Apple Watch Series 2 - Garmin Edge replacement?

[loudlashadjuster]

Now that the Apple Watch is to have GPS is it possible that it could be a feasible Garmin Edge replacement?

I had a look at Strava's support site (nada), DC Rainmaker (no much concrete info until he gets hold of one) and elsewhere but nothing is very clear.

If it did heart rate, nav (with phone support if need be) and basic stuff like distance, elevation I'd maybe consider one.

Am I right in assuming you can't connect speed/cadence/power sensors to it or an iPhone though?

[anonymous-user]

loudlashadjuster said:

Now that the Apple Watch is to have GPS is it possible that it could be a feasible Garmin Edge replacement?

I had a look at Strava's support site (nada), DC Rainmaker (no much concrete info until he gets hold of one) and elsewhere but nothing is very clear.

If it did heart rate, nav (with phone support if need be) and basic stuff like distance, elevation I'd maybe consider one.

Am I right in assuming you can't connect speed/cadence/power sensors to it or an iPhone though?

You can definately connect garmin cadence sensors and HR monitors to an iPhone (and iPad) through an ant plus dongle, I was doing that years ago on my turbo.

I've used my current Apple watch for fitness and it pretty rubbish really. The battery life and screen make it nowhere near as good as a garmin running watch. I don't think the GPS will make it much better. Running with my phone anyway, it doesn't make a huge difference where the gps unit is located. I've done loads of swimming with my Apple Watch and it's fine already,

Strava on a garmin watch Is a bit rubbish, just a a few items of data on a tiny screen and it's a faff acessing it while you're running.

Just read the dcrainmaker 1st gen Apple Watch review and imagine the GPS is in the watch rather than your phone. It's not a huge difference.

The apple Watch is quite cool as a gadget though but I doubt it will replace your garmin devices any time soon, as you have to have an iPhone for it to do much, that's much better for running with anyway.

Don't let that put you off getting an Apple Watch through. I didn't want one and got one as a present in May and haven't worn any other Watch since.

Especially If you like gadgets and apps and largely pointless but cool stuff.

Edited by el stovey on Tuesday 13th September 14:02

[anonymous-user]

Runners world just gave it a good write up. You can have music podcasts etc on it and the God is great apparently.

[bad company]

If you replace your Garmin with an Apple Watch I think you may have battery issues. The Garmin Edge is good for an all day ride but the watch battery runs down much quicker if you are using it in workout or navigation mode.

[tenohfive]

Your wrist is not where you want your performance metrics displayed - you want them on the handlebar. Nav especially. And even then it won't display as much as even a basic Edge or similar. You'll also need an external HR (which I presume you want, since you mention it in the OP.)

And I could be a million miles out but my money says that your £370 smart watch is not going to be as robust as an Edge and that unless you've got money to burn (in which case, get both) you're going to be bricking having an off.

I'm not against GPS or smart watches btw. It's horses for courses. So I refer to you to my previous comment - buy both.

[Harv-surrey]

Garmin edge on the bike , Garmin Fenix HR on your wrist , covers all bases , stick a nice leather strap on a Fenix and you have all the toys you need , plus phone alerts for every notification your phone gives.

then again i own no fruit based devices and probably never will

[astroarcadia]

Whilst Garmin continue to dominate the market with crap products I don't see the watch doing one single function better than a garmin device mounted out front.

[bad company]

astroarcadia said:

Whilst Garmin continue to dominate the market with crap products I don't see the watch doing one single function better than a garmin device mounted out front.

Interesting. Why do you think the Garmin Edge is crap? I like mine very much my only criticism is the lack of instructions from Garmin and their online cycle maps keep trying to route me on footpaths.

I also have a Garmin Oregon for hiking.

[loudlashadjuster]

bad company said:

Why do you think the Garmin Edge is crap?

I know this wasn't to me, but I'm going to answer anyway

1) Expensive hardware. You're looking at the guts of a 2008/9 mobile phone with a bit of waterproofing. It should cost ~£100 but you're talking two or three times that amount. You can get a Chinese Android device with at least 10x the processing power and storage, a battery with three times the capacity and a huuuge screen for about £80. Garmin take the piss.

2) Crap firmware/software - Yes, it can work, but for every person who has few problems there seem to be many others using ostensibly the same hardware and software who seem to have no end of trouble with lost rides, resetting devices, variable battery life, dropped sensors and general poor reliability.

3) Dreadful ecosystem - To use it seamlessly as most will with Strava you need:

• Garmin device
• Garmin account
• Strava account
• Garmin app on your phone
• Garmin app on your PC
• Two different Bluetooth profiles on your phone/Garmin device
• All the above synced and paired and registered with each other

And even after all that you still probably have to run the Garmin app on your phone to get it to upload a ride, and if you want to move routes etc, onto the device you have to plug it in to a PC. But it's not managed with the app because that would be too obvious, no you have to drag files onto it as a mass storage device! And you probably have to use a specific cable because Garmins are finicky with which USB cables they support!

If any part of the Garmin-Garmin app-Garmin account-Strava sync fails then you're left wondering what has happened and where to begin looking.

You can probably guess I'm not their biggest fan and look forward to someone disrupting the whole market. I reckon I could manage with a decent wrist-based device, but this thread and other commentary suggests that the Apple Watch still isn't that device.

[bad company]

loudlashadjuster said:

I know this wasn't to me, but I'm going to answer anyway

1) Expensive hardware. You're looking at the guts of a 2008/9 mobile phone with a bit of waterproofing. It should cost ~£100 but you're talking two or three times that amount. You can get a Chinese Android device with at least 10x the processing power and storage, a battery with three times the capacity and a huuuge screen for about £80. Garmin take the piss.

2) Crap firmware/software - Yes, it can work, but for every person who has few problems there seem to be many others using ostensibly the same hardware and software who seem to have no end of trouble with lost rides, resetting devices, variable battery life, dropped sensors and general poor reliability.

3) Dreadful ecosystem - To use it seamlessly as most will with Strava you need:

• Garmin device
• Garmin account
• Strava account
• Garmin app on your phone
• Garmin app on your PC
• Two different Bluetooth profiles on your phone/Garmin device
• All the above synced and paired and registered with each other

And even after all that you still probably have to run the Garmin app on your phone to get it to upload a ride, and if you want to move routes etc, onto the device you have to plug it in to a PC. But it's not managed with the app because that would be too obvious, no you have to drag files onto it as a mass storage device! And you probably have to use a specific cable because Garmins are finicky with which USB cables they support!

If any part of the Garmin-Garmin app-Garmin account-Strava sync fails then you're left wondering what has happened and where to begin looking.

You can probably guess I'm not their biggest fan and look forward to someone disrupting the whole market. I reckon I could manage with a decent wrist-based device, but this thread and other commentary suggests that the Apple Watch still isn't that device.

I don't know anything about Strava. I use the Garmin Edge cycle computer as a sat nav and to record my distance, speed and calorie burn etc. Before a ride I simply go to the Garmin or one of several other mapping sites, plot a route and download it to the device. Then I have turn by turn directions for my ride. No need for any apps.

I do similar with the Oregon walking device but using Base Camp for the routing.

The devices may or may not be over priced but then you could say the same about Apple or other stuff. What I would say is that I'm very happy with both devices, they work very well.

[dirty boy]

I've got a Garmin Edge and use it more or less as a Navigation device that shows average speed and speed.

I use my Garmin Fenix 3 HR for everything else and it's quite simply superb.

Never had issues uploading or with a sync and it all appears in Strava automatically.

I like Garmin Connect for the other info it gives me and creating routes etc.

[BMWBen]

bad company said:

astroarcadia said:

Whilst Garmin continue to dominate the market with crap products I don't see the watch doing one single function better than a garmin device mounted out front.

Interesting. Why do you think the Garmin Edge is crap? I like mine very much my only criticism is the lack of instructions from Garmin and their online cycle maps keep trying to route me on footpaths.

I also have a Garmin Oregon for hiking.

Crashes... all.. the... time...

my 810 is useless for mapping after the last update. Their software quality is awful and they should be focusing on that rather than displays that let me know what sprocket I'm in (I mean really.... how is that useful?)

[bad company]

BMWBen said:

Crashes... all.. the... time...

my 810 is useless for mapping after the last update. Their software quality is awful and they should be focusing on that rather than displays that let me know what sprocket I'm in (I mean really.... how is that useful?)

Amazing, I bought my Oregon in June 2015. It crashed just once in that time but a quick reboot fixed it.

[BMWBen]

bad company said:

BMWBen said:

Crashes... all.. the... time...

my 810 is useless for mapping after the last update. Their software quality is awful and they should be focusing on that rather than displays that let me know what sprocket I'm in (I mean really.... how is that useful?)

Amazing, I bought my Oregon in June 2015. It crashed just once in that time but a quick reboot fixed it.

My experience was similar until the latest software for it. That's not to say that others have been as lucky, I guess it depends what features you're using. I work in software myself, so am familiar with how hard it is to deliver robust releases, but my support request asking to downgrade the firmware to the previous stable version was responded to with:

"There's no way of doing that. When it crashes just connect it to your computer and reset it."

Thanks guys, very helpful.