I've been tired of charging my Apple Watch Ultra every night so I've been tempted to get a new Garmin. Looks like a new Fenix model will be released in the next few weeks. What features would you like to see?

So I had an Apple Watch Ultra. Through my company we get health rewards where I accrued enough points for a Garmin. I was tired of charging my Apple Watch consistently so I got the Garmin to see if I liked it. Figured whichever one I liked less I could sell. Best change I've ever made. That being said, there are so many features, if they added more, I'm not sure if I'd even notice.

Which one did you get?

I have a forerunner 265, next one will probably be the fenix.

I'm on the fence between 265 and 965. But I'm very curious what features this 8 has.

If you've got the extra 150, I'd suggest the 965.

I'm pretty locked into the apple eco system but I only use my watch for fitness stuff. Been thinking about bumping up to an ultra but am tempted to go Garmin.

I'm now Apple everything BUT the watch and it was the greatest decision ever.

965 does everything the fenix does with a brighter screen .

I probably use about 1% of the features on my fenix 6. Not sure what they could add to the 8 that would make me upgrade. The main reason I got the fenix was the battery life, and it can already last through a 100 miler without needing to be charged. Usually I don't upgrade a watch until the battery stops lasting as long.

easttexasaggie04 said:

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I'm on the fence between 265 and 965. But I'm very curious what features this 8 has.

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I got my son the Venu 3. Awesome watch, was really impressed. Now I'm on the fence between that and the 965. I'll probably wind up with the 965.

I have the Fenix 7 and don't use all but a handful of the features but one that I wish were included is cellular capabilities.

Garmin is running a sale now on the 965. $100 off.

krosch11 said:

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965 does everything the fenix does with a brighter screen .

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And it's a lot lighter too. Love my 965.

Yep. I actually bought an EPIX and exchanged it for the 965 because of the weight difference. Love it as well.

Also, Fenix 8 is on Garmin's web site today.

DC Rainmaker's review is also up

For what I do....I don't think the Fenix 8 is worth double the price of the 965.

Same price as Garmin, but REI also has the 265 and 965 for $100 off now through 9/22.

Kwade23 said:

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So I had an Apple Watch Ultra. Through my company we get health rewards where I accrued enough points for a Garmin. I was tired of charging my Apple Watch consistently so I got the Garmin to see if I liked it. Figured whichever one I liked less I could sell. Best change I've ever made. That being said, there are so many features, if they added more, I'm not sure if I'd even notice.

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I went the other way. I had been using Garmin's forever and won an Apple Watch Ultra 2 from work. It does everything that I do now and some things better, like integrate with Peloton that I use. My favorite parts though are podcasts sync up between the watch and phone and being able to get phone calls without my phone. I never take my phone with me anymore on runs. The biggest downside is obviously the battery life compared to the Garmin, but I just throw it on the charger when I'm in the shower.

If/when this Apple Watch dies, I'd probably get another one especially with the new stuff they are adding in the new Watch OS. If you are doing ultras and Ironman type stuff a Garmin for sure makes sense. But for running and just general fitness, the Apple Watch (at least Ultra 2) is pretty solid

BQ2001 said:

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Kwade23 said:

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So I had an Apple Watch Ultra. Through my company we get health rewards where I accrued enough points for a Garmin. I was tired of charging my Apple Watch consistently so I got the Garmin to see if I liked it. Figured whichever one I liked less I could sell. Best change I've ever made. That being said, there are so many features, if they added more, I'm not sure if I'd even notice.

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I went the other way. I had been using Garmin's forever and won an Apple Watch Ultra 2 from work. It does everything that I do now and some things better, like integrate with Peloton that I use. My favorite parts though are podcasts sync up between the watch and phone and being able to get phone calls without my phone. I never take my phone with me anymore on runs. The biggest downside is obviously the battery life compared to the Garmin, but I just throw it on the charger when I'm in the shower.

If/when this Apple Watch dies, I'd probably get another one especially with the new stuff they are adding in the new Watch OS. If you are doing ultras and Ironman type stuff a Garmin for sure makes sense. But for running and just general fitness, the Apple Watch (at least Ultra 2) is pretty solid

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Very valid reasons. I on the other hand, don't want to get texts and phone calls on my watch. Typically leave phone at home during runs and in the locker at the gym. Allows me to enjoy my me time.

What more compatibility does the Apple Watch have with the peloton? I have one as well and my Garmin connects as a heart rate monitor but that's it.

ptothemo said:

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Same price as Garmin, but REI also has the 265 and 965 for $100 off now through 9/22.

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As does Amazon, which will drop it on your porch tomorrow.

Kwade23 said:

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So I had an Apple Watch Ultra. Through my company we get health rewards where I accrued enough points for a Garmin. I was tired of charging my Apple Watch consistently so I got the Garmin to see if I liked it. Figured whichever one I liked less I could sell. Best change I've ever made. That being said, there are so many features, if they added more, I'm not sure if I'd even notice.

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I've had an Apple Watch for many years. I've always just charged mine next to my phone overnight. I certainly like the idea of a watch that you don't have to charge but once a week, but my routine is the same for my phone.

So just curious why it's a hassle? I could see if it couldn't make it through an 18/20 hour day.

For me, having to charge it every night means missing out on data that is really valuable to me in training - resting heart rate, HRV, sleep quality, training status, etc. Those metrics are still available to some degree if you don't sleep with a watch on, but they are incomplete and less valuable.

wcb said:

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easttexasaggie04 said:

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Garmin is running a sale now on the 965. $100 off.

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Just bought. Happy 50th birthday to me.

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Initial thoughts on the 965 (upgraded from a 945).

Bigger / brighter / touch screen. Awesome for 50 year old eyes.
Training readiness. Still need a few more days to see what it's all about.
HRV. Not sure if it's anything I'll monitor.
Run power. Initial numbers look way high for my current abilities. We'll see if they dial in.

Otherwise it's a rock solid Garmin as usual. Feels really light. Love the display.

That makes sense.

I found myself wanting to do the same. If I do, I end up taking my watch off and charging it 30-60 min before I go to bed and put it back on.

Ideally a watch could go 48 hrs and give you a little more flexibility as to when you need to charge.

FYI for the 965ers, if you wish it had a flashlight, you can double click the left top button twice and the screen acts as one . I used the red light flashlight more times than I could count with a baby in the house .

HRV is the one thing that I pay more attention to now than anything else. I still pay attention to RHR, body battery, and training status, but I don't change anything based on those values. I've found HRV to be the best indicator of my overall fitness and my current training state. Over or undertraining shows up quickly for me in my HRV, and longer-term fitness shows up through incremental improvement.

On the topic of run power, I run with a Stryd and have for years now. The run power that Garmin calculates at my lactate threshold is about 30% higher than Stryd's. I don't pay attention to the Garmin power, especially since it would only be wrist-based for me, but I find it interesting that it is so different from my Stryd power.