Apple needs to take a page out of Garmin’s playbook

[Indianwin2001]

Well...thank you for supporting my statement that the garmin is the much more expensive watch.

Ever hear of AW Hermes?

 

[theotherphil]

Ever hear of AW Hermes?

Or a Garmin Forerunner 245 starting at $299?

 

[Indianwin2001]

Now you're clutching at straws with that disingenuous comment. The AW7 is hard to read indoors/ in the dark unless you use the always-on display (which each individual pixel is lit) or gesture based. Sitting here right now, in low light, my AW display is completely off - the very definition of hard to read.

View attachment 2049979


All MIPS display Garmin's have gesture based backlighting so reading it in low light/ complete darkness absolutely is not an issue and work in exactly the same gesture based way. The big difference is the MIPS display is always on and incredibly readable during good lighting conditions and with incredibly low battery consumption.

Here's a pic of my Tactix Delta with MIPS display (since replaced with Epix 2), in low light, nil backlight and showing it's SpO2/ HR accuracy against 2 different, medical grade, $30k monitors. It's as readable as an AW always on display.

View attachment 2049980


And outdoors, in good sunlight, the Apple Watch just cannot compete with the MIPS display where no backlight is needed at all....which is useful for Garmin's target market - the outdoor enthusiast:

View attachment 2049986

Enjoy your MIp display. I couldn’t stand it. It’s been around since I got my first Garmin in 2013. Of course I use always on display why wouldn’t I?

 

[Indianwin2001]

Or a Garmin Forerunner 245 starting at $299?

Why would you pay $299 for a watch that Garmin cripples the software on. Garmin based their software on how much you spend. The 955 has about 10 features that the 255 doesn’t get because Garmin wants you to buy the more expensive watches. They purposely use software as a bribe to spend more $$$. Shady

 

[Lioness~]

Why would you pay $299 for a watch that Garmin cripples the software on. Garmin based their software on how much you spend. The 955 has about 10 features that the 255 doesn’t get because Garmin wants you to buy the more expensive watches. They purposely use software as a bribe to spend more $$$. Shady

Ahh, that was why I stopped using Garming, the software was not very good in general, not Mac friendly as I remember. I forgot why I got over to Polar. Thank you for refreshing my memory.
I remember that it pissed me off, so I pissed them off 👎😂

 

[adildacoolset]

The Apple Watch Pro will only be Pro by name. No professional athlete will use it for training.

Disagree. I’m a triathlete and only pull out my Garmin watch for multi-hour brick sessions or marathon runs. I use my Apple Watch for run tracking because it‘s much more pleasant to use. Most of the specialised Garmin running stats feel gimmicky anyways… I just care about speed, distance, time, the course, and heart rate. Regarding the GPS accuracy, the Forerunner and the Apple Watch seem to have a similar level of accuracy in the courses I use. However, during races, I just pace myself with a stopwatch and mile markers.

 

[tonyelo]

I’ve been an Apple Watch user since Series 0 and have upgraded every other year to the new one. I wear it every day and have always loved it, so please don't take this as me being any type of hater. Recently, I was training at a gym and I noticed someone wearing a Garmin watch while we were talking. I asked her how she liked it and she said she had been an Apple Watch user for years, but decided to give the Garmin a try due to its advanced workout features. She was explaining to me all of the things it did and it got me curious.

I decided to go over to Best Buy to see what they had and I noticed the Epix 2 was in stock. I purchased it just to see if it might be something I liked.

I have to say, I'm pretty blown away by it. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't do a lot of things that the Apple Watch does. I can't answer a phone call on it (which I never did anyway), I can't reply to a message on it (which I rarely did). It doesn't have a lot of crazy apps you can download and the integration to iOS while not bad, isn't what the Apple watch is.

But, from a fitness standpoint it kills the Apple Watch, and I mean kills it. When working out it auto counts the number of reps you are doing when lifting weights (I don't know how it does it, but its spot on). It constantly shows my heart rate, body temperature, VO2 Max, along with any other metric you might want to know. It reads terrain so much better than the Apple watch and the step counter is so much more accurate as well as floors climbed. It also calculates recovery time and shows you rest time between sets when training. The GPS/Satellite tracking is so precise it seriously blows my mind.

The screen is also miles better outdoors than the Apple Watch and has a super bright OLED display. And battery life? Amazing. I'm on day 6 of heavy (and I mean heavy) use of the watch and it shows that I have 4 days of battery still remaining. With that being said I realize that the Apple watch is crammed with a lot of features that drain the battery quicker. Its just nice wearing a watch that I know is going to last for over a week and not have to be charged.

Also, from a durability standpoint this Garmin watch can definitely take a beating. Its just water, dust, and environment-proof out of the box and you don't need to turn anything on to make it so. You just wear it. The Apple watch is also durable but the titanium casing and sapphire screen on the Garmin watch are definitely going to stand up to the elements. I've extensively tested the durability and it comes out looking brand new without a single issue.

The Garmin watches are also not as pretty as the Apple Watch (probably an understatement). I actually like the look of the Garmin Watch, but not nearly as much as the Apple Watch. You can dress up the Apple Watch for business and dress it down for casual/workouts while the Garmin watch is pretty much going to look like a workout device no matter what kind of band you put on it.

With all of that being said, I do miss some of the features of the Apple watch. Would I give up the Apple watch and switch exclusively to this Garmin Watch? Probably not. Honestly, it depends on what the Series 8 brings and if they bring that Pro model we keep hearing about. I will for sure buy it, but this Garmin watch has opened my eyes to what's possible in a watch from a fitness standpoint and I hope Apple takes a page or two out of Garmin's playbook in future OS's.

View attachment 2049631

Hi, totally agree with you. I did the same last year and went for a Garmin venu 2. Amazing watch…. Only thing I wish it tracked a bit better is swimming. I think Apple Watch does a superior in that regard with swimming style detection.

 

[Indianwin2001]

Ahh, that was why I stopped using Garming, the software was not very good in general, not Mac friendly as I remember. I forgot why I got over to Polar. Thank you for refreshing my memory.
I remember that it pissed me off, so I pissed them off 👎😂

Exactly. Shady Company

 

[Indianwin2001]

Well it is a $1000 watch. My Fenix 6 was $1400. It merits that price point because it's superior to apple watch. If apple made a true watch it would be a similar price point or like 2 grand for the base model. And probably ****ing start it with 16gb and charge $250 for more storage like they do with all their products

You paid $1400 for a Fenix 6? LOL. Also base Garmin Epix is $900 with 16gb. If you want 32 gb that’s another $100. Also base model Epix doesn’t use all 3 satellites only 2. You want all 3? Another $100. I could go on about all the lower end models if you want. I’ve used Garmin for years and participated heavily in their forums for years. Shady Company.

 

[adildacoolset]

Exactly. Shady Company

I’m trying to disconnect myself from Garmin because of their quality and customer service policies. I paid £400 for a pair of refurbished bike power pedals which I later found out have a design flaw. But I discovered that officially certified refurbished devices don’t come with a warranty. I cannot support a company with no basic customer protection policies.

When my current crop of Garmin devices get old and outdated, I’ll use other brands to replace them.

 

[Drock1119]

You paid $1400 for a Fenix 6? LOL.

Ha! Not to mention the GPS and HR accuracy on the Fenix 6 is 🗑 had one for a couple months and switched back to AW.

 

[DMG35]

Why would you pay $299 for a watch that Garmin cripples the software on. Garmin based their software on how much you spend. The 955 has about 10 features that the 255 doesn’t get because Garmin wants you to buy the more expensive watches. They purposely use software as a bribe to spend more $$$. Shady

Apple does the same thing, they just charge more for the same OS. There is literally nothing the iPad Pro can do that the basic iPad can't do, but Apple charges much more for the Pro models.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Now you're clutching at straws with that disingenuous comment. The AW7 is hard to read indoors/ in the dark unless you use the always-on display (which each individual pixel is lit) or gesture based. Sitting here right now, in low light, my AW display is completely off - the very definition of hard to read.

The AW always-on feature does default to on, though, right? So, yeah, if you turn off the screen intentionally, I would expect it would be hard to see.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Apple does the same thing, they just charge more for the same OS. There is literally nothing the iPad Pro can do that the basic iPad can't do, but Apple charges much more for the Pro models.

I mean… LIDAR for one. 120Hz screen? (I’m expecting this was meant as hyperbole, so don’t mind me)

 

[Lioness~]

Exactly. Shady Company

Everybody who isn't Mac friendly are shady 😡 at least for all Apple users 😁

I will take a look at what AW is about later when it's time to change watch. So far I'm pleased with the Polar's I've had.
Not sure the AW will fit my small wrists. But neither did Garmin when I had it. At the moment it points towards a new Polar, but we'll see....

 

[Indianwin2001]

Apple does the same thing, they just charge more for the same OS. There is literally nothing the iPad Pro can do that the basic iPad can't do, but Apple charges much more for the Pro models.

Both the aluminum and stainless steel AND the titanium AW’s have the same software. You are deciding which material you want. The software is the same. Garmin PURPOSELY gives you software solely based on how much you spend. So your post is incorrect.

 

[DMG35]

I mean… LIDAR for one. 120Hz screen? (I’m expecting this was meant as hyperbole)

The software does nothing that the regular iPads can't do. Apple hasn't mentioned the LIDAR camera since they put one in the iPad Pro because no one uses it. And with these screens the 120Hz screens are great, but mostly just an excuse for Apple to charge more for the exact same iPAD running the exact same software. I have an iPad Pro but I'm not blind to the fact that I could go pick up a regular iPad tomorrow and accomplish the exact same things with it. It might take 1 or 2 minutes longer, but it will still do the exact same things.

 

[DMG35]

Both the aluminum and stainless steel AND the titanium AW’s have the same software. You are deciding which material you want. The software is the same. Garmin PURPOSELY gives you software solely based on how much you spend. So your post is incorrect.

So Garmin has to put all of the same features in every single watch model? I'm not sure that makes a whole lot of sense. Just because Apple does it doesn't make their model better. I'd rather pay more from Apple for a watch that does more over paying for the material of the watch. If Apple comes out with a Pro model this year will it just have the same software? I'd rather it have different software that does more on a pro model.

 

[Indianwin2001]

Everybody who isn't Mac friendly are shady 😡 at least for all Apple users 😁

I will take a look at what AW is about later when it's time to change watch. So far I'm pleased with the Polar's I've had.
Not sure the AW will fit my small wrists. But neither did Garmin when I had it. At the moment it points towards a new Polar, but we'll see....

Way back when, Polar was the only watch I used. I loved it BUT they never came out with the ability to play music from the watch.

 

[Indianwin2001]

So Garmin has to put all of the same features in every single watch model? I'm not sure that makes a whole lot of sense. Just because Apple does it doesn't make their model better. I'd rather pay more from Apple for a watch that does more over paying for the material of the watch. If Apple comes out with a Pro model this year will it just have the same software? I'd rather it have different software that does more on a pro model.

We shall see what the pro model is about on Sept. 7. Apple also has thousands of apps like work outdoors that bridges the gaps.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

The software does nothing that the regular iPads can't do. Apple hasn't mentioned the LIDAR camera since they put one in the iPad Pro because no one uses it. And with these screens the 120Hz screens are great, but mostly just an excuse for Apple to charge more for the exact same iPAD running the exact same software. I have an iPad Pro but I'm not blind to the fact that I could go pick up a regular iPad tomorrow and accomplish the exact same things with it. It might take 1 or 2 minutes longer, but it will still do the exact same things.

Right, but you can’t pick up a Garmin 255 and do what you can on a Garmin 955. According to the other poster, that is. I don’t have either.

 

[DMG35]

Right, but you can’t pick up a Garmin 255 and do what you can on a Garmin 955. According to the other poster, that is. I don’t have either.

Right, but they don’t have to put every single feature into every watch. If you want the watch with the most features you pay more. I’d prefer it if Apple did it this way. Most people probably never use half the features of the Apple Watch but Apple insists on making them all the same. I think they should offer different software that does more if you want to pay for it. That model makes way more sense to me.

 

[Indianwin2001]

Right, but they don’t have to put every single feature into every watch. If you want the watch with the most features you pay more. I’d prefer it if Apple did it this way. Most people probably never use half the features of the Apple Watch but Apple insists on making them all the same. I think they should offer different software that does more if you want to pay for it. That model makes way more sense to me.

I agree with this and I think that is the direction Apple is going.,I wouldn’t count on this years “pro” edition to dramatically change the landscape but in future versions I think Apple will have many more features.

 

[Lioness~]

Way back when, Polar was the only watch I used. I loved it BUT they never came out with the ability to play music from the watch.

No, Polar don't do smartwatches as from what I've seen, just different kinds of trainings watches.
That's what I like with them.
Their simplicity, they look good, and still have a lot of useful functions.
Haven't felt the need for a smartwatch this far....and the Apple Watch have felt too bulky for me.
We'll see if it change...if Apple do something that I want, or if needs changes.

 

[Indianwin2001]

No, Polar don't do smartwatches as from what I've seen, just different kinds of trainings watches.
That's what I like with them.
Their simplicity, they look good, and still have a lot of useful functions.
Haven't felt the need for a smartwatch this far....the Apple Watch have felt too bulky for me. But time might change needs, we never know.

Absolutely correct. My first polar I think was called the 300 and I know I used the v800 for lifting, along with a Polar heart rate strap. I use the AW or really any watch mainly for training and don’t really care about the “ smart “ functions so I lumped Polar in with them.