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My Garmin 245 tracks my runs, rides, and swims. The data is then pushed to Strava- is there any reason for me to buy an apple watch? I take it I'm not the targe

My Garmin 245 tracks my runs, rides, and swims. The data is then pushed to Strava- is there any reason for me to buy an apple watch? I take it I'm not the target audience here? Anyhoo, if it gives folks an accurate and understandable view into their health, I'm all for it. Edit: More relevant to the topic at hand, it tracks HR and estimates VO2 max for all my activities. IDK if Apple has made a sufficiently advanced update to what the rest of the market provides?

mcintyre1994 6y ago
I like being able to listen to Music while running without needing my phone, but that’s 1) pretty niche, and 2) requires Apple Music. There’s also notifications and companion apps if you use an iPhone, and just general Apple ecosystem niceties.
- Keats 6y ago
  Some Garmin watches can play music too. Garmin 245 Music for example.
  - andylynch 6y ago
    Recent and current Fenix too. Spotify and Garmin Pay mean no need for carrying an iPhone on the run.
    - gnicholas 6y ago
      How widely accepted is Garmin Pay? It was only in 2019 that I got comfortable going out for with my iPhone and no wallet, since there were several nearby businesses that would accept Apple Pay. Is Garmin Pay accepted at most businesses that accept Apple/Google's contactless payments?
- jdxcode 6y ago
  How long does the battery last for you? I tried this with Pandora once and I felt like it ate up the battery so bad without my phone on me that I wouldn't try it again.
  - mcintyre1994 6y ago
    I charge it nightly, and it’d struggle to get through 2 days for sure. I think the activity + music combo does drain the battery quite a bit, but it’ll still get through the rest of the day. Pretty low bar I know.. I have thought about using it for sleep tracking and just charging it in the morning because it definitely doesn’t need a whole night to charge. But yea, battery is definitely a weakness of Apple Watch.
zuppy 6y ago
I’m pretty disappointed by the Apple Watch gps tracking accuracy. I have a lake near me, a full lap around is 5.8 km, measured with multiple watches. I like Garmin watches for running, but this time I’ve managed to forget to charge my Garmin for multiple days in a row and considering I’ve just bought an Apple Watch 6, I’ve decided to test it. I’ve bought it because I like gadgets, not that I was needing it :) Apple Watch showed 6+ km for the same distance. Maybe it seems a deviation that is so small that it is insignificant, but for me it is not. I’m fighting hard for each small performance increase, this equals to a few weeks of hard work which are ignored (I’m expecting this to be unreliable in both ways, up or down). Other major 2020 new feature that I’ve tried is the blood oxygen measuring tool. I was getting different results with up to 4-5% variation between consecutive measures. You can say that it’s user error, but whatever, if it only works when planets align maybe this is a feature that is not ready. I did not get this from my cheap chinese monitor. In the end I’ve decided to return it. It is an awesome smart watch, but a lousy sport watch for my very own needs. I’m sure other people have different experience with it, but mine wasn’t good. edit: regarding music, I could already do that with my Garmin 645. It syncs with Spotify playlists.
jdxcode 6y ago
If you use a mac it can unlock your computer without having to use TouchID/Password. That's a killer feature that almost makes the watch worth wearing even if I used it for nothing else. I really like using it for runs but I haven't used a Garmin so I can't compare. Seems to work well but I keep my phone on me as well. I've tried going without my phone and using Pandora but it eats up the battery really badly. I don't think you could run for more than an hour or two with everything going. (I have a series 5) I also use it with Things for checking off todo items, siri very occasionally, sometimes answering quick phone calls, and as a quick way to ping my phone if I can't find it in the couch cushions. These are all pretty minor things but moderately improve my life. All told it would be a mediocre product I might not even bother to charge and wear every day. That unlocking my computer though is the one thing it does I find helps my life a ton.

mcintyre1994 6y ago

I like being able to listen to Music while running without needing my phone, but that’s 1) pretty niche, and 2) requires Apple Music. There’s also notifications and companion apps if you use an iPhone, and just general Apple ecosystem niceties.

Keats 6y ago
Some Garmin watches can play music too. Garmin 245 Music for example.
- andylynch 6y ago
  Recent and current Fenix too. Spotify and Garmin Pay mean no need for carrying an iPhone on the run.
  - gnicholas 6y ago
    How widely accepted is Garmin Pay? It was only in 2019 that I got comfortable going out for with my iPhone and no wallet, since there were several nearby businesses that would accept Apple Pay. Is Garmin Pay accepted at most businesses that accept Apple/Google's contactless payments?
jdxcode 6y ago
How long does the battery last for you? I tried this with Pandora once and I felt like it ate up the battery so bad without my phone on me that I wouldn't try it again.
- mcintyre1994 6y ago
  I charge it nightly, and it’d struggle to get through 2 days for sure. I think the activity + music combo does drain the battery quite a bit, but it’ll still get through the rest of the day. Pretty low bar I know.. I have thought about using it for sleep tracking and just charging it in the morning because it definitely doesn’t need a whole night to charge. But yea, battery is definitely a weakness of Apple Watch.

zuppy 6y ago

I’m pretty disappointed by the Apple Watch gps tracking accuracy. I have a lake near me, a full lap around is 5.8 km, measured with multiple watches. I like Garmin watches for running, but this time I’ve managed to forget to charge my Garmin for multiple days in a row and considering I’ve just bought an Apple Watch 6, I’ve decided to test it. I’ve bought it because I like gadgets, not that I was needing it :) Apple Watch showed 6+ km for the same distance. Maybe it seems a deviation that is so small that it is insignificant, but for me it is not. I’m fighting hard for each small performance increase, this equals to a few weeks of hard work which are ignored (I’m expecting this to be unreliable in both ways, up or down). Other major 2020 new feature that I’ve tried is the blood oxygen measuring tool. I was getting different results with up to 4-5% variation between consecutive measures. You can say that it’s user error, but whatever, if it only works when planets align maybe this is a feature that is not ready. I did not get this from my cheap chinese monitor. In the end I’ve decided to return it. It is an awesome smart watch, but a lousy sport watch for my very own needs. I’m sure other people have different experience with it, but mine wasn’t good. edit: regarding music, I could already do that with my Garmin 645. It syncs with Spotify playlists.

jdxcode 6y ago

If you use a mac it can unlock your computer without having to use TouchID/Password. That's a killer feature that almost makes the watch worth wearing even if I used it for nothing else. I really like using it for runs but I haven't used a Garmin so I can't compare. Seems to work well but I keep my phone on me as well. I've tried going without my phone and using Pandora but it eats up the battery really badly. I don't think you could run for more than an hour or two with everything going. (I have a series 5) I also use it with Things for checking off todo items, siri very occasionally, sometimes answering quick phone calls, and as a quick way to ping my phone if I can't find it in the couch cushions. These are all pretty minor things but moderately improve my life. All told it would be a mediocre product I might not even bother to charge and wear every day. That unlocking my computer though is the one thing it does I find helps my life a ton.