Probably Friday; that's when the first orders will ship. There's usually an embargo until then.
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Garmin Reacts to Apple Watch Ultra: 'We Measure Battery Life in Months. Not Hours.'
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Probably Friday; that's when the first orders will ship. There's usually an embargo until then.
Campers usually come prepared, so they would just bring along an 8 ounce battery if they were gonna be out for a week or so. For longer excursions, they already have solar paneled backpacks readily available. At this point, I am really not seeing much justification solely based on battery life for the vast majority of consumers.
Longer runtime off the wire is always desirable, be it a watch, phone or notebook. The increased functionality and ruggedisation of the Ultra will draw more attention. Ultra will not beat out Casio or Garmin on battery runtime, however, is very much a step in the right direction for AW and I fully expect the Ultra line will catch up fast...
Q-6
My point is they don’t need to catch them on battery life for everyone but outliers. The watch is like the phone, most just put it on a charger when they sleep. Those doing sleep measurements will need to find 45 minutes or so to top it off. It becomes a routine. i think most will choose features over battery life if they can get through a very long day with it ( marathoners, etc)… which is the trade off Apple made with it. I don‘t see Apple making 20 watches for niche groups. They have 3 watches now that serve the vast majority… the real limit on expanding users is the fact it is tethered to the iPhone. Apple has made the decision that this is worth the trade off, too… at least for now.
Yes sir and most outliers are going to have backup for a year in the way of solar.
If you are referring to a watch that does a year without charging, that isnt in Apple‘s market any more than a $40 Timex that goes years without a charge.
Back when the initial iPhone hit the market, people said it didn’t have a keyboard, removable memory, and the battery wasn’t replaceable like it was on similarly priced phones. What we found out over time was very few people needed those features so bad they would miss out on this new design. Sure, there were niche cases that held onto their Treos, blackberries, and sidekicks for a while but most eventually moved to a phone with some or all of those missing features. I think a lot of people will move to the Ultra because it will fit their needs better than other fitness watches and they will find a way to live with the 2 day battery… MKBHD said he was getting more than 48 hours out of it with a lot of activity.
I just think this Ultra watch has some larger obstacles than their regular watches… price, size, and overall look. It isn’t for everyone which makes me wonder what kind of numbers Apple wants to continue pushing it into these markets. It will be interesting to see where it goes.
Most reviews are in, battery lifetime seems longer than advertised, also a runners world review was quite interesting (the sports watch being suitable for 95% of all runners).
It will eat a lot of Garmins cake
It will eat a lot of Garmins cake
Yeah.
They were squeezed from top and bottom. Fitbit isn't good enough to compete with $300-$1000 Apple Watch. But it isn't also better-than-the-competition enough to compete with $30 Xiaomi Band.
They missed the boat on doing a Fitness+-like service to set it apart. Or some other software thing.
Garmin has the advantage of being higher-end… for now. I don't think Apple is interested in the very extreme market niches. The question is whether that's enough for them to stay in the watch market.
You just wonder if they will end up in those niches eventually as they make more efficient chips and third parties start having an interest in developing apps for these niche cases?
A lot of products only serve the high end market, but the products start getting more expensive. Would not be surprised to see the Garmin niche’ watches to start to move up in price as the more consumer friendly products don’t sell as well.
Nope. I am talking solar back up. The few people I know pack solar chargers when they go out for a week, so not to chance it in case they get lost/stuck or simply want to keep packing. They charge collapsable lights, cameras, and some bring their phone to update social media when they acquire a signal. The AWU absolutely meets the needs of people who trek all day, and I don’t believe having to charge it while staying out is an obstacle to many. I would say very few people take a watch with no back up for a week into uncharted territory, but Garmin would have us believe that’s their only option as a selling point.
Hi Alan,
I found the tone of your post slightly aggressive - unnecessarily. I never said the Apple Watch 7 was bad. I just said the battery life wasn't great and as far as the ultra went I thought it could get quite expensive to match the full set of Garmin measures. Obviously as a smartwatch the Apple is far superior (you'll have no argument from me on that) and for sleep tracking its more accurate pure and simply. Its syncing to the apple eco system is truly seamles and you never have to think about it. Its the best smartwatch out there bar none. I had a 7 I now have an Ultra (my 7 was 5 months old)!
I feel quite strongly that the two devices aren't covering exactly the same market. The Garmin is definitely more specialised and has its advantages if that specialisation is where you're at. Devices like the Epix 2 certainly muddy the waters (display etc + battery life make them appealing and of course there's the obvious shape thing - if you prefer a round device). They lose out as a true smartwatch.
The Apple Watch 7 forced me to check charge multiple times a day and get it charged all the time. The Garmin became almost a background thing you just forget about it. Every now and again I would glance at it and suddenly realise that oh its getting low I'll charge it. With the Apple it was a case of oh crap I haven't checked my watch in the last couple of hours (range anxiety) - eeeekk. A bout of heavy usage and I'd have a check to see if it was ok. I have found myself out and about and had to actually switch it off because I forgot (usually to switch on the button on the usb extender I had to plug it into). This did not happen often I'll admit but it happened and its annoying when it does. I have also found myself in a position where I've had to delay or miss measuring an exercise session because I forgot to charge. On the plus side it charges quite fast.
The Garmin BTW never got a months use (thats nonsense). I got to 22 days on a few occasions with the transreflective screen which frankly indoors I found pretty grim at my age (outdoors in bright sunshine it was great). The Epix 2 I saw was pretty much like the Apple but then only has about a 7 day life according to rumors - its better than the Ultra but no longer as good as the Fenix.
Charging was quick certainly to levels that would last you days so if by some chance you forgot to charge it, it was easy to get sufficient charge for almost any multi day activity you needed within a very short time. 15 minutes got you adequate charge for a good few hours.
So now the Ultra. I got mine Sunday 25 Oct. Charged it up Sunday afternoon. Played a bit. I turned off always on. Set the display brightness to the lowest setting. Didn't do anything else. Usage was a combo of sitting at my desk, doing some moderate exercise without activating any specific app. A few calls. 2 bouts of Navigation for about 35 minutes (v light usage) and sleep tracking nightly (apple sleep and auto sleep). I had to charge it again Thursday night late. I was very impressed. On the second charge it might be consuming power a bit faster but just checking now its Saturday 1st Oct at 10: am and its still sitting at 64%. I'm using autosleep and apple sleep at night for sleep tracking and its running an app called training today which is tracking training readiness (fromt he apple watch triathlete blog) - its not giving all the recovery stats that Garmin does but I got in before they started a subscription basis so have avoided big bills (I had Covid so don't want to strain my heart by going too hard too early). I'm very impressed with it. My charging anxiety has gone. Its good enough
Your comment about the cost of apps was a good one. My comment on the potential cost was very definitely a speculation. I have had experiences where one off subscriptions turn into a we're no longer going to offer updates on your one off and then you need to find another app. I've been burnt before. To get the sort of coverage on the full range of measures for a Garmin Fenix or Epix, I suspect you will need more than one app and I suspect some of them will need monthly subscriptions (its a speculation but I don't think its unreasonable - I have not done any real in depth analysis to try to match them - nobody should be scared off by my comment. Be aware but do your own research for your use case). Either way there is likely to be an ongoing cost. If you're going to get serious the Garmin is likely to be the cheaper option. That said you might match much of the functionality of it with say a chest strap from say Polar linked to your watch (if they have an app).
I'm not a pro athlete. I'm a slightly tubby 54 year old mamil (Covid is to blame) with a gadget fetish who likes nice toys and has the money to indulge (its a cheap hobby compared to some). Prior to getting sick I kept myself trim with moderate exercise. Bike rides, some weights and calisthenics and indoor rowing (sometimes for hours). I'm a data geek so like tracking my fitness and readiness of training. I'm not looking to compete but stay healthy to a decent level. I'm also not looking to go full multi day Grizzly Adams either (a strenuous wilderness day long hike with a 30kg backpack and some camera gear with a hot tub and a glass of Sancerre is more me :->) and you wont get me anywhere near a mountain climb - I quake at the thought. I like depths not heights. I would use the Ultra for diving if I can get the ear problems Covid gave me sorted out (those days might be over). I don't need all the Garmin measures. I was actually rather taken with the accurate sleep tracking (much better apparently than Garmin) and the very accurate heart rate sensor (about the same as Garmin).
I'm not wedded to Apple though the kit is nicely designed and tends to be reliable and the in store experience is amongst the best you can get in the UK. I suspect real world use for a serious athletic type who is using the watch to its full potential, with music, navigation, plus the smart phone use would probably reduce its battery life to a one day affair. I can see myself reducing it to a 2 day affair which I still feel is a bit short but I can accept. To get the titanium case plus the sapphire glass plus the bigger screen (not a lot but it does make a difference to 54 year old eyes) for the price I considered to be a no brainer. The trade in value against a Garmin would also be better. Overall I think the Ultra is a fantastic semi luxury training device for most people with the money to indulge. Apple really outdid themselves with this one in my view (especially if you've got wrists big enough to take it).
As to your other points I suspect that most Garmin users are like most other smartwatch users. They use the watch to tell the time and occasionally remember to track an activity. If they go to the gym they'll track that. they'll track their steps. The serious data collectors who are using the watch in a hardcore way are probably 20% of the user base. That 20% probably uses 80% of the measures. Those people wont object to spending the money on subscriptions as they're probably using coaches and subscriptions for other fitness related stuff.
I think Apple has nailed most of the other smartwatch aspects that appeal to the general population better than Garmin. I think there's room for both and having choices is great. I do wish the likes of Samsung would improve the accuracy of their devices so they become serious contenders too.
I also agree that Apple supplies:
Convenience
Coverage
Quality
Customer Service
A high street presence
And for people for whom its important an aspirational brand or label
All under one roof. Its very very compelling for most people. It leaves room for niche providers but not a lot. I hope it doesn't kill Garmin in the health and fitness sector as they have been a bit of a pioneer along with Fitbit but they exist in other sectors anyway.