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What’s everyone’s thoughts on the new Garmin watches?
- Thread starter richxps
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I am a runner who runs marathons and half-marathons. I use a Garmin 245 to track my runs. I like my 245 but am thinking about upgrading to a 745 or a 945. Primarily because my wife has gotten into running and she said she would take my 245 if I got a new watch. We are both Apple watch wearers and yes, I wear the two watches at the same time when I go out on a run. The Apple Watch with LTE keeps me from having to take my phone so I can listen to podcasts, Apple Music, receive text messages, etc. I hate carrying a phone when I run. Having said all that, it still surprises me how people still talk about how "expensive" Apple Watch's are yet you rarely hear complaints about other watches that are more expensive.
It looks like they're moving in the right direction, other than the price! The Fenix models were already expensive. Adding $100 to the price makes them even more expensive. I think the Epix looks pretty cool, but I think It really needed to have the speaker and microphone that the Venu 2 Plus has.
I agree. I strongly think that Apple can do a lot more on the fitness/health front than they are currently doing, software-wise, even with the current hardware. The more that Garmin and others can push them the better.
I use and AW 7 for daily wear plus short ( sub 4 hours ) GPS walking and running and when I want a map (Work Outdoors). I use a Venu 2S for longer GPS walks and runs when I don’t need a map. I sometimes use my AW 7 and Venu 2S together - one on each wrist - with the Venu broadcasting my heart rate to the AW in very cold weather when I need the map on the AW. The HRM on the AW can sometimes miss a few beats in very cold weather. I use a Garmin Fenix 5X when I’m hiking long distance and I need a map and very long battery life. I enjoy the abilities and technology on all three.
Nice, I’m considering the epix to use for my workouts , if u don’t mind me asking how do you link the Garmin activitys to your activity rings ? That’s if you use them.
I tried out a fenix last year and I could never get it work work with apple activity, and all the settings were correct
I tried out a fenix last year and I could never get it work work with apple activity, and all the settings were correct
I don’t pay too much attention to the activity rings as my activity is always way over the base levels. I’ve just done a 5k run with my Venu 2S and when I synced everything the run showed up on the green exercise ring but the calories and the move rings didn’t acknowledge anything. I was surprised the calories didn’t because the calories do show in the excise activity on Apple Health. The heart rate doesn’t show in the exercise activity of the Apple Health but it does show in the Heart Rate information in the Apple Health. Hope that all makes sense. None of that really bothers me as I only really use Strava properly.
Interestingly - I changed a setting on Strava so that it would feed back to Apple Health and then it added the calories to the red activity ring. The only one not synced is the blue “stand” ring which I can understand.
I wear both an Apple Watch 7 and a Garmin Fenix 6 whilst swimming. The Apple Watch is consistently better at counting how many lengths I have done. That is the only scenario I have found where the Apple Watch is better. The Garmin typically over reports by several lengths in each session. Overall, I use the Garmin for the better data analysis that’s available both on Watch and after upload to the Garmin connect site. Also, the Apple Watch doesn’t natively support ’Multisport’ (triathlon etc) and the only App that’s available doesn’t work too well.
You can now change all the activity goals. Just open activity app, scroll all the way down, and you'll see a "change goals" option.
There's no "triathlon" setting, but you can quickly start another workout type -- during a workout, swipe right, tap "+", pick a new workout. Does Garmin automatically sense when you switch activities during a triathlon? If so, that's a real useful feature.
you can configure the “multisport activity” I.e swim, bike, run or run, bike, run, or run,swim,run,swim,run etc. then when you start the multisport activity you can move between activities with a single press of a button. It means we can get accurate times not only for each activity, but also the transition times (the 4th discipline in Triathlon). To do this with an Apple Watch means that whilst you are wrestling with trying to get a wetsuit off, swallow an energy gel, and your bike shoes / helmet on, you would need to stop, take your Watch out of swim mode, and the select a new activity. It’s cumbersome and whilst you could get accurate times for each activity, transition would take longer and you would not get a time for it.
Ah, right. Forgot about having to take the watch off water-lock. How does the Garmin handle that? Does it not need a water-lock mode?
No water mode on a Garmin. But its a beast of a watch when compared to an Apple. Just a guess but maybe they were able to design in better waterproofing because they were less size constrained?
Aye thanks - yes I know I can change the activity ring goals but what I meant was that I don’t pay too much attention to them as my activity level is so high - way above the recommended level at my age (66). I run and walk between 50 and 75 k every week.
I'm guessing mic and speaker are major water ingress points. Most Garmin watches have neither, so...better waterproofing maybe?
The main reason Apple Watch needs water lock is because water can activate the touch screen. Do Garmin watches have touch screens?
The "consumer" general fitness Venu and VivoActive watches do. The more hardcore sports/outdoor models like the Fenix 6, Enduro and Instinct don't - purely operated with buttons. But the new Fenix 7 and Epix change that and are the first of their kind with touchscreens.
I wrote a longer post over on the Garmin forums about this but the TLDR version is.
To get a version of the Fenix that I'd want would mean sapphire glass, which is hard to see. I much preferred the Gorilla Glass on my 6X.
The Epix is the better answer but it's battery life is a stretch largely because music / podcasts eat Garmin batteries. Definitely better than an AW however.
Then I thought, any of these are at least $900 to get a version I would want. I can buy 2 AW's, non cell for the same money, and one would always be charged. In other words, charging problems solved.
And Garmin just doesn't offer that much, even in the fitness metrics, that are better than an AW at this point. 3 years ago I had a lot of craziness with Apple tracks but not any more.
Had Garmin included Siri support (like the Venu 2) this would be a different discussion but these are pretty close to a F6 except things like GPS and HRM are supposed to actually be reliable on these versions. I'm just not feeling the $900 this time around.
To get a version of the Fenix that I'd want would mean sapphire glass, which is hard to see. I much preferred the Gorilla Glass on my 6X.
The Epix is the better answer but it's battery life is a stretch largely because music / podcasts eat Garmin batteries. Definitely better than an AW however.
Then I thought, any of these are at least $900 to get a version I would want. I can buy 2 AW's, non cell for the same money, and one would always be charged. In other words, charging problems solved.
And Garmin just doesn't offer that much, even in the fitness metrics, that are better than an AW at this point. 3 years ago I had a lot of craziness with Apple tracks but not any more.
Had Garmin included Siri support (like the Venu 2) this would be a different discussion but these are pretty close to a F6 except things like GPS and HRM are supposed to actually be reliable on these versions. I'm just not feeling the $900 this time around.
My first and only smart/activity watch so far has been the basic Garmin Instinct. It’s super rugged, inexpensive (paid $160 on sale), and gives you enough of the Garmin functionality without all the added bells and whistles. The Fenix series never really interested me due to price (but I understand the appeal) and I desperately wanted the Venue2/2+ to be my next upgrade. For some very odd reason they both lack an open water swim option, which really irritated me, and the 2+ tips the scales at $450 just to provide some basic phone connectivity. Since I just got a 13 Pro Max, I figured what the heck and bought my first AW this week (SE 44mm LTE) to try out. Mentally preparing myself for a battery life adjustment?……….