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.
Tempted by a Apple watch
- Thread starter marcg868
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
Good to know! I always have mine on the charger when I'm sleeping.
I’m in a similar situation between Garmin and Apple.
The SE is a price friendly entry into Apple watches. The AW7 has bells and whistles that may or may not be useful.
Garmin’s Venu line is very comparable from both price and OLED display perspective.
But some of the test findings show AW are more accurate for sleep tracking and heart rate monitoring.
The biggest advantage Garmin has is battery life. They’re also more rugged looking with protective sides and bezels.
I hope the rumours of a rugged AW8 model come to fruition.
The SE is a price friendly entry into Apple watches. The AW7 has bells and whistles that may or may not be useful.
Garmin’s Venu line is very comparable from both price and OLED display perspective.
But some of the test findings show AW are more accurate for sleep tracking and heart rate monitoring.
The biggest advantage Garmin has is battery life. They’re also more rugged looking with protective sides and bezels.
I hope the rumours of a rugged AW8 model come to fruition.
I love Garmin GPS units and find them more capable with more features than Apple Maps.
why is it lame to you? I have found it quite capable in relation to what it's supposed to do.
The actual map doesn’t load at all for me on either app on my watch and I can never really just browse the map and discover as I would oj my phone. I’m seems like the app on the watch not works when just wanting to get to point B from your current location. And on Apple Maps you Gotta specifically search for the place you
Wanna go ‘accurately’ if you want the result to even come up in the first place.
I can’t search for restaurants in the area wanting to get a list
Of Chinese food options for example. The heavy lifting comes on the iPhone but never the watch alone.
Maps on the watch only works well if I say ‘directions home’ or directions to the nearest McDonald’s’ or ‘directions to the McDonald’s on Elm St.’ and if it does work then the directions just start and I have to blindly trust I’m going the right way if indeed it’s my first time going to said destination.
When it does come time to upgrade from my S4 to either S7 (cellular) or S8 (cellular) it won’t be because of Maps but cause of the freedom to leave my phone behind and still get calls and messages.
Edit: I have to admit after posting this that I just now opened both Apple Maps and Google Maps on my Watch and played with both for a bit and Apple Maps has way more functionality in regards to search than Google Maps, even able to move around the map with an Eagle eye POV. Google Maps however is super lame with really only Home & Work as destinations, anything else has gotta first be done on Google Maps on the iPhone.
I did have Google Maps on my iPhone as well as Waze at one time and deleted them both. I only use AppleMaps now.
I was about to say if you tried Apple Maps on the watch as I have used it actively several times and what you'd escribe is there. I do however must admit that I mainly use my watch to look if I'm going in the right direction when walking vs looking at my phone. That haptic feedback is useful in case I missed turned.
Hi all, been debating on making a change from a low-end Garmin (230) to an Apple Watch for quite awhile myself. Rather than start a new thread thought I'd tag on here but can pivot to my own thread if needed.
I love the idea of running with cellular, leaving my phone behind, etc. Some roadblocks that have always kept me from making this transition are basically as follows:
1) Spotify, Audible, Podcasts: Are all of these supportable now? And I assume if using cellular I can stream but is it also possible to store locally if I want to turn cellular off to preserve battery?
2) Battery Life: I'm not the fastest runner. I know these will be fine to support anything in my time range on a half marathon. But for the occasional full... will this work? Let's assume I need 5-5.5 hours for worst case situation.
3) How are the on watch metrics? I basically like to track overall pace, lap pace (that I have dropped to 0.25 miles on my watch), total time, and cumulative total distance. Does Apple Watch support this?
Thanks all!
I love the idea of running with cellular, leaving my phone behind, etc. Some roadblocks that have always kept me from making this transition are basically as follows:
1) Spotify, Audible, Podcasts: Are all of these supportable now? And I assume if using cellular I can stream but is it also possible to store locally if I want to turn cellular off to preserve battery?
2) Battery Life: I'm not the fastest runner. I know these will be fine to support anything in my time range on a half marathon. But for the occasional full... will this work? Let's assume I need 5-5.5 hours for worst case situation.
3) How are the on watch metrics? I basically like to track overall pace, lap pace (that I have dropped to 0.25 miles on my watch), total time, and cumulative total distance. Does Apple Watch support this?
Thanks all!
1. Yeah you can if you want download all that into the watch before he workout. I’ve done so and saves battery life a ton since cellular is not working overtime during your run.
2. I have an S4 and a few months ago did like 20 miles in about 6 hours. Walked some ran some. Went from 100% to around 40%.
3. All the metrics you requested are there and work date I say flawlessly. The watch is perfect imo for two aspects; exercising and receiving quick notifications such as messages and calls. YouTube what kind of workouts you’ll be doing and get a feel for the Metrics involved.
Yeah, fast charging is a real game-changer for how I use the Apple Watch. I upgraded to S7 from an older generation, and of all the improvements, this one has made the biggest practical difference. It's also worth mentioning the larger display. Some people say the difference is too small to have any practical significance, but previous versions feel cramped to me now. It is noticeable, at least to me. But fast charging is the real big feature, though, it means I don't have to plan around finding enough time to charge before going out in the morning, it literally charges back to 100% while I'm showering and drinking coffee. Improved battery life in general, always-on display and louder speakers are also good improvements.
To answer your questions directly:
You don't need one. But, fair warning, once you have one, you will never want to be without one.
I have a Garmin Forerunner 735XT (from my younger, more athletic days) and I've had Apple Watches since they came out.
A Garmin forerunner is better for running. The Apple Watches were all much better at everything else.
One of the things that has impressed me with the Apple Watch is that it keeps on getting better and better at being a fitness watch. You can enhance its utility at a particular activity (running, cycling, etc) by using dedicated apps on the device, eg Strava.
When my S3 Apple Watch died during lockdown, I started to use my Garmin as my daily watch. It was a very disappointing experience. If I hadn't had an Apple Watch, I would have probably thought it was fine, but it was a very very poor substitute. It was so bad I went back to wearing my old non-smart watch while waiting for the new Apple Watch model to come out.
An SE will be fine if you don't want to pay for one of the other models. They are fantastic value and not everyone needs the extra features of the more expensive devices.