So I have a Galaxy Watch 3 & as I'm a bit of a stat nerd, I was curious as to whether I could make the shift to Garmin or not so got a 735XT at a decent price to try out. There's things I like about it and things I don't.
I can't run (medical reason) so activities that I currently track are - Cycling (outdoor), Swimming (pool), then cardio machines such as stair stepper, elliptical, indoor bike & treadmill (walk at incline - as said, can't run). So I'd like to be able to track those.
A note on swimming - I don't like how the 735XT doesn't break down laps. If I do say 20 laps, it just says I covered 500mtr whereas my Galaxy Watch (although I question how accurate it is) will give me a breakdown of each individual length. The 735XT seems to be great if all you want is to cover total distance, but if i take a breather on lap 10 say & then go for an all out blast on length 11, i'd like to know how fast it was.
Sleep tracking is an absolute must. I know the 735XT has it but it doesn't do REM. How accurate are Garmin watches for sleep tracking though? As I saw some videos on the FR 945 & the guy got little total sleep time yet had 2 hours deep sleep, a load of REM sleep and little awake time. Now from my own personal experience & the fact I've just finished reading Matthew Walker's book on Why we Sleep, I'd seriously question the accuracy of the Garmin's breakdown. I know the 735XT is not accurate at all when it comes to 'awake' time.
So that's a concern.
From Googling, I love the idea of Body Battery and the like. Definitely something i'd be interested in (like I said, stat nerd).
My watch has a find my phone (Galaxy S10 for the record) feature - would be great if a Garmin could do this as it gets used.
From using the 735XT, I've found that 'black and white' displays are certainly not for me. Any permanent Garmin would need colour.
I was looking at various Forerunners as well as the Fenix models. May be overkill but keeping my options open.
I was looking for a general kind of Gamin wearable forum where I could ask this but couldn't find anything ticking the box. This was the closest I could find.
Just curious if anyone could help in terms of a recommendation based on what I've just said?