I tried. But screen and lack of cellular did me in. Too use to not carrying my phone.

Sport focused watch, some tend to forget this.

But it does not need to have that screen.  There have been some big innovations the past year.   And since it is Sport’s focused, it should absolutely have a cellular option.  I’m scared to go on my long runs without a way to contact someone if I fall or get hurt.  

The screen is a key factor to the amazing battery life and as for the cellular thingy, I enjoy not being bothered while I do activities and if I go in dangerous places, I always have my phone with me.

It's just a case of preferences, not a Fenix line problem at all. But, hey, that's just my opinion on the matter.

Your sports watch doesn’t have to have cellular at all. Someone people run because they WANT to leave their phone behind and have a couple of hours of peace with just music for company. As for being scared to be on a long run without being able to call someone - people seemed to cope fine before mobile phones were invented, now it seems like it’s a necessity to carry one with them 24/7. As for AW4, still useless as a sports watch - 5 hour battery life, no physical buttons and very little in the way of data field customisation. It’s a smart watch first and foremost, with basic run functionality for people who mostly go to the gym and also do a bit of running. It’s not an athlete’s watch.

I can understand the appeal of cellular for some people, personally for me I do not want it on my watch. As and when Garmin move to offering it I hope they have cellular and non cellular variants of the same watch. I tried my wife's Apple Watch for a day before I bought my 645M and I realized I wanted a fitness/sports watch with some smart capabilities rather than a smart watch with some fitness capabilities.

If you really need cellular then carrying a phone in something like Flipbelt is easy enough and doesn't really interfere with the running.

Same situation also as you.  I have had Series 3 and 4 both with LTE.  I just received the 6 Pro Sapphire and am using both right now.  Once you get used to the LTE it is tough to stop using.  Past couple of years I would just drop my phone on the kitchen counter and respond to messages and calls throughout the day using the watch.  But the last few months the Apple monthly challenges have gotten progressively harder, not a complaint, where I am up to 11 miles per day to complete the monthly challenge.  This is also forcing me to run for a charger at least once per day for a half hour or so.  Not good.  The Garmin has some features such as the maps I will use for hiking and probably snowmobiling also that Apple will never have.  Their exercise features are better and more comprehensive.  I was using my Vivoactive Music all the time last year for skiing because it is so much better than Apple's.  TheSalamander's response was thought provoking for me as I must decide if I want more sports oriented watch or a smartwatch with LTE.  I will spend the week with both and see how it goes.  I had some initial problems setting up the Fenix in the beginning, mostly because of Garmin Express I believe, but all working well now.  My initial hesitation to purchase was more with the Bluetooth version, but I paired it with my Jaybird Vista's yesterday and did not have any dropouts or cross body fade issues.  Today I will pair the Tarah Pro's as I believe the control is on right side earpiece and see how they do with the Fenix on left wrist. You might want to give it a few more days before returning and see how it goes.  

There are positives and negatives to both and I've switched back and forth.  I think the answer is one of each.

I get frustrated with the clunkiness of Garmin and that's it's really limited if I'm not working out.  Then when I do start working out I get frustrated with the <can I swear here> workout interface on the apple watch.  Or, the AW gets sideways and tracks me for a 1/4 mile at 50 yards off because ti started the track on my phone that's sitting in my car.  But, the sheer unrelenting pain of Spotify or loading podcasts with a cable pisses me off about the Fenix.  Then I go running, and my 3rd party app puts my heart rate in red, I'm wearing tinted glasses, and can't see it.  But, it stores my medical records (tests), yet, puts my VO2 in a witness protection program.  But, the AW has 911, even without LTE, LTE would be $40/mo for me because my cell plan won't work with it.

And so it goes.

Apple, with a little bit of effort, could destroy Garmin, it's 90% of the way there, but that 10%, man, it just falls flat on it's face.  But, Garmin, well, it's barely above a rock as a smart device.

Hi rugby,

I'm 54 and still have teenagers at home and my wife works in the evenings.  When I go for my "workout" which includes Running around 6 miles or about an hour, then Aqua Fitness, then about 1.5 miles in the pool, we are talking about 2 to 3 hours here.   With my AW4, I basically leave my phone at home or in the car.  If there is an emergency at home, or with me, I know I'm covered and able to communicate.  This is crucial.    Even using GPS, music for an hour and 2 hours in the pool, I go 1.5 days between charges.  I leave it on all night for sleep charging.

Another consideration is that I have the ability to work from home whenever I wish.  When I leave the office, I'm still obligated to answer a call or answer a text.  I have the ability to do so many things with a connected smartwatch.  Not just exercise and explore, but keep my life out of the office.

Having Cellular on the wrist is NOT a downer, it's liberating!  I can actually live my life without carrying a phone and getting a "text neck"   

It's no fenix, and it will never be, but it's got a kick ass screen, excellent sounds, excellent bluetooth, decent athletic tracking and information, ECG, you know the deal.  So is it good enough for my activities?  Yep.  Oh yeah, the screen is just fine in the sun.

NOW, the Fenix is a beautiful, rugged piece of work.  I LOVE the look and features!!   The Fenix 6 worked GREAT out of the box, not many issues at all.  Garmin did a great job with the release firmware.  Give that screen some loving, and give it LTE and I'm all in, would go for top model with solar.

Oh yeah, the vibration on the Fenix 6 Pro is pitiful.  When I set a timer on my AW, it shakes my wrist off  :)

Good luck with whatever route you go, stay safe, have fun.

Apple Watch - if the idea of sending your heartbeat to your loved one excites you, or you think closing activity rings makes you feel good about yourself, and you really need a 390×312 resolution screen so you can have a photo of your other half as a screensaver, then it's probably the watch for you.

If, on the other hand, you are an athlete (or just a keen runner who takes part in races and events), and you count your weekly efforts in miles not steps, and you like controlling your watch with buttons as you run in all weather and covered in sweat, then a Garmin Forerunner or Fenix (preferably 6S for weight) is the watch for you. I don't want my watch to be a miniaturised mobile phone - the fact that it reads out your phone's messages when it's nearby is more than good enough for me.

DontGetTheSwiss said:

Apple, with a little bit of effort, could destroy Garmin, it's 90% of the way there, but that 10%, man, it just falls flat on it's face.

There are pro's and con's for both, but the biggest difference is a smartwatch trying to get into the sports watch field and a sports watch trying to get into the smartwatch game.  If you're referring to sports watch features with the percentages you mentioned above, I think you got your numbers backwards.