Why to choose AW Series 3 over another sport smartwatch?

[MajkJaro]

I started a thread a while ago, when I didn’t know that AW Series 3 is going to hit the streets.

A am thinking about buying a smartwatch but mostly I am concerned - what do I need it for? What do people use it for most often? How many of you thought that mainly it will be used as a sport watch but it became a second phone on your hand?

I do sports - mainly indoor cycling and tennis. Sometimes I run. I need a watch that I can wear from morning till night. A watch that I wont even notice that it is on my hand. Would love to try sleep monitoring. Mainly counting steps, distance, HR, burnt calories. Some hiking maybe 3 times a year.

How many of you thought that your smartwatch will be used mainly for sport tracking but it ended more like having notifications, calendar and other stuff. This is why I am debating Apple or Garmin (735/935, Fenix5). Some say that AW is a smartwatch and Garmin a sportwatch. My main concern is the battery for AW.

Another problem is that cellular is not supported in Poland - if I am to buy an AW S3 I would like to use it with all its features. But probably no plans for cellular AW in Poland in the future (dont know why, we have a couple cellular providers).

So my main concern is whether I would love to see a watch that combines the features of both. Or an Apple Watch with a 3day battery? Trying to persuade myself to buy one of the watches. But which one would suit me better? Thanks for your feedback.

 

[44267547]

The Apple Watch is more of a multi tool. It does so many things differently, that suits everyone in different ways. And being that you can't take advantage of LTE, perhaps you could look into a Series one Apple Watch, which is significantly cheaper and has fitness capabilities and a lot of the other functionality the other Apple Watch models have, with the exception of the GPS, brighter dislay and water resistance being the main differences for the Series 3.

The Apple Watch is rated 18 hours, but it depends how you use your Apple Watch of that will contribute to the longevity of the battery. However, if you were looking for the strongest battery of all the Apple Watch models, that would be the Series 3 Apple Watch, which could easily last two days pending usage.

 

[John-F]

I have all three: AW 3, Garmin Forerunner 935, and Fenix 5x. As for cellular - if it does come to Poland you would need an AW 3 purchased in Europe or a compatible area. Unlike the iPhone, the AW 3 does not contain all bands for all areas.

As for battery, both Garmins last much longer than the AW 3 - so if you want to go for days, depending on usage, the Garmins would be the way to go. If you want to use the watch all day and also for sleep monitoring, the battery on the AW 3 would be a limiting factor, again depending on usage.

As for weight, the AW 3 is very light, but the Forerunner 935 is also very light. It is larger, but I don't think you would be bothered by it. The Fenix 5x is much heavier. You would definitely notice that.

A major consideration would also be the apps to do what you want. But that you can research.

Hope that helps.

 

[MajkJaro]

Beside the battery - how would you rate functionality of all three? The Fenix has the best looks but it feels a bit uncomfortable when doing sports like tennis?
Apple Watch and 935 is very light. In Poland 935 costs the same as the Fenix5...

AW with its support for 3rd party apps looks like the most versatile. But more apps and gps - it gives you only 4 hours of battery life. And that sucks.

How would you rank stuff like calendar, notifications?

 

[cardfan]

I stay active too mainly playing a few sports that I like. But man, I just have no desire to want to measure steps taken and all that. I just don't need to. Then you're spending time on making sure you don't lose the info, trying to make sure it's accurate, battery, and what do you even do with it? Exercise more? Pat yourself on back? I understand some need to complete the rings as goals or motivation but i don't need that either as I kind of like and don't miss playing each week if possible. I turned all the health stuff off on watch besides the heart rate stuff.

 

[PatrickNSF]

I use both the Garmin 935 and an Apple Watch (Series 3 now).

I prefer the Garmin for running (better screen, more detailed data) and the AW for the rest of the day (general activity tracking and Health integration, notifications, replying to texts and picking up calls).

The AW is fine for casual running, but I find track workouts, tempo runs, long runs (> 16 miles) and actual races are better suited for the Garmin.

And although the Garmin receives notifications, one of the downsides to using it as my daily watch is that the notifications rely bluetooth. I often don't have my phone on me during the day – and work from home – so I miss notifications on the Garmin when I'm out of bluetooth range. Because the AW also uses wifi, I never miss notifications using it.

 

[John-F]

Beside the battery - how would you rate functionality of all three? The Fenix has the best looks but it feels a bit uncomfortable when doing sports like tennis?
Apple Watch and 935 is very light. In Poland 935 costs the same as the Fenix5...

AW with its support for 3rd party apps looks like the most versatile. But more apps and gps - it gives you only 4 hours of battery life. And that sucks.

How would you rank stuff like calendar, notifications?

Mine is the Fenix 5x not the 5 - edited my post. So not sure about weight difference between the 5 and 5x. But I would not want to wear the 5x while playing tennis. Just too bulky. As for calendar and notifications, I don't use them so I can't say. If the AW 3 is used along with an iPhone, then the phone provides all the functionality that you might need during the day. The AW 3 is great for listening to Apple Music. The AW 3 battery is better than 4 hours unless you are heavily loading it. That would be kind of like complaining that the AW 3 battery is not good because you can't use LTE for several hours. Overall, I think you would be happiest with the 935.

 

[Pseudo-Fed]

I have AW2 and AW3 LTE. I also have F3 and F5X. Shame you can’t use LTE. I agree 935 for you. However if same price as F5 I would get the F5. You’ll get used to the weight. Not much different than the Rolexes I see people playing tennis in, and you’ll love the extra features. Especially sapphire crystal I think over the 935 and generally more rugged.

Quick fit bands are fun.

 

[satchmo]

I started a thread a while ago, when I didn’t know that AW Series 3 is going to hit the streets.

A am thinking about buying a smartwatch but mostly I am concerned - what do I need it for? What do people use it for most often? How many of you thought that mainly it will be used as a sport watch but it became a second phone on your hand?

I do sports - mainly indoor cycling and tennis. Sometimes I run. I need a watch that I can wear from morning till night. A watch that I wont even notice that it is on my hand. Would love to try sleep monitoring. Mainly counting steps, distance, HR, burnt calories. Some hiking maybe 3 times a year.

How many of you thought that your smartwatch will be used mainly for sport tracking but it ended more like having notifications, calendar and other stuff. This is why I am debating Apple or Garmin (735/935, Fenix5). Some say that AW is a smartwatch and Garmin a sportwatch. My main concern is the battery for AW.

Another problem is that cellular is not supported in Poland - if I am to buy an AW S3 I would like to use it with all its features. But probably no plans for cellular AW in Poland in the future (dont know why, we have a couple cellular providers).

So my main concern is whether I would love to see a watch that combines the features of both. Or an Apple Watch with a 3day battery? Trying to persuade myself to buy one of the watches. But which one would suit me better? Thanks for your feedback.

At this point, Garmin is still the preferred 'sports' watch. The metrics is much more detailed as it's geared to a more hardcore fitness enthusiasts. I think Apple purposely has kept it's data to be more general for the average person trying to get or stay in shape. It all depends on how granular you need your data to be. I think many people get over obsessed with metrics that really isn't that important if you're not training competitively.

Also, consider the Garmin Vivoactive 3. It looks more like a regular watch as opposed to a sportwatch like the other Garmin models you mentioned.

 

[AlterZgo]

I'm doing this exact comparison now. I bought both the Garmin Fenix 5S and AW3 cellular at the same time. There are things I like about both, but after a week of extensive usage, I'm leaning towards the AW3 and will return the Fenix 5S.

Fenix 5S pros:

• More comfortable for me. While the AW3 is slightly lighter, the Fenix feels better. For whatever reason, the heart rate sensor does not feel as intrusive as on the AW3. I have to wear the AW3 band looser to prevent soreness from the heart rate sensor.
• Better overall sports tracking features. More customizable menus.
• Easy, seamless pairing w/ iPhoneX. Notifications appear on the Fenix virtually instantly whereas the AW3 lags by a few seconds. Sometimes, it feels like text msgs appear on the Fenix before they even appear on the iPhone. It's that quick.
• Wifi allows all data to upload quickly and it seems the latest data is in Garmin connect as soon as I'm done w/ the workout.
• Looks much better IMO. Looks like a nice watch whereas the AW3 looks like a boring gadget that has fallen behind what Samsung is doing w/ their Gear watches and what Garmin and others are doing w/ their sports and activity tracking watches.
• Quick connect bands are excellent and seem to be better made and more easy to use than the AW3 bands.
• Satellite acquisition for GPS is fast - like takes literally 5 seconds or less.
• Excellent battery life - even on this much smaller Fenix 5S, with 1 hour of running a day and all day regular usage, I can probably go 4-5 days before charging. This is with 1 second tracking turned on and GLONAS enabled. I could probably extend charging times to over a week if necessary.

Fenix 5S cons:

• Screen totally sucks. It's even worse because I'm wearing both AW3 and Fenix at the same time and the difference is gigantic between the 2. The non-lit LCD screen is not very easy to see even in bright sunlight, indoors or outdoors. Sure it's OK, but I could swear all of my old Garmins (910xt, 405, etc.) were all more legible than the Fenix 5S. Don't expet colors and brightness to be ANYTHING at all like most of the pictures you see on the internet. Those nice watch faces you can download for free? Yeah. They look like crappy pale imitations when downloaded to the watch. This is THE most disappointing thing for me.
• Apps are OK, but don't seem as well integrated or useful as on the AW3.
• Charging connector to watch is proprietary. Like we need yet another specific charger. No wireless charging.
• When I need to make changes for apps, certain watch face customizations, etc., I can't do it wirelessly. I need to connect the Fenix to my computer and use Garmin Express. This is cumbersome and seems like something that should be easy to do over wifi since Garmin charges $100 premium for wifi models (other than 935 which comes w/ wifi for $100 less than the Fenix 5 models)
• Glitched out when I tried to make some menu adjustments during a run. ALL of my Garmin devices have freaked out here and there when I've tried to do this. Sometimes, they get bricked and need a hard reset. In fact, my 910XT died recently which led me to start looking at the Fenix and AW3. Garmin's reliability for me has been pretty dismal. I have had TWO forerunner 405s, and the 910XT die on me after a couple of years of use.
• Data transfer to Garmin Connect from Apple's activity and health apps and Strava can lead to many duplicate entries. I read about this issue online and, sure enough, experienced the same when I synced all the various devices and accounts to each other.
• Very expensive. Like ALOT more expensive than the AW3. On top of that, you have to pay $100 extra for wifi for a Fenix 5. If I were to get a Garmin, it would be the Forerunner 935 which has exactly the same features plus wifi for $100 less than a Fenix 5. Of course, the 935 is still more expensive than the AW3.

AW3 pros:

• Screen is beautiful, legible in all conditions. Resolution is very high. Can't see any pixels like on the Fenix. Colors are rich, saturated and beautiful.
• Feels like an Apple product. Has that nice polish with thoughtful touches you find in many things Apple makes.
• While sports tracking features are not as robust as on the Garmin, for me, they are definitely good enough. All the important stats are available. What was also a pleasant surprise was how accurate the AW3 was compared directly w/ the Fenix 5S. After reading DC Rainmaker's review, I was expecting a total mess with crappy current pace metrics, etc., but I found that the AW3 tracked very well with the Fenix 5S even though I had the Fenix set to track at 1 second intervals.
• No need to wait for GPS to sync. Apple gives you that 3 second countdown and you start running. It hasn't had any issues not quickly acquiring a GPS signal and the distance tracked and GPS maps generated after the run have been virtually spot on with the Fenix.
• Fitness tracking seems to be better than the Fenix. I like the rings and it does motivate you to do more activities to close the rings. While Garmin has fitness tracking features, it seems like the stats are haphazardly spread out and you don't know if you're close to a goal or not. Some of this is based on what watch face you've downloaded, how you've customized the watch face, etc. Some of it is also based on the piss poor Fenix screen that doesn't show colors nearly as well as the AW3 screen.
• Apps are polished and well integrated w/ the iPhone. No need to connect the AW3 to a computer to make any changes. You simpley go into the watch app, make your changes and see the changes instantly appear on the AW3. MUCH better than on the Fenix.
• Wireless charging that's not proprietary.

AW3 cons:

• Does not look all that great. It's rather boring and plain. Fenix looks much better.
• Sports activity tracking features not as robust as on Fenix, though they are definitely adequate for my needs and I don't feel like I'm missing out when I use the AW3 instead of the Fenix. I wish I could customize the display options for the AW3 better when running though.
• While lighter than the Fenix 5S, the AW3 just isn't as comfortable for me. The heart rate sensor, while spread out over a larger area, actually hurt my wrist after about 10 hours of wearing. I had to really loosen the band to prevent pain on my wrist where the sensor meets the top of the wrist. Thankfully, this hasn't been detrimental to HR tracking. For the most comfort, the sport loop is vastly better than any of the other bands. The silicon bands are useless IMO. Their adjustability isn't nearly fine enough to get the right fit for me. It was either too tight (caused pain from the heart rate monitor indenting the top of my wrist or too loose. The sport loop is infinitely adjustable and just feels more comfortable.
• Requires much more frequent charging, but this doesn't seem like a big deal to me. With daily usage including a 1 hour run every day, I end up at around 60% to 65% battery life after 24 hours. I can probably charge it once every 2 days, but charing it daily has not been an issue.

Other comments and conclusion:

• If you're concerned about transferring data between Strava, Garmin Connect, Apple'a Activity and Health apps, with all the options available now, this has not been an issue for me. I use RunGap which seems to do an excellent job in downloading data from the Fenix 5S and AW3 and sending the data to whichever platform I want.
• This was a hard choice. I absolutely loved the Fenix 5S form factor, physical looks, all day comfort, and sports tracking features which I've been accustomed to for many years, but hated the terrible screen.
• Ultimately, I decided to go with the AW3 because I got tired of shelling out hundreds of dollars for Garmin devices that always seemed to die on me. Plus, I couldn't get over how bad the Fenix screen looks for a $600 to $700 device and I appreciate how well AW3 integrates with the iPhone and the sports tracking and activity tracking features worked very well on the AW3. Afte switching to the sport loop band, I was able to get the AW3 to feel very comfortable on my wrist to the point where I can wear it all day and night and not get any discomfort from the heart rate monitor bump.

 

[oeagleo]

I started a thread a while ago, when I didn’t know that AW Series 3 is going to hit the streets.

A am thinking about buying a smartwatch but mostly I am concerned - what do I need it for? What do people use it for most often? How many of you thought that mainly it will be used as a sport watch but it became a second phone on your hand?

I do sports - mainly indoor cycling and tennis. Sometimes I run. I need a watch that I can wear from morning till night. A watch that I wont even notice that it is on my hand. Would love to try sleep monitoring. Mainly counting steps, distance, HR, burnt calories. Some hiking maybe 3 times a year.

How many of you thought that your smartwatch will be used mainly for sport tracking but it ended more like having notifications, calendar and other stuff. This is why I am debating Apple or Garmin (735/935, Fenix5). Some say that AW is a smartwatch and Garmin a sportwatch. My main concern is the battery for AW.

Another problem is that cellular is not supported in Poland - if I am to buy an AW S3 I would like to use it with all its features. But probably no plans for cellular AW in Poland in the future (dont know why, we have a couple cellular providers).

So my main concern is whether I would love to see a watch that combines the features of both. Or an Apple Watch with a 3day battery? Trying to persuade myself to buy one of the watches. But which one would suit me better? Thanks for your feedback.

Right up my alley. I have owned, Polar M400, M600, Suunto Ambit 3, Spartan Ultra, Spartan Sport HR, Garmin Fenix 3, 3HR, fenix 5, and a Fenix 5x. I now own an Apple Watch series 2, soon to be replaced with a Series 3 in Stainless steel. I know what you're going through.
I have to admit, the Ambit 3 was the closest GPS track of them all, while the fenix series, especially the 5 and the 5x are feature rich, giving almost all of the metrics a geek like me could want. The metrics on the Suunto website are amazing, giving VO2Max for the particular exercise, EPOC, distance, elevation change, etc, etc, etc.
However, if you look at your everyday activities, for me, the Apple watch is perfect. I finally came to realize after many hours comparing, and spending LOTS of money, that I am probably not, at the age of almost 70, going to compete in any marathons, probably not going to go on a 100 mile bike ride in a group of 20 people, or even get the Arnold Swarzenegger body I coveted at 18.
No, I'm just going to go on my mall walks, attend my gym classes, occasional hike, and bike rides, and perhaps a walk around the neighborhood every once in a while.
The feature laden $800+ watches are wonderful if you're in training for professional sports, have a full time coach, or have a specific training plan to compete in some kind of competition. For the rest of us, there's the Apple Watch, which, with OS4+ has almost the full functionality of the others, and even more in some instances. The Suunto line cannot connect to more than one bluetooth HR monitor (chest strap) at a time, while I have two paired with my Apple Watch. There are apps that will rival the 5x's capibility at hiking, (I'm talking the app Work Outdoors here), and routing, there are others specific to biking, etc. Also, the AW/Health data will export to Strava, probably the most used social networking app out there. I especially like the "Observe fly-by's" part, where you can see if anyone you passed, or passes you are on Strava, and if they are, you can see their route, stats, etc.
I say, unless you're a professional athlete, or in intensive training for something, the Apple Watch, and a good Heart Rate monitor chest strap (I use Wahoo's Tickr-X) are all you need to cheat death, and abuse yourself all you want. Then, there's the normal everyday capibilities of the AW that none of the others have, with the exception of the Polar M600, which is Android Wear. Still not up to the Apple environment.
One vote for the Apple Watch here; I've sold all of the other stuff.
Hope that helps.
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AW with its support for 3rd party apps looks like the most versatile. But more apps and gps - it gives you only 4 hours of battery life. And that sucks.

How would you rank stuff like calendar, notifications?

4 hours? I've used the GPS on my AW Series 2 for an hour outside walk, and still had enough battery to last the rest of the day, track my sleep, and putz around a bit in the morning. I charge my AW in the mornings, after waking up, during my coffee, and Internet time, seldom takes more than an hour to an hour and a half, and during normal use, at the time of charging, I usually have between 50% and 35% battery left. I think if I only had 4 hours of battery time on my watch, I'd visit the Apple store!

 

[PatrickNSF]

If you opt for a Garmin, I’d stay clear of the Fenix 5 and 5s. The GPS is inferior to the 5x and the 935, and there are ANT+ and bluetooth issues as well.

 

[StarShot]

One reason to get an iWatch is if you're worried about leaving too much money in your estate.

I would recommend the Samsung Gear Fit 2 that works great with my iPhone X and previous iPhones as well (7 and 8).

No, you can't make telephone calls with it like Dick Tracy. It does bluetooth with you phone, thus displaying texts, phone calls and other "pushes". Shows the weather, pulse steps, mileage via GPS AND TIME. All for $119 almost everywhere. I've had mine for 14 months and it just works.

 

[MajkJaro]

Thank you for your huge feedback. Still I am sad that Apple will not provide cellular in Poland. If it was available there would be only one winner. But now I am debating whether I will use more of the AW features or the Garmin.

I see that notofications work on both, music control. They both look nice. I don't even feel the Apple Watch on my hand - it is so light. The Fenix is more bulky but looks and feels more solid. Apple Watch could be imo easily knocked and crashed.

For some hiking where I go for 7-8 hours a couple times a year. Could the AW battery survive that kind of trip? Would rather like to save battery on my phone than on my watch. Although the screen looks great and the speed is impressive.

At the end of the day I am not a proffesional athlete. I do indoor cycling (about 7000 km a year) and lots of tennis (2-3 times a week). All of it are 2h sessions where both watches would probably suit me good. But which one has the edge?