Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I don't know, if I'm hanging off the side of a mountain - the amount of days my watch will hold a charge seems to be more important than how bright the screen gets or how many complications I can fit on the screen at one time.
Ya know, you can have as many complications as you want, or none at all. I’m also sincerely curious, do climbers who do several day climbs (like El Cap) not carry extra batteries to recharge their phones or other electronic equipment?
 
No, Garmin isn’t going away like Blackberry. Even when they offered car GPS units, it was just a segment of their overall business. They’re into TONS of markets including avionics and other professional-use mapping/tracking technologies. They’ve also been selling running/activity watches for ~20 years. There is no doubt that Apple getting more into one segment of their business could have a negative effect, but it also could benefit them as people compare performance/looks/pricing between brands.

The market these days is Nav systems that also record front view and rear view. I still prefer using one of their Nuvi Nav systems rather than doing it on a cellphone.
 
You'd have to argue longer than 3 days and still lose the argument 😡 I won't bother disappointing you, in telling you why 😊

Meh, you're not convincing me. I'll take 3-4 days of battery life over maybe 1 1/2 days.
 
Last edited:
Well! Someone is worried…

Apple Watch Ultra really is the ultimate smartwatch of all time. I feel like I’m the only person that thinks it’s a good deal too. I mean, it’s so much more rugged and tough than the Titanium Series 7 with a larger, brighter display and way more features yet costs $50 less with a fancy new $99 band.

I’m definitely buying the second gen next year when my Series 4 will be on its last leg. All I need is battery to get me through a day. I could see this watch easily lasting me most of the rest of this decade.
 
  • Like
Reactions: decypher44
Unless you are on an endless long journey like a Hobbit from LOTR , I don't see why you absolutely NEED that long of battery life. I think around 3 days is a happy medium for 99% of the population.
 
Also, who needs their smart watch to last MONTHS on a single charge? Yeah, it would be nice I guess but it’s definitely overkill.
From a longevity & battery degradation standpoint it's a good feature. So instead of replacing your device after 2 1/2 year since it can't hold a charge as well as before, it's now 5 years. That could mean less waste & saved a little on not buying another watch or doing a battery swap.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Uofmtiger
Should have included, 'we can measure power meters and other athlete tools because we support Ant+'.
After I started cycling I found that pretty much everything works with Ant+ and Garmin devices instead of Apple Watch. I still record my bike rides with Apple Watch, but most of the data from my electronic group set, radar rear light (and I bought a heart rate monitor that supports Ant+) come to the Garmin 530 Head unit. I may add a power meter to complete the package later. The depth of data and the analysis + Strava integration is something that Apple is not willing to do. So I doubt that Apple is serious about this. Maybe it’s good for diving.

(Yes the price of some Garmin devices are crazy but we can always buy alternatives that support ANT+)
 
Last edited:
It really is. Apple is getting too smug for the little they innovate. It's all pretty smoke and mirrors.
Garmin is just butt-hurt here. Apple’s watch does sooo much more this was all they had. And even that is deceptive. They are trying to prevent a massive stock crash.
 
  • Like
Reactions: decypher44
I’ve never owned Garmin, is having a battery that lasts weeks really an improvement or is it like range anxiety for electric vehicles?

My experience with an s3 watch is that I put it on to charge every evening by habit (even though I’d often get through the day with more than 50% left).

I’d love a longer battery life (5+ hour swims kill it), but I feel like I just need it to last a day whatever I do with it?

Feels like a daily habit is easy to form, but remembering to charge once a month is paradoxically something I’m more likely to forget?

The battery life improvements in Apple Silicon are a really big deal in terms of quality of life for me as I don't need to worry about power for a workday. The battery life on my watch is really nice as it's on my wrist more than it is on the charger and one fewer thing to worry about. If you run a lot, it's nice to not have to worry about running out of juice or have battery anxiety in general. I assume the same for biking. The bikers use specialized Garmin electronics to measure things that a watch can't measure. I have a Keiser bike and it doesn't work with Garmin. So some guy build a small electronic device to measure pedal power on Keiser m3i bikes to send the data over to Garmin watches and he can't keep up with the demand. I wish that Keiser made such a device - I'm sure that they get asked about it all the time.
 
I’ve never owned Garmin, is having a battery that lasts weeks really an improvement or is it like range anxiety for electric vehicles?

My experience with an s3 watch is that I put it on to charge every evening by habit (even though I’d often get through the day with more than 50% left).

I’d love a longer battery life (5+ hour swims kill it), but I feel like I just need it to last a day whatever I do with it?

Feels like a daily habit is easy to form, but remembering to charge once a month is paradoxically something I’m more likely to forget?
I switched from a series 5 AW to a Garmin Epix 2 and not having to even think about charging the watch for 2 weeks is a big deal. I wear it 24/7, only removing it occasionally to change the band. And because of this, I get good sleep metric, HRV data, training readiness, etc. It’s interesting how I used to get nervous when my Watch hit 20% battery knowing I had hours left before needing to charge. But with the Epix 2, 20% is still days of battery life remaining. There are other models that offer twice the battery life, but then you have to be ok with using a low-res transflective LCD screen.
 
  • Like
Reactions: planteater


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.

apple-watch-ultra-2.jpg

While 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, the Enduro 2 can last significantly longer depending on usage scenarios.


Despite Garmin's claim that it measures battery life in months, the company actually advertises the Enduro 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.'
My Garmin Instinct lasts for at least a week on a charge - more with sunshine. It’s not as sexy as an Apple Watch but it’s a great outdoor rugged sports watch. I’d rather use my instinct, but I don’t dive. I think that use case is where the Ultra shines. I love my Apple Watch for day to day work.
 
I measure the time until Garmin’s bankruptcy in months, not years.
Smartwatch maybe, but for cycling and other sports they are huge. Of course not Apple-huge. But it’s sufficient to keep them afloat.
 
I am not into "ultra" sports or adventures, but when they announced the Apple Watch it made me wonder about how the battery life would be an issue in quite a few of those activities. I guess the market is really for middle aged persons who really want to think they are elite athletes and have the disposable income to buy the Apple Watch to then just do a few hours of barely "ultra" activities. Nice watch with nice features, but I doubt someone serious would risk their lives in an adventure to this watch that will run out of battery quite quickly. I guess a good compass and a good waterproofed map might do the trick for low tech, no need for power packs or solar chargers. Again, nothing against the watch, just that I don't think it is a survival tool for someone out in the wilderness.
 
  • Disagree
Reactions: AlexMac89
Well, it's true.

Apple users have always had a disconnect on battery life. The new Ultra will be nice, but it's a long way from great.

On the other hand, if you check the measurements for Garmin with music, the numbers get a lot closer, and there, it's definitely measured in hours. Their watches simply aren't well optimized for it.

Both companies, in their recent product iterations have inched towards one another. Garmin with the touch screen, the Venu has Siri integration, and now Apple is giving us something with something towards endurance athletes. Neither watch is really more than 10 to 20 percent into the other's core demographic but it's nice to see both getting better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PaladinGuy
I know this is an Apple forum so it’s expected that Garmin take a bit of a kicking. I still think the Fenix 7X much better suits my use case (can you imagine a 6 hour, 100 mile bike ride with an AW?) but you rakes your choice.

However it’s worth noting that a Garmin tweet has generated over 200 posts on an Apple forum, that’s advertising for you
 
No, Garmin isn’t going away like Blackberry. Even when they offered car GPS units, it was just a segment of their overall business. They’re into TONS of markets including avionics and other professional-use mapping/tracking technologies. They’ve also been selling running/activity watches for ~20 years. There is no doubt that Apple getting more into one segment of their business could have a negative effect, but it also could benefit them as people compare performance/looks/pricing between brands.
This is actually some of the issue I've been finding...as their consumer market shrinks, the product support wanes.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.