I learnt to scuba and purchased my dive computer before the Ultra was released. I agree had the Ultra been around at the time I would gone straight for that option. I knew I wanted a Watch style dive computer and opted for the Garmin over the Shearwater Teric or Suunto D5
This is the point I was making in my first post to which you responded. Apple has been adding features and functionality to their fitness ecosystem and has really added a lot over the last two releases.
I must admit I hadn’t considered this an issue. if I’m going for a run I have to change into my running gear so changing to the Garmin is just an extra piece of gear.
Again, I am glad that it works for you, but I do not understand how your previously expressed concern over needing to worry about charging an Apple Watch is more of an issue than needing to worry about charging two watches and needing to switch watches for various activities.
Before I got my first smart watch I wore analog watches to work and changed to a digital watch with stop watch and timers for runs or interval workouts. I suppose then I designated the watches as “work/dress Watch” and “sports/activities watch”😊.
The point I was making was not that switching watches was a hardship, but that it seems to completely negate the benefit you claimed for the Garmin watch - not needing to worry about charging it as much as you have to do with your Apple Watch.
If I’m gong for a walk at lunchtime my Apple Watch is with me so no problem. If I do decide to go for a swim after work I pack the Garmin in my bag with my swim gear
That is fine, but it still seems to negate the charing benefit. Were you to have an Ultra, you might need to ensure you charged every day (something that you already have to do with your Series 6), but you also have to worry about packing your second watch, making sure that it is charged, and then having data split between to ecosystems (or trying to keep them in sync with third party apps).
I’ve tried Training Peaks but didn’t like it. I found the Garmin 5k and 10K programs worked well for me so I haven’t bothered looking at other options. I use RunGap to import my Garmin Data to Apple health mainly for activity/ ring challenges with my wife and kids, but primarily use Garmin connect for training plans, run routes, swimming plans and planning Hikes. Garmin connect is needed to setup and update the Watch in a similar manner to the iOS watch app
Awesome that you found something that works for you. In no way am I trying to get you to switch to anything else. I am just pointing out that you listed as a benefit of the Garmin not needing a third party app for this functionality, but instead need two third party apps to make everything work (RunGap and the Garmin App).
Again not an issue for me. Prior to getting the Garmin. I used the Apple Watch for all activities. If I need to go on a walk the Apple Watch is with me.
Clearly our jobs are different, in that I do not need to change clothes to go for a jog/run most of the time (even when I am traveling/attending meetings). While I usually switch into my workout gear to workout, I often wear shorts (and pretty much only wear t-shirts) when I am working and have routinely decided to jog/run home from meetings while traveling. Again, my point was not that one could not use the Apple Watch in addition to the Garmin, but that it just creates a fractured data ecosystem and that it eliminates the charging benefit you listed. Given that you already have to charge your Apple Watch, adding a Garmin just makes things less convenient (in my opinion).
Having an Ultra as my only watch means that while I try to charge it for half an hour every morning, when I do not, I am not stuck. It also means that I do not have to think about one more device and its chargers when I travel, nor maintaining another device‘s software. Finally, the ability to run/jog/walk without my iPhone is a major benefit to me.
My first Apple Watch was a series 3 alu which got me scratched up quite a bit. Less of an issue with the. Series 6. But the battery life is less now and is currently at 78% capacity
Curious if that was just cosmetic or if you had actual functional issues. I thought about getting a stainless steel when I got my series 0, because I wanted the ruggedness. I did not do it, as I was sure I would replace it pretty quickly since it was a first generation product. We skipped the series two as we did not think there was enough to make it worth upgrading. My BF and I both wanted 3G, so we upgraded to the series 3. I considered switching to stainless steel, but again decided to wait. We got series 4s for the ECG feature, but still felt that it was not worth the higher price for stainless steel. Skipped the series 5 (we did not think that always on was that important, in hindsight, we were probably wrong on that). Upgraded to Series 6 and then finally to our current Ultras.
Overall, I think that I made the right decision on that issue. The extra cost for a watch I ended up upgrading at most every other year, to have a more rugged device was probably not worth it.
pre Ultra there was no Apple product suitable for Scuba so I opted for the Garmin descent. If I was choosing now, I would definitely have gone down the Apple Watch Ultra route with the oceanic app.
Apple’s first watch really targeted at Garmin’s aspirational customers. Not yet as full featured as a sports tracker, but so much more functional in every other way. Those who do super long Iron Man triathlons (and the like), cannot yet use it as their only watch, however, most Garmin users would probably be fine with it (that is not to say they would/will switch, just that they could and would really be fine).
I know the Garmin has opened up more options for me and has helped me on my fitness journey. Certainly the plan to train for an half marathon is what swayed me towards Garmin.
Since the Ultra did not exist, you found a different ecosystem that worked. Had it been an option, you might have spent more effort looking for apps/services that were available in the iOS/watchOS world.
Ultimately the watches are just tools to achieve a goal. Pre smart watches it was done with paper pen and a stopwatch.
Funny, I have been diving since well before the Ultra. Somewhere in the world are 10 or 15 dive logs that each have a few years of dives recorded. I tried to use the syncing from various of my Suuntos, but it was always too much of a hassle, especially going to a Mac. With Oceanic+, I have my dive log in the same place as all my other health and fitness data. I like that centralization. I use Withings scales and blood pressure cuffs, and an iHealth PulseOx, but I do not sync my data to their services (it only goes from there to Health), as I only want one source of truth. All my health providers automatically download my labs and reports into Health, meaning that all my data is with me all the time, not on the other side of a cloud sync.
The battery life on the Garmin is what I find amazing.
Not sure why you find it amazing. The device does a lot less, weighs 50% more, has a less capable display, a substantially slower processor and does not offer LTE.
I went on a very wet camping trip earlier this year, and didn’t even bother packing my Garmin charger.
How long was the trip? Did you bring your iPhone?
On my trip to Bali last year tthe Garmin was my main watch and I charged it three times over a two week period mainly to ensure I had a full charge prior to the next days diving.
Did you bring your iPhone? How many dives did you do (just curious)? On my last trip to the U.S. Virgin Islands we took a boat trip which included three stops for snorkeling. As we were going to getting on and off the boat at a few places, I did not take my iPhone with me - it stayed safe and dry at the hotel. When I was waiting to get back on the boat (treading water), I got a call from my BF. It was nice to not have needed my iPhone (and it was fun to answer a call in the middle of the ocean).
I get the interest in their training program, but I just do not see the focus their battery life in the examples you gave. My Ultra has more than enough battery to get me through 48 hours, so if I routinely have to charge my iPhone I see no issue with charging my watch once a day for 20-30 minutes (about what I currently do). Your dive trip example is exactly the kind the confuses me most. I could live with a process where I only had to charge once a week, but anything less than that would still have me charging every day as without a simple process of doing it every morning when I am in the shower and getting my ready for my day would just be too much mental energy to maintain.
For me, what I would give up in functionality with just the Descent would not be offset by being able to charge slightly less often, especially as I would still need to charge others devices (that become even more import because I would not have a connected Apple Watch).
