3 ms·

Between the Apple Watch kind of watches on one side, and Pebble kind of watches on another side, there's the whole Garmin ecosystem, a mention of which is notab

Between the Apple Watch kind of watches on one side, and Pebble kind of watches on another side, there's the whole Garmin ecosystem, a mention of which is notably absent from the article. They are a nice technological middle ground (though maybe not always a price middle ground), especially the classic models with non-OLED transflective screens. Granted, they are more sports/fitness oriented, but that's hardly a drawback honestly.

ctkhn 3mo ago
Yeah I love my forerunner 945. Got it used in 2020 and when it died in 2023 Garmin replaced it for $150 including tax and shipping. Couple friends have got the new fancier touchscreen models but I like the simplicity of my watch. I blocked most texts from coming through as a buzz except immediate family or 2FA but it would be nice if Apple's focus modes worked better with it automatically. Been wondering if Pebble would be a good move to get even further away from proprietary software though as someone who runs or hits the gym monday through saturday
- francisofascii 3mo ago
  I have the Forrunner 955, and also love it. It has actual push buttons all the features I need in one watch with the running, biking, swim, golf, and hiking modes.
Auguste 3mo ago
Yeah, my Garmin Instinct Solar 3 gets a 4-week battery life. I never looked back at my Pebble Time.
- darrmit 3mo ago
  I came here to say this. I had abandoned smartwatches entirely and gone back to mechanical watches because smartwatches just did too much and the small utility I got from them (i.e. health) came with the tradeoff that they had to be charged every couple of days. I ended up trying the Garmin Instinct and it has been exactly what I was looking for. I turn off all notifications and just use it for the data it gives me and for the fitness tracking.
  - Auguste 3mo ago
    That's exactly how I use it. Apart from the calendar and calls, I keep all notifications off. For me, this is the perfect smartwatch. Colour displays and touch screens don't interest me.
- mc32 3mo ago
  Unfortunately I think in the general consciousness people treat Garmins as “legacy” devices even as their systems are in some ways superior to the flashy upstarts and newcomers.
- Ingon 3mo ago
  4-week battery life, if you don't go outside. Solar charges the watch relatively slow (e.g. it takes 3 hours of just sitting under the sun to charge a day), but if you get out frequently it just pushes the battery day just a little further. Funny experience, when I charged it the first time and got outside in the sun, it showed infinity days battery remaining :D I also appreciate that most of the data is available right there on the watch (although sometime buried). And I even used the torch a couple of times!
  - Auguste 3mo ago
    The torch is super underrated. I use it regularly, like when getting out of bed in the middle of the night. The best torch is the one you always have on you.
rpozarickij 3mo ago
Before owning a Garmin watch (Epix Pro Gen 2 in my case) I had no idea just how useful always having a flashlight* with you is. I'd put this feature near all the health/digital features in terms of usefulness. I have it set to red light mode by default and double-pressing the light button gives me instant and unobtrusive night vision. I have also turned on the Red Shift mode for the display which makes the watch itself much more pleasant to use. * not all Garmin watches have it AFAIK
jebarker 3mo ago
I’ve found Coros to be great too. I’ve used my Vertix to track GPS for 48 hours continuously during a race. It’s been beaten up against rocks, soaking wet and filthy for extended periods and still works 100%. Just yesterday it saved me from a minor emergency when I got lost on a new trail and needed to backtrack. After years of use it still has weeks of battery life for tracking daily workouts. I don’t use any of the smartwatch features like notifications though and wear a mechanical watch as my daily driver.
jerlam 3mo ago
Garmin and Pebble also are the watches with custom watch faces. You can change them to serious or silly or incomprehensible. Whenever I look at my Apple Watch, it's a reminder that Apple owns it and requires it to look a certain way.

ctkhn 3mo ago

Yeah I love my forerunner 945. Got it used in 2020 and when it died in 2023 Garmin replaced it for $150 including tax and shipping. Couple friends have got the new fancier touchscreen models but I like the simplicity of my watch. I blocked most texts from coming through as a buzz except immediate family or 2FA but it would be nice if Apple's focus modes worked better with it automatically. Been wondering if Pebble would be a good move to get even further away from proprietary software though as someone who runs or hits the gym monday through saturday

francisofascii 3mo ago
I have the Forrunner 955, and also love it. It has actual push buttons all the features I need in one watch with the running, biking, swim, golf, and hiking modes.

Auguste 3mo ago

Yeah, my Garmin Instinct Solar 3 gets a 4-week battery life. I never looked back at my Pebble Time.

darrmit 3mo ago
I came here to say this. I had abandoned smartwatches entirely and gone back to mechanical watches because smartwatches just did too much and the small utility I got from them (i.e. health) came with the tradeoff that they had to be charged every couple of days. I ended up trying the Garmin Instinct and it has been exactly what I was looking for. I turn off all notifications and just use it for the data it gives me and for the fitness tracking.
- Auguste 3mo ago
  That's exactly how I use it. Apart from the calendar and calls, I keep all notifications off. For me, this is the perfect smartwatch. Colour displays and touch screens don't interest me.
mc32 3mo ago
Unfortunately I think in the general consciousness people treat Garmins as “legacy” devices even as their systems are in some ways superior to the flashy upstarts and newcomers.
Ingon 3mo ago
4-week battery life, if you don't go outside. Solar charges the watch relatively slow (e.g. it takes 3 hours of just sitting under the sun to charge a day), but if you get out frequently it just pushes the battery day just a little further. Funny experience, when I charged it the first time and got outside in the sun, it showed infinity days battery remaining :D I also appreciate that most of the data is available right there on the watch (although sometime buried). And I even used the torch a couple of times!
- Auguste 3mo ago
  The torch is super underrated. I use it regularly, like when getting out of bed in the middle of the night. The best torch is the one you always have on you.

rpozarickij 3mo ago

Before owning a Garmin watch (Epix Pro Gen 2 in my case) I had no idea just how useful always having a flashlight* with you is. I'd put this feature near all the health/digital features in terms of usefulness. I have it set to red light mode by default and double-pressing the light button gives me instant and unobtrusive night vision. I have also turned on the Red Shift mode for the display which makes the watch itself much more pleasant to use. * not all Garmin watches have it AFAIK

jebarker 3mo ago

I’ve found Coros to be great too. I’ve used my Vertix to track GPS for 48 hours continuously during a race. It’s been beaten up against rocks, soaking wet and filthy for extended periods and still works 100%. Just yesterday it saved me from a minor emergency when I got lost on a new trail and needed to backtrack. After years of use it still has weeks of battery life for tracking daily workouts. I don’t use any of the smartwatch features like notifications though and wear a mechanical watch as my daily driver.

jerlam 3mo ago

Garmin and Pebble also are the watches with custom watch faces. You can change them to serious or silly or incomprehensible. Whenever I look at my Apple Watch, it's a reminder that Apple owns it and requires it to look a certain way.