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jwehman1

macrumors member
Original poster
Jun 26, 2014
38
29
I've been using my AW Series 8 now for a few weeks. Pretty much love the longer battery life and snappier overall feel...but the one thing I wanted to get out of the watch to replace my (relatively new) Garmin FR255 was an awesome outdoor sports experience. So far, I haven't been overly impressed. While the data that I gather is usually pretty accurate, I am often disappointed with some facet of the watch experience, whether that be running, walking or hiking/trail running.

Case in point - yesterday I went out for a 6 mile up/down (1500ft gain) trail run. I wore both my watches while out to try to get a feeling for which one I would ultimately prefer. I'd love to be able to use the AW in everything I do, since the data integrates so well with everything I do all day long.

But - while out, I noticed that the AW often does not display certain fields. Usually it's the "current pace" field (like when I'm running). Yesterday it was current pace + elevation. Attached are two pics - one of the AW the other of the FR255...showing, I guess, that GPS data *was* obtainable...just not being displayed on the AW. If I hit the "Compass" app on the AW, I could see the elevation, but when I went back to the sports workout app, the elevation was gone. I don't know. It's so frustrating. This, in combination with the HR often not being detected on my wrist (so I've reverted to wearing my Garmin HR Duo again to make sure that I capture that data), makes me think for serious outdoor stuff, I'll have to use the Garmin and leave the AW at home...

Anyone else see this? Oh - on a side note, I'm on Watch OS 9.1 Beta 4. But it's been doing this across a couple of betas...

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1665442989987.png
 
I would love to be able to use my GARMIN watch alongside my Apple Watch. I love everything about this watch, but the fitness functionality doesn’t touch GARMIN.
 
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I've been using my AW Series 8 now for a few weeks. Pretty much love the longer battery life and snappier overall feel...but the one thing I wanted to get out of the watch to replace my (relatively new) Garmin FR255 was an awesome outdoor sports experience. So far, I haven't been overly impressed. While the data that I gather is usually pretty accurate, I am often disappointed with some facet of the watch experience, whether that be running, walking or hiking/trail running.

Case in point - yesterday I went out for a 6 mile up/down (1500ft gain) trail run. I wore both my watches while out to try to get a feeling for which one I would ultimately prefer. I'd love to be able to use the AW in everything I do, since the data integrates so well with everything I do all day long.

But - while out, I noticed that the AW often does not display certain fields. Usually it's the "current pace" field (like when I'm running). Yesterday it was current pace + elevation. Attached are two pics - one of the AW the other of the FR255...showing, I guess, that GPS data *was* obtainable...just not being displayed on the AW. If I hit the "Compass" app on the AW, I could see the elevation, but when I went back to the sports workout app, the elevation was gone. I don't know. It's so frustrating. This, in combination with the HR often not being detected on my wrist (so I've reverted to wearing my Garmin HR Duo again to make sure that I capture that data), makes me think for serious outdoor stuff, I'll have to use the Garmin and leave the AW at home...

Anyone else see this? Oh - on a side note, I'm on Watch OS 9.1 Beta 4. But it's been doing this across a couple of betas...

View attachment 2092386


View attachment 2092388


No, haven't seen that. I did two hikes this weekend and didn't notice any issues with either. I'm not running the beta software though.

Beta software is unfinished. Comparing an AW with beta software to a Garmin with released software is hardly a reasonable comparison. I'm not saying that those are not real issues.
 
I've been using my AW Series 8 now for a few weeks. Pretty much love the longer battery life and snappier overall feel...but the one thing I wanted to get out of the watch to replace my (relatively new) Garmin FR255 was an awesome outdoor sports experience. So far, I haven't been overly impressed. While the data that I gather is usually pretty accurate, I am often disappointed with some facet of the watch experience, whether that be running, walking or hiking/trail running.

Case in point - yesterday I went out for a 6 mile up/down (1500ft gain) trail run. I wore both my watches while out to try to get a feeling for which one I would ultimately prefer. I'd love to be able to use the AW in everything I do, since the data integrates so well with everything I do all day long.

But - while out, I noticed that the AW often does not display certain fields. Usually it's the "current pace" field (like when I'm running). Yesterday it was current pace + elevation. Attached are two pics - one of the AW the other of the FR255...showing, I guess, that GPS data *was* obtainable...just not being displayed on the AW. If I hit the "Compass" app on the AW, I could see the elevation, but when I went back to the sports workout app, the elevation was gone. I don't know. It's so frustrating. This, in combination with the HR often not being detected on my wrist (so I've reverted to wearing my Garmin HR Duo again to make sure that I capture that data), makes me think for serious outdoor stuff, I'll have to use the Garmin and leave the AW at home...

Anyone else see this? Oh - on a side note, I'm on Watch OS 9.1 Beta 4. But it's been doing this across a couple of betas...

View attachment 2092386


View attachment 2092388

I haven’t noticed that bug either. I run/hike about 4 days per week. I’m not on the beta though.
 
Get the Ultra - it's more for your needs.
An Ultra would be nice to have but it’s certainly not a necessity for hiking and trail running. I’ve been using my Series 5 for both activities for years and it’s working well. I think the Ultra only really comes into its own on very long days or multi-day trips.

Workoutdoors is the real deal, not whether you use an Ultra or Series.
 
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I've used AW Series 4, 6 and now Ultra for trail running and hiking in the mountains. I used to use a Garmin Fenix watch. I've never had any issues at all with them. That said, I do use WorkOutDoors which provides all the data I would ever need plus a selection of different Topo maps which now include height data/lines.
 
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Same problem on Watch OS 8 and 9 on AW7 in hiking or walking mode - info is logged as training info shows but not displayed.
 
An Ultra would be nice to have but it’s certainly not a necessity for hiking and trail running. I’ve been using my Series 5 for both activities for years and it’s working well. I think the Ultra only really comes into its own on very long days or multi-day trips.

Workoutdoors is the real deal, not whether you use an Ultra or Series.
I'm just starting with Workoutdoors. Seems like a pretty cool app.

The Ultra may not be a necessity, but after using it on a couple hikes (came from a Series 6) I like it a lot. Battery is fantastic. I'm not worried about the charge as much as I was with the 6 or others before it. GPS seems better in the woods as well.
 
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I'm just starting with Workoutdoors. Seems like a pretty cool app.

The Ultra may not be a necessity, but after using it on a couple hikes (came from a Series 6) I like it a lot. Battery is fantastic. I'm not worried about the charge as much as I was with the 6 or others before it. GPS seems better in the woods as well.
I wish that they made two sizes of the Ultra. If they did, I would get it in a second. I have smaller wrists. I tried on an Ultra this past weekend and it made me feel like I was wearing an iPad on my wrist. Maybe the next series will have a couple of sizes if it ends up being really popular.
 
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