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I have a different perspective. I recently bought a Garmin Fenix 3 GPS/semi-smart watch. Before I had this I didn't get the entire category at all. Now I still
by darkxanthos 11y ago
I have a different perspective. I recently bought a Garmin Fenix 3 GPS/semi-smart watch. Before I had this I didn't get the entire category at all. Now I still don't get the Apple watch but I DO understand more of what's coming.
Coupled with a heart rate monitor I can see a zillion interesting metrics about my exercises (including cadence and ground contact time). When I'm hiking I have a GPS map that I follow to show me how to get back to where I was. All the standard GPS features, plus I now get notifications when someone texts or calls and it's so much less inconspicuous to check the messages on my watch.
While I'm running I can just leave my phone in my pocket and control my music on my watch. Also the watch is always showing the time (it works well in light so the backlight is usually necessary).
I don't need my bike speed computer anymore now that I have this watch as well. One less thing to futz with.
A key thing that makes this watch work so well where my last GPS watch failed is the battery life. It can go around a full week without charging so it can easily last through a day of use. Several if I can't get to a charger.
I don't have the other features of the iWatch but they don't really appeal to me. All I can say is that this watch is one of the better electronics purchases I've made. There's definitely SOMETHING to this category of devices. I don't think Apple's got it quite yet though.
- tdkl 11y agoGarmin made their sport GPS watch smarter, while the software companies are still working to make their smart watches sportier. IMHO the former makes a lot more sense just because of the limited amount of useful use cases for this form factor, which you actually described - simple notifications and some form of a remote for music.
- dankoss 11y agoI agree. I bought a Vivoactive to replace my Fenix 2. I love the battery life and the fact that it's small and tough enough to wear all day, every day. The smart features were secondary but they've become more useful over time. I take for granted that the transreflective display is always on. If Apple puts GPS and full waterproofing into Watch v2, Garmin is pretty much done with the category because they don't have a comparable developer community. I considered it, but the SDK is really limiting right now.