If Garmin had have got in on smartphones I would have been very interested in one. I love my Garmin watch and Apple would need to add at least 3 to 5 days of battery life as a smart watch for me to be interested.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Garmin Beats Apple to Market with Satellite-Connected Smartwatch
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If it's the solar version and you aren't caning the battery and you are outside a lot then it can go on for a looonnnnngggggg time.
They are two completely different products...inReach hangs on my backpack and works for 20 days without me touching it and it's $14.99/month, and I don't need a phone. I don't even have to look at it after turning it on until after I'm back in civilization.
I don't use mine as a communicator as I like being disconnected when backpacking, but it still transits my location every 30 (or 10, or 5, but I usually use 30) mins in case something happens. I also have the emergency button if need be. I take it on long weekend trail runs too, as the area I go doesn't have any cell service and it's a closed forest canopy.
How is Starlink working when your down in a deep valley and can't even see the sky?
Last edited:
Big fan of Garmin watches. Using one currently, but that MicroLED model at $2k is insane. 10 days battery life (4 AOD) No thanks. The watch I am using gets 20-24 days depending on usage. Fraction of the price. Garmin watches are really nice though.
I'm so tired of people s—tting on AW and talking about how a Garmin can go 87 days on one charge, that I want to take it out on my Garmin dash cam... but it did nothing wrong!
Only when Apple is first we race on macrumors.. 🤷♂️
I have an Apple Watch Ultra 2 and I won’t be upgrading this year, but the satellite connectivity is tempting. The only problem is that apple don’t support sos over satellite in my country that is Norway. So if I didn’t have an Apple Watch at all and was looking for a smart watch with that connectivity, I would seriously give Garmin a thought. Inreach is supported in my country. I do a lot of hiking so it would be great to tell my family that I am okay. Apples support for sos over satellite is only in 17 countries. I think a lot of people will be buying garmin watches for the connectivity if apple don’t get it through their head that there is more than 17 countries in existence. All of the satellite providers cover a lot more.
They can charge more for it and get the suckers to pay. Big benefit. The whole Garmin upgrade vibe is disappointing and when you look at their sensor accuracy its not great. That said i think with most fitness trackers you need to look at the values largely in a relative manner and gauge trends. At £1729 I'm certainly not buying and frankly given their charges for services on the fenix 8 pro non amoled i think their prices are outrageous. I currently have a aw watch ultra and I don't subscribe. if they force me to subscribe as well I'm ditching it. Sure if I want personal coaching they can charge for that service but the stats and basic explanations no way.
Same. I switched to garmin in April when my wife wanted a running watch and i got to see how cool her garmin was. Picked one up for myself and the rest is history. Only regret is not switching sooner. I was a big time Apple Watch fanboy but the garmin is just…better
Apple markets their battery life way more honest way. For example for Ultra 2:
When these two watches are compared with same usage, Garmin still wins, but the difference is not as drastic any more. Part of it is that Garmin is a larger device and can thus hold a larger battery:
Super curious to see what Ultra 3 will bring next week...
- Up to 36 hours of normal use: 600 time checks, 180 notifications, 30 minutes of app use, and a 60-minute workout with music playback from Apple Watch via Bluetooth, over the course of 36 hours; Apple Watch Ultra 2 (GPS + Cellular) usage includes a total of 8 hours of LTE connection and 28 hours of connection to iPhone via Bluetooth over the course of 36 hours.
- Up to 72 hours in Low Power Mode: 1200 time checks, 360 notifications, 60 minutes of app use, and two 60-minute workouts with music playback from Apple Watch via Bluetooth, over the course of 72 hours; Apple Watch Ultra 2 (GPS + Cellular) usage includes on-demand LTE connection and 60 hours of connection to iPhone via Bluetooth over the course of 72 hours.
- Smartwatch: Up to 10 days (4 days always-on)
- Battery Saver Watch Mode: Up to 14 days
- GPS Only: Up to 44 hours (18 hours always-on)
- All Satellite Systems: Up to 37 hours (16 hours always-on)
- All Satellite Systems + Multi-band: Up to 34 hours (15 hours always-on)*
- All Satellite Systems + Multi-band + LTE Livetrack: Up to 17 hours (10 hours always-on)*
- All Satellite Systems + Multiband + Music: Up to 19 hours (11 hours always on)*
- All Satellite Systems + Multiband + Music + LTE Livetrack: Up to 13 hours (9 hours always on)*
- Max Battery GPS: Up to 53 hours
- Expedition GPS: Up to 8 days
When these two watches are compared with same usage, Garmin still wins, but the difference is not as drastic any more. Part of it is that Garmin is a larger device and can thus hold a larger battery:
- Apple Ultra 2: Height: 49mm, Width: 44mm, Depth: 14.4mm
- Garmin microLED: 51 x 51 x 17.5 mm
Super curious to see what Ultra 3 will bring next week...
Putting “Apple” in the headline is the only way Garmin will get any coverage for this sort of news.
So when you are off grid, you do not bring a phone at all, and just use your in Reach?
How long are your GPS recorded runs? You run without Music or you carry your phone with you all the time? You do not use the Always on Display?
That is great for expected situations, and even so, having a phone with Satellite communications and a Watch with the same just makes one safer. However, while you do not need a phone or a watch to use it, you do need to make sure you have it with you at all times, and that is an advantage of a connected watch.
I would agree with you, were it not for the fact that their headline battery life is always reported with the Always on Display off and basically no fitness activities. They do tell you how they reach their number, but if Apple reported the battery life of the Apple Watch Ultra in the same way, people would - justifiably - lose their minds.
I just think it is funny that both Google and Garmin pre-announced their products to get in ahead of Apple, but it seems likely that Apple will ship first.
Nope, great news for anyone who goes places where they have poor or no LTE (many places around the country including big cities).
They did not beat them to market yet, just beat them to announcement. Rumors are that Apple will ship one week after announcement, while Garmin ships in October.