From Apple Watch ultra to Epix pro?

I’m not certain if the strength training app has been updated, but it used to do rep counting via movement and was pretty bad.  I also found it irritating to set up workouts.

Strong, found on the App Store, was much better than anything Garmin had to offer.

You can load music on a Garmin through certain apps but it’s not as good as the AW.  I use Music Bee for podcasts.

Garmin, right now, doesn’t offer a lot that Apple can’t do well enough.  If you aren’t an endurance athlete, need battery life, or like the running metrics or some such, it’s an easy decision. Also if you listen to music a Garmin won’t be much better than an AW, music destroys the battery on Garmins.

You would probably benefit massively from the Garmin Eco system (regardless of what Garmin you buy).  Apple is a joke in this department.  I look at it like you're getting the Garmin Connect app, web interface and that is the main deal.  The specific watch is the "front end" of that, and runners will pick a running watch, others may like the Fenix / Epix etc..  but it's all good.   You are likely over training by the sounds of it.

Apple has a long, long way to go before it really can compete with what Garmin offers as a complete package.  Too many narrow comparisons are done, but when you "zoom out" and look at the whole, its a much different experience.

It’s the complete opposite actually.  Apple Health does everything from medication tracking, to health metrics Garmin won’t ever do, to lab results, etc.  You can get at the data, you don’t need work arounds like you have to do with MyFitnessPal to get some data in and out of Garmin Connect and a lot more.  It’s not even close.

For example, I needed to pull my O2 data.  I couldn’t get to it with Garmin.  I got it out of Apple Health with a free app.

If you need more granular tracking WorkOutDoors gets you pretty close.  The new OS will bring improvements as well.  

Garmin’s native data presentation is better than an AW for activities in the Workout app, the battery life is better, plus a few other things that you likely won’t ever use, but if you do, get a Garmin.  Otherwise, the list of things that Garmin does better than an AW Ultra is getting pretty short these days for most people, and for damn sure, one of those things isn’t strength training if you buy an app. 

I completely disagree. The application for strength training, especially if we do our own training, is the best on the market. If you want to ditch your notebook, pen and phone at the gym, then the Garmin is second to none. Then Coros. AW does not offer personalized workouts that can be created in Garmin Connect. What you find most annoying is the best feature in watches. Of course, if someone trains only to train and does not track and record progress (or counts in his head), there is no point in discussing it at all. Garmin watches are for people who train for progress, and the one in the Garmin ecosystem is more than satisfactory.

I am sure your right about what AW can do.  But I am not on any medications, nor have any chronic health issues where any of that would be of help to me.  What I need is something to let me know what my loading has been over the week, when to pick things up, slow down and give me a second option to how I might feel on any given day.  This is where I really love Garmin.  The body battery, HRV metrics and now all the new training readiness etc.

I just feel that anyone who wants to workout, wants to be motivated to do it, and wants to be careful that they don't overdo it (or at least have a nice and easy way to track what they do) its a great platform and I just feel like that is better that Apple and having to use any third-party apps that don't all talk to one another.

By the way, I do agree that when I do my daily strength training, I don't bother with "rep count" or "weight" I actually log that in a workout book that I use (that is just me).  But, what IS helpful is getting my heart rate during, using the timer for rest / workout etc and most importantly logging my load score at the end and then letting that go into the Garmin's eco system to calculate what I have been doing along with the running.  Its great to get the recovery time and loading stress from what I am doing.  When I flip back through my notebook, I can see from one day to the next how hard I am working on any given workout and when I need to maybe make the rest time shorter (more hitt style) vs. maybe go slow and easy on some days / weeks.  

Anyway, different uses for different people.  and I love the battery life of my new Epix and also love the look (not a fan of the typical "Apple watch" look).

Yup, this is true.  In fact, last night I wanted to make a new workout for when I do core exercises on the matt.  (Chris Hera style).  But, I needed to have something simple where I have a countdown timer and then an automatic rest interval and repeat.  Made this in 2min in the Garmin Connect app.  Love it!

You hit the nail on the head when you said the Garmin is for people who want to track what they are doing and push to next level.  I see the Apple watch (all of them) as the one people get when they seem to have no idea what they are doing and just think "its Apple".  lol.   I know that is oversimplifying it.  But if you attend any professional event, you will see 9 out of 10 are rocking a Garmin and that is for a reason ;-)

It's true that you can train amateur for health on all watches. whether Apple or Samsung or Huawei, they will measure heart rate, time, distance and gps. In the past, there were not so many watches, and those that were for an amateur were not a target. And people did well. Now there are eternal debates about which watch to choose, because there are hundreds of models. Garmin, on the other hand, tracks, analyzes what we do (sometimes better, sometimes worse), saves it on the server and we have an insight into what we've been doing all our lives. I have spoken about this more than once. Someone who trains more and for a specific purpose, Goes deeper into the analysis and here, this jumble of data will bring something, and he will bring out clues. The amateur, on the other hand, will benefit a little less. Because he will see something there, he will be happy with the badges, with the fact that he is doing something with himself, and basically that's it. You need to know sports terminology to use Garmin. Apple, on the other hand, will be well-tailored for everyone, except for those who expect something more than training for health. Besides, professional sport has never been and will never be healthy. The watch will then be such a spirit of reason. We can't control ourselves sometimes. Because if something gives pleasure, we want more, stronger, to cross the next borders. Garmin notices this and lets you know that we are training too hard. Again, the Sunday amateur will have hints that he trains too little and no training effect or training status will jump out of him, so it's an excess of form over content. And this is where Apple Watch or Huawei jumps in and is the perfect target for such people. What do you need to know for what you pay Garmin a lot of money. Although sometimes who will forbid the rich to fulfill their whim :)

I did the switch from Apple Watch ultra to EPIX 51mm Pro and I only do weight lifting. The reason is I want to measure my body stress since it's counter-productive to hypertrophy, and the HRV tracking in Apple Watch Ultra is useless. I also have a knee injury so I need to move around 8-15 000 steps per day, but not too little or too much, so having steps always visible on the watch face is a bonus for me. The major benefit with the Epix though is the battery life of 12 days. Even with 2 day battery life of the Apple Watch I very often forgot it while on charging and left the house without it. I'm very happy with the EPIX 2, it's amazing.

For weight lifting I use the app Gymaholic since I want to see details on each exercise in a way not possible on watches (total volume increment in percentage, superset with individual resting times, etc), and only track calories on the watch.

I mainly use my Epix Pro for Gym workouts and can tell you its the best experience I have so far. I've tried Samsung, Apple, etc.
But I usually structure my workouts and load to the watch, therefore I can train without my phone.
As far as music goes, you can pair your earbuds to the watch and listen to music just as you would on Apple. I know Deezer and Spotify are supported.

I switched a year ago from an AW series 5 to the Epix 2 and couldn’t be happier with my decision.  Like you, I’m not a professional athlete, but do bike and run 3-4 days a week, and it’s not that the Epix is providing more or better health information, but rather the fact that I don’t have to charge the watch every night.  

I wear my Epix 2 24/7, only taking it off occasionally to change bands, and I’ll normally get around 2 weeks of wear before having to re-charge it.  The only times I get less than that is when I bike 4 times a week for 2 hours a day, tracking with GPS.  I do like the sleep tracking too, which becomes more important as you age, and the fact that you don’t have to take of the watch in the morning to charge it, so you get through the day, is fantastic.

During the winter when I’m inside most of the time, even with working out for an hour a day 6 days a week, I still get 14-16 days of battery life.  Of course I’ll likely upgrade to the Epix 2 Pro at some point, in order to push the need for charging out another couple of weeks.

The other non-functional thing I like much more about the Epix compared to the Apple Watch Ultra is the round shape and more masculine look.  The negatives, as others have noted, are the lack of phone/text capabilities with the Epix, but there are so few times that I don’t have my phone with me, and those times I don’t have it (like when running), I like not being distracted by calls or texts, so it’s been kind of non-issue.