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Can an Apple Watch and a Garmin live side by side?
- Thread starter dj1891
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This is exactly right. I think to truly take advantage of Garmin’s features it’s an “all in” kind of thing. That’s not to say that you can’t get the benefits of the device just using for exercise (you’re better off with the AW for sleep), and the data can be exported into Health, but it doesn’t go the opposite way (Health to Garmin) so when you’re not wearing it you’re not getting the benefit of it.
I’ve tried and tried and tried to incorporate a Garmin watch and AW together, but ultimately the smart watch features win out for me.
Hiking used to be one use case that the Garmin just clearly won out for me, then I discovered Footpath and the AW and with that combo there is simply no need for the Garmin (I do use a 1040 bike computer, however).
There’s another thread ongoing right now about that very thing. A lot of interesting perspectives on it.
My experience is exactly the opposite. My Garmin gives me about 100 more calories than Apple for a 1 HR 30 min gym session. Lol
Use a HR strap and everything is accurate. You should use one with apple too as apple has a lot of drop outs
It’s gotten better, but, sometimes, holy hell. I was pulling data from Apple Health and one of the things I pulled was heart rate. I found max heart rates of 240 and 243. Guess where those came from? The 1st generation Marq and F6 line were absolutely terrible at a lot of things.
A strap or a newer device makes that problem go away. I believe AW’s are very accurate with HR.
HRV is a different calculation in GarminLand vs AppleLand. I, personally, dislike the way Apple does things with HRV.
SpO2, something I’m very interested in right now, may, be more accurate on my Epix Pro than my AW Ultra. Right now I have 3 things tracking my sleep O2 (Epix, AW and a Wellue Ring). I, clearly, have apnea, no doubt about it, sleep study incoming, although I know why it’s happening. That said, I recently made a change to how I sleep and it’s been huge, maybe even solved the problem, but at the very least good for 2 to 3 points of average O2 at night.
- The Garmin picked it up, and showed significant improvement. The Garmin samples every minute.
- The AW is showing low to no improvement. It also doesn’t reliably sample at night. If you are lucky it does it every 1/2 hour and its lows are lower than the other devices.
- The Wellue is showing data that I would expect to see, kind of between the two, but closer to the Garmin. It samples the finger, thumb in this case, ever 4 seconds. It’s HR sensor, however, is not good, especially during activity, but I think it’s more designed with sleep O2 in mind.
My Garmin samples HR EVERY second. The AWU and all other models sample HR between every 7 to 15 minutes. Which do you think is more accurate over the course of the day. HRV is sampled continously on the Garmin at night and the AW takes 2 or 3 samples at night, unless afib is turned on. Which do you think is more accurate? AW also measures HRV in the daytime which is useless according to many studies, as there are too many distractions during the day. I have used AW for 5 years and Garmin for 8. So I like both watches but I believe the Garmin is more scientifically believable. Since this is an Apple forum, go ahead and diwnvote me, but I have extensive experience with both.
Ah the "quantified scientist ' again. He's a Apple fanboy. Try looking at DCRAINNAKER or Desfit( who is not really a Garmin fan) but he is honest.
They have to. In the end there is one sample per minute. Because they chose the average of the data.
You can measure thousand more time bad data. That doesn’t mean it’s more accurate
It’s the opposite. Especially DCRainmaker is a garmin fanboy extreme 😎
During an activity it's every 5 to 10 seconds on the AW according to data that I'm looking at. The Garmin HR sensors are notoriously bad. The Garmin forums usually do the "if you want accuracy buy a strap" argument.
I do believe the current Pro versions are probably better.
One of the problems with online reviews, cars, electronics, anything where they aren't buying the stuff themselves like Consumer Reports does, is that if they tell the truth they won't get product to review. This is a huge problem with car reviews because the reviewers depend on the loaners from the manufacturers. A few years ago TFL did the slowest drag race with a Subaru Outback in it and now, no more Subaru's for them. Alex On Autos literally never grades below a B-, and ties himself in knots to do so. No cars, no reviews, no channel.
It's the same thing with other products too. And even if they are neutral, those guys are all endurance athletes and that's the Garmin niche so they still have bias.
I don't agree with how the Quantified Scientist analyze's some of the products, but he is trying to build consistency where it's very hard. I think DCR does a fair job of that too.
I have both.an ultra a Garmin Epix Pro 51 and a 965. I have the same heart rate as the Apple Watch both dueing resting I have both. Both a Garmin Epix Pro 51 and forerunner 965. i’ve worn both Apple Watch Ultra and both Garmins during running, and they pretty much match While that was true of the older Garmins. It is not true today. Both are pretty accurate, but nothing will match the heart rate strap completely. The reason I use a Garmin is for the advanced metrics. Athlytic, training today and healthfit can't compare.
having said all that when I cannot work out anymore and that time is coming because I’m 71 years old, I will go back to the Apple Watch than as it is much better for things besides fitness than Garmin.
I have a Garmin Forerunner of a couple of generations ago. Still amazing battery life on it. I run and ride bikes. AW covers me for most everyday stuff but I use the Forerunner as my HR monitor for a Garmin Edge bike computer (again, it’s the metrics, big screen and battery). I’ve found Garmin devices are near indestructible, having (ahem) put them through the laundry and still function without issue. No harm in keeping the Garmin Watch.