I will not upgrade my Watch Ultra 2. I purchased it before the ban on oximetry and this feature is not disabled.
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Apple Watch Ultra 3 Coming Next Week: Eight Reasons to Upgrade
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I don't think we will see BP readings with the new watch. I think Apple is still working on new sensors and what will be offered is what was highlighted.
I had Ultra 1 and updrafts to the 2 on launch. It was a "spec" upgrade, better battery performance and processor power was useful for me.
If the U3 is just a "spec" update like it's rumored, esp no new health sensor, then I got to wonder what Apple has been doing for 2 year since U2 launch.
Said it in the S11 thread, if no new health sensor it's a very lackluster update.
At the same token, historically, AW rumors have often be false so I have some hope left for Tuesday
If the U3 is just a "spec" update like it's rumored, esp no new health sensor, then I got to wonder what Apple has been doing for 2 year since U2 launch.
Said it in the S11 thread, if no new health sensor it's a very lackluster update.
At the same token, historically, AW rumors have often be false so I have some hope left for Tuesday
Agreed, the AWU1 still rocks. We will need to test the AWU3 to evaluate the rumored display changes. Display improvements might visually be very significant, or not. Hands on comparison is required.
Does not sound like a reason to buy it over earlier models.
BP monitoring sounds promising, but we're yet to see if it is accurate.
Ultra still does not support open water swimming (despite having activities with it), so Garmin all the way.
BP monitoring sounds promising, but we're yet to see if it is accurate.
Ultra still does not support open water swimming (despite having activities with it), so Garmin all the way.
Kinda disappointed. I have the AWU1 and I have been holding out for a meaningful update. The cumulative updates of AWU2 and AWU3 will be a nice improvement BUT, the main thing I really want is a more efficient SIP, maybe 3nm and with an ultra low power co-processor to handle background tasks like sensors etc and this could push the battery life up to 5+ days and maybe 7+ in low power mode. I mean, the Ultra should be able to do a 3 day hike, with say 5 hours of GPS per day and make it home with 10% left. If it can't do that then is it really an ultra? I might hold onto my AWU1 for another year if they say "the same great 36 hours of battery life" again.
Don’t expect much. The Apple Watch tech is years away from adding anything meaningful. Luckily the S12 could provide a modest boost in battery life.
If that is the case, why even have a “Always on Display” if no one uses it? Why should it bother to have music playback, if no Garmin uses it?
I am sure it does because Garmin advertises features like Always on Display and then disables them by default. In other words, it promotes two things: battery life, and features, but if one wants the features, one does not get the battery life.
I do 2-4 hours of running/jogging/walking every day, almost always either streaming music/podcasts or on voice calls, with my watch in standalone mode. I keep my display on, and I can still make it more than 24 hours. According to Garmin their Forerunner 265 (without even LTE), cannot even make it 4 hours doing that (at least according to their site).
I will try turning everything off on my Apple Watch Ultra and using it according to the requirements listed one one of the Garmin watches that last a week and see how long it lasts. Apple will never advertise that as an option as people do not bother to read the restrictions needed to get that battery life and would complain that they are lying about it.
There is more to it than all that. Garmin's OS is much lighter, the processor is lower spec (around 200mhz on mine) and less ram, all those are mean less battery usage.
I could, but I actually use mine for fitness, workouts, and outdoors and in rugged environments. I don't care about, or want, texts on my watch, or email, or notifications, or Apple Pay, or fancy animations. I just want to track, with GPS, what I do and tell the time. That's it.
Edit: Oh yea, I don't want a watch as large as the Ultra to get a durable device. I absolutely destroyed the screen on my AW6, and think I scratched the screen every single time I went climbing. Apple really needs a smaller, and less chonky, Ultra.
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I agree and have posted my heart health issues and tracking with my AWU1 in a different post, but I really do not see how it is possible to get anywhere near an accurate reading without a cuff of some sort. I certainly would welcome it BUT I do not see how a light can measure that.
Perhaps Masimo can answer that...
I am sure that is true, but that was not the statement you made, which was:
Which again raises two questions:
- If all these features which burn so much battery are not used, why would Garmin spend money, time and effort developing them?
- Why does Garmin promote the features yet advertise its top line battery life with them disabled?
Do you think you represent 90%, 9%, .9% or .09% of Garmin’s user base? Developing Garmin Pay cost a substantial amount of money and is still an inferior product to Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. I doubt they did it without a lot of market research that said it was important to a great many users.
Ok. I am curious, you seem really happy with your Garmin watch, and completely uninterested in all the features that an Apple Watch an Apple Watch, so why would you want Apple to make what is effectively a Garmin Watch? You have the product you want and have made it clear that Garmin does a better job for you, so I do not understand why you care at all about Apple’s offerings. Even if they offered a watch that had the minimal functionality you want, why would you switch and lose the whole Garmin infrastructure?
100%! Both of my devices are beasts! I love them. Just waiting on a specific case for my 16 pro max yet but then I’m set!
All this talk of garmin battery life is disingenuous. The table posted here was for GPS recording and NOT regular “smart watch” time. At 100% charge my fenix 7x reports 30 days of battery. Starting a GPS based activity that drops to over 24 hours. If I add music it drops to 16 hours. My Apple Watch Ultra burns about 70% of the battery in a typical day with a 1 hour trail run with music. But only 40% on non-GPS days.
Garmin watches do not operate as “everything on” because you’re all including GPS recording in that time which the vast majority of Apple Watch users will record 2, maybe 3 hours per week? Or none at all. There is absolutely zero argument that garmin watches have vastly better battery life. And Apple Watches have a vastly superior user experience if you want to interact with notifications. Different tools for different purposes
So I have been planning to upgrade my recently purchased AWU2 even to the point of selling my two Garmins. But reading up on the new 8 Pro, I’m trying to think what my AWU gives me that my Garmin didn’t. I’m starting to think I’ll just upgrade my phone and go back to Garmin for my watch.
I kept my original Ultra because of the loss of O2 reporting on the Ultra 2; I did not upgrade. The Ultra 3 update is a no-brainer.