That's because Apple was bending people over just for the case material. Now they've shoved what should have been the last 2-3 series updates into the "Ultra" and bumped the price.
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Garmin Reacts to Apple Watch Ultra: 'We Measure Battery Life in Months. Not Hours.'
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Garmin makes safety critical avionics equipment for general aviation. They are not going any where.
Garmin still has the running community locked up with their Forerunner line. And likely will continue to until Apple makes a smaller lighter Ultra or a regular Apple Watch with a third button.
Garmin has their Nuvi automotive line which does GPS navigation and front and rear cameras for safety and security.
They sell avionics and marine products as well.
Like I said in a previous comment, Ultra is not for serious explorers or serious divers, Solar charging is a clever feature on Garmin, however regardless of their battery prowess, they've just lost at least half their customers to Apple
I’ve noted this in multiple other threads, that I recently passed my Watch series 5 to my mother-in-law and bought a Garmin Epix 2, knowing full well that Apple was working on a new Watch Pro. I knew there was no way Apple would be able to get more than a couple of days of battery life out of a Watch and that was a big reason for my wanting to switch to Garmin.
I get 2 weeks (14-16 days) of battery life out of the Epix, and that’s with workouts indoors and out, and wearing it 24/7 except for the occasional band change. Beyond the extended wear time between charges, it’s got better water resistance and a great suite of health and activity tracking features, a great looking screen and sapphire lens. Plus it comes with a more masculine look in the traditional round watch form, which I also was looking to get back to.
I agree with others that Garmin’s software could use some tweaking to make it easier to use and understand, but they have nailed it with the ability to use hard button pushes to operate an otherwise screen-touch capable device. This alone is a huge plus, that can be changed per activity, so that things you do in or around the water or with heavy perspiration can be button-only input, while others not effected by moisture can be touch or button activated.
I am intrigued by the new Watch Ultra, but I’m not going to order one. I’ll give my Garmin a couple of years of hard testing and perhaps a second generation of the Watch Ultra will push entice me enough to switch back.
I get 2 weeks (14-16 days) of battery life out of the Epix, and that’s with workouts indoors and out, and wearing it 24/7 except for the occasional band change. Beyond the extended wear time between charges, it’s got better water resistance and a great suite of health and activity tracking features, a great looking screen and sapphire lens. Plus it comes with a more masculine look in the traditional round watch form, which I also was looking to get back to.
I agree with others that Garmin’s software could use some tweaking to make it easier to use and understand, but they have nailed it with the ability to use hard button pushes to operate an otherwise screen-touch capable device. This alone is a huge plus, that can be changed per activity, so that things you do in or around the water or with heavy perspiration can be button-only input, while others not effected by moisture can be touch or button activated.
I am intrigued by the new Watch Ultra, but I’m not going to order one. I’ll give my Garmin a couple of years of hard testing and perhaps a second generation of the Watch Ultra will push entice me enough to switch back.
I wish the Apple Watch had better battery life but at the same time charging it every day is not that big of a deal either.
Garmin has expanded their customer base to budget models under $100 in the Forerunner line to the five-pack of Marq watches at $10K.
One of the big discussion topics in r/running and r/TrailRunning is the new AWU. Basically newbies asking about it. The AWU isn't taken seriously.
The majority of the people saying Garmin is toast are the ones that that wouldn’t truly consider a Garmin to start with. Go to any running club and look at everyone’s wrists, Garmin dominates.
If you think 60 hours is great, you don’t understand the impact of what low power mode means. It’s reduced GPS tracking and features and probably still based on 1-2 hours of activity. Low end Garmins get 20-30 hours of 1-second GPS tracking. Apple is saying 36 hours for *1 hour of activity* right now. That’s massively different. Low power mode for Garmins mean 95 days or something on the Enduro *while tracking*. I can run 8-10 hours a week with GPS and live tracking (cellular) and still only charge my watch 1-2 times a week.
It’s different markets people.
If you think 60 hours is great, you don’t understand the impact of what low power mode means. It’s reduced GPS tracking and features and probably still based on 1-2 hours of activity. Low end Garmins get 20-30 hours of 1-second GPS tracking. Apple is saying 36 hours for *1 hour of activity* right now. That’s massively different. Low power mode for Garmins mean 95 days or something on the Enduro *while tracking*. I can run 8-10 hours a week with GPS and live tracking (cellular) and still only charge my watch 1-2 times a week.
It’s different markets people.
One thing also to remember a longer battery life standard means you can use your device longer when battery degradation starts to happen. Even getting 14 hours less gps battery out of 34 hours is 20 hours, which is still pretty good. Just means less waste.
Same with cycling events. Half the people there either have a Garmin watch or cycling computer, with some even having their power meter pedals or their Varia radar lights.
Yeah this was my thought. Maybe not as poignant as what happened to BB w/ the iPhone introduction, but a dangerously similar attitude to be sure.
Really? epix™ (Gen 2)
All Satellite Systems + Music: Up to 10 hours (9 hours always-on) 😀😀😀😀
I went with the Epix 2, mainly because I wasn’t willing to deal with a low-res transflective LCD screen that the Fenix line uses. I was worried about not having full Apple connectivity, but I’m ok with seeing texts, emails, calls and other notifications pop up on my Epix and not be able to reply to them (when my iPhone is near). And when I’m running outside, I don’t want the distraction anyway. If you think about it, you’ll spend 20+ hours a day NOT working out, and in situations where your phone will more likely be accessible to get and reply to calls, etc. And with Garmin watches, you can not have to even think about charging the watch for 2-6 weeks at a time, which is REALLY nice, imho.
Solution: buy an Apple Watch for one wrist and a Garmin for the other 😉
I actually do sleep in my Series 7...it burns around 15% overnight.
And that reminds me of when the original iPhone was introduced and many people here said:
"Who asked for a non-mechanical keyboard?"
