Apple Watch vs Garmin: The Short Version
Don’t want all the details?Well, the quick version is Garmin is better in my view:
- Features to price ratio miles better than Apple Watches
- Better navigation
- More robust watches
- Battery life a country mile better
In short, after using an Apple Watch for 9 years and a Garmin for just 6 weeks, I am pretty much cursing myself for not making the switch years ago.Now, if you want all the details, you can read on.
Moving From Apple Watch to Garmin
I got my first Apple Watch soon after its release in 2015. I used it for all sorts initially, but as the years went by and I upgraded to newer releases a few times, it became evident that the things I was most interested in from a smartwatch were:
- Health data like resting heart rate, VO2 max estimates, sleep patterns and so forth
- Fitness tracking particularly for hiking. I always loved the ability to track distance, pace, time and elevation
As time has gone on I haven’t used it as much for calls or messages, often even turning those alerts off. And in all honesty, a real bug bear of mine in recent time has been the GOD AWFUL battery life on the Apple Watch.But as an iPhone user who is happy with the iPhone, I’ve been reluctant to switch brands altogether for fear of poor integration with my phone or a user interface I just couldn’t get to grips with.However, the final straw came over the last few weeks when the battery on my Apple Watch had become so degrade that it needed charging twice a day! Granted, it was a few years old at this point and I was due an upgrade. But still!It got to a point where my Apple Watch wouldn’t last a half day hike. So it was time to make a decision…
- New Apple Watch? Or switch to Garmin for hiking?
I decided
not to spend the money on an upgraded newer Apple Watch. After comparing features, honestly, it just seemed like poor value for what I use it for compared with other brands.And if I were going to switch brands, it would always be to Garmin, largely because of the integration with AllTrails+ . I carry a paper map and compass when I go out hiking places I’m not familiar with (and yes, I can use them) but primarily use electronic navigation largely powered by my phone (I carry
portable charging banks too).Also, I heard exceptional things about the battery life on Garmin devices. So after much asking about other hiking people I know, lots of feature comparisons and plenty of review reading, I settled on the
Garmin Epix Gen 2 for a few reasons:
- Exceptional value feature for feature compared with Apple Watches
- Had every feature that I was actively using on the Apple Watch
- Promised exceptional battery life
- Brighter screen than other models I was looking at
I got this one:
We’re now two weeks in (and in all honesty, I think these reviews are best done months in so I will update this again in a few months). Here’s how we’re finding things so far.
From Apple Watch to Garmin in a Nutshell
Here’s a summary how I’m finding things two weeks after swapping my Apple Watch for a Garmin Epix 2. I’ve covered off some feature comparisons here and also some of the things I was worried about like how well it would integrate with Apple Health and Fitness.
| Apple Watch | Garmin Epix 2 |
| Battery life | Was charging at least once a day | Charging weekly or less |
| Integration with Apple Health and Fitness | Flawless, given it’s an Apple product | Data integrating just fine with Apple Health but Health data NOT pulling through to the Fitness App. More on that below |
| Navigation (Hiking) | Alltrails on Apple Watch was so so. But it absolutely annihilated the battery so I didn’t use it | “Send to Garmin” from AllTrails Pro account is so seamless and downloading routes for offline use is really easy. I use electronic navigation primarily with a back up map in my bag. And I think I could be tempted to make my watch the primary device over my phone. I’m impressed |
| Sleep | Sleep tracking was fine with the Apple Watch but the fact I had to charge it every night meant I rarely used sleep tracking on it | Effective. Love it |
| General fitness tracking | Really good. I do like the Interace of the Fitness App as well | Again very effective. I like it a lot. I wish I could figure out how to get my data into Apple fitness! But I’m gradually getting used to the Connect interface |
| Usability | Very easy to use | Very easy to use. After a day or two it felt second nature |
| Look and feel | I like the different selection of straps and styles | Bigger than my Apple Watch. Took some getting used to. Less choice of look and feel but I’ve gotten used to it now and very much prefer the circular watch face to the rectangular Apple Watch |
Does Garmin Work with Apple Health and Fitness?
So, connecting my Garmin Epix 2 to my iPhone and getting the data coming into Apple Health was
easy. It was just a case of making sure Apple Health had the permissions it needed to use my Garmin data.But for some reason, still to this day some 2 months on, I cannot get the Apple Health data from my Garmin to close my activity rings.I have tried all sorts, perused forums and done the lot in a bid to try and fix this issue. It seems a common thing. Now I was tearing my hair out for the first few days but actually, I stopped caring after a couple of weeks. I don’t care about rings anymore. I set targets in Garmin for things like activity levels, walking distance etc.You can see here that even in the Fitness app, my walks from Garmin are coming through. But none of the activity is contributing towards closing the Apple Rings.
However, it surprised me how quickly I got over the rings and started turning my attention to things like improving my Fitness Age.Getting data from Garmin to Apple Health (take the Fitness app and those bloody rings out of the equation) though easy.That said, I don’t use the Health app anymore. I default to Garmin Connect which is a far, far superior interface and app in my view.
Apple vs Garmin Battery Life
Now this is where, hands down, I feel like Apple have been ripping me off for years.I have the Garmin Epix 2. My last Apple Watch was a 6, so it’s an older one. But even when new it needed charging daily. By the end of my use of it, I was having to charge it more than once daily.My Garmin, with regular activity, lasts over a week. Even if I do a long day hike, it will typically last days upon days.And it charges so fast.I’m honestly blown away by the difference. And I am aware other models have an even longer battery life than this one but I am more than satisfied with what I have here.
Customisable Watch Faces on Garmin
So much better than Apple, in my opinion. I actually downloaded a watch face which is a Fenix one and use it on mine. The ability to easily change what data you show on your watch is brilliant.
Cutomisable Activity “Glances”
I love this. The fact that I can choose what I see on screen during a hike (or during a football match or a short walk) is brilliant.Personally, when I’m hiking, I have chosen to see things like:
- Heart rate
- Elevation
- Time
- Time elapsed
- Distance covered
But you could add anything else you like in and you can swipe down to see other screens that you also customise.
Garmin Connect App vs Apple Health/Fitness
This was my biggest worry – how I would adjust to using another app when I’ve been using the Health and Fitness apps daily for the best part of a decade.I had initially intended when first changing from Apple to Garmin, to still continue using the Apple Apps but have the data come in from my Garmin to those apps.Of course, that didn’t work out when I couldn’t solve the issue of the rings! But I now prefer the Garmin Connect app anyway. I replaced Apply Fitness from my bar at the bottom of my home screen on my phone for Garmin Connect.
Easy!
Navigation and Maps on Garmin
This has been brilliant since switching to Garmin. I never used my Apple Watch for Navigation despite it having some functionality and indeed AllTrails compatibility. But the battery life just meant it was utterly pointless and I’d be unlikely to get the whole hike out of it.The easy “
Send to Garmin,” option direct from AllTrails is so easy to use.
Other Things I Think Garmin Does Better
- Sleep tracking and sleep coaching
- “Body Battery.” I like this measurement and it always seems to coincide with how I actually feel
- Training coaching without the need for expensive extra subscriptions
Honestly, I’m over the moon with it. I’ll update again after another couple of months of usage. But in short, for a product that is available at less than £400 on sale in plenty of places this is great value. The Apple Watch series 10 currently retails at around the same price and only has a battery life
up to 18 hours. The Ultra is over £700 and “boasts” a battery life of “up to” 72 hours.So if battery life matters and you can let go of those bloody activity rings, Garmin feels like a really cracking move.
