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Would AW Ultra make you switch from Garmin/Suunto/Coros etc?

The_Interloper

The_Interloper

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Oct 28, 2016
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So...it's been announced. It's rugged, is Titanium, has sapphire crystal, 200nits screen etc. Looks quite compelling for the dive watch crowd.

Downsides so far? No ANT+, no heart rate broadcast, no solar, 36 hours battery life (likely to be much less when not tethered to an iPhone).

$799 US, £849 UK, includes cellular.

What's the consenuse from Garmin/Suunto/Coros/Polar users? Would this make you switch or is it a dud?
 
Yes, I'm tempted to switch from a Suunto Baro 9. I had been looking at a Garmin Enduro 2, but that's £929 in the UK and from the initial specs of the Ultra, I think it will do everything I need so I can get back to one watch for everything.

My main use will be hill/trail running and ultra distance races, possibly some triathlon stuff, so am interested to see what the initial feedback is and hopefully DC Rainmaker will get some initial impressions up soon.

Based on what I saw, the AW Ultra seems to tick a lot of the boxes that I was hoping for when it was rumoured.
 
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Not a Garmin Fenix (or comparable) user, but I use the Forerunner while running and I carry my phone for music and emergencies. My current answer is "maybe". I really like the pace alerts I get with my garmin watch and I haven't been able to find anything comparable on the current watch infrastructure (3rd party or native). Maybe I'm missing something.

Honestly, I might still end up with the Ultra just because I like the rugged size.
 
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I have a Garmin Epix2 which pretty much does everything I ever need but I do miss some of the Apple Watch features. Would be tempted to switch if the Ultra had heart rate broadcasting and better integration with Zwift.
 
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I've got a Fenix 6x and an Apple Watch 7. I'm really tempted to sell them both and get the Ultra. I like the Fenix in part because of the larger size. From a functionality standpoint for what I use they are similar.
 
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I am very interested. The features on the Apple Watch are great. And the accuracy is outstanding. Garmin and Coros are crap in terms of on wrist heart rate. The Apple Watch was always best in class. I am expecting a very good GPS now. And the battery life should easily hold for an Ultramarathon and the rest of the day. That's cool.
 
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The battery life of the device day to day with short activities and general usage is fine for me, but I’m not clear on just how long you can use it to track a single activity. They say it will cover an Ironman distance event from what i can see, but I was hoping there would be some setting for events like ultramarathons where you could adjust the GPS intervals to extend battery life for tracking to 24 hours+ for example.

It’s been interesting because for years, Apple have got the smartwatch side nailed (alerts, apps, music, Apple Pay etc) but I’ve found them lacking on the fitness side compared to Garmin, Suunto etc. On the other hand, Garmin & Suunto have been coming from the opposite direction where fitness features & battery life are nailed, but the other stuff is lacking. This is the first AW that’s made me consider switching to a single watch that can do everything.
 
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Epic Gen 2 owner here. GPS is already super accurate with dual band. I have a Series 6 at the moment that is only used for its safety features due to its SIM card. The Ultra has me somewhat interested, however.
 
Garmin has a much wider range of products that address different sports. Forerunners for running, and Epic and Fenix for hiking and extreme sports.

Meanwhile the AW Ultra seems to be aimed at three niche sports shown in the video. It would certainly be overkill for your half marathoner or even marathoner.
 
None of the others even come close to this feature set and integration with other devices. Cellular and dive computer. 2 band gps. Seamless integration of phone and computer. It’s a no brainer.
 
I have a Garmin Fenix 6 and use it to track snow sports like downhill, cross country etc. It works well but the interface is just plain awful. Impossible to use, almost. And almost constantly has to be rebooted to pair with the phone,sometimes saveral times a day. I really want to like it but honestly I don’t. You gotta love Apple design, simplicity, phone integration. It just works. So I am going from a 7 to this big boy even though I have tiny wrists! And the Garmin will remain in the quiet corner of my sock drawer.
 
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The_Interloper said:
So...it's been announced. It's rugged, is Titanium, has sapphire crystal, 200nits screen etc. Looks quite compelling for the dive watch crowd.

Downsides so far? No ANT+, no heart rate broadcast, no solar, 36 hours battery life (likely to be much less when not tethered to an iPhone).

$799 US, £849 UK, includes cellular.

What's the consenuse from Garmin/Suunto/Coros/Polar users? Would this make you switch or is it a dud?
Click to expand...
It’s will be a complimentary device to my Enduro 2. In addition to everything you said it is still also missing LED flashlight, many sport profiles, and offline world maps. Also, even improved with battery life it still can’t touch even Epix 2. But those bands are sweet and cool. Also Ultra looks super cool. So for now it will be two watches for me. Absolutely need that cellular for running, biking.
 
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I have an AW7 that’s my daily driver but I’m ordering the Ultra to possibly replace my Fenix 6s pro. Let the testing begin.
 
You're gonna find Garmin wearers are very loyal, and rightfully so. I've been in both camps. Apple Watch user til 2017 or so. Now have a Garmin tactix Delta (stunning device) and an Epix Gen. 2 (for more daily use). That said, I've always argued that if Apple EVER got with the program and released a larger AW, I'd be tempted. Apple did. I was. And so I ordered the AW Ultra. I dunno how it'll stack up in terms of data creation -- Garmin does this very well for fitness and health info -- but in terms of the overall design/function/Apple ecosystem integration, I'm looking forward to finding out. Garmin has carved out a serious niche here, and the Ultra is a real push into that niche. Anyway, AWU ordered, and looking forward to testing it out.
 
The_Interloper said:
So...it's been announced. It's rugged, is Titanium, has sapphire crystal, 200nits screen etc. Looks quite compelling for the dive watch crowd.

Downsides so far? No ANT+, no heart rate broadcast, no solar, 36 hours battery life (likely to be much less when not tethered to an iPhone).

$799 US, £849 UK, includes cellular.

What's the consenuse from Garmin/Suunto/Coros/Polar users? Would this make you switch or is it a dud?
Click to expand...

i mean maybe if you liked the large / chunky style yes, but the reality is the garmin fenix watch has endless features this doesn’t from all the golf courses, full topographic maps, the ability to preplan hiking and running routes, full sync with bike sensors such as cadence and power meters, battery life measured from a week (Epix 2) to nearly a month (Fenix 7X Solar), coaching including tracking your recovery from workouts over time and more. Right now Apple has the “looks” right but aside from a pretty sweet scuba mode, doesn’t have nearly the depth of tracking the Garmin does. That said it won’t take that long for Apple to fix many of those things in future years and this is a nice start into a new market segment.
 
I do wonder how well this will work independent of an iPhone. I've found that when I use the Watch's built-in GPS, the battery gets hammered. It's MUCH worse with cellular, so that would have to be switched off.

A Fenix/Epix, on the other hand, has no such issues. You don't even need a phone to set it up. There's even Solar options and the likes of the Enduro 2 with 150 hours of GPS use for those who need it.

The battery seems to be the one thing Apple hasn't been able to meaningfully improve and I just wonder how this will perform when it's not tethered to the iPhone, using it's GPS etc.
 
canyonblue737 said:
i mean maybe if you liked the large / chunky style yes, but the reality is the garmin fenix watch has endless features this doesn’t from all the golf courses, full topographic maps, the ability to preplan hiking and running routes, full sync with bike sensors such as cadence and power meters, battery life measured from a week (Epix 2) to nearly a month (Fenix 7X Solar), coaching including tracking your recovery from workouts over time and more. Right now Apple has the “looks” right but aside from a pretty sweet scuba mode, doesn’t have nearly the depth of tracking the Garmin does. That said it won’t take that long for Apple to fix many of those things in future years and this is a nice start into a new market segment.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's early days for Apple. Also Apple has the benefit of a robust app platform which I'm sure will be filling in some of the missing pieces in the interim.
 
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Almost always have an AW and a Fenix / Epix (now).

I don't see anything in the Ultra that would force a switch if you were a serious endurance athlete. For most of us, however, it'll probably be enough. And Garmin's, etc., aren't perfect either.

I've ordered one. but I was always going to, especially since I'm not really able to run right now and doubling the battery life is worth it to me.
 
As someone who has to wear a fenix to run at the moment (along side my AW7), I'm planning to take the plunge and go to one AW8 ultra. Fenix and AW7 mean cost neutral.

I do long runs (ultras), so I'm hoping this will work for me.
 
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