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 Reacts to Apple Watch Ultra: 'We Measure Battery Life in Months. Not Hours.'
- Thread starter MacRumors
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
That’s why I gave up on the AW. It was on the bedside table every night
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.
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.
Garmin are clearly worried, Apple Watch Ultra is not for serious explorers, however neither is Garmin with 150 hrs in GPS mode, they're also misleading using the word months, as it's only 34 days in smart watch mode and it's not a very smart watch 🤣
Garmin has reacted to Apple's new rugged Apple Watch Ultra, saying in a tweet following the iPhone 14 and Apple Watch event that it measures battery life in "months" and "not hours," promoting its latest Enduro 2 watch for athletes.
The tweet attempts to highlight how compared to the Apple Watch Ultra, Garmin's Enduro 2 can last for months rather than hours. The Apple Watch Ultra has the longest battery life of any Apple Watch to date, with Apple promising up to 36 hours of normal use and up to 60 hours with watchOS 9's new Low Power Mode setting and other optimizations.
Despite Garmin's claim that it measures battery life in months and not hours, the company does actually advertise the Endor 2 as having "up to 150 hours of battery life in GPS mode with solar charging" and "up to 34 days of battery life in smartwatch mode." The Enduro 2 has a 1.4-inch solar-powered display, compared to the nearly 2-inch display on the Apple Watch Ultra that can reach a peak brightness of 2,000 nits, the brightest ever in an Apple Watch.
The Apple Watch Ultra also has a wide range of advanced sensors, including the ability to take an ECG, measure blood oxygen level, alerts for high and low heart rates, and a new body temperature sensor focusing on women's health.
The Apple Watch Ultra is offered in a 49mm case and costs $799, while the Enduro 2 costs $1,099. The Apple Watch Ultra was made available for pre-order earlier this week and will begin shipping on Friday, September 23.
Article Link: Garmin Reacts to Apple Watch Ultra: 'We Measure Battery Life in Months. Not Hours.'
I used mine for sleep tracking, but I made a habit of putting it on the charger when I got home while I ate dinner, washed up, and read the kids bedtime stories. It made sense because by 6-7pm it was almost out of battery.
I’m really looking forward to trying it on at the store and impulse buying it 😂Can’t wait to get my Ultra
Garmin has Connect & a whole list of compatible training products w/ ANT+ that works seamlessly with their products, like Foot-pods, pedals for cycling & stuff for swimming. Plus, Garmin has multiple types work out plans for running, cycling(including training for a Gran Fondo 75mi, mtb rides & general riders who just want to improve). It works pretty well when I tried it.
The tweet attempts to highlight how compared to the Apple Watch Ultra, Garmin's Enduro 2 can last for months rather than hours. The Apple Watch Ultra has the longest battery life of any Apple Watch to date, with Apple promising up to 36 hours of normal use and up to 60 hours with watchOS 9's new Low Power Mode setting and other optimizations.
Er, not attempts, succeeds.
Does Garmin suck more than Samsung
Well arguably Samsung may suck less than Apple this year, my Galaxy Watch Pro 5 easily lasts 3 days, close to 4 days, and with low power mode I'm sure it would last a week. Still not Garmin times, but definitely getting there.
Garmin's low-power GPS mode is called Expedition mode and lasts up to 65 days of battery or 95 days with solar charging. The idea is that you can go on a weekend camping trip or an expedition to the south pole without charging.
I just like to not have to charge it regularly.
Garmin has a decade of my biometrics and workout activity and that data makes the Garmin very sticky.
Is the Ultra perfect? No! However 36 hours = 2 days unless you don't sleep! and PS. they don't sell in millions and whatever they do sell, they've just lost half their customers🤣
Sort of. The Apple Watch costs $799 + the cost of a recent model iPhone + the cost of a phone cellular plan + the cost of a watch cellular plan.
Last edited:
A cycling friend of mine has a Garmin. I use my iPhone + Apple Watch + Cyclometer.
The biggest difference is that Garmin has much better first party support of external sensors and fitness related aspects.
Garmin:
External Sensors 1st party
Apple Watch:
Only HR External Sensor.
Cadence/Speed/Power Meter/etc requires iPhone plus a mediocre app.
I love my AW but they have been in a different category from Garmin for a long time. Apple Watch seems to be catching up to a degree, finally in WatchOS 9 maybe we can run triathlons..
The biggest difference is that Garmin has much better first party support of external sensors and fitness related aspects.
Garmin:
External Sensors 1st party
Apple Watch:
Only HR External Sensor.
Cadence/Speed/Power Meter/etc requires iPhone plus a mediocre app.
I love my AW but they have been in a different category from Garmin for a long time. Apple Watch seems to be catching up to a degree, finally in WatchOS 9 maybe we can run triathlons..
Unless your gun runs out of battery...
Garmins are for true athletes. At the end of the day apple watches are for casual hobby joggers and hobby hikers
What features are lacking that doesn't make it smart? It has a lot of the same features as an apple watch other than certain limitations apple has put on non-apple watches.
All the talk about metrics, although this is not going to convince Garmin users, it's important to note that Garmin's metrics are a function of an app, like the Workoutdoors app on an AW, which I contend is more comprehensive than Garmin S/W. http://www.workoutdoors.net/index.html
Darth Tulhu
macrumors 68020
Well, it was Garmin who shot across Apple's bow. Time will tell if AW bites into Garmin sales.
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.