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

[KentuckyHouse]

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

I’m chiming in late here, but I’ve said for years (as an Android user) that if Apple would just make the Apple Watch work with Android, I’d be the first in line to buy it.

They could sell so many more Apple Watches if they’d just make it so the watches would work with Android. And they may convert some Android users to iPhone users as well.

 

[toobravetosave]

I’m chiming in late here, but I’ve said for years (as an Android user) that if Apple would just make the Apple Watch work with Android, I’d be the first in line to buy it.

They could sell so many more Apple Watches if they’d just make it so the watches would work with Android. And they may convert some Android users to iPhone users as well.

not many users could successfully detangle themselves from icloud anyway (or any full tech life ecosystem really)

if it was convenient to migrate passkeys that would be nice too because i’ll admit android is much more fun to pilot and i like to switch up every few years

 

[tolili alert]

I’m chiming in late here, but I’ve said for years (as an Android user) that if Apple would just make the Apple Watch work with Android, I’d be the first in line to buy it.

They could sell so many more Apple Watches if they’d just make it so the watches would work with Android. And they may convert some Android users to iPhone users as well.

I am an iPhone user because of the watch…

If I could have used an Apple Watch on an Android, I wouldn't have bought an iPhone.

Now that I've been an iPhone user for three years, I wouldn't go back to Android for anything.

I would say that Apple knows what it is doing…

 

[Zelegorm]

What does the garmin offer over the AW? Yeah I saw the price of the Garmin but just curious not going to lie I kinda miss a round watch face.

Nothing. It’s the other way round: The garmin has no LTE at all. The rest is software.

 

[trumptman]

Buy Apple Watch Hermès Ultra 2

Get $50 – $365 off a new Apple Watch Hermès Ultra 2 when you trade in an Apple Watch. Learn more at apple.com.

www.apple.com

I guess Apple didn't want to be outdone in the price gouging department. Apple Watch Ultra Hermes is available for only $1399 now.

 

[TTTedP]

If they revealed a titanium black AWU3 with 5 days battery life, I'd finally get off the fence.

Well, they delivered on half of my ask.

 

[New Mexico Bob]

Interesting, now long are you skiing for? My AW1 with 88% battery health was still around 20% battery life on one of my longest days which was 845am til 5pm, 142km covered, no breaks, 7 hours moving time, 14,395m talking about skiing from 9 AM to about 4 PM in approximately 20° F cold. Watch frequently exposed. Go to REI and listen to them joke about the ultra on the slopes or even hiking for more than a day.. I think your good case is pretty isolate

I'm glad you're having good luck! Unfortunately, the Ultra is doesn't receive good review by folks on the slopes or at ski shops. Not to mention charging it every nght on treks. Great for urban adventures, though!

 

[xDKP]

Well, they delivered on half of my ask.

I would say a third of your ask - no AWU3 and no extended battery - only the black

 

[satchmo]

True, pricing on the Fenix 8 is bonkers.
However, Garmin still offers it in multiple sizes.

If Apple only had smaller size Ultra, they'd have my money.

 

[rbart]

My wife has just bought a Garmin forerunner 165 to use it only for running and keep her Series 7 for the other stuff.
The AW battery is a bit old and not powerful enough for the races we plan.

I haven't used a Garmin since 2016 but I discover how far they are from Apple in UI/UX, software quality:
- Nothing is obvious, navigation with buttons/touch screen is atrocious
- round screen is a super bad choice for displaying data, it's designed for watch hands, not UI
- Garmin Connect is super complex, onboarding on the watch takes ages and it's not able to use your regional settings to set imperial or metric system directly

I know it's not an high end watch, but the software is the same on Fenix. OK, you have tons of buttons (we have enough on Ultra), a better battery life, but if you don't run Ultra trail, I don't see the point.

Big disappointment for me ...

 

[Air_M1]

I love my Garmin Fenix 8. Battery life is insanely good.

 

[xDKP]

I love my Garmin Fenix 8. Battery life is insanely good.

View attachment 2428550

Great with different choices for different people - looks good

 

[rbart]

For the small percentage of people who run races longer than 12 hours, the AWU battery life is not enough.
That’s true

 

[Drock1119]

I love my Garmin Fenix 8. Battery life is insanely good.

View attachment 2428550

Looks good. 👍

 

[satchmo]

My wife has just bought a Garmin forerunner 165 to use it only for running and keep her Series 7 for the other stuff.
The AW battery is a bit old and not powerful enough for the races we plan.

I haven't used a Garmin since 2016 but I discover how far they are from Apple in UI/UX, software quality:
- Nothing is obvious, navigation with buttons/touch screen is atrocious
- round screen is a super bad choice for displaying data, it's designed for watch hands, not UI
- Garmin Connect is super complex, onboarding on the watch takes ages and it's not able to use your regional settings to set imperial or metric system directly

I know it's not an high end watch, but the software is the same on Fenix. OK, you have tons of buttons (we have enough on Ultra), a better battery life, but if you don't run Ultra trail, I don't see the point.

Big disappointment for me ...

These are fair points. Garmin's weakness is in software. While every touts about the amount of metrics available on a Garmin watch, it's the accuracy of that information that's more important.

And people are caught up with metrics that they would never use. It's information overload, just to pretend you're a serious athlete.

I like Apple's more methodical approach where pertinent information is given. Unlike Samsung and Garmin where it's about having many features, Apple seems more intentional in slowly rolling out accurate sensors and software.

My biggest gripe with Apple is (as mentioned earlier in this thread) is the lack of a smaller Ultra.
I suppose they believe 49mm is fine for everybody because it's a sports watch.

At the very least, give us an action button on an AW11 then.

 

[poofdadz]

For the small percentage of people who run races longer than 12 hours, the AWU battery life is not enough.
That’s true

Reality is that 99.99999% of Garmin users will never run a race longer than 3-4 hours. I always find it funny that they complain what a hassle it is to charge a watch every day or two when they all charge their phones daily. But remember, if you use a Garmin, you are an "elite athlete!"

 

[poofdadz]

These are fair points. Garmin's weakness is in software. While every touts about the amount of metrics available on a Garmin watch, it's the accuracy of that information that's more important.

And people are caught up with metrics that they would never use. It's information overload, just to pretend you're a serious athlete.

I like Apple's more methodical approach where pertinent information is given. Unlike Samsung and Garmin where it's about having many features, Apple seems more intentional in slowly rolling out accurate sensors and software.

My biggest gripe with Apple is (as mentioned earlier in this thread) is the lack of a smaller Ultra.
I suppose they believe 49mm is fine for everybody because it's a sports watch.

At the very least, give us an action button on an AW11 then.

As much as a marketing machine as Apple is, Garmin has done an incredible marketing job in their niche. Most of the metrics Garmin has are just marketing BS. Show me the well done and reproduced reserach that back up Garmin's metrics.

 

[Zelegorm]

They have none. The sensors are much worse than on the Apple Watch. Crap in. Crap out. In the end you need to do your workout. The Apple Watch can do everything. And much more than any garmin: I can leave my phone at home. And still I can a marathon and much more with that watch. Amazing. Have you every tried listening music on a garmin watch? What a crap. And the battery life. Much worse than on the Apple Watch. Nope. Garmin is not better. It has better battery life. But why? Bad display. Bad sensors. Everything needs to be turned off like oxygen to reach a much better battery life? Always on on a garmin? Better not!

 

[NME42]

Crap in. Crap out.

This launch of the Fenix 8 is definitely the worst I‘ve seen so far. Incredible amount of bugs. Crashes (eg when swimming in cold water), missing functionality (no turnbyturn navigation), laggy UI (same CPU as Fenix 7), unreadable AOD in dim conditions, inaudible speakers/mic. And the „smart“ features are ten years behind Apple. You can not even sync voice notes from watch to phone.

And still, they are not ashamed to take 1200€ for this package.

If Garmin fans disagree: just look what is being reported in the Garmin forum.

Would like to have a strong competitor for Apple, but this is really bad.

 

[azhava]

This launch of the Fenix 8 is definitely the worst I‘ve seen so far. Incredible amount of bugs. Crashes (eg when swimming in cold water), missing functionality (no turnbyturn navigation), laggy UI (same CPU as Fenix 7), unreadable AOD in dim conditions, inaudible speakers/mic. And the „smart“ features are ten years behind Apple. You can not even sync voice notes from watch to phone.

And still, they are not ashamed to take 1200€ for this package.

If Garmin fans disagree: just look what is being reported in the Garmin forum.

Would like to have a strong competitor for Apple, but this is really bad.

People who complain about Apple's iOS updates have obviously never dealt with Garmin and their updates. 😂 It seems like their pattern on every update is to fix one thing while breaking 3 others.

 

[updatedfruit]

I just upgraded from a Fenix 3 (really) to AWU2 and while the activity tracking on AW is excellent, background sensing is pretty pathetic compared to Garmin. Like sometimes it might check heart rate once in half an hour and when you try to force it by going to the heart rate screen it says measuring, but it is not measuring at all and then goes to ‘sleep’? with a weird screensaver style clock face even though I have AOD on. At least Garmin does manage background monitoring and sleep detection is more accrurate too on the Garmin. But yeah when I saw the Fenix 8 reviews and the laggy screen, high cost etc it’s a huge miss. Also- I was interested in a forerunner 265 but in person it like looks like a flimsy toy, not something I would want to wear 24/7. In my opinion The fenix is the only one that looks nice like you could wear it for various occasions not just for sport- but way too expensive and lacking features for 2024. And I don’t even use a fraction of the AWU2 smart features but it’s good to know they are there if I want them.

 

[Air_M1]

I have my Fenix 8 for a few days now, and there were a few updates already. I got all the updates so I can say that, it's working pretty good. Everything seems to be snappier. I took it for golfing. I can get all the information, working as a golf watch. At the end of the round, it displayed how I navigated through the course, including all the health data.

 

[PatrickNSF]

People who complain about Apple's iOS updates have obviously never dealt with Garmin and their updates. 😂 It seems like their pattern on every update is to fix one thing while breaking 3 others.

I don’t know...I’ve had a Forerunner 965 since launch and it’s worked flawlessly for three marathons, three half marathons and a bunch of smaller races. They’ve even added features (naps, jet lag, better daily suggested workouts) so it‘s a more full-featured watch than I originally bought.

 

[Abazigal]

I’m chiming in late here, but I’ve said for years (as an Android user) that if Apple would just make the Apple Watch work with Android, I’d be the first in line to buy it.

They could sell so many more Apple Watches if they’d just make it so the watches would work with Android. And they may convert some Android users to iPhone users as well.

Which would make sense if the Apple Watch were its own company. It exists in part to ensure people keep using (and buying) iPhones. In that regard, Apple may be happy to sell fewer Apple Watches if it means more iPhone revenue elsewhere.

My guess is Apple has done the sums and determined it's still more profitable overall to keep the Apple Watch as an iPhone-only accessory.

 

[Air_M1]

This launch of the Fenix 8 is definitely the worst I‘ve seen so far. Incredible amount of bugs. Crashes (eg when swimming in cold water), missing functionality (no turnbyturn navigation), laggy UI (same CPU as Fenix 7), unreadable AOD in dim conditions, inaudible speakers/mic. And the „smart“ features are ten years behind Apple. You can not even sync voice notes from watch to phone.

And still, they are not ashamed to take 1200€ for this package.

If Garmin fans disagree: just look what is being reported in the Garmin forum.

Would like to have a strong competitor for Apple, but this is really bad.

LOL. I have not any issue with fenix 8. Most reviews I saw, ran older software, that needs to be updated. They all wanted to be the first to post the review. I got mine a few days back, and there are a few updates already. If you want to listen to music or answer phone call from the watch, get the AW, but don't forget buy the iPhone with it.