Garmin Smartwatches vs Apple

[Courtlandfarms]

Garmin without a doubt for an active wear.
Have a forerunner645 and the battery last about 2 weeks and I run with the GPS feature a ton. The apple I had prior was a few days at best.

Pair it with a HR pro and workout analytics are amazing. It will pair to health app but I much prefer the garmin app data.

That said, if you’re after a lifestyle type watch, apple is better.

 

[dcooper08]

Garmin without a doubt for an active wear.
Have a forerunner645 and the battery last about 2 weeks and I run with the GPS feature a ton. The apple I had prior was a few days at best.

Pair it with a HR pro and workout analytics are amazing. It will pair to health app but I much prefer the garmin app data.

That said, if you’re after a lifestyle type watch, apple is better.

My sentiments exactly. The FR645 has been absolutely bomb proof for me - I run with it essentially every morning and the fitness tracking is perfect for me. I also have had zero issues pairing HR monitors, ear buds, or my phone to it, which has been a source of frustration in previous watches. Plus I can load up custom Amazon or Spotify playlists directly to the watch and listen to them on my run without needing to take my phone (or have a separate data plan for the watch itself). Recommend highly for people that don't need every last bell and whistle in a smart watch.

 

[Zak406]

I have had both and currently run a garmin fenix 6 I got on clearance from game stop.

First thing I’d say whatever you buy don’t buy at full price. Plenty of deals to be had.

Second I use mine mostly for monitoring vitals I don’t need to talk into mine or message. Nor do I need to play music ex ex.

The Apple is a better smart watch. You can talk, you can use it as a standalone “phone” But the battery life sucks. Overall I’d buy again I would note though the apple is less durable. I broke my screen string trimming.

The garmin does smart phone things pretty shitty. You can view messages and see you are on phone calls that’s about it. The metrics for vitals, sleep, stress, distance tracking is much better than Apple. As a result I’d buy another garmin before Apple. The battery life is literally 10 times better.

I would go for the garmin instinct I liked my garmin so much I bought my dad one.

Overall they’re both good but I prefer the garmin. I also feel it’s more durable

 

[travisurkul]

I think I’ve decided to give the Fenix 7 pro solar Sapphire a shot

Did you end up going with the 7 or 7X?

 

[TxLite]

Did you end up going with the 7 or 7X?

I went with the 7 pro sapphire solar. I believe the only difference between the 7s, 7 and 7x is the size of the watch face/body.

 

[westonhoma]

Allegedly all smart watches are not going to be as accurate with ur metric as much as a lab test or a heart rate monitor will tell you. That being said I hear Garmin is more accurate than Apple since that has been more so Garmin niche over the life span of the company vs Apple. I rock the Fenix myself and do really like it for my ultra running training and backcountry stuff. I am the type of guy who likes numbers tho and enjoys tracking/seeing progress to keep myself accountable. But ik thats not everyone so its always up to the consumer of how much they wanna get out of it vs how much $ they wanna spend

 

[TxLite]

As an update- I picked it up at the end of November, so 5ish months with it now.

So far I really like it. The battery life is leaps and bounds better than the Apple, which was the primary objective for me. With my current settings and sleep tracking I get about 16 days between charges. The screen looks great in sunlight and I’ve got no issues seeing it indoors. The sapphire lens has held up way better than my Apple Watch did. No scratches to date.

This thing has a ton of features and preset exercise tracking capabilities. Like a ton. Way more than I need. Really looking forward to the tide charts for when I get time to go floundering.

Overall really like the watch.

The negatives-

Music control is pretty clunky. Not near as nice as the Apple, which turned on as soon as the music was on. Minor inconvenience but something to consider if that’s a big thing you use your watch for when exercising.

The weather doesn’t check in with my phone and update automatically. If I don’t actively go into the app and sync the watch to my phone the weather shown will be from whatever it predicted it would be from the last time it synced (think 10 day forecast). As often as the weather changes, I basically have to go in and sync it daily if I want an accurate forecast displayed on the watch. Maybe this is a setting I’m missing?

On a similar note from above, I’ll notice that I stop getting notifications on the watch and found that it will disconnect itself from my phone randomly and I have to go back into the app and re-sync them maybe once or twice a week.

The storm alert feature is a neat idea but so far it’s been right exactly 0 times.

 

[TheCougar]

Garmin for battery alone. Never looked back and thinking about a newer model. Even though my 4 year old fenix is still like new.

This. I have the 5x I think. It is absolutely indestructible. Trust me, I’ve tried. The sapphire glass is especially impressive. I’ve had it for a loooong time maybe 5-7 years at this point. Battery life is trailing off slowly, but still lasts a week or more.

 

[Dos Perros]

I've had a Fenix 3HR since before they were released to the public. I perceive it to be indestructible. Battery lasts just shy of a week.

 

[Isaacleonard]

For those of you using a Garmin watch with an iPhone, how has it performed?

I am looking to upgrade my 4th gen Apple Watch and have been considering the Garmin Fenix or Epix but have hesitations about moving to the Garmin. Have you guys noticed any interface issues between iOS and Garmin or do they play well together?

One thing I like about the Apple Watch in general is how seamless it works with notifications/calendar events/etc, but the battery life of the Garmin and additional features have me interested.

I use a garmin with my iPhone and I love it. Never even considered switching

 

[westonhoma]

I use a garmin with my iPhone and I love it. Never even considered switching

Same ^^

 

[jmibarra]

Don't have an iPhone but wear the Fenix 7x sapphire and love it. Best watch I've used hands down and is user friendly. Excellent battery life as well.

 

[jp0212]

I owned several Apple Watches before switching over to a Fenix. Honestly, after getting the Garmin I don't understand why people even bother with the Apple watch. They do circles around the apple watches, and look much nicer, although that is total preference. My wife was also an Apple Watch person but I got her a Venu 3S and she hasn't looked back. She has the same sentiment, way better than apple. Both of us feel it works damn near as good with an Iphone as the Apple Watch.

 

[TxLite]

The weather doesn’t check in with my phone and update automatically. If I don’t actively go into the app and sync the watch to my phone the weather shown will be from whatever it predicted it would be from the last time it synced (think 10 day forecast). As often as the weather changes, I basically have to go in and sync it daily if I want an accurate forecast displayed on the watch. Maybe this is a setting I’m missing?

Adding I did miss something. If you leave the Connect app running in the background this is a non issue. I’m ocd about closing out apps to reduce clutter so I’d been closing it out after syncing. All good now

 

[Treestandguru]

For those of you using a Garmin watch with an iPhone, how has it performed?

I am looking to upgrade my 4th gen Apple Watch and have been considering the Garmin Fenix or Epix but have hesitations about moving to the Garmin. Have you guys noticed any interface issues between iOS and Garmin or do they play well together?

One thing I like about the Apple Watch in general is how seamless it works with notifications/calendar events/etc, but the battery life of the Garmin and additional features have me interested.


Edit- ended up buying it. Posted my thoughts further down in this thread

Garmin is more to track sport type activities and outdoors stuff. It provides some phone functions. If you’re looking for a device to mirror your phone, get the Apple Watch.

 

[Titan]

Old thread, but the new Fenix 8 does have speaker/mic now. More importantly, it also has a flashlight - ha!

 

[TxLite]

Old thread, but the new Fenix 8 does have speaker/mic now. More importantly, it also has a flashlight - ha!

I use the flashlight on the 7 way more than I expected to