After a decade with Apple Watch, I switched to Garmin for detailed measurements and sports analysis. The battery is appreciated, but in the end it is the smallest.
In June this year , it would have been ten years since I wore the Apple Watch on my wrist. It would have been. I would be wearing. Over this nearly decade, I have defended its strengths, understood its weaknesses and enjoyed its improvements. And I’ve discovered a lot about it and how to get the most out of it.
The idea of switching to Garmin was always alien to me: their watches seemed too specialised, with complex interfaces and too specific an audience. The versatility of WatchOS overshadowed any alternative.
Today, after more than a month with the Garmin Epix 2 on my wrist, all these beliefs have disappeared.
Other priorities
The catalyst for these changes was my evolution as a runner. Five years ago I was running at seven minutes per kilometre, and in the last few months I’ve completed a half marathon in 1:40 and a 10km in 43 minutes. Not great, but definitely much better than before. Now, as I aim to improve on these times and run my first marathon in under 3:30 minutes, my needs have changed.
The epiphany happened at the Valencia Half Marathon, two days before DANA. My Apple Watch Ultra 2, with which I left home with 50% battery life, was 1% dead at the finish line. Accidentally switching on LTE drained the power almost to the point where I was left without a recording because I was not connected to my iPhone for several hours.
The revelation was crystal clear: even the most advanced Apple Watch is essentially a smartwatch with sports functions, not a sports watch. Garmin would have warned me before the race started that I wouldn’t even have two hours of running time with this configuration.
For years, I have compensated for the shortcomings of the Apple Watch with a patchwork of apps:
- Athlytic for advanced measurements.
- Runna, a virtual coach.
- “WorkOutDoors for running navigation.
- HealthFit for long-term indicators.
- “AutoSleep for more detailed sleep analysis.
Many of them with a monthly subscription, thus fragmenting the experience and increasing costs. What Garmin offers natively, Apple’s ecosystem solves with third-party paid-for fixes.
The last straw was a 31 km run in unfamiliar terrain. After stopping three times to get my bearings on my phone, the shortcomings of the Apple Watch’s navigation became apparent: yes, it’s possible, but it’s also boring and not naturally integrated into the workout app.
Between Garmin, Suunto and Cora, I chose Garmin mainly because there are no payments on the watch. The Epix 2 shattered my preconceptions from the very first moment. Its surprisingly intuitive interface is controlled by five physical buttons and an additional touchscreen. Navigation is precise, even in rain or sweat, without requiring constant visual attention. Button mini-point.
The contrast with the Apple Watch is obvious: where Apple offers a polished but rigorous sporting experience, Garmin allows a huge customisation, so big that it overwhelms at first. From the detailed configuration of each workout screen to the much more convenient creation of complete workout plans online. The device doesn’t just record data: it interprets, analyses and translates it. Some examples:
- Workout load focus. It promotes a balance of exertion between low-intensity aerobic, high-intensity aerobic and anaerobic. Initially, I always balanced the load in favour of high-intensity aerobics, which hindered my improvement and increased the risk of injury.
- Endurance score. To understand your actual fitness and how it changes over time.
- Sleep score. It not only shows how much we slept and how much we slept in each phase, but also provides a score and a brief description that correlates with our recovery and readiness to train.
- Slope score. It measures our endurance and strength on the slopes, which is bad news for the ego of a Valencian used to the plains.
- The role of VO2 max. A key indicator that has been relegated to the “Health” corner on the Apple Watch and to which Garmin pays a lot of attention.
Another example: when my sub-optimal running cadence (160 steps per minute) was detected, the watch not only helped me to visually understand that it was too low, but also led to the creation of a solution: it has a built-in vibrating metronome that helps me to reach the ideal level of 170 steps for my height. This level of integrated detail is very important.
Do I miss the Apple Watch? I really do. Whether it’s answering messages quickly, controlling music, remotely controlling the iPhone camera, instant Shazam, voice timers or checking the Valencia scoreboard from the watch face at a concert (a real case in point), it’s a luxury that’s hard to pass up. However, I have found that I prefer specific perfection to universality, which is not so deep in sport.
- Of course, there are nuances. The GPS is not as accurate as the Ultra 2, even in the highest accuracy mode.
Autonomy deserves a special mention: weekly charging has replaced the daily ritual. Friday mornings are my new charging ritual. And after seven days of use, there is still plenty left.
The transition has not been easy. The Ultra 2 is still great, but my needs have changed. It’s no longer enough for me to monitor activity, sleep and passive indicators – I need to understand these indicators so I can optimise and plan accurately.
Specialisation has its value. The Epix 2 does not aspire to be a mini iPhone, which is why it excels in its field, even if it is suppressed in others.
By the way, switching to another branded cable for charging was as ridiculous to me as Yunus’ missed penalty against Betis, but in a pack of 3 USB-C adapters I found the best allies. One in the office, one in my backpack and one in the car.
Will I go back to the Apple Watch? Probably when my priorities change or watchOS matures. For now, this change reaffirms a universal truth: the optimal tool is not the most versatile, but the one that best suits our needs.
