Why I swapped my Apple Watch Ultra for a Garmin Fenix 7 Pro!

Are you a Garmin or an Apple Watch kinda person?

At the moment its Garmin all the way ..- I love you have all the data build in the watch. Key factors for me; Body battery, training readiness, Heart rate viability, performance condition , stamina. Beside that I love all the navigation options.

Simply amazing high quality and thought in your videos. I absolutely love and really appreciate how much time each video must take you in both the planning and editing. Much of your work is nearly invisible, which is what great video production should be. Love the content, just love everything about your channel. Thank you for everything.

My first Garmin was the Fenix 7 after various Apple Watches over the years. It was actually the release of the Ultra that made me get a Fenix as I realised the Fenix was more Ultra than an Ultra. When the Pros came out I got the Epix Pro and that has been perfect watch for me with the Amoled screen.

I own both and love both. Each watch has its own strengths and weaknesses. The Garmin is the king of GPS and navigation. Apple is the king of smart features. I daily drive the Apple, but take my garmin anytime I’m doing outside activities. If I were to only have one, I’d definitely go Garmin. It’s definitely meant more for active people that spend a lot of time outdoors. The Apple for me is just really convenient. They are both awesome!

My hat is off to you for another awesome video. Thanks. I really like your “walking tour” videos and getting a peek at all the sights and sounds around you. Having been to London several times, I understand why you say it is the greatest city. Nothing compares to sitting in a London pub with some friends and having a pint or two (maybe three) with some good pub food. Simply wonderful!

I switched to Garmin from an Apple Watch about two years ago. I have my Fenix 6S Pro for over a year now and one of the main reasons to keep using it is in fact battery life. Also I like the Watch look over the square form of the Apple Watch.

Thank you for a well-balanced review with some nice landscapes in the background. I am also a two watch user. I use my Samsung Watch 5 pro as an extension of my phone and Suunto Vertical as my running watch. Although Samsung 5 pro has a decent battery life and sport tracking options it simply fails when put to more extreme conditions. It would switch off for safety reasons when exposed to Italian sun, when in water it has to be on water lock function and you can't operate it till you dry it out again (it will still tell you the time of course when submerged but that's it). If you go away even for a few days, you need to take a charger with you. Suunto actually benefits from hot weather as it has a solar panel, no need to charge it if you are away for a week even during proper expeditions. Unfortunately, sometimes I end up wearing two watches, for example if I go for a longer run and want to be able to pick up a phone call during the activity without reaching for my phone but if I was to choose between them I would go for Suunto because of its durability and battery life. Once again, many thanks for a solid real-life review 👍

Worth pointing out that the Apple Watch Ultra was brought out to try to grab some of the sports pie from Garmin, Polar et al. rather than the other way around. It's an activity watch which links to your phone, rather than a smartwatch in the Apple sense. I swap between my AW7 for daytime and my Fenix 6Pro for my workouts. If you want the OLED display, go for the Garmin Epix series which does the F7 stuff with the nice display. I have used the Fenix as my daily and nightly watch but honestly it's a bit bulky for my daily use. There's also a gotcha on the AW series where they by default will pair and use the iPhone's GPS rather than its own, and that is not accurate (I did some testing to see what was going on there). In terms of the data you get, it's about what you're using it for. I use all the fitness data and find the AW doesn't tell me enough, but unless you're interested in that aspect the AW do a reasonable job. Their dive into the fitness market has certainly shaken up the Garmins/Polars of the world into trying to do more of the user friendly stuff so that's a good thing.

Garmin hands down. Garmin has always been rugged, reliable, excellent battery life and very intuitive. I don't need all the smart features on a watch, simple text notifications and ability to play music via bt earbuds is plenty. Love my Garmin Enduro 2 and recently picked up the Fenix 7 Pro.

Awesome balanced review ! Thank you for not taking sides and distinguishing the apple garmin difference

Try any Garmin with an android phone, the integration is way higher and the experience is far better. I use a Fenix 6 Pro and I moved from iPhone 14 Pro Max to Z Fold 4, you can manage notifications in a completely different way. Apple ecosystem is always good only with Aplle devices, as you say frequently too

I have been back and forth with Apple Watch and Garmin this year, I just returned the Garmin Epix Pro 51mm. I loved that watch, I loved the battery life, and I loved the buttons. But, I am not a regular hiker, and I am not a serious runner, in fact, I hate running but I do it as I feel good afterwards. I went back to the Apple watch in the end because I DO like unlocking my Mac with my watch, I do like paying easily for things, and I do like turning the volume up and down on my podcasts and music while my phone is elsewhere, I do like closing my rings, I do like seeing Snoopy do silly things on the watch face. I love that when I am driving using Apple Maps when it is time to turn, my watch vibrates and makes the indicator sound, I find it easier to jump into an activity on the Apple Watch or find my notifications, or use it on the trams and tubes to clock in and out of stations, I do like asking Siri to set a timer. I love the weather animations on the Apple Watch, the UI feels more intuitive. The Garmin is a rugged, outdoors, fitness device, and ultimately if you are going to charge 700 -1000 for a device you want it also does all the smart things the Apple Watch can do, which is why I am sticking with Apple for now.

I’ve got the Epix Gen 2 and the Ultra. I prefer the Ultra, but use the Epix for mountain biking and anything that requires long battery life. They are not the same and can’t be compared. One is an every day lifestyle watch with enough activity tracking for what most people do, the other is a beast that is probably over kill for what most people do.

Daily drive Garmin 6 pro solar for two years now. I love it. I wanted something that had long battery life and would give me notifications. I am looking at the 7 but maybe will wait on an 8. I love everything about it.

I had a Garmin Fenix years ago, switched to an Apple Watch series 3 but got fed up with charging and not being able to run for longer than 2 hrs. I bought a Garmin Instinct in 2018. I did buy an Apple Watch series 6, but it wasn't long before I sold it and went back to my Instinct that I'm still wearing nearly 5 years later. I get notifications. The battery life is still awesome. And it reminds me of the much loved Casio Pro-Trek I had for years... still if you decide to sell the Garmin, let me know :)

I have the garmin fenix 5X and I love this watch. I had Apple Watches in the past but I always come back to the garmin. All of the Apple Watch advantages does not bother me because I carry my phone everywhere I go.

I was a Garmin watch user for 10 years (various things inc Forerunners, Fenixes) before a new job (with health insurance) gave me an AW7. I'd just obtained a new Foreunner 945 the month before, tried the AW7 for a couple of days....loved it so much that I sold the 945 the week after. It's important to note that charging on the AW7 is really quick. I can go out for a run for an hour, lose 5% of battery, stick it on charge while in the shower and we're back at 100%. It's similar to managing phone battery life and we're all used to that. I've done multiway trips, and just took a power bank and stuck the watch on charge while sleeping. Marathons are no problem for it, ultras take some more consideration. But that speaks to a more modern problem, one we didn't used to have- recording everything. Do we need to? SOIDH? Anyway, it's a nice to have. I recently erred and flirted with a Venu 2 Plus. I lasted an hour, back to the AW.

Great video! I had both and kept my Fenix 7x pro but the ultra is incredible as well, just depends what is important to you. If I could I would have both lol

Mark! Thanks Much!