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Back from Garmin Fenix 6 Pro

C

chiefs1968

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 27, 2016
187
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Just thought I would tell about my experience with the Fenix Garmin 6 Pro.

Purchased it 4 weeks ago at Best Buy for $549.00 on sale for a week and now back up to $649.00.
I would NOT recommend it to anybody to purchase it!!

1. The altimeter needs to be continuously calibrated
2. The barometer is never accurate
3. In the dark the black display looks purple and Garmin is aware of this issue
4. The weather widget does NOT work (Garmin is working on it)
5. The coating on the black bezel easily scratches
6. Getting a GPS connection indoors sometimes works and sometimes does not.

My Apple watch series 5 is so much more superior and more accurate.

Today I sold my Garmin Fenix 6 pro on Ebay for $500.00 and will not miss it.
Garmin products are over priced!!
 
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1 The altimeter uses the barometer and since weather changes change air pressure it must be calibrated when weather changes, that is no different on other devices. But if 2 then altimeter is never accurate. 6 is also no different on any other gps device.
 
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I would like some Firstbeat features on the AW watch but have recently been using a little app called Training Today which uses hrv to give a readiness score. The only Garmin that I think is quite interesting at the moment is the Instinct Solar, different use case though, rugged, light, great no-nonsense screen and a meaningful extension to battery via solar (still a gimmick on the Fenix line imho)
edit:- I must add, personally I hate the bulky/blokey look of the Fenix line anyway.
 
1. The altimeter needs to be continuously calibrate

Never calibrated the altimeter, even once.

2. The barometer is never accurate

What the hell does that even mean? Are you using it for weather? The Apple Watch doesn't have a barometer.

3. In the dark the black display looks purple and Garmin is aware of this issue

Mine doesn't, but I know some complain about it. The bigger problem was the sapphire display's reflection to me.

4. The weather widget does NOT work (Garmin is working on it)

It does work, just not very well. Something like Carrot is much better for weather.

5. The coating on the black bezel easily scratches

No it doesn't but I have the top-end, so it's DLC, the lower model may not be.

6. Getting a GPS connection indoors sometimes works and sometimes does not.

Indoor track running? You can, I believe, set the watch to track on stride, not GPS. I never do that so I'm not positive.

Frankly, the two watches break down as follows:

AW
+ Lots of cool features and toys
- Terrible battery life, especially S5.
+ Accurate heart rate
- Inaccurate GPS and distance.

Fenix
+ Battery Life
- Weaker features
- Some problems making the weaker features even less useful. Heart rate can be very spotty.
+ More functional for sports, especially endurance.

I went the other way and sold my AW. If the 6 does something solid with battery life I could see coming back but if the 6 resembles the 5 in any meaningful way, and it likely will, I'll be staying with Garmin.
 
Horses for courses of course. I have no problem with my AW gps, once I stopped looking at the track. I run a regular 10k off road route and the distance is always +/- 0.03 KM, perfectly acceptable over such a distance. Battery is the achilles heel for endurance sports, but my series 4 can record 100mi bike ride no problem, I'm not going to ride any more than that in a day. If you are into ultras/Ironman type stuff you will probably want a more specific device anyway (and something more robust).
As I previously mentioned, I had an Instinct, which I liked but ended up going back to S3 because of non-actionable messages and a feeling it didn't have much over my 310xt (which still lives on). I did love the simple screen on it though, superb contrast. If the Apple had a dumb screen mode I would defo use it.
 
I had a Fenix 5 sapphire for about 2 months. I loved the design, but it was miserable experience for me. Thanks for the update on the Fenix 6.
 
If you want a Garmin or any other fitness watch besides AW, you need a chest strap. That alone sets the AW alone up top. The convenience of not having to strap on the chest monitor and making sure it’s wet to work is a nuisance as I exercise on a whim all the time. Fitbit is out of the question as you can’t even hook up an external heart rate sensor.
 
rcarter3636 said:
If you want a Garmin or any other fitness watch besides AW, you need a chest strap. That alone sets the AW alone up top. The convenience of not having to strap on the chest monitor and making sure it’s wet to work is a nuisance as I exercise on a whim all the time. Fitbit is out of the question as you can’t even hook up an external heart rate sensor.
Click to expand...

why would you need a chest strap? They all have optical sensors.
 
rcarter3636 said:
If you want a Garmin or any other fitness watch besides AW, you need a chest strap. That alone sets the AW alone up top. The convenience of not having to strap on the chest monitor and making sure it’s wet to work is a nuisance as I exercise on a whim all the time. Fitbit is out of the question as you can’t even hook up an external heart rate sensor.
Click to expand...
U don’t need. Are u saying that the heart rate is more accurate with AW?
 
Picapau21 said:
why would you need a chest strap? They all have optical sensors.
Click to expand...

They are not particularly reliable, especially for interval type stuff, AW is the best of the bunch. Since the Firstbeat algos (one appeal of Garmin for me) calculate from HR, then bad data will skew results, 'garbage in = garbage out' etc.
 
Monkswhiskers said:
They are not particularly reliable, especially for interval type stuff, AW is the best of the bunch. Since the Firstbeat algos (one appeal of Garmin for me) calculate from HR, then bad data will skew results, 'garbage in = garbage out' etc.
Click to expand...

Thats not really true. Basically all the watches with optical sensors perform similarly.

www.dcrainmaker.com

Apple Watch Series 5: Sports & Fitness In-Depth Review

It’s been two months since the Apple Watch Series 5 came out, and the watch has been on my right wrist every one of those days. Swim, bike, run…and plenty more. You may remember my initial thoughts on it back
www.dcrainmaker.com www.dcrainmaker.com
 
Picapau21 said:
Thats not really true. Basically all the watches with optical sensors perform similarly.

www.dcrainmaker.com

Apple Watch Series 5: Sports & Fitness In-Depth Review

It’s been two months since the Apple Watch Series 5 came out, and the watch has been on my right wrist every one of those days. Swim, bike, run…and plenty more. You may remember my initial thoughts on it back
www.dcrainmaker.com www.dcrainmaker.com
Click to expand...

Well yes, but a chest strap is better, although in certain conditions has its limitations.
I seem to remember DC finding a software glitch in the 5, the 4 performed better.
I use the optical for steady state cardio then switch over for hill/interval training
[automerge]1595152584[/automerge]
Monkswhiskers said:
Well yes, but a chest strap is better, although in certain conditions has its limitations.
I seem to remember DC finding a software glitch in the 5, the 4 performed better.
I use the optical for steady state cardio then switch over for hill/interval training
Click to expand...

p.s I use Runalyze & Training Today for rest/recovery data
 
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Monkswhiskers said:
Well yes, but a chest strap is better, although in certain conditions has its limitations.
I seem to remember DC finding a software glitch in the 5, the 4 performed better.
I use the optical for steady state cardio then switch over for hill/interval training
[automerge]1595152584[/automerge]


p.s I use Runalyze & Training Today for rest/recovery data
Click to expand...

I heard something similar about the AW5 optical sensor not being as good. Are you able to confirm whether they fixed it via a software update?
 
rcarter3636 said:
Yes.
Optical heart rates should not even exist on Garmin or Fitbit while working out. The only time they are accurate are when you are resting.
Click to expand...

I presume you are now just trolling as they all work fine and millions of people use them on non-apple devices.
 
Picapau21 said:
I heard something similar about the AW5 optical sensor not being as good. Are you able to confirm whether they fixed it via a software update?
Click to expand...

Yes.
I’ve tested every AW since the AW2 and several Garmin and Fitbit models. All AW changed when wOS5 several years ago. I tested against a chest strap. AW5 was a little glitchy when released but has since become as reliable as the rest of the AW model’s. DC Rainmaker stated the same while doing a YouTube video comparing Fitness watch’s with Dezfit.
Garmin and Fitbit are complete garbage while working out. Especially with dynamic exercises such as tennis, basketball and CrossFit workouts.
 
rcarter3636 said:
Yes.
I’ve tested every AW since the AW2 and several Garmin and Fitbit models. All AW changed when wOS5 several years ago. I tested against a chest strap. AW5 was a little glitchy when released but has since become as reliable as the rest of the AW model’s. DC Rainmaker stated the same while doing a YouTube video comparing Fitness watch’s with Dezfit.
Garmin and Fitbit are complete garbage while working out. Especially with dynamic exercises such as tennis, basketball and CrossFit workouts.
Click to expand...

I tend to agree with you there. My Garmin is very good with steady state cardio such as running or cycling but not so good with HIIT type workouts. Glad to hear the AW5 issues have been resolved.

Haven't seen the video you mentioned but found the link:

Will give it a watch a bit later.
 
Well, something's up with Garmin today. Everything is down cold.

I didn't think this way 2 months ago but right now I wish I still had my AW.
 
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Significant1 said:
On reddit the rumor says it is ransomware attack. Not good for Garmin if true.
Click to expand...

Hard to know but it sure seems likely.

It's actually a disaster for them. They offer a lot of services, some of them are critical, like their airplane segment, others are life-saving, satellite calls. If their entire infrastructure has been bricked, it could be days, even weeks before they come back.

AW isn't necessarily safer. One of the problems with the AW is that to get a lot of the functionality you might need requires third party apps which opens you up to the same problem.
 
Still using my first generation Fenix and love it, keep wanting to upgrade but I can’t fault it (I hate replacing things if they still work).
It does what it’s designed for, rugged proper excersise, not gimmicky ‘how many steps have you done’ crap. I don’t need an app to tell me I have done enough excersise.
I would never use an Apple Watch for hiking/trekking use, one brush through some hedge and it will be destroyed.
 
DontGetTheCheese said:
Hard to know but it sure seems likely.

It's actually a disaster for them. They offer a lot of services, some of them are critical, like their airplane segment, others are life-saving, satellite calls. If their entire infrastructure has been bricked, it could be days, even weeks before they come back.

AW isn't necessarily safer. One of the problems with the AW is that to get a lot of the functionality you might need requires third party apps which opens you up to the same problem.
Click to expand...
Some details of the rumored attack:
www.bleepingcomputer.com

Garmin outage caused by confirmed WastedLocker ransomware attack

Wearable device maker Garmin today had to shut down some of its connected services and call centers following what the company calls a worldwide outage.
www.bleepingcomputer.com www.bleepingcomputer.com
 
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