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Garmin's –$40B Pivot

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Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#161

Post by eitally »

NoboruWataya wrote: post #14

Interesting article. My partner bought an Apple watch a couple of years ago and I was shocked at what a poor value proposition it was. Very expensive and wouldn't even hold a charge for a day. I guess you get used to it but having to charge my watch every day would drive me mad. Obviously there are things it will do better than a Garmin (and things it can do that a Garmin simply can't) but overall it didn't make sens…

Apple Watches are great for people who want their watch to be an extension of their phone. Full stop.

Garmin watches are great for people who prioritize active lifestyles over social contact but still like to have the ability to receive notifications on their wrist. Do note, though, that Garmin's Vivo line has become "smarter" in the current gen, but I don't see them ever tackling Apple Watches directly with Forerunner, Fenix, etc models.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#162

Post by froh »

exabrial wrote: post #145

> But huge R&D investment helped turn the company from an automotive GPS firm to a leader in fitness watches and trackers. My understanding is the meat and potatoes at Garmin is Aircraft and marine flight instrumentation. Both require an unbelievable amount of [actual] engineering and proof testing, and subsequent certification. The Automotive GPS was a lucrative market for a brief time, but a pretty big misunderstan…

The article further down has a diagram (and a reference to the source the Economist) which shows how automotive was 70% of their revenue in 2008 and how outdoor and fitness is ~50% today.

they may be highly profitable in aviation and marine and they may develop there first. is that what you mean by core?

because revenue-wise the core was automotive in the beginning and now is outdoors and fitness.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#163

Post by eitally »

jmull wrote: post #101
jagermo wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

can you elaborate on " aren't designed for wearing all the time"? I wear my Epix 2 every day and it does all I want from a smartwatch - see incoming texts and calls while it tracks my health stats day and night. Yes, apple watch or Samsung ones may have more features, but I am not missing anything.

> can you elaborate on " aren't designed for wearing all the time"? Well, they look like sport watches. People can choose the aesthetic they want, but you're sending a message with one that's that opinionated, which I don't particularly want to.

Ummm... and Apple Watches are the epitome of high fashion? I don't think this is a strong argument when directly comparing these two things. Fwiw, I have met quite a few watch enthusiasts who wear a mechanical watch on one wrist and an Apple Watch on the other. This seems natural, honestly, since the primary function of an Apple Watch is definitely not to tell time.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#164

Post by wiether »

nightski wrote: post #100
scarface_74 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With my Apple Watch, I don’t need my phone when I’m running, swimming or at the gym. I can receive and return texts, make and receive calls and listen to music either stored on the watch or streamed over cellular.

That's funny, phone related features are the first things I turn off on my Garmin watch when I set it up. The last thing I want is my wrist buzzing off when I am focused lol. In fact, any notifications on my wrist are just flat out obnoxious. I'll take my multiple weeks of battery life for a single charge on the Forerunner 965. The data and analytics are fantastic as well.

Yeah, I think that's part of the reason both the Apple Watch and Garmin's can thrive: because they have their own market.

I recently renewed my Garmin watch and I did the same: disable all the phone related features.

And one of the Reddit comments quoted in the article says the same:

> Apple Watch is a Smartwatch with fitness features, Garmin is a Fitness watch (with admittedly lacking) smartwatch features.

People still buy Garmin watches instead of Apple Watch because they don't want the "smart" stuff, they want the fitness stuff first.

And yeah, the battery life is also a big factor!

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#165

Post by rufus_foreman »

regus wrote: post #139

I have a soft spot in my heart for Garmin. I am one of the few people left that still use Garmin's car GPS. I currently use the latest model, the Drive Smart 66. It is my daily driver (lol?). I recently went on a cross country road trip and this thing worked perfectly even when I was in the middle of the desert or driving through a canyon. It was nice to not rely on cell phone service for navigation on this trip. Alt…

>> Modern Garmin GPSs can get traffic data -- Counter Point: It requires a cellphone and it is not going to be as good as google maps

They make versions that get the traffic data over FM radio, you don't need a phone with those. For example https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/1240929.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#166

Post by _mlbt »

cft wrote: post #65
NoboruWataya wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ultimately I charge my phone (almost) every day, so I'm sure I could charge my watch every day as well. But it's still another habit I have to build, another way I have to adjust my routine to accommodate the things that are supposed to make my life easier. The other thing is, battery life degrades over time, which is relevant if you don't want to be buying new devices every couple of years. When I got my Garmin it p…

There's a difference: I wear my watch, and I expect it to always work, and be accessible even at night

With the newer Apple Watches you can just use fast charging. I basically just charge it when I shower and do my night time hygiene routine and it’s ready to go back on my wrist to track my sleep and act as a silent vibration alarm in the morning so that I don’t wake my wife up early. The only time I run into battery life issues is when I go on a weekend camping trip.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#167

Post by disqard »

world2vec wrote: post #143

Slightly offtopic but my girlfriend's smartwatch is falling apart and can't stand it anymore. Her birthday is coming soon and was thinking about a Garmin smartwatch. She runs a lot, gym almost everyday. Loves tracking fitness data and workouts but she's petite. Anyone with good recs on what to check?

I'm using a Garmin Forerunner 55 -- it has a 2-week battery life, and is great for regular running.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#168

Post by eitally »

petee wrote: post #120
NoboruWataya wrote: post #14

Interesting article. My partner bought an Apple watch a couple of years ago and I was shocked at what a poor value proposition it was. Very expensive and wouldn't even hold a charge for a day. I guess you get used to it but having to charge my watch every day would drive me mad. Obviously there are things it will do better than a Garmin (and things it can do that a Garmin simply can't) but overall it didn't make sens…

My Garmin Forerunner 265 has pretty decent battery life, maybe 8 days. I think what was the value for many was how their Connect app processed and displayed stats, though a recent change to "be pretty" has undone much of the usefulness. Combined with the chest monitor I could get balance, impact, stride etc stats live on my watch, which was great for helping correct a leftward lean I didn't know I was doing. So there…

Fwiw, I felt the same way about the Connect app changes last year, but that went away after a couple months once they released an update that lets you customize your main screen view. Now I appreciate the much richer widgets and the ability to swipe between several of the metrics that are most valuable to me.

Also, I've found that the current iteration of their wrist HR sensors are quite good [compared to a chest strap] for everything except outdoor cycling. I have an Epix 2 Pro and never wear a chest strap for anything but cycling anymore.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#169

Post by notatoad »

tw04 wrote: post #159
notatoad wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yeah, i've had a garmin and i've had an apple watch. both have their strong points, but the battery life of the apple watch was really just never an issue for me. it seems like it should be an obvious downsite, but it's pretty easy to get in the habit of charging it, and once it is habit its just really not an issue. if anything, the garmin's battery life was a downside, because i wouldn't charge it daily, and then i…

Unless you're riding for 4-5 hours, 10% should still be more than enough to get through a workout though? And in my experience a 10 minute charge would have you north of 30%.

not in my experience. i had an edge 120 bike computer and a vivoactive watch, and the last 10% wasn't enough to get through anything. the 10% from 100 to 90% would be plenty, but the last 10% always drained really quick and charged slow.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#170

Post by Ataraxic »

I'm really glad Garmin exists and makes smartwatches. The broad approach they have to market segments has created really great products that serve markets other large tech manufacturers haven't really touched. I'm sure the Apple watch is a good product but I'm uninterested in a general notification device (what I take to be the function of a smartwatch). I've used my farming for hiking, paragliding, tracking sleep, connecting to my bike trainer, etc. It tracks all my activities and is my dedicated device for anything athletic. The athletic features, good battery life, and sleep tracking have made it so that I actually wear a watch all the time. Spent $700 4 years ago and it was totally worth it. Perhaps the only caveat for Garmin is that I don't need to upgrade. It does everything I want it to without issue.
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