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I feel like Garmin watches are kind of slept on by normies. They seem to have a niche for fitness enthusiasts. I got one primarily because it looks like a norma
by asveikau 1y ago
I feel like Garmin watches are kind of slept on by normies. They seem to have a niche for fitness enthusiasts. I got one primarily because it looks like a normal watch and not a tech product. But I do appreciate the fitness tracking.
I've had the same one for 5 years and it's still solid.
- listic 1y agoCare to explain how does a normal watch look like nowadays and does a fitness product? I guess I am clueless in this. I wear Mi Band 4.
- asveikau 1y agoMine is a Garmin Fenix 6s. If you do a quick Google images for Garmin Fenix 6s and then for mi band 4, I think you will see the visual contrast we're talking about.
- A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 1y agoIt actually is what appealed to me in how it is presented. Can you give me an idea on how open it is? Do I need register an account to run it?
- asveikau 1y agoI am not sure what you can do without an account, because I created an account on day 1. It connects to the phone over Bluetooth. Many operations need your phone to have internet. There is a kind of primitive app platform. The only app I really use is for Home Assistant, it makes https requests to HA over the phone. I connected it to Strava too, it can realtime send heart rate to that app without going to the internet, but it required jumping a few hoops in settings.
- A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 1y agoThank you. This is useful to me. I will look into it more closely, but I think that will likely not be for me.
- nradov 1y agoYou can use the device as a fitness tracker without registering an account. And you can download activity files with a USB cable. But anything more, including the satellite connectivity, requires registering an account.
- bobthepanda 1y agoGarmin sort of intentionally did this to set up a moat, after their GPS business went the way of the dodo.
- izzydata 1y agoIf by GPS you specifically mean car navigation. Because almost the entirety of Garmin as a company is built around putting GPS into various things including wearables. But even in automotive they pivoted to working with car OEMs instead of relying on sale of independent devices.
- p_l 1y agoNever seen a Garmin car navigation device. Aerospace, Garmin was, is, and probably will be big
- ilikecakeandpie 1y agoThey were definitely a major player for a long time prior to smartphones becoming the number one GPS solution (for most cars). Garmin, TomTom, Magellan, etc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u-sGHMivwo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u-sGHMivwo
- asveikau 1y agoI remember their in car navigation being huge in the 2000s in the US, maybe 2005 or so was their peak, before that they were very expensive. Probably a lot of people know the brand just for that.
- p_l 1y agoMight be US-specific thing then, or at least they were not very present in the Central/Eastern Europe
- tyfon 1y agoGarmin it's still heavily used in boats among other things. I wouldn't want to go into the lobster season without the ability to track my pods.
- NoboruWataya 1y agoI agree, it's the right level of smart for me. That said, while it's squarely in the "fitness tracker" niche, I think it is very popular with anyone who has even a passing interest in running, cycling, etc. The last few years I have seen loads of people around the office wearing one.