The AW Ultra suddenly seems like a bargain now with Garmins silly pricing

[dj1891]

I had been holding out for a new Fenix but with today’s silly pricing I’m thinking the AW Ultra would be a better choice. Think I’m done with Garmin. Let’s hope Apple don’t take a leaf out of Garmins books and have silly pricing for the AWU3, what’s your thoughts on all this?

Tbh if I could get a discount on the AWU2 when the 3 comes out I’d bite the bullet.

 

[slippery-pete]

I doubt prices will increase for AWU3.


I thill remember all the rumors were circulating before AWU1 released...and the price point. Everyone was suggesting 1k+

 

[jz0309]

I had been holding out for a new Fenix but with today’s silly pricing I’m thinking the AW Ultra would be a better choice. Think I’m done with Garmin. Let’s hope Apple don’t take a leaf out of Garmins books and have silly pricing for the AWU3, what’s your thoughts on all this?

Tbh if I could get a discount on the AWU2 when the 3 comes out I’d bite the bullet.

Less than 2 weeks to find out, stay put

 

[coffeemilktea]

today’s silly pricing

$1200 for a Fenix 8? "Silly" is the nicest way to put it. 😬

(It's honestly weird whenever Apple is the reasonable, price-conscious alternative.)

 

[CrispAppleNerd]

You know you have priced our gadget high when Apple under cuts you. Really wild that Garmin prices the Fenix so high. AW/AWU has always been my pick, but I think this might make some Garmin fans think twice about buying another. May start to consider the lesser battery life of the AW for the price difference.

 

[xDKP]

I have been waiting for the new Fenix 8 to see if they could pull me over, but honestly this launch was a pretty big let down. Seems like a pretty small update hardware wise and not even a new chip/CPU after all these years. Should be possible to eliminate some UI lag and get a more efficient CPU in there.

So if you're not into calling from your watch (that doesn't even have LTE option, so what's the point) or diving, the Epix Gen 2 is almost identical and a ton cheaper now.

Bring on the Ultra 3 please - just ONE wish: Battery focus

 

[descendent]

I was also keeping an eye out for the new fenix to see if it tempted me to upgrade from my Epix Gen 2 but after seeing the price and lack of features I'm now considering the AWU 3 as well

 

[kitenski]

I moved from Garmin to AW, I don't regret it. It's a slightly different mindset, you don't get everything "built in", but some cheap apps get you most of the way there IMHO. Some of the less obvious/simple things like saying to your watch "Siri Start a timer for 10 mins" when cooking etc I use daily!

maps/routes/customisable screens for every sport - WorkoutDoors workoutdoors.net
I use Autosleep (which I got before apple added sleep tracking) AutoSleep Track Sleep on Watch on the App Store (apple.com)
vitals is coming in the Sept iOS/WatchOS side of things for some recovery/readiness stats, but not as in depth as Garmin currently. Vitals is one of the best Apple Watch apps I’ve used in years (yahoo.com)

Some of my thoughts (now a bit old) inc an early comparison to the 945 on my website. apple watch – Greg Hilton's Website

 

[dj1891]

I was also keeping an eye out for the new fenix to see if it tempted me to upgrade from my Epix Gen 2 but after seeing the price and lack of features I'm now considering the AWU 3 as well

I think quite a few Garmin fanboys myself included will be thinking the same and keeping an eye on 9th Sept to decide the next move. At the min I’m going Apple

 

[canyonblue737]

I think there is a method to Garmin's madness. They have likely lost a significant portion of the higher end GPS watch market that was the domain of the Fenix/Epix to the Ultra in recent years. I think Garmin had decided they KNOW they can't compete on smartphone features, cellular etc. and they know Ultra while it now has many more features (and the ones 95% would ever need) it will never seek to match the endless metrics and activities available on the Garmin device. SOOO... Garmin is now focusing the Fenix on the small niche of high end athletes and adventurists who need very specific features Ultra can't provide and is upping the price to make up for the lower volume, knowing that for those athletes or adventurists there is no real other game in town (even the stuff from Polar, Coros and others doesn't really compare at the highest end). Basically they lost the game in terms of volume so they are just going to charge the small percentage of people who still need their products through the nose.

 

[matsan]

The silly Fenix prices was what got me buying a Instinct 2X Solar, which by the way gives me +20 days between charging.

 

[vinegarshots]

I have been waiting for the new Fenix 8 to see if they could pull me over, but honestly this launch was a pretty big let down. Seems like a pretty small update hardware wise and not even a new chip/CPU after all these years. Should be possible to eliminate some UI lag and get a more efficient CPU in there.

So if you're not into calling from your watch (that doesn't even have LTE option, so what's the point) or diving, the Epix Gen 2 is almost identical and a ton cheaper now.

Bring on the Ultra 3 please - just ONE wish: Battery focus

I've been pretty pleased with the battery on my AWU2-- I easily go 3 days on average before a charge, which is much better than my previous series 7

 

[dj1891]

I think there is a method to Garmin's madness. They have likely lost a significant portion of the higher end GPS watch market that was the domain of the Fenix/Epix to the Ultra in recent years. I think Garmin had decided they KNOW they can't compete on smartphone features, cellular etc. and they know Ultra while it now has many more features (and the ones 95% would ever need) it will never seek to match the endless metrics and activities available on the Garmin device. SOOO... Garmin is now focusing the Fenix on the small niche of high end athletes and adventurists who need very specific features Ultra can't provide and is upping the price to make up for the lower volume, knowing that for those athletes or adventurists there is no real other game in town (even the stuff from Polar, Coros and others doesn't really compare at the highest end). Basically they lost the game in terms of volume so they are just going to charge the small percentage of people who still need their products through the nose.

And the other side of this is because the 8 is priced so high they can still sell the 7 at full price and it’ll look like a bargain compared to the 8. Since Garmin started sticking OLED on their watches the prices have gone silly, even the forerunner 165 is priced £250 in the UK and it’s very basic, the 255 is around the £200 which is a much better watch with MIP screen

 

[toobravetosave]

tbh apple should make the watch app available for android

i cant imagine anyone buys an iphone just to use an apple watch but i bet plenty of android users would use one

 

[martint235]

I think the Fenix is a better watch though. Battery life is way out there compared to the AWU2, maps are better. The only thing I miss is taking calls on watch and the F8 fixes that.

 

[kitenski]

I think the Fenix is a better watch though. Battery life is way out there compared to the AWU2, maps are better. The only thing I miss is taking calls on watch and the F8 fixes that.

Better battery, better stats, not a better watch IMHO.....Workoutdoors maps on a par with Garmin maps

 

[canyonblue737]

Better battery, better stats, not a better watch IMHO.....Workoutdoors maps on a par with Garmin maps

iOS 18 brings map turn by turn directions to Apple Watch in cardio running and walking activities. you can even build the route in advance like Garmin. it still won't do cycling directions and it STILL separates the mapping from the workout app so you have to bounce between them but every year it gets closer... maybe Ultra 3 will have some specific software features that get it closer.

 

[Romain_H]

I think the Fenix is a better watch though. Battery life is way out there compared to the AWU2, maps are better. The only thing I miss is taking calls on watch and the F8 fixes that.

Indeed... yet the pricing keeps me from buying. Apple is already crazy, Garmin overdid it for me. Bummer

 

[PatrickNSF]

I think the Fenix is a better watch though. Battery life is way out there compared to the AWU2, maps are better. The only thing I miss is taking calls on watch and the F8 fixes that.

I agree that it's a better running/cycling watch, but the lack of LTE on a $1,000+ watch is puzzling.

That being said, the one thing I really miss when I'm wearing my Garmin (and not my AW) is Siri voice commands. I was optimistic about the inclusion of the microphone and speaker, but the video reviews I've seen make it appear that voice commands are pretty slow. When I had my AWU 2 I thought onboard Siri was pretty fantastic. And it's not terrible for me with my Series 7.

 

[oric1sg]

Some of the less obvious/simple things like saying to your watch "Siri Start a timer for 10 mins" when cooking etc I use daily!

You don't need to speak so lengthy. Just raise up your arm and say "10 mins" will do just fine, you don't even need to say "Siri". I've been doing that daily.

 

[4sallypat]

TLDR: Does the Fenix make/receive cell calls as a standalone phone like the AW ?

 

[xDKP]

I've been pretty pleased with the battery on my AWU2-- I easily go 3 days on average before a charge, which is much better than my previous series 7

Yeah with an hour run I'm closer to 24 hours - Often times around 10% or lower in the evening so charging back to 100% before bed time. Not really that impressive - Three days would be amazing - never been there. Was two days when I got it but ever since WatchOS 10 it's been closer to one day - Could stretch it over night to day 2 but not much more.

 

[dj1891]

I agree that it's a better running/cycling watch, but the lack of LTE on a $1,000+ watch is puzzling.

That being said, the one thing I really miss when I'm wearing my Garmin (and not my AW) is Siri voice commands. I was optimistic about the inclusion of the microphone and speaker, but the video reviews I've seen make it appear that voice commands are pretty slow. When I had my AWU 2 I thought onboard Siri was pretty fantastic. And it's not terrible for me with my Series 7.

The voice command were poor according to DC Rainmaker, too slow. It was quicker just going on doing whatever with the buttons yourself.

 

[xDKP]

The voice command were poor according to DC Rainmaker, too slow. It was quicker just going on doing whatever with the buttons yourself.

Yeah it seems like the voice commands are super slow - and the lack of any LTE option at all is weird. The Apple Watch Ultra package is still better for my running because of the complete package - no need to my phone to stay connected to my wife and kids on long runs (or if I need to call home) and if I want, stream music is an option as well (not often I use that though)

 

[descendent]

TLDR: Does the Fenix make/receive cell calls as a standalone phone like the AW ?

No, it needs to be connected to your phone to make/receive calls