Planning to sell EPIX Stainless and buy Apple Watch Ultra- Thoughts ?

Hi. Thanks for the insight. Which AW are you using while running ? 

I am mainly gymming and occasionally cycling 

AW doesn't have ant+, real maps, battery, HIIT, AMRAP, EMOM, Tabata, Garmin coach, Visual race predictor, Pacepro, Recovery time, MTB Dynamics, Daily workout suggestions, Stamina and many other excellent things which i'm bored to write. You want more?

If you are considering the switch I can only assume you're more of a recreational athlete. I simply can't find a compelling enough reason to make the swap from Garmin to apple on any grounds other than eco-system and LTE connectivity. I am a fully fledged Apple user (iPad, Mac and iPhone) but Garmin are so far ahead in terms of the sports endurance experience there is no comparison. I'm sure apple is fine for standard mile splits, pacing runs and rides etc but for run workouts, power meter compatibility on the bike, swimming etc then Garmin is streets ahead. Depends very much on use though I accept.

Sunster77 said:

I am still weighing the pros and cons of switching from Garmin to Apple and opinions and thoughts help in this decision. 

I came from an AW and was in your shoes before switching so I know how it feels. I am apple everything in my life so it was hard to switch but you really have to evaluate, do you really need a mini iphone on yoiur wrist? You already have an iphone that is probably 80% of the time in your hand or pocket anyways, why not use a device that cares and focuses on your health and well being?

I didn't have the ultra but not really much different in the grand scheme of things. I've had AW since they came out, upgraded every year. They are all the same. Once you've owned one, you've owned them all. A siren that sounds like a childrens toy is not going to help me if I fell in a cliff. If you did fall in a cliff and you were stranded, you have no routes, no maps, no courses, and a barely functional "tracback" feature. Not to mention your battery would of course die the next day so then you are really screwed. The mapping functions is just freakin amazing.

Jet lag advisor will be pretty cool. I am excited to use that, I travel a lot across the country.

Garmin updates their software and adds features a lot faster than apple. I feel like they listen to their customers most of the time with the exception of the Index S2 scale body fat % issues (link below).

I love the garmin challenges/connections feature. I have convinced a lot of friends and family to switch to garmin and we all challenge each other and I can see some (wish there was more visibility options) of their health stats. After a long hike we compare our sleep scores or HRV status and have a laugh. 

Next, basically say goodbye to all your health stats being shown to you in a proper way. Have you ever just tried to use the apple health app? Focuses on nothing but pure data. It's just a giant database with no features. You need to download some random app some guy built from the app store to send all your PHI private data to so he can give you a score. I hate the million apps you have to download to make the watch useful for anything health related.

The GC app really did it for me. It gives insights, as in free insights (cough cough oura ring ring, whoop, etc), and really tells me how my overall performance is and kicks my ass when I need to get out and exercise.

The connect.garmin.com website is really awesome too, everything under one roof. I am no way a pro athlete but it's nice to see trends and how I have improved. When looking at that website I feel like my watch is working for me in a lot of ways I don't realize.

AW does literally zero for health even though they market it for that. The apple health app is fine but its really all over the place and doesn't really tell you much. I hate the monthly fees with oura rings and whoops fit-junk-bits and so on. 

Sometimes I wish I had cellular connection on my watch for texts and calls but it really doesn't matter. Most people's phones are in their pocket anyways.

I like looking at different metrics, body battery, stress, etc. 

Note that garmin checks HR every second and AW checks randomly so its not super accurate.

I don't know, maybe it's just me but I really enjoy the fact that I have it on my wrist when im hiking and feel more safe when it comes to direction and mapping that I do with my AW. It's that battery man, it is killer. 

AW to me is just a good smart watch. it's good at doing things that 90% of the population would like. If you like to be outside and do outdoor things, stick to the outdoor watch.

I have AMEX cards so it doesn't work with my EPIX because they can't agree to terms but otherwise I love my epix and the garmin world. Now only if they'd get the Apple Health sync right and also the Index S2 scale problem fixed, I would be really even happier. 

I submitted to garmin that they should consider making their app more like the UP app  that went bankrupt years ago. Yes, I had that little device and loved it. I hate the my fitness pal app.

Thanks a lot Josh for taking the time to give such nice insights and views. This really helps in the buying / not buying decision. That was the main reason to post this question as it would help me to make / not to make a decision to spend this money on AWU. What better place to discuss it other than this forum. Thanks again and will wait it out with the AWU. 

I recently switched from the EPIX to the Apple Watch Ultra.

I have owned literally every Apple Watch since the first one, and every Fenix watch since the 5x + now the EPIX 2. Every year I kind of hoped that the Apple Watch battery would be better, or that the Garmin watch would work better as a smartwatch with iPhone.

This is the first year where I sold my Garmin (the EPIX 2) and bought the Apple Watch (Ultra) when I am not switching back. The battery holds for 3 days, and it just takes 30-something minutes to charge it. STRYD just updated their app so the screen is always on, and it's really amazing. I also use the app Gymaholic for strength training, which is also amazing.

To be honest with my current setup (Apple Watch Ultra + STRYD) I have all the running metrics I need, amazing sleep tracking, and there are apps like Athlytic that provide features similar to "Body Battery". The sleep tracking is also excellent. And as a smartwatch with iPhone it's just so much better (Do not disturb status syncs automatically, alarms sync automatically, the haptic feedback is better and not audible, etc). 

The Apple Watch Ultra is just in a class of it's own.

If you're in the Apple eco system: Do it. Don't even think about it.  

The integration with iPhone, Mac and Apple TV is outstanding. You can control everything, it's fast, it has LTE, so you can leave the phone behind and it works as second factor for passwords.

It's bigger and havier than the Epix - because the Epix has two thin layers of Titanium (in my case). The Apple Watch has a complete titanium body with a ceramic back for the sensors.

The HR-Sensor is simply the best in the market. Sleep tracking ist the best in the market.

Sure, you won't get all your data analysed (by cloud services you can't control) - but there are Apps like Health Fit or Athlytics, which could be a workaround.

Notifications will just go to the Apple Watch and won't involve or wake up your iPhone anymore (Just one buzzing device instead of two is a tiny but remarkable difference). Answer a Text by typing es, the display is big enough) or dictating? Served me well, while riding a bike and having the iPhone in my bag. 

Yeah, yeah. You will only get through 2 days if you're a hardcore user and track sport, hydration an so on. That's a downer. But I can load it fully in the morning at the office.

I love both watches - but Garmin Connect is sometimes a pain in the south while syncing with Apple Health. And it's a cloud service. The Apple Watch syncs directly and really fast with the iPhone. d there I can decide, where my data will be synched with. For that cloud service - well, there is no cloud, just another ones computer.  

The question is: Do you rely on all that analysed data and stress information and body-battery-fantasy-numbers? Or do you more like an realy smart watch which can do sports tracking, if you install some apps on it (and sometimes pay extra, which is too a downer)?

Why you bought so expensive and advanced Garmin if you don't want it features? Epix is for pros, others are for lames who just need to check time.