After a long beta test period I shipped it back today. I wanted to share some final thoughts.
I'm a fan of Garmin hardware in general. I think they make quality stuff. The UX/UI has always been underwhelming at best, but it WORKS. I waited a long time for a refresh of the Edge product line with the expectation that it would bring significant hardware improvements AND a modern UX. I was expecting something that feels intuitive and modern. Smooth, responsive, well organized, and pretty. The Edge 1040 was announced and I jumped on it immediately.
What Garmin shipped wasn't ready to be shipped. In my opinion, it still isnt. It works, but to say it is still rough around the edges is an understatement. The 2010 pre-smartphone style UX is unfortunate. The slow sluggish interface and low resolution display are shameful for a flagship device in 2022.
Many of the issues have been resolved by Garmin. Each release update (beta mind you....) have brought incremental improvements. Credit to them for this. Credit to @aweatherall for being super engaged here on this forum! Having an effective and intelligent liaison is great.
At the end of the day, the off-segment notifications, inability to configure specific notifications, the continuing sync problems, and the unreliable connection with Garmin sensors are what led me to the decision to return it. There are a whole host of other nuisances but those are the ones that I wasnt willing to continue waiting on. At this price point, the product should be so much better than it is.
As a part of my own troubleshooting process I started switching back and forth between my 830 and 1040. I realized that while the screen is smaller, the 830 is reliable and works consistently. It doesnt drop sensors all the time. It doesnt throw erroneous errors all the time. It syncs quickly and reliably. It isn't as feature rich as I would like, but it works, and out on the bike for hours at a time that is what matters most.
I hope Garmin can get there and deliver a product that looks, feels, and works like a 2022 product. or 2023. or whenever. When they do, I look forward to giving it a try. In the meantime, I'll be using this 830 and my iphone until something better comes along.
Good luck to everyone sticking it out! I hope Garmin solves all your problems!
Onward!
