Anyone Considering Switching To The Ultra for Fitness?
Wait? What is this foolishness you speak of? Don't you own a bunch of watches? These are disposable and have no soul. Yeah, yeah yeah. Do not want to have a debate about that, instead, I would like to focus on those amongst us that currently use a smartwatch for fitness activities. Whether you wear it just for working out like me, or daily, and/or on the opposite hand, etc, cool.
The Ultra seems to be the first smartwatch in some time that has piqued the interest of many mechanical die-hards and fitness fans.
For the last decade I have been using some form of Garmin Fenix as my workout, running, OCR, etc companion. They are seemingly bombproof, obtain GPS signals quickly and accurately, and have excellent battery life when used at the full limit. Downside? Screen is not great, getting music onto them is a bit of a pain, and the interface is not the best. But did I mention how reliable it is? No other GPS-enabled smartwatch could give me the data I wanted and or physically survive a 9 hour endurance race. At least not any I was willing to risk.
I tried to own an apple watch, perhaps gen 3, and it was useless for working out beyond a regular run, also the pain of charging daily was not great so I gave it away after a month.
So, for my fellow watch enthusiasts who are not afraid to also like smart watches, who is considering the Ultra for their new workout companion? I am going to wait before making a decision until DCRainmaker officially weighs in, as he is the best smartwatch/fitness tracker reviewer on the web IMO.
Note, if you are an anti-apple person and would never consider one, cool, but hoping to keep this to folks on the fence about a possible switch.
Watch enthusiast who insists on the next watch being the last.
I'm definitely thinking about it! But, don't tell anyone!
Skipping over the argument about those even being watches, I’ll say if I were going that way I’d already have an Apple Watch. Their stuff just does its job in a way that’s easy to understand and interact with and I appreciate that. I’ve had so many PC based devices I’ve hated that I’m just an Apple guy now.
Having said all that, that other “watch” looks good. In a perfect world it, or something like it would do what the Apple Watch does while not looking like a wrist tablet. So yeah, if that thing works well and does all the stuff I wanted, I’d wear it for sure.
In the end, I wear a Timex Ironman to run. I want a running watch to tell me how long I was out, and that’s about it. I do own a GPS watch, but it wasn’t great so I stopped using it. I’m lotech, I’d probably get the simplest Garmin and call it a day.
I'm definitely thinking about it! But, don't tell anyone!
Your secret is safe.
Skipping over the argument about those even being watches, I’ll say if I were going that way I’d already have an Apple Watch. Their stuff just does its job in a way that’s easy to understand and interact with and I appreciate that. I’ve had so many PC based devices I’ve hated that I’m just an Apple guy now.
Having said all that, that other “watch” looks good. In a perfect world it, or something like it would do what the Apple Watch does while not looking like a wrist tablet. So yeah, if that thing works well and does all the stuff I wanted, I’d wear it for sure.
In the end, I wear a Timex Ironman to run. I want a running watch to tell me how long I was out, and that’s about it. I do own a GPS watch, but it wasn’t great so I stopped using it. I’m lotech, I’d probably get the simplest Garmin and call it a day.
A big part for me is being able to track mileage, health stats, and more importantly Bluetooth to headphones so I have music. When I run, I refuse to carry anything I do not need, so a phone is a no, leaving me with a watch and headphones as my tech of choice.
To date, the Garmin Fenix has been the very definition of tool watch, the thing does it all and I can probably use it as a hammer in a pinch.
A big part for me is being able to track mileage, health stats, and more importantly Bluetooth to headphones so I have music. When I run, I refuse to carry anything I do not need, so a phone is a no, leaving me with a watch and headphones as my tech of choice.
To date, the Garmin Fenix has been the very definition of tool watch, the thing does it all and I can probably use it as a hammer in a pinch.
Doesn’t look any bigger than some G-SHOCK I’ve seen, and it’s probably more useful. TBH I don’t know how to do most of the stuff my G’s will do…it’s just not worth the effort.
The Apple watch should be fine for daily workouts, short hikes and so on. But marketing it as an adventure watch is a huge fail in my opinion. Garmin and Coros are way superior when it comes to battery life.
I like a simple Fitbit tracker band and have little to no interest in this offer from Apple 🍏 . It's a no from me.
I'm definitely thinking about it! But, don't tell anyone!
Haha!! I’m the same was watching the reviews looks decent and planning to trade in my old one and off course I wouldn’t tell a soul… and they got me cuz I love orange…
🤫🤐
First - I guess I dont do the iPhone so the Applewristbrick doesn't bring anything to the party.
Second - Im a bit like you, I've been using and loving garmin products since my 310xt and they are utterly bomb proof. About the pull the trigger on a new fenix 7x and not sure what the apple could offer to make me change (especially since it means a total eco-system swap).
I currently have an Apple Watch Series 7, which totally does the job for me. The Ultra is too bulky and unaesthetic to me and has many features that my training (mostly spinning bike at home) doesn’t benefit from at all. I’m not a diver, I’m not climbing mountains, nor do I cross the jungle. There’s no feature that justifies the upgrade for me personally over the S7. If you’re an adventurer, it might be worth it
This Apple Watch looks like it may be a game changer. So much so that James and Jason from TGN were really excited about it.
I have an Apple 3. I use it for fitness and then take it off. I think for me, having been a long time Apple user, I am sort of tired of all the alerts and other aspects of being connected so I am looking into the Garmin world itself for my cycling and exercising including the Garmin Forerunner. I also use an Oura ring, which actually is an absolutely amazing product. I can’t speak enough about it. But all this is to say that the new Ultra does look like a game changer but I’m sort of tired of Apple.
I used to have a Fitness Tracker (Fitbit), and was double-wristing it. But quite frankly, it didn't track really all that well, especially when there was no GPS signal. I have a need for a rugged watch, which is currenty covered by a G-Shock. I also have to have my smartphone with me for business purposes. Running would be a consideration, but in all reality I run through the woods near my house all the time, since it is so convenient.
Used the series 0 for 5 years felt the limitation tried series 7 last year, lasted 3 days didn't offer enough for me to switch back. The ultra fits the bill but now i'm used to less technical watches and i kind of like them. price of ultra is super steep for something i'd use on long hikes once a month and gym only, which would me switching back to wearing it as a daily to make it worth the money for me. My wrist is approx 51-52mm across the apple watch is 50mm, the way the strap wears makes it wearable this is the 42 series 0, so i can't imagine how much more my wrist can support.
I do miss the ironic simplicity of an apple watch though just lends itself to wearing all day everyday. No shame from me, I like all types of watches. paper maps and gps all good here love it all.
Only alternative is i buy one and force myself to start running marathons... hmmm.
Apple is going after the rugged watch segment with this one. Titanium case and MIL-Spec (MIL-STD 810H3) compliant. I have had an Apple Watch for several years now and it has got me back into weraing a watch, though I find the haptic feedback when getting directions on my watch very annoying.
Two wrists.... two watches. Samsung Galaxy 4 watch. Syncs w phone. All day, every day on right wrist. Left wrist for today's collection sample.
The Apple watch should be fine for daily workouts, short hikes and so on. But marketing it as an adventure watch is a huge fail in my opinion. Garmin and Coros are way superior when it comes to battery life.
It is a good point, I think it depends on what type of adventures. Nothing I do goes beyond a day. If I was going to have weekend/weeklong expedition, there is no way the apple would beat a fenix in battery life. But for those adventurers who go less than a day, it seems like it will fit the bill nicely. Again, holding my final take until reviews from the die hards come in.
This Apple Watch looks like it may be a game changer. So much so that James and Jason from TGN were really excited about it.
I have an Apple 3. I use it for fitness and then take it off. I think for me, having been a long time Apple user, I am sort of tired of all the alerts and other aspects of being connected so I am looking into the Garmin world itself for my cycling and exercising including the Garmin Forerunner. I also use an Oura ring, which actually is an absolutely amazing product. I can’t speak enough about it. But all this is to say that the new Ultra does look like a game changer but I’m sort of tired of Apple.
I saw theirs and a few other watch nerds really nerding out about this one.
Apple is going after the rugged watch segment with this one. Titanium case and MIL-Spec (MIL-STD 810H3) compliant. I have had an Apple Watch for several years now and it has got me back into weraing a watch, though I find the haptic feedback when getting directions on my watch very annoying.
That was the issue the first time I tried the watch. I disabled all notification functionality.
im not against smartwatch but im poor af so i tend to buy something more affordable just to get the job done, in this case to monitoring my heart rate when im cycling. so im currently using this one
im using the older version apple watch i forgot which one but in my experience im using it for 8 hours cycling course and battery cant hold much longer so im giving up on that one
The Garmin is designed to be fully operational by using the buttons. Very handy in rainy/snowy conditions and/or while wearing gloves. I doubt that the Apple Watch can match that usability with its rotating crown.
One Idea that I really like on the Apple Watch is the signaling siren. However, 80 db is way to quiet.
that said, having a phone on the wrist is probably the best safety feature at all. Something that the Garmin lacks.
I'm waiting to get some more reviews, but I'm absolutely considering it. I switched to Garmin (and gave my old 3 to my daughter), but this might get me to switch. I find the interface on the Garmin just awful, so if Apple has improved things like the GPS, I'm probably back.
There a lot of nice technology watches out there. I would like the Garmin solar power it would be enough for camping out there.