Apple Watch series 4

So I want to first say I’m not a fanboy of any product.
I’ve been getting frustrated with how bad my 5+ titanium has been on GPS accuracy among other things. So I when out an bought a series 4 Apple Watch (GPS and LTE) and went for a run today. My 5+ was connected to GPS + GLONAS and I had a external heart rate monitor on. I used the default running app on Apple Watch. I went for a little speed run 3.5 miles and I have to say that heart accuracy has fantastic on the AW( it was always within 2 bpm ) and the pace seemed more on par of what I was thinking. When I got home, I looked at the GPS trace route for both and between the two the Apple Watch was more correct, then 5+. The 5+ had me running through houses, cars and about 40 feet away from where I was on some spots. Now they both had their “drunken” moments , but between them both at least on this run the AW was more accurate. This kinda confuses me Garmin is a GPS company and the cost is about $400 more.
One of the only drawbacks so far other than the 2 day battery life is that there isn’t as many metrics ( )as Garmin has, but I don’t really think I need them.
Has anyone here had similar experiences with other devices? I’m just getting tired of how Garmin is handling things. It seems like every time they say “fixed” it reminds me of when Jr developers say “ it works on my computer “
I do have to say that I really like the AW , but find myself still wanting to use the 5+. At least as of now.

0 nmyeti over 6 years ago

I also bought an AW4 with cellular and find the GPS to be much more consistent than my 5+ - AW shows straight lines where the 5+ jumps across the street and either cuts corners or over states them. Heart rate is +/- 1-2 bms which is very good. I fell in love with all the metrics with my 5+ but enjoy listening to music, podcasts and audible books (yes AW has this now) to force me to wear both.

It is too bad the AW4 runs such a closed OS that you can't even change the display while running and provides minimal states post workout. If Apple decided to use Firstbeat for health/fitness metrics all other wearables would be doomed.

Is there any way to get the track files off the watch prior to Apple processing them? Not saying that it doesn't have wonderful GPS accuracy, only that I'd like to be sure what we are seeing is the result of the accuracy of the watch and not some server side filtering. If I understand correctly you can't even really view workout information on the watch, so that may not be possible.

If I was an iPhone user I might consider an apple watch.

0 Gr4z over 6 years ago

Is there any way to get the track files off the watch prior to Apple processing them? Not saying that it doesn't have wonderful GPS accuracy, only that I'd like to be sure what we are seeing is the result of the accuracy of the watch and not some server side filtering. If I understand correctly you can't even really view workout information on the watch, so that may not be possible.

If I was an iPhone user I might consider an apple watch.

double post.

0 Gr4z over 6 years ago

Is there any way to get the track files off the watch prior to Apple processing them? Not saying that it doesn't have wonderful GPS accuracy, only that I'd like to be sure what we are seeing is the result of the accuracy of the watch and not some server side filtering. If I understand correctly you can't even really view workout information on the watch, so that may not be possible.

If I was an iPhone user I might consider an apple watch.

Check out RunGap and ConnectStats. These give a great deal of stats from a range of devices and allow you to export to other platforms.

0 OEAGLEO over 6 years ago

Okay, a while back I did a comparison between my (at that time) Apple Watch Series 3, and a Garmin Fenix 5x I had. I imported both tracks into MyGPSFiles, and this is that link to show the two:

http://mygpsfiles.com/app/#MgcgZF58

Friday, I took my Apple Watch Series 4 out for a walk, and turned off the Bluetooth on my phone. For those who do not know, if the phone is nearby, the watch will use the phone's GPS to conserve energy. This forced the watch to use it's internal GPS for this walk, and I have to say, I'm quite pleased. I exported it into Garmin Connect, and this is the track:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/3049771133

To fully be able to see how accurate this track is, I use the option "Fullscreen Map for Garmin Connect".. a really handy bookmark:

javascript:void(jQuery.getScript('johanberonius.github.io/.../garmin-connect.js'))

I no longer have the Fenix 5x, (nor the 5+ that I bought to replace it), but am now solely using the Apple Watch Series 4, as it serves my needs perfectly. Just hoping these observations help someone on the edge.

0 RickCain over 6 years ago

Another BIG thing to add is the audio quality of the F5+ versus the AW (1,2,3,4). They are night and day from a loudness and quality perspective - the F5+ is tremendously lower volume and seems to only provide half the audio quality. Not to mention Bluetooth is so bad you must wear it on your right wrist in order for it not to cut out every time your left wrist goes back.

To me I wish Garmin never released the F5+ as it feels like it wasn't tested with actual people before releasing and more of a half baked idea. I seriously want to know how the decision was made to release a product with a main feature that wouldn't work reliably on a users left wrist. Music was what got me to buy it in the first place and now am stuck because the training metrics and health information is so darn good but the feature that made me buy it is so poor.

My goal with posting is to give Garmin ideas on how they can make their product even better, not bash it. Smartwatch features are not nearly important to me as solid audio that works consistently and doesn't require lugging a phone with me while exercising.

0 bdub25 over 6 years ago

Went for another run today and the 5+ was a little better , but not as good as the AW. The weird thing is, I started both at the same time, and the garmin stopped a mile in and acted like it was never started. I had to start the run activity again and then it was better than my run I did yesterday on gps accuracy.
I’m torn on between the two. I really want to like the 5+ ti, but with all the issues I’m having with it maybe I should just walk away.
To be honest I wish I both the 935 instead of the 5+.

0 Gr4z over 6 years ago

Went for another run today and the 5+ was a little better , but not as good as the AW. The weird thing is, I started both at the same time, and the garmin stopped a mile in and acted like it was never started. I had to start the run activity again and then it was better than my run I did yesterday on gps accuracy.
I’m torn on between the two. I really want to like the 5+ ti, but with all the issues I’m having with it maybe I should just walk away.
To be honest I wish I both the 935 instead of the 5+.

I have a 935 as I was going to replace it with my 5+. Getting tempted to return the 5+ sell the 935 and buy a AW4. It’s hard as I love the Garmin watches, but their software sometimes sucks.

0 jimoestman over 6 years ago

Had a series 2 once, while owning Fenix watches. Sold it after ending up using only 5x (and now 5+).

For me it became just an iPhone "extended display". But the 2 main reasons for the switch;

1. No AW app could do navigation and maps as well as Fenix 5x/5+.

2. One day battery life by design. Charged it by night. Tracking sleep was possible but you would have to find 2-3 hours somewhere the day after to charge it so it would last til the end of that day.
I like technology to assist me and make life easier, not add choirs to my daily life. Therefore I don't think it is a good device for sleep tracking. Come think of it, I remember always worrying about if the watch would last 24 hours.

0 phgerin over 6 years ago

2. One day battery life by design. Charged it by night. Tracking sleep was possible but you would have to find 2-3 hours somewhere the day after to charge it so it would last til the end of that day.
I like technology to assist me and make life easier, not add choirs to my daily life. Therefore I don't think it is a good device for sleep tracking. Come think of it, I remember always worrying about if the watch would last 24 hours.

Apple claims 18h minimum battery life.
but,I get 2 days, including sleep tracking.
My Fenix 5S Plus get 3,5 days, same usage.

0 Gr4z over 6 years ago

Apple claims 18h minimum battery life.
but,I get 2 days, including sleep tracking.
My Fenix 5S Plus get 3,5 days, same usage.

What is your typical usage?