I’ve previously owned a Fenix 5 and 6. The time was never right, by which I mean almost always a second or two out. This might sound overly fussy but it’s handy to have a watch I can use for a reference at work. How is the time sync / drift on the Epix 2?
This image illustrates the issue I seem to have with all Garmin devices. With any other smart watch I can check devices at work are correct. I wondered if the Epix 2 was any better.
This image illustrates the issue I seem to have with all Garmin devices. With any other smart watch I can check devices at work are correct. I wondered if the Epix 2 was any better.
I have done quite a bit of work measuring the accuracy/precision of various watches. As a time reference I use a LeoNTP network master clock / time server (Stratum 1 synchronized clock source) - see the spec sheet for this here: LeoNTP Specifications
I compare the watch display with the reference display by recording a 30 second video at 240 frames/sec and measuring the difference at each second. The high frame rate gives me a precision of approximately 4.2 milliseconds, and the 30 measurements are averaged to yield a daily offset. Daily offsets are compared to yield a rate over time.
Here's a pic of the setup I was using to evaluate the accuracy/precision of my Omega X-33:
I have used this same setup to evaluate many watches and found the following in relation to the topic of your question:
1. Casio Multiband6 watches can vary up to approximately +1 second immediately following a time sync, and drift about +0.5 seconds/day before the next time sync.
2. Apple Watch Series 5 and Apple Watch Series 6 watches are consistently accurate within approximately 10 milliseconds as long as they maintain connection to an iPhone with a network connection and/or Wi-Fi network.
3. Garmin fenix 3, tactix Bravo, and fenix 6x Pro vary over the course of a day +2 seconds because of the way the time display is managed by the watch face in use. Upon continuous observation of the time display, occasionally the seconds display can appear to "stutter" where the displayed seconds will seem to freeze momentarily then make up a second or two in quick succession. Although I have not recorded this performance on the epix Gen 2 watch yet, by visual observation it appears to be no different.
In conclusion, if you are seeking a portable, accurate time reference, the Apple Watch seems to be your best choice. Even when put in a Faraday bag - isolating it from all radio signals - it will maintain autonomous accuracy well within +0.2 seconds over the course of a day.
HTH
920XT vs. epix 2 vs. android phone.
