I don’t think many of you commenting are really the target market for these devices because your ignorance of the market is obvious. I’m a mountaineer and mountain biker, so I’m very interested in what the new Apple Watch can do. But Garmin makes an absolutely killer product with many features that far surpass Apple’s offering. I’m just happy to see competition in the space, especially because Apple won’t allow Garmin watches (Android WearOS) to work with iMessage.
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Garmin Reacts to Apple Watch Ultra: 'We Measure Battery Life in Months. Not Hours.'
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One simple feature not getting a lot of mention is the fact that the sapphire face is now embedded and not protruding on the Apple Watch Ultra.
For me this is big as I do a lot of physical work with metals and one of the things I have to be mindful of is striking the side of my AW7 screen's protruding edge. This will help ease the worry of cracking the screen as I hate screen protectors.
For me this is big as I do a lot of physical work with metals and one of the things I have to be mindful of is striking the side of my AW7 screen's protruding edge. This will help ease the worry of cracking the screen as I hate screen protectors.
I take my Watch off at end of day and charge for 45 min while shutting down, showering and getting ready for bed. Full charge by then using an Anker IQ charger, 100% and ready for sleep tracking. If need a top off before starting a heavy use day, then a few minutes charging before leaving the house.
I'm just glad there's good competition, it makes them both better. I'm in the Apple ecosystem, but I don't own the watch. I like it, but I've been using a Garmin Instinct for almost four years. I live in Colorado and walk, bike or hike daily, and it has done a good job of tracking my activities and providing lots of other useful info. When configured, it sends your data to the Health and other apps. The Garmin mobile app is actually pretty good.
I almost bought an Instinct 2, but wanted to wait on this announcement. The Ultra would be overkill, but it would still be useful for what I do out here. I really do like round watches better, but I may just continue to use this first gen Instinct and see what the Ultra-2 looks like 🤔
I almost bought an Instinct 2, but wanted to wait on this announcement. The Ultra would be overkill, but it would still be useful for what I do out here. I really do like round watches better, but I may just continue to use this first gen Instinct and see what the Ultra-2 looks like 🤔
Well, that twitter comment from Garmin looks like a self inflicted wound invited by Apple… they should probably just not mention these things they can’t compete competitively in… I’m still giggling about that comment
For exercise a Polar or Garmin are actually much better than Apple Watch.
I have both and for real good tracking and useful info (like heart rate zones), are much better.
Also they don’t get to stop working after a couple of years.
Why do you need a titanium case when the screen is not protected at all????. The screen durability is more important than a titanium case.
Go to the mountains 1 week. Will you take the “ultra”?.
Want durability? Get a G-shock.
Want a device that works out of the box to start tracking your excerise?. Don’t get an Apple Watch.
Even can’t remind you to stand up every hour!
Apple Watch is a little more than “notifications on the wrist”.
Can’t track show your exercises stats on the watch even!!!.
And on the iPhone the stats are sooooooo Poor vs a real sports “watch”.
Ultra is the new “Marlboro man” spirit.
Still I love mine on wrist and a mechanical watch on the other!.
I have both and for real good tracking and useful info (like heart rate zones), are much better.
Also they don’t get to stop working after a couple of years.
Why do you need a titanium case when the screen is not protected at all????. The screen durability is more important than a titanium case.
Go to the mountains 1 week. Will you take the “ultra”?.
Want durability? Get a G-shock.
Want a device that works out of the box to start tracking your excerise?. Don’t get an Apple Watch.
Even can’t remind you to stand up every hour!
Apple Watch is a little more than “notifications on the wrist”.
Can’t track show your exercises stats on the watch even!!!.
And on the iPhone the stats are sooooooo Poor vs a real sports “watch”.
Ultra is the new “Marlboro man” spirit.
Still I love mine on wrist and a mechanical watch on the other!.
Tell us you've never used an Apple Watch without telling us you've never used an Apple Watch. So much of that is wrong it's not even worth the time it would take to address it.
It is pretty funny how hard people are comparing the Garmin watches to the 1st generation AWUltra.
Of course the Garmin watches have an edge. But Apple did strike a chord in the market no matter.
I have used several Garmin products (in fact I purchased three identical bikes for the three cities in which I spent the most time, so I could use the same Garmin bike computer without having to recalibrate it), but as soon as Wahoo Fitness came out with its Bluetooth sensors, I switched first to using my iPhone and than to my Apple Watch. I have played with more recent Garmin products, but have little motivation to switch because as Ray Maker says, they are really only useful for the time when I am working out, and quite inferior for all other smart watch uses. The UI/UX still sucks, and while they do provide some good data, I get enough using third party apps with my Apple ecosystem products.
No, they are not competitive with the Apple Ecosystem, because they really only aspire to be dedicated fitness trackers. Everything else they do is just there to try to tick marketing boxes and since they UI/UX people are not even that good for performance tracking, they have no hope anywhere else. If all one cares about is tracking or one is willing to have two watches, they work fine. For those who do not want to put up with that, they really are not a viable option.
No. They offer longer battery life but give up many other things like LTE connections and an integrated ecosystem. They offer Ant+ but have a fraction of the fitness apps, and a minuscule selection of non-fitness apps. Apple's first party fitness tools are not as developed as Garmin's, but their third party ecosystem gets them very close.
On the other hand, Garmin's smart watch functionality is not even close to that of the Apple ecosystem, or to use your terms: Apple's features are well above and beyond what Garmin is capable of doing.
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Have you compared the app ?
Garmin app is light years ahead of apple’s health app.
Also 2 clicks and I have started recording an activity using physical buttons so I can do it with gloves on.
I have owned 4 top models of Apple Watch, but Garmin is way better for me.
Yes the display is not 2000 nits but guess what I can read it on a mountain top in the bright sunlight - because it is not depending on outshining the sun.
Currently I have Garmin Marq Adventure - it is measuring Puls and blood oxygen and since it have 6 days battery life it also means my sleep cycles.
While Apple might also on paper be able to do that - guess where my Apple Watch were every night … that is right chargin. Ohh but it only need 1,5 hours to charge - yes but the only time I want to be without a watch is when I’m in bed - rest of the day I can take it off yes … but then what is the purpose of a smartwatch?
Yup, Apple definitely "hoodwinked" me. I started with an Apple Watch Series 0, jumped to a Series 3, then a Series 4, next a Series 6 and soon to be an Ultra. I am glad you told me that I was unable to use my watch to do the things I do every day (two hour 4-6 mile jog, two hours of workouts and a day's worth of normal smart watch use including payments and music). I charge for a bit in the morning before I go out, and a bit at night before I crash. I thought that was fine, but now I have been enlightened to know that it was not really working for me.
Thanks! It was also great to know that the three-five dive trips I do a year are not really diving because I do not use an air integrated dive computer. It is so great to come here and learn from the experts.
Exactly this. Why is it so hard for people to understand? My dumb watch can last months or years, but it only tells time. So….good I guess? Not a fair comparison here. I don’t think there is the exact same functionality.
Yep exactly. There is a reason theirs get better battery. Can I call, listen to music, see my emails and texts, pay at the store, use various apps like tracking my American Airlines flight, view my passwords via 1Password, and many more things? No. There you go. That’s why it has less battery.
I predict apple will sell more ultra than garmin by 3 to 1. The Hardcore sport enthusiast diving, climbing, will still buy garmin and those sports watches they trust but again apple profits will be higher.
Apple will effectively market the ultra as a sport watch but regular people will buy it similar to how many here buy sports cars but never race it (raises hand x 3). How many buy trucks but take it to the grocery store? You would think every truck buyer owns a motor home but trust me where I live it’s the suburbs and no one uses the bed and what they haul (mountain bikes) they don’t need a 1/2 ton truck. The ultra is the same case.
I want big screen and big battery on cellular. I want to leave my iPhone at home and I think the ultra will finally let me do that. Where as my series 5 on cellular the battery depletes quickly. The Watch is effectively a f150 lightning. Totally unnecessary for many of us but we are going to enjoy it.
Apple will effectively market the ultra as a sport watch but regular people will buy it similar to how many here buy sports cars but never race it (raises hand x 3). How many buy trucks but take it to the grocery store? You would think every truck buyer owns a motor home but trust me where I live it’s the suburbs and no one uses the bed and what they haul (mountain bikes) they don’t need a 1/2 ton truck. The ultra is the same case.
I want big screen and big battery on cellular. I want to leave my iPhone at home and I think the ultra will finally let me do that. Where as my series 5 on cellular the battery depletes quickly. The Watch is effectively a f150 lightning. Totally unnecessary for many of us but we are going to enjoy it.
I don't know how many people are "hanging off the side of a mountain". But surely there's a decent number who go on, say, 5-day backpacking or canoeing trips and don't want to carry a portable charger or solar panels for their watch. That, I would think, is a lot of Garmin's market.
Lots of people talking trash about Garmin watches who have never used them. I've bought many top of the line Garmin watches and cycling computers before Apple Watches were available. There are pros and cons to each. I really liked the long battery life and the features of the Garmin watches. What finally made me stop buying them was their poor reliability. About half of the units I bought failed within 1-3 yrs. It's disappointing to have a $600 mature, tried and tested, non-cutting edge product just die on you for no reason whatsoever. They were not abused or anything. They just stopped working. My Garmin Edge 800 is the only thing I have that is still functional and it has lasted a very long time. I still use it for road and mountain biking, but i primarily use my Apple Watch now. Who cares that I have to charge it daily? Perhaps if I was doing ultramarathons or full Ironman triathlons the Garmin would make more sense. But Apple Watch's ease of use, seamless compatibility with all of my apple products and very high reliability factor makes me stick w/ them over Garmin watches.
No, those types will go A 10000mah battery for their iPhone and Apple Watch. The Garmin buyers are the ones that regularly hang off a mountain.
What's funny is that you are the target market without realizing it.
That thought did come to my head as I was typing this. I was just watching the keynote video yesterday, and the segment came across as appealing to those in the market for an aspirational, high-end Apple Watch. I don't think Apple is going to do a retread of the $19000 gold Apple Watch (which never made sense as it's going to be obsolete in a couple of years, unlike regular luxury timepieces), so health and fitness continue to the next most logical areas to double down on.
Daily charging realistically means that I wouldn't be able to reliably use sleep tracking. It matters a lot to me. I had a lot of smartwatches, I know exactly the use of the 1-day battery life and it's not good.
Speaking of sleep tracking - my Garmin has very detailed stats, including continuous SpO2 and heart rate variability monitoring. I don't need to open apps to see this stuff, it's in the watch basic glances.
I really like the Epix 2, it's an awesome sports and health monitor watch. It looks great, does everything I want (and a hundred things I don't need), and the battery lasts more than a week!
Last year in the pandemic I booked an appointment at the Apple shop, I wanted to buy a titanium Apple Watch. It was demo'ed to me and I realised that I hated everything about it - the inane user interface, the girly looks.
Now at least this Ultra doesn't look like it's made exclusively for women, I'll give you that.
But as a sports watch? One hour GPS tracking and no offline maps? No wonder they just show just the compass app in the ads. And by the way, Garmin's compass app is nicer.