Switching from Apple Watch to Garmin worth it? Looking for a watch focused on sports & Heart/sleep tracking
Hi everyone,
I’m currently considering switching from an Apple Watch to Garmin and wanted to hear about your experiences. I mostly work office/field service, live under constant stress, and I’m trying to bring more sports and overall health awareness back into my life.
What currently bothers me about the Apple Watch:
- Battery life
- The analysis/tracking features feel less detailed compared to Garmin
- Design: Yeah, maybe it’s superficial, but why does every Garmin instantly look like it belongs to an ultrarunner, combat diver, or elite soldier, while Apple sometimes feels like a Casio calculator watch from 1980 😄 (totally subjective opinion, sorry)
What I mainly use the watch for:
- Heart rate / health tracking (it has genuinely helped some colleagues notice health issues early)
- Sleep tracking & recovery (Apple doesn’t seem great here)
- Long battery life
- Running, cycling, and general fitness
Nice to have:
- GPS for hiking
What I barely need at all:
- Reading SMS
- Phone calls
- Smartwatch features in general
Has anyone here made a similar switch and can say whether Garmin is really the better choice for this use case? And if yes, which models would you recommend? I’m currently looking at the Fenix 8 and the Forerunner 570.
I also noticed Google launched the Fitbit Air as a sort of competitor to Whoop. I’d mainly be interested in how accurate the sensors are compared to Garmin. Though I still want an actual watch, so it’s probably not an option for me anyway.
Thanks everyone 🙂