Aerobic and Anaerobic impact for each workout.
That would be great. Please email me at info@workoutdoors.net and I will add you to the next beta (probably in a week or two). Thanks.
Exactly the same issue I have with Polar, they really rely on you wearing the watch all the time to get those recovery and effectiveness of training metrics accurate...
In all fairness, so does the Apple Watch for its rings and trends and Health insights; as well as every other wearable out there.
I don't see that changing, as it is the single way they have to try and lock you into keeping their watches and upgrading regularly. If everything was standardized then there would be no incentive NOT to jump brands all the time
That leaves us as the customer in the dust of course
My initial thoughts on moving from a Garmin 935 and 945 to the Apple Watch 5.
Moving from Garmin to Apple Watch
I've been using Garmin watches for triathlon and training for a number of years. I started with the Forerunner 735 which was great and had no issues at all. My issues started when I upgrade to a
greghilton.co.uk
Nice write up, Greg.My initial thoughts on moving from a Garmin 935 and 945 to the Apple Watch 5.
Moving from Garmin to Apple Watch
I've been using Garmin watches for triathlon and training for a number of years. I started with the Forerunner 735 which was great and had no issues at all. My issues started when I upgrade to agreghilton.co.uk
i agree with you regarding the poor quality of the 935’s. I went through three of them before selling the last one and moving to a Fenix. I think the Fenix build quality is on par with the AW stainless (I prefer to stick with sapphire screens on both).
I run marathons and have been relying on the Garmin training metrics this year and it‘s served me well. I’ve run Boston qualifying times for each of my three marathons this year and I attribute that, in part, to avoiding overtraining and keeping my training load balanced. So I’m content to wear a Garmin for my running workouts. But I’d be very interested in finding an Apple/iOS alternative to monitor my general recovery and readiness as I prefer wearing the AW the rest of the day when I’m not running.
Interesting, I looked at the Fenix watches but they felt too heavy/bulky compared to the 9x5 range.
Have you looked at the "readiness" reading you get from Autosleep app? http://autosleep.tantsissa.com/readiness
The Fenix is noticeably larger/heavier, though both times I’ve opted for the Titanium versions to keep the weight down. In fact, the F6 Titanium with sport strap is the same weight as the AW stainless with a sport strap. It looks heavier, but it’s not.
I’ve used Autosleep (with a Series 4) in the past but have had mixed results. My Readiness scores always seemed all over the map. I’ve been using my Garmin for sleep training this training cycle and charging the AW at night. I may take another look at Autosleep after this next marathon.
There is an app, (StepsApp) that does, infact sync steps between the two, you have to set it up though, and I forget how I did it. I have a fenix 5+ and the AW4, and the steps are maintained between both.
I like it a lot. I tend to run trails and fell running. It seems very accurate distance and pace wise when running through forests and unless I'm on 20% gradients, the power is a good indicator to make sure I don't push too hard. The extra metrics in the Stryd PowerCentre and good as well.
App works perfectly on the watch and the footpad has good battery life... only need to he footpad and watch and away you go
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The one thing that sold me on the accuracy of the aw > fenix was when I ran a marathon with both. The AW read 27.6 or so miles and the fenix read 29/almost 30. As anyone that runs marathons knows unless you stay on the tangent line then you will always get a reading >26.2 I can accept about 27 but the .6 does bother me a bit however the almost >3 miles the garmin registered was bothering as that is supposed to be the fundamental thing garmin promotes > all the rest is gps accuracy. If that is off then why overspend on a fenix and how could I trust it? With respect I love my fenix but find it somewhat funny when garmin people trash the aw as my story above proves it enough to me. For what it’s worth my fenix I used was a fenix 5 and had no cellular nor music. The AW however had music cellular and gps running the whole time making it a more enjoyable experience.
ive only used WorkOutDoors app and the gps track looked fine to me on the 3 times I’ve used it. My wife runs with the standard app and I’ve not seen any huge issues with it?
Try wearing upside down as the gps antenna is located at the edge next to the crown, my pal has a Fenix 5 and I am constantly appalled at the gps track especially considering what he payed for it!
I returned my Fenix3 after seeing similarly wonky GPS results in just normal runs. Nice watch but it was failing at the main reason I owned it.
Other Garmins I'd bought always seemed to have annoying software issues for the first few months, enough so that I swore off buying anything freshly released and would wait at least four months for the unofficial public-beta period to be nearly finished.
Yeah I had heard that about the Fenix 5 which is why I went with the 935. I am finding that even compared to my Garmin 530, the 935 has much better tracks than anything else. The 530 is pretty bad with GPS plotting as well. Also hearing the 945 may be worse than the 935 so staying put for now.
What I see in the native Apple workouts map plots is major smoothing of corners, cutting through things at the curves (houses, bodies of water, etc). vs following the track. The Garmin at least follows a track. The AW just seems to want to render nice swoopy lines.
