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This is a big let down for me. I love endurance sports and currently use a S3+LTE with bluetooth headphones and it's the perfect running companion. I don't have

This is a big let down for me. I love endurance sports and currently use a S3+LTE with bluetooth headphones and it's the perfect running companion. I don't have to carry anything to track to run and listen to my music, podcasts, or audiobooks. But I was really expecting more innovation from the "by innovation only" event. Garmin's flagship watch has a feature that extends the battery life by embedded TWO SOLAR PANELS into the display. That is innovation. https://buy.garmin.com/en-CA/CA/p/641375 https://buy.garmin.com/en-CA/CA/p/641375

endorphone 7y ago
You don't have to carry anything to listen to music, podcasts, or audio books with the wifi-only Apple Watch (beyond the bluetooth earphones, presumably), and it tracks your run too. The thing has 16GB of storage and a full ability to exist by itself. I've never used the S3, or the Garmin, so I have no idea how great they are, but I just had to comment on the Apple Watch thing. There are some things that the Apple Watch seemed designed to be tethered to an iPhone, almost like they were (bizarrely) afraid that it would make people not want to upgrade their phone. They've taken a really rapid approach away from that, though, and the watch is becoming dramatically more powerful by itself, even though it could already do all of the basic things.
- matt-attack 7y ago
  Yep. I go running routinely with just my Apple Watch and no phone. It's feels much better to not be clutching the phone in one hand. I listen to Podcasts and/or Music and when I get home I even use HomeKit to open my garage door to let me in the house. (That last one works presumably because I pop on the house wifi when I get near)
- dmamills 7y ago
  This is true, the only reason I noted the LTE was because this gives me access to my entire Apple Music library on the go. Perfect for the indecisive listener like me! :)
  - endorphone 7y ago
    Sorry I misunderstood and thought you were talking about the Gear S3.
Someone 7y ago
”Garmin's flagship watch has a feature that extends the battery life” By about 15%, according to that page. Anybody know how realistic Garmin’s battery estimates normally are or have a pointer to a real world test? I find it hard to believe that a watch’s face would be facing the sun a lot, even when not wearing a coat or long-sleeved shirt.
- eitally 7y ago
  I have a Garmin 5 Plus. The battery lasts 5-6 days with normal use and always-on screen and 24x7 wear. I charge it in the car during my commute on Fridays.
- dmamills 7y ago
  My previous watch that I used prior to buying the Apple Watch was a Garmin Vivoactive, which I used for marathons and 2 50K trail runs. It never came close to killing the battery on any individual run that's about ~6 hours of continuous GPS usage. On top of that during a normal week of milage (~50miles) I would only take it off to charge once after my Saturday long run. Regardless my point was more that I consider that solar technology to be much more deserving of the title of "innovative" regardless of it's performance (things get better over iteration) than an "always on display" something that all of my Garmin watches I've owned over the last decade have done.
- ilikehurdles 7y ago
  I have a Garmin FR 945, keep most sensors on all the time. I used it on a 2-day, 25 mile hike while recording everything and using its navigation and maps to figure out where I was on the trail for a good chunk of it, about 11-12 hours of recording, and it still didnt hit low battery by the end of the next day. Generally I charge it every night or every other night so I don't know how long it stacks up against its estimates, but with some activities sprinkled in I think it's fair to say that a "1 week" estimate is closer to "4-5 days" if you’re active, depending on how long you're actively recording activities for during that time. As a plain smart-watch without tracking an activity or listening to music, it's down about 10% at the end of the day on those sedentary days, so I think that’s pretty in line with its numbers
lowtolerance 7y ago
Is it really innovative, though? Solar-powered digital watches have been around for nearly fifty years.
ip26 7y ago
At this point it seems pretty clear that if you are serious about endurance sport, you should get a sport watch, not a smart watch. The sport watches can even play music over bluetooth these days.
faaarmer 7y ago
>audiobooks What do you use for audiobooks? Audible on the AW is realllly dodgy for me.

endorphone 7y ago

You don't have to carry anything to listen to music, podcasts, or audio books with the wifi-only Apple Watch (beyond the bluetooth earphones, presumably), and it tracks your run too. The thing has 16GB of storage and a full ability to exist by itself. I've never used the S3, or the Garmin, so I have no idea how great they are, but I just had to comment on the Apple Watch thing. There are some things that the Apple Watch seemed designed to be tethered to an iPhone, almost like they were (bizarrely) afraid that it would make people not want to upgrade their phone. They've taken a really rapid approach away from that, though, and the watch is becoming dramatically more powerful by itself, even though it could already do all of the basic things.

matt-attack 7y ago
Yep. I go running routinely with just my Apple Watch and no phone. It's feels much better to not be clutching the phone in one hand. I listen to Podcasts and/or Music and when I get home I even use HomeKit to open my garage door to let me in the house. (That last one works presumably because I pop on the house wifi when I get near)
dmamills 7y ago
This is true, the only reason I noted the LTE was because this gives me access to my entire Apple Music library on the go. Perfect for the indecisive listener like me! :)
- endorphone 7y ago
  Sorry I misunderstood and thought you were talking about the Gear S3.

Someone 7y ago

”Garmin's flagship watch has a feature that extends the battery life” By about 15%, according to that page. Anybody know how realistic Garmin’s battery estimates normally are or have a pointer to a real world test? I find it hard to believe that a watch’s face would be facing the sun a lot, even when not wearing a coat or long-sleeved shirt.

eitally 7y ago
I have a Garmin 5 Plus. The battery lasts 5-6 days with normal use and always-on screen and 24x7 wear. I charge it in the car during my commute on Fridays.
dmamills 7y ago
My previous watch that I used prior to buying the Apple Watch was a Garmin Vivoactive, which I used for marathons and 2 50K trail runs. It never came close to killing the battery on any individual run that's about ~6 hours of continuous GPS usage. On top of that during a normal week of milage (~50miles) I would only take it off to charge once after my Saturday long run. Regardless my point was more that I consider that solar technology to be much more deserving of the title of "innovative" regardless of it's performance (things get better over iteration) than an "always on display" something that all of my Garmin watches I've owned over the last decade have done.
ilikehurdles 7y ago
I have a Garmin FR 945, keep most sensors on all the time. I used it on a 2-day, 25 mile hike while recording everything and using its navigation and maps to figure out where I was on the trail for a good chunk of it, about 11-12 hours of recording, and it still didnt hit low battery by the end of the next day. Generally I charge it every night or every other night so I don't know how long it stacks up against its estimates, but with some activities sprinkled in I think it's fair to say that a "1 week" estimate is closer to "4-5 days" if you’re active, depending on how long you're actively recording activities for during that time. As a plain smart-watch without tracking an activity or listening to music, it's down about 10% at the end of the day on those sedentary days, so I think that’s pretty in line with its numbers

lowtolerance 7y ago

Is it really innovative, though? Solar-powered digital watches have been around for nearly fifty years.

ip26 7y ago

At this point it seems pretty clear that if you are serious about endurance sport, you should get a sport watch, not a smart watch. The sport watches can even play music over bluetooth these days.

faaarmer 7y ago

>audiobooks What do you use for audiobooks? Audible on the AW is realllly dodgy for me.