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

[Jcazz]

Would be a strong contender if they could get the battery life to at least 5 - ideally 7 - days battery life without enabling low power mode or turning off features. I am on the fence to see the new power metrics in watchOS 9, but giving up the fitness metrics on my Garmin would be really hard. The amount of fitness data provided just isn't there (yet).

 

[pcubed18]

Legit question that I have never found the answer to. I have a Garmin Forerunner 945 LTE. The reason I love it is when I travel abroad I can download a Strava running route on the watch and have a GPS guided run. Apple I don’t think ever had that. Will this be something that is enabled with the Ultra? If so, I’m in for the switch.

 

[NickYanakiev]

Yup. Cellular can now be used abroad on the Ultra.

 

[DMG35]

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.

Yeah but there is a difference here. The Fenix isnt' in the same category because of the screen. You can't really compare it because if Apple used that same screen tech they would get much better battery life. I tried the Fenix and the screen on it was just awful. Yeah it gets killer battery life, but to me the trade off between a screen I could barely read wasn't worth it.

I will say I love the Epix 2 Screen and a lot of its features. For all it does well though, it doesn't do nearly all the things the Apple watch does. There is no cellular connectivity, and you can't bring your watch and leave your phone behind (if you want to continue to get calls, messages, etc). You honestly can't walk more than 100 feet away from your phone or it will disconnect from it. Can't take phone calls on any of them, can't respond to messages or emails, etc. Its great as a fitness watch only, but that's about it. The fitness features are excellent though and I hope Apple integrates more of what they do into their workout app.

I was actually pretty sold on the Epix 2 and have commented as such, but the Ultra just offers so many more features and was an easy decision for me to switch back to it.

 

[Expos of 1969]

Certainly not as that would force me to purchase an iPhone.

 

[PatrickNSF]

I was expecting more than 36 hours of battery life – more like the 5 or so you get from an Epix 2 – so I'm not sold. I've tried wearing a fenix and Epix day-to-day, but miss the smartwatch functionality so I've settled into wearing a Forerunner 955 while running and sleeping (for recovery metrics) and an AW S6 day-to-day.

 

[TriApple]

Looking forward to reviews round cycling and triathlon. I’d love to have the ultra as my watch but to replace my Fenix 7s it has to be capable of tracking my workouts, their metrics, and interface with trainingpeaks.

there are some third party apps that may make it all work, but I think I’d only switch if it were mainstream apps or first party apps.

I am interested to see anyone’s review for tri where they use a proper bike computer for bike specific metrics and the ultra for all other sports.

 

[Lynxpoint]

Currently using an Epix 2. It does everything I need it to, but I do have a wish list of things that would improve the user experience.
I am curious about the Ultra, although I know I won't consider getting one either to complement the Epix or to replace it. It will be interesting to see the impact this watch has on the sports watch industry. Perhaps Apple's play will motivate Garmin to step up their game a bit.

Some of the things I would like to see on the Epix are better audio supports:
1. separate volume controls for audio feedback and music
2. support for more metrics via audio, in particular support for third-party data
3. A nice to have would also be to have voice control via headset - for example asking for a metric (rather than relying on set timings) - my eyes don't adjust fast enough so if on non-flat terrain, taking my eyes off where i am going to look at the watch can be hazardous, so the more I can get via audio, the better.

 

[pcubed18]

This might be a dumb question but right now Strava does not have maps for Apple Watch. Meaning you can’t find a runNing route and save it on to the watch and then have turn by turn GPS guidance for a run. Strava has that for Garmin. Is there an app like that for Apple Watch, if so, then I would switch to ultra.

 

[FlyingScot]

I free dive mostly. This will not replace my dive computer but will replace my old Watches I use to track my free-diving. I also don’t Take a phone when paddlboarding or kayaking so the ultra will do that. So yeah this will replace my Suunto and old Tidemaster as well as my Apple Watch . Don’t need a garmin to climb Everest, but a nice useful Apple Watch that I can use when I enjoy South Florida waters is not a bad investment.