After my Series 7 GPS+GSM battery dropped below 80% (it's now down to 68%), I turned off cellular and AoD and realized it didn't really bother me. I could have gotten this watch from the start and paid less. That's why I'm already waiting for the SE 3 or Series 9 at a great price.
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Apple Watch Series 11 Launching Next Month With These New Features
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Really nothing new on the Apple Watch front: the fitness tracking is completely out of date and it’s not “pause your rings for one day” that will fix it. On the design front they dared calling last year’s screen adjustment a redesign. What a joke!
Every smartwatch maker has their shortcomings in one or another area but I reckon Garmin still has the edge overall. Sleep tracking on my Garmin this year has been a game changer, particularly HRV. That said, Whoop is where it’s at for HRV and sleep tracking. I’d have bought an AWU2 if the battery life was better.
I was hoping the AWU3 would come with a band that squeezes my wrist for accurate blood pressure readings. 
Number one feature I and apparently many others want: be able to wear Apple Watch to sleep, while using sleep schedule, and have the alarm go off on my iPhone and not on my watch. Why can’t this be an option?! So many times I slept through my alarm because the watch just isn’t enough wake me up and it’s too easy to snooze or silence it by accident.
There is no option to make the alarm go off on your iPhone which is BONKERS IDIOTIC. I will not wear my watch to bed because of this and therefore I don’t use one of the features I paid for: sleep tracking.
There is no option to make the alarm go off on your iPhone which is BONKERS IDIOTIC. I will not wear my watch to bed because of this and therefore I don’t use one of the features I paid for: sleep tracking.
Ehanced lower power consuming chips and further optimized software.
Squeeze out another hour or so in standalone mode while listening to music, would for me be nice, less battery consumption stress when sole relying on standalone mode.
Squeeze out another hour or so in standalone mode while listening to music, would for me be nice, less battery consumption stress when sole relying on standalone mode.
I’m so confused by the number of people who say the blood ox thing is a deal breaker. I’ve had it for years and never use it. Whenever I do look at the numbers, they look pretty all over the place. Not sure what use I’m supposed to make of it.
- S7 user who will probably go for S11
- S7 user who will probably go for S11
When you take something away, people start to miss it and make it a bigger deal than it is. I think a Blood pressure sensor will be a much more useful feature
Live look at Apple trying to manage all their hardware and software products
"Give us precision one button start for running." Yes pls! Parkrun would be so much more fun!
And whilst we on the button thing... Coming out of the ocean and trying to stop the watch. Need to clear out the speaker first... Then Siri is not available.. etc. By the time I finally stop the watch I am at the surf club looking for the showers. And again don't know how long my swim was.
Think it is so funny when people throw out broad, “fact-less” statements like this and then, when challenged, never want to defend them. Oh well.
Not clear if BO on the Ultra 3 watch is like the original install on my Ultra 2 that is still operating just fine or the cludge to get around the patent issue that needs the iPhone to display the results of the BO run..
Where is your challenge?
I give you an example: no fatigue estimation, no possibility to manage rest days (pause your ring is a not a good solution), no weekly goals for exercise and calories instead of the idiotic daily goals, etc.. there’s much more once you start thinking for yourselves and look at what others are doing.
Simple question, short answer?
No — Apple’s fitness tracking isn’t “out of date.” But it is designed for general health and everyday fitness, not for serious endurance or performance athletes. That’s where Garmin still has a clear edge.
Apple Watch strengths:
- Great for casual to committed everyday fitness
- Tracks heart rate, calories, VO₂ max trend, sleep, ECG, SpO₂, etc.
- Super polished interface + iPhone integration
- Perfect if you want a smartwatch first, fitness tracker second
- Battery life is 1 day vs. days or weeks on Garmin
- Training metrics are shallower (no real training load, readiness, recovery advisor, etc.), AW often just makes a guess as with VO₂ max
- VO₂ max is less accurate and often underestimates
- Navigation, multi-day hiking, triathlon, or advanced coaching = Garmin territory
If you want serious sport performance tracking → Garmin.
If you want a super polished smart device that keeps you active & healthy → Apple is still excellent.