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Garmin Fenix 7 pro and Apple Watch Ultra

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UKapple

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Nov 9, 2012
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Just wondering if anyone owns both devices? Previously I had a Fenix 6 pro but sold it to purchase a Apple Watch ultra but ever since I have missed my garmin. I resisted the urge to purchase another until last week where I bit the bullet and bought a fenix 7 pro.

I love the Apple Watch ultra and there’s no doubt when it comes to being a smart watch it wins hands down against the Fenix but for fitness stats/functionality I’ve always missed the fenix.

So in order to satisfy both needs I am now running both, one at a time depending on the task and have found the happy medium!

Just curious to know if anyone else is doing the same?
 
I have the AWU and a Fenix 6x. While I love how the AWU keeps all my health and fitness stuff, the navigation aspect leave me relying on my Fenix. I spent a lot of time outdoors scouting for hunting season, nothing beats the way my Fenix tracks my route. Being able to retrace my route back to the beginning has come in handy on more than one occasion.
 
That's one of the real use cases for the Garmin.

I go between the two. The Ultra is, in my opinion, the best smart/fitness watch available, but the damn thing tears up my wrist. I've been wearing it on my right wrist. The Epix Pro 2 doesn't dig in nearly as much although with the state of the nerve it beats it up to.

That aside, the interesting thing about the Garmin is that you can use a HRM and Stryd, connect them and toss the watch in your pocket, and away you go.

Edit: I guess you can connect bluetooth devices to the Apple Watch now that I think about it. I’ve just never tried to.
 
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Bought a Epix pro yesterday which will arrive on Monday. I do 2,5h workouts per day and I need to charge my AWU daily.

Had the fenix for 2 days back in march but I didn’t like the screen so I didn’t really test it. So I will try the Epix now
 
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UKapple said:
Just wondering if anyone owns both devices? Previously I had a Fenix 6 pro but sold it to purchase a Apple Watch ultra but ever since I have missed my garmin. I resisted the urge to purchase another until last week where I bit the bullet and bought a fenix 7 pro.

I love the Apple Watch ultra and there’s no doubt when it comes to being a smart watch it wins hands down against the Fenix but for fitness stats/functionality I’ve always missed the fenix.

So in order to satisfy both needs I am now running both, one at a time depending on the task and have found the happy medium!

Just curious to know if anyone else is doing the same?
Click to expand...
do you keep the data in both Connect and Health or are you using just one app to manage all your data ? I also run both and just can’t find the right set up to keep the data flowing to each app without loosing metrics.
 
I've been using various version of both Apple and Garmin watches daily....it's getting old.
There are things that I like about each but I'm tired of going back and forth everyday.
I'm hoping that I'll love the new Ultra 2 when it releases this Fall so I can just concentrate on one watch..
 
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262Runnr said:
I've been using various version of both Apple and Garmin watches daily....it's getting old.
There are things that I like about each but I'm tired of going back and forth everyday.
I'm hoping that I'll love the new Ultra 2 when it releases this Fall so I can just concentrate on one watch..
Click to expand...
Yes, I have done it too and it is tiresome, we just want 1 watch to rule them all!
 
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richxps said:
do you keep the data in both Connect and Health or are you using just one app to manage all your data ? I also run both and just can’t find the right set up to keep the data flowing to each app without loosing metrics.
Click to expand...
I use both, but keep Garmin Connect as my primary app/website for data. I wear the Garmin for sleep and workouts to get fitness and recovery metrics. I wear the AW the rest of the day and use RunGap to move data between the two systems. So if I go for a walk wearing the AW I copy it into Garmin Connect.

I have a small Vivofit (I think) which feeds steps into Garmin Connect when I’m not wearing my Garmin, but I’m not sure how useful that data is TBH. Other than closing rings, my AW doesn’t really tell me anything useful as far as fitness and recovery goes, so I don’t worry about that part much.

It‘s not ideal, but it’s the best solution I’ve come up with.
 
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PatrickNSF said:
I use both, but keep Garmin Connect as my primary app/website for data. I wear the Garmin for sleep and workouts to get fitness and recovery metrics. I wear the AW the rest of the day and use RunGap to move data between the two systems. So if I go for a walk wearing the AW I copy it into Garmin Connect.

I have a small Vivofit (I think) which feeds steps into Garmin Connect when I’m not wearing my Garmin, but I’m not sure how useful that data is TBH. Other than closing rings, my AW doesn’t really tell me anything useful as far as fitness and recovery goes, so I don’t worry about that part much.

It‘s not ideal, but it’s the best solution I’ve come up with.
Click to expand...
How does Garmin recovery work if you don’t wear it all day. It’s not tracking your stress all day so when you wear your Apple Watch the Garmin can’t take that into account. I just switched from Apple to Garmin, and then back to Apple and now back to Garmin because of that.
 
Indianwin2001 said:
How does Garmin recovery work if you don’t wear it all day. It’s not tracking your stress all day so when you wear your Apple Watch the Garmin can’t take that into account. I just switched from Apple to Garmin, and then back to Apple and now back to Garmin because of that.
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You're right that it's missing all-day stress, but I confirmed with Garmin (at some point) that it's the lowest ranked factor...so it doesn't have a big impact on training readiness. They said sleep, recovery time and HRV are weighted most heavily.

My stress history is always "low" so I think it's relevance for me is even less significant.

I'm also using the Race Day widget for marathon training this cycle (since I'm not racing for "time" this year) and that seems to be most impacted by my workouts and sleep/HRV data.
 
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PatrickNSF said:
You're right that it's missing all-day stress, but I confirmed with Garmin (at some point) that it's the lowest ranked factor...so it doesn't have a big impact on training readiness. They said sleep, recovery time and HRV are weighted most heavily.

My stress history is always "low" so I think it's relevance for me is even less significant.

I'm also using the Race Day widget for marathon training this cycle (since I'm not racing for "time" this year) and that seems to be most impacted by my workouts and sleep/HRV data.
Click to expand...
Very good. my daily stress is higher in a medium range every day around 40 to 45 and it doesn’t really affect my training readyness that much so I agree with you.
 
I use both epix Pro (Gen 2) and AW8, and I'm actually wondering about buying the AWU again.
I'd love to wear just one, but they each have their niche, so I'd just accepted that I will be wearing two watches every day.
 
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I switched to a Garmin then switched back to an AW then switched back again to Garmin. It was an excruciatingly painful process going back and forth but I landed on a Garmin (6 Pro Solar) for a few reasons:

1. Durability/Ruggedness - even though I had a SS AW (and the Ultra is durable) the AW just isn’t as rugged as a Garmin Fenix. This thing is a tank.
2. Battery Life - the obvious one, but I wear my tracker 24/7 and I got really tired of charging my watch three times a day - between the sleep tracking, workout tracking and wearing it without my phone (more on that below) I grew tired of needing to charge the damn thing so often.
3. Cellular - yeah so here’s the thing. I’ve worn my watch exclusively without my phone nearby for nearly 5 years. But when I got heavy into workout and fitness tracking this drained the battery even more so. Same applied when working outside and just listening to music or podcasts, after only 3 hours my battery would drain from 100% to like 20% rendering it useless for me. And at work (I’m a project manager at a hospital and often do walkthroughs and need to pull up quick info from my phone), on just my watch this has been a growing problem for me and noticed me needing my phone more often. To me this was the biggest reason I bought my Apple Watch, for the phone independence, I loathe carrying both devices. So I’d rather have a more concentrated fitness device that lasts longer.
 
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I have both (Epix Pro), right now I have a need for both but most of the time I don't, and the AW Ultra is the clear winner for my use cases with one exception.

I simply can't wear it without pain on my left wrist. It digs into the nerve. I've tried all kinds of things, which haven't worked, so right now it's on the right wrist. Ultimately, I'm going to have to go back to the Garmin or maybe a base AW. I never had any pain until I tried the heavier AW's.

Regarding the Garmin metrics, you know what, I never used them. They're nice to look at but I never found them to change anything I did. I remember the old recovery metric. It was always 3 days after I did a hard Saturday run but I didn't need the watch to tell me that. I could feel it. The one thing I do miss is Pace Pro, but I won't be doing those kinds of runs for some time, and if I'm unlucky, I'll never do them again.
 
DontGetTheCheese said:
They're nice to look at but I never found them to change anything I did. I remember the old recovery metric.
Click to expand...
I find Training Readiness, Load Focus and Daily Suggestions based on upcoming races pretty compelling. I frequently change my workouts (running and cycling) based on the information these features provide.
 
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The damn real truth, is that even though I work full time reviewing sports- and smartwatches (I own every Garmin, Polar COROS, Suunto, Huawei and Fitbit watch, etc..), and I've worn a Garmin for over 15 years, I've never more wanted to swap it for an AWU...
I just love the outdoor and navigation tools that Garmin gives. But I guess there is an app for that...
I have the AW8 though, but I miss the screen and robustness of the Ultra.
 
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so I sold my Fenix 6X Sapphire the other day and went back to my old Fenix 3HR...I'm a runner but I use basic metrics on pretty much any watch to keep track of my miles and my fitness. All this hype about body battery and recovery time IMO is BS and marketing.
I've been running for 20 years and I know my body at this point. However, as far as everyday use, my AW6 hands down is most useful for me it really does all that I use a watch for and it's light and just the right size.....at little larger screen and better battery along with a sapphire face would be nice....I may have to take a serious look at the AW Ultra 2 when it releases... :)
 
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