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I suspect Garmin is not immediately worried about the watches. I'm currently wearing a Garmin Fenix 7, which recently replaced a Forerunner 645. I look forward

I suspect Garmin is not immediately worried about the watches. I'm currently wearing a Garmin Fenix 7, which recently replaced a Forerunner 645. I look forward to seeing the Ultra reviews, but it doesn't strike me as competitive yet. E.g., the 36 hours of battery life is surely exciting for Apple Watch fans, but my Fenix 7 gets 18 days of battery life. Or if I turn Battery Saver on, I get 57 days of usage vs 2.5 days for the Apple Watch Ultra. And what really makes the Garmin stuff suited for sports is years and years of carefully designed specialist features. I'm not even much of an athlete but I really appreciate so much of what they offer. If the price were better I could see it being a threat for Garmin's low-end models. But at $800? Even if I were an Apple fan I'd struggle at paying more money for less watch.

williamscales 4y ago
Agreed. There’s so much functionality in the Garmin watches. There are modes for every conceivable sport (and if it doesn’t have it, it’s in the add-on store for a few bucks). It’s got superb navigation features. And if the battery life is a worry you can get one with solar charging via the watchface.
- wpietri 4y ago
  An interesting bit about the solar stuff: when I was at REI and comparing the Fenix models, I asked if the Solar was really worth it. Even according to Garmin, the solar gets you an extra ~20% on battery life. The REI employee pointed out that for the $100 extra it cost, I could get a much more effective solar panel/battery combo that could not only charge my watch but other devices. So I ended up getting the regular model, figuring if I ever needed solar anything, I'd come back and get the right panel for the trip. Yet another reason I'm happy to support my local REI store.
  - williamscales 4y ago
    Very true! I do the same thing myself, since I prefer the sapphire crystal for durability (solar is not available on that one). I can see how it would be very useful for someone who's on an ultralight type of thing where they may not even have a cell phone.

williamscales 4y ago

Agreed. There’s so much functionality in the Garmin watches. There are modes for every conceivable sport (and if it doesn’t have it, it’s in the add-on store for a few bucks). It’s got superb navigation features. And if the battery life is a worry you can get one with solar charging via the watchface.

wpietri 4y ago
An interesting bit about the solar stuff: when I was at REI and comparing the Fenix models, I asked if the Solar was really worth it. Even according to Garmin, the solar gets you an extra ~20% on battery life. The REI employee pointed out that for the $100 extra it cost, I could get a much more effective solar panel/battery combo that could not only charge my watch but other devices. So I ended up getting the regular model, figuring if I ever needed solar anything, I'd come back and get the right panel for the trip. Yet another reason I'm happy to support my local REI store.
- williamscales 4y ago
  Very true! I do the same thing myself, since I prefer the sapphire crystal for durability (solar is not available on that one). I can see how it would be very useful for someone who's on an ultralight type of thing where they may not even have a cell phone.