Garmin Reacts to Apple Watch Ultra: 'We Measure Battery Life in Months. Not Hours.'

[Deedeekay]

It’s weird to me that these are being compared. They’re very obviously different products for different people. The only real commonality between purchasers of either is that both have gobs of money they love throwing away on luxury toys.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Yeah but the Apple Watch doesn’t do much. What can the Apple Watch do that the Garmin can’t? What can the Ultra do that the normal AW can’t?

What can the Apple Watch do that the Garmin can’t? Cellular radio is kind of a big deal.

What can the Ultra do that the normal AW can’t? Watch the video. Larger face, certified dive computer, gloves-capable and extra button utility are pretty up front obvious. First product I have ordered without first handling it.

 

[Greg.]

And then the Enduro 2 product website literally shows the battery life in hours 🤦‍♂️

 

[sjprice85]

A standard Apple Watch can do most of what the AW Ultra can do.

After all, the majority of us aren’t trekking to the top of Mount Everest or submerging to Mariana’s Trench.

No some of us are tired of AW not being able to do the simple things. Ever been on a run and wanted to get directions anywhere or back? Oh and not have to pay for celular connectivity? How about laps... Most ppl who use Garmin aren't looking for an Apple Watch who half a..Ed it.

 

[azhava]

Sorry bud, it isn’t just the Enduro 2. The Solar Fenix 7 is also $799. Please know products you’re going to compare, or look like you’re Samsung 😂😂😂. Also triathlons would be a nightmare with a AW compared to a Garmin. The slightest bit of water, sweat, etc and the AW screen is unresponsive to touch, and doesn’t have enough buttons to actually be useful. $800 for 36 hours is honestly indefensible. Wouldn’t even cover some of these ultra races. 🙈

I dunno - DCRainmaker didn't seem to have much problem when he recently used the AW7/WatchOS 9 beta in a triathlon: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2022/08/apple-watch-os-9-triathlon-multisport-mode-hands-on.html

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Nobody cares about Siri or Apple Pay. We’re talking about a device for athletes to track their activities. If you are actually saying people would buy an AW over a Garmin because it has Siri then there’s nothing else to discuss lmao

Wrong. Lots of buyers want to track athletic activities and also want Siri, Apple Pay and cellular radio.

 

[phillypharm]

And then the Enduro 2 product website literally shows the battery life in hours 🤦‍♂️

View attachment 2055837

Strange thing for them to say when their watch lasts a small fraction of one month (150hrs) with comparable features (I.e gps on). Not even a week. More than 1.5 days of the apple watch ultra but still measuring in days.

Uh, you two do realize the 36 hours with the Ultra is only 1 hour of GPS activity, right? You’re not getting 36 hours of GPS. I guess you did since you cut out the other specs to try to make your case:

 

[sjprice85]

Garmin watches measure battery life in months because they don’t have to power Apple Watch level functionality.

Actually they power more than the apple watch. Those of us who use Garmin watches are content with them doing what they do that Apple Watch can't.

 

[aliengin]

This is significant because Garmin never responded to Suunto, Polar or any other brand before.
This quote sums it:
“Once Apple chooses to enter your house (and Google gets its house in order) you’d better fight like hell or prepare to move on. Let’s see how Garmin chooses to respond”

 

[Someyoungguy]

What was the blackberry forum phrase they would use.

Tools not toys?


How'd that work out Blackberry.

Do you guys honestly think 1 day battery life is an innovation like the capacitive touchscreen keyboard was?

 

[msackey]

From now on, instead of bringing new features to the product, they're going to make a new tier and call it Pro-Plus-Maximum and up-charge it!

Hahah! I've sometimes wondered what is next after Pro, Plus, and Max. AT some point (perhaps now!) it's difficult for some people to know if Pro is better than Plus or is Max better than Pro, etc.

Maybe we can add: Supreme, Emperor, and then finally...God.

iPhone 20 Plus
iPhone 20 Pro
iPhone 20 God

 

[RRK50]

Army boots last longer than a pair of Guccis too.

 

[phillypharm]

It’s amazing how Apple hoodwinked people with the AW’s years of abysmal battery life to the point that being able to make it through one whole day (if you only do a GPS activity for an hour) is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

 

[sjprice85]

No, but it does the workout things better and has a massively better battery lifetime.

Apple watch is a smart watch that can do some workout metrics, Polar/Garmin are workout watches that can do smart watch things.

If the Apple Watch ultra had a week of battery life, I'd get it in a heartbeat - fur now, I'll just stay with my series 6 and be annoyed yet again about Apple not introducing a more holistic approach to workouts, recovery, etc like the rest do. And the crappy battery lifetime.

Well the fact that I can quickly transfer my music as I want faster on my Garmin and it was $300 cheaper I'm good with my 955 from Garmin and my wrist candy aka AW when I remember to charge it 🤣🤣🤣

 

[Allen_Wentz]

Tools for the job, I have my phone for calls

With the AW cellular I find it quite freeing to be able to get out on the trails and still have the choice of taking cell calls if necessary without carrying a cell phone.

 

[Coby1man]

I measure it in things I can do with it not days of battery.

But meh.

Different market.

BUT THAT MARKET FOR GARMIN IS GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER since the Ultra.

This. Ultra is targeting millions of users who occasionally (twice a year) do some extreme sport activity. Garmin is targeting the thousands that do it regularly.

 

[macsplusmacs]

Do you guys honestly think 1 day battery life is an innovation like the capacitive touchscreen keyboard was?

Yah, I think you need to read the Blackberry instruction manual again.

 

[opiapr]

This literally happens every time Apple enters a new market category. We get cheap, fear-based responses from current industry leaders. Also, they can measure their watches in months if they want to but in low power mode the result would be: 1 month. Not sure why they have to bend the truth to show their superior battery life. Their’s can last up to 34 days. That clearly beats Apple’s, just say that they measure in

weeks not hours or something.

They aren’t bending anything.

150 hours in GPS mode.
34 Days in Smartwatch Mode
90 Days in Expedition Mode (Low power mode)

 

[sjprice85]

Lol, as pitiful as the Ultra's battery life is, it's still going to sell a HECK of a lot more watches than Garmin can dream of. This just seems like Garmin trying to reach for a life preserver on the way down Niagara Falls. Or for the more nuanced out there, trying to reach for a barrel on the way down the Pelorus river.

Right cause like Apple did with fitness plus. It recreated something not broke to sell to it's audience. I have no doubt that they sell tons but they're not going to win many people who use Garmin. Especially if they can't do simple endurance things correctly.

 

[sjprice85]

Garmin watches are amazing for athletes with polished features and external sensors support. They sell at least in millions. The latest Epix with always on OLED and always on heart rate sensor still lasts a week. Garmin Pay works great. There’s a super detailed offline map of the whole world on the watch.

But the main feature for me is still the battery. I can go for a long run without worrying about the battery even if I haven’t charged the watch for a few days already, and the low battery warning prompts to turn on battery saver when there is just 24 hours of battery left.

Sure, not everyone needs that, but Apple really needs to make a watch that lasts a full day with several hours of maps and GPS recording to challenge Garmin’s top line watches.

Agreed!

 

[jarman92]

you probably don’t fit the demographic of us Garmin users.

And people say Apple is a cult 🙄

 

[The1Biz]

My S3 battery still lasts all day with a bike ride and swim in the same day, with % to spare!

Yeah, even as a casual user I can't believe we are at AW8 and battery life is max 2 days.

I miss the Pebble days.

 

[ColdShadow]

Garmin is simply superior for sports..round shape too instead of askward square formfactor.

 

[BuddyTronic]

A simple Google search of “Garmin 10k” will pull up the annual filings for the SEC. On page 48 of the 2021 filing, Garmins revenue was $4.98B. So sales are measured in billions, not thousands like you assume. But hey, at least u got 100’s of likes for your ill-informed opinion.

Hold on now. Never let facts get in the way of the truth.

Garmin revenue for watches is how many dollars?

Garmin total revenue could be the number you state here but Garmin gets revenue from many other things.

Apple sell millions of units. Does Garmin sell even 1 million watches? I’ll bet you the answer is no.

Previous post said “units”. Not dollars. So you are confusing the matter a bit here possibly.

 

[Allen_Wentz]

A huge bargain it is not for sure, but such are the prices for these high end smartwatches.

But with 36h you have to be very disciplined with charging your Ultra, particularly if you want sleep stats.

This is the luxury I got with my Garmin: I just charge it now and again, whenever I remember. Very little stress, never ran out of charge, and I use it a lot, day and night.

As for diving, my understanding is that the Ultra unfortunately doesn't connect to the tank. So that's that.

1) Daily charging is a non-issue, because I take any watch off at night. An AW sits on a magnetic charger and shows the time if I nudge the nightstand. No discipline, just normal easy routine.

2) Never have I used a dive computer complicated by tank connection but with no watch, nor have I wanted to. The Ultra passes dive computer standards test. But I understand that some folks like complex tank-connected computers, and they are welcome to go buy/maintain/use one, some are excellent.

3) IMO yes, it is a bargain, based on what I have paid for dive watches, dive computers and the AW7 in the past. Others of course can want a free lunch.