The Apple Watch Ultra finally convinced me to leave Garmin behind

The Apple Watch Ultra was designed and built for someone like me. I have an iPhone 14 Pro Max, a 16-inch M1 Pro MacBook Pro with Studio Display, three Apple TV 4K boxes, and a 12.9-inch iPad Pro with Magic Keyboard. In other words, I’m deeply embedded in the Apple ecosystem – but on my wrist I’m alternating between two Garmin smartwatches – an older Tactix Delta and an Epix Gen. 2.

I tried the Apple Watch back when it launched in 2015, but I haven’t worn one in many years, mostly because I wanted something bigger that lasted longer and was more fitness-focused. Whenever a new Apple Watch model comes out, I debate the pros and cons, but Garmin always wins – in short, I like big and chunky watches, and for me even the 45mm Apple Watch Series felt 7 always a bit too sensitive and small. more of a fashion statement than a fitness tool.

Compared to previous Apple Watches, Garmin watches are clearly built for dedicated athletes. In addition to the design and build quality, they meet battery life claims (days to weeks depending on GPS usage and battery-saving optimizations) and provide a deluge of data on everything from fitness to sleep to stress and calories. And they usually last for many years.

The 51mm Tactix Delta has taken me to the gym every day, to hikes and walks, and is so tough I could probably use it as a hammer. The battery lasts days and days and all this data really allows me to track my fitness. When I’m not at the gym, I’m wearing the Epix Gen 2, which has a gorgeous AMOLED display and feels more like a casual smartwatch, but is still big, sturdy, and lasts for weeks on battery saver mode.

Like the rest of my Apple gear, none of my Garmin watches came cheap. The Epix starts at $900 and the Delta was even more expensive new – both more than the $799 Apple Watch Ultra. When Apple introduced the larger, rugged Apple Watch Ultra at a lower price point than my two Garmin watches, I was immediately intrigued. As soon as the Ultra was announced, I ordered one.

The disadvantages outweigh the disadvantages

Garmin has long used transflective MIP (memory-in-pixel) displays, which are great outdoors but less so indoors – although the backlight works well enough to easily see what’s on the screen. In my mind, MIP doesn’t compare to the Apple Watch’s LTPO OLED screen, which is where the newer Epix comes in. The Epix Gen. 2 brings the best of both worlds to Garmin’s lineup – fitness, tech and fashion – and even with the always-on display always on, you can easily squeeze about a week between charges.

Another less-than-ideal part of Garmin life is how well its watches work with the iPhone. In general, the Garmin Connect and Garmin ConnectIQ apps play well between the two ecosystems, but you can’t do as many things with a Garmin watch as you can with an Apple Watch. You can’t make calls or reply to messages directly from the watch, you don’t get access to Apple’s vast library of apps, and it doesn’t integrate with Apple Health quite as seamlessly. (You get a lot more watch face options since third-party developers can create them for Garmin watches. This is a big plus for me.)

With the arrival of the Ultra, more than a few instant debates erupted online about whether it goes far enough to even be considered in the same breath as Garmin devices. Garmin even joined the debate Firing a tweet Shortly after the Ultra was introduced, it boasted, “We measure battery life in months. Not hours.”

If you’re looking for features like super-long battery life and built-in maps, the Apple Watch Ultra isn’t for you. The Ultra doesn’t quite match the array of outdoor features offered by the Tactix and Epix – although given the speed at which Apple is iterating on its products, I have my suspicion that it will close the gap quickly.

The Apple way

I quickly found out that Apple has come a long Gone in terms of the fitness and health data it now provides with watchOS. It provides data almost as comprehensive as Garmin’s, so much that it will take me a while to figure out how best to use it. Setting up my new Apple Watch was a little more complicated than it used to be, especially since it can do so much more now. But kudos to Apple for quickly recognizing that fitness and health is the direction to go and then going there.

I.D.G

To be clear, I will not submerge my Apple Watch Ultra for desert racing or 20,000 miles under water. Compared to these athletes, I’m a poseur. We’re talking daily visits to the gym, daily walks with the dog, weekend hikes, and the occasional bike ride. As a result, the promised 36 hours of battery life are okay, especially since I can now do sleep tracking without any problems. In practice, I have even achieved much more than 36 hours. Even with multiple workouts over the past few days, I’ve surpassed 48 hours — and that’s without the power save mode and before the Ultra’s battery optimization feature arrives.

I know the Ultra and its raw titanium design have come under fire for being a bit homey, but I disagree. It’s different, yes, but in a good way. It’s tall and rectangular and doesn’t easily hide under long sleeves, but its rugged, industrial aesthetic is clearly aimed at Garmin users and should appeal to Apple fans. It’s still an Apple Watch, but it feels more like a rugged wearable than a petite smartwatch.

But where Garmin falls short is in the Apple ecosystem. I’ve only had my Ultra for a few days, but I can say that it’s definitely good to have an Apple Watch on my wrist again. As usual, it’s small things that Apple does, like having my MacBook Pro lock when I leave and unlock when I come back. Or the easy way to reply to a message without having to get my Pro Max out of my pocket to reply.

Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry

I’ll be rocking the Ultra for the foreseeable future. But I also keep my Garmins. They’re still incredibly well-built, rugged devices that I can slap my wrist well for a day (or more) – mostly for the aesthetic of tweaking something every now and then.

If Apple ever releases a 52mm Apple Watch Ultra Max with seven days of battery life, I’ll be the first in line. But for now, it will be difficult to detach the Ultra from my wrist. It’s big enough, has enough features, and lasts long enough to tick all the boxes my Garmin made. And I don’t think I’m the only one.