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Garmin's –$40B Pivot

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Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#271

Post by hiq »

SoftTalker wrote: post #223
fiftyfifty wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been using a Garmin Forerunner GPS watch for years, and what I've found I like the most about it is actually the Garmin Connect app on my phone. I don't think Garmin gets enough credit as a software shop. Connect is a great application for tracking your workouts over time. A fair number of runners even use Garmin's workout plans from the app. Even compared to running apps exclusively for iOS and Android I think…

> I don't think Garmin gets enough credit as a software shop. They make avionics systems. They probably have a good culture of making well tested, reliable software.

Well I have to set the record straight that I do find bugs regularly, both on the watch and the app. I'm still very happy with it (and I'm sure I prefer it over competitors), but not all of the features have been polished to the same extent nor do they seem to go through the same QA for every upgrade. The Garmin forum is a good witness to that.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#272

Post by hiq »

mtalantikite wrote: post #218
sylens wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Apple Watch is also a terribly designed device for running. Too much of its functions rely on interacting with the touchscreen, something you are either unable to do with sweaty hands when running or don't want to do as it draws your attention away for a prolonged amount of time and hurts your form. Garmin's unwavering commitment to physical buttons and how you can customize what they do is what makes them the go…

Genuinely curious, what do you need to change mid-run on your watch? I set an apple music playlist to start, open a run on WorkOutDoors, and go. I really am only interested in heart rate, distance traveled and pace. And if I need to stop for anything walking back to my apartment after a session I have apple pay. Granted, I'm not a serious runner, I only do it as a supplement for my muay thai training (i.e. I'm only r…

Besides the various metrics other have mentioned (and which you could in theory put all in one screen, unless you're interested in a lot of them), you might want to interact with the workout and e.g. set it to the next interval. If you planned a 15min warmup at low pace but already feel good after 10min, you might want to already go to the main part of your workout. On Garmin that's one button away, I'd be annoyed if I had to touch the screen for that.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#273

Post by hiq »

infecto wrote: post #46
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…

People value things differently but the battery life is always interesting to me. Certainly if I was backwoods hiking I get it but for my day to day I only take it off post workout in the morning as I shower and get ready for the day. It’s charged so quickly that I throw it back on as soon as I am done.

That means you're always showering at home, which might work for you but it's a big constraint. If you work out / shower in different places and at different times, it might be harder to find a suitable charging routine.

I'm also wondering how it evolves. Batteries don't get better over time, I'd be worried of having to end up charging it twice a day in one year, which for a device this expensive is not great.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#274

Post by hiq »

dhosek wrote: post #97
chikere232 wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It sounds like you have a good routine, but it's pretty nice to just have to charge once a week or something

The ideal charging cycles are either daily or never. With some non-daily cycle, I need to add “does my watch need recharging?” to my cognitive load.

My Garmin watch asks me if I want to enable the battery saver mode whenever it reaches 20% or so (most likely configurable anyway), which is still more than a day's worth of battery. If you go for several days without a charger, you need to plan that in advance and charge it beforehand, but at least that's a possibility which you don't have with other watches that require daily charging.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#275

Post by deepsun »

Article doesn't talk about a very important point -- hold of the market. I say that Garmin is first and foremost aviation and maritime company, being pretty monopolistic there. E.g. Garmin G1000 for small airplanes costs around $30k, and G5000 for private jets -- around $500,000.

And the most important -- no one there ever talks about alternatives. Except for non-certified experimental tools -- Garmin is pretty much the only game in town.

So I believe they operate as aviation/maritime company first, while all the consumer devices like watches/outdoor trackers are like a side-business for them. Yes, that side business happens to bring in more money than the main business, but they wisely don't rely on it.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#276

Post by gausswho »

canucker2016 wrote: post #257
gausswho wrote: post #53

I picked up an Epix Pro during the holiday sales. Aware that they'd had a data breach, I was dismayed to find there is no way to get the data off it without using an app and that app won't even start without an account. Despite the settings, wouldn't show up as a storage device when connected (on Linux). I noped right out. Reeked of surveillance capitalism. Shame because I did like the hardware. Is there a dumb watch…

The Epix watches seem to have a setting to switch the watch to Mass Storage USB mode - see https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-E5C62F3F-DCE3-4... Did you change this setting on the watch?

I did enable that setting. But it still didn't work for me. I remember seeing it was showing up and tried various tools related to MTP but none of them were able to access the files.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#277

Post by iosguyryan »

jamespo wrote: post #247
stouset wrote: post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What strikes me is that I alread have a central authoritative store of health and fitness information on my Apple devices bundled directly into the operating system but every single app in that category wants me to use them as the single database of truth instead. Even when they have integration with Health! Everything goes into Apple Health but individual apps can barely talk to one another. Oura won’t pull heart ra…

What's it like getting data out of Apple Health?

Not hard at all.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#278

Post by infecto »

hiq wrote: post #273
infecto wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People value things differently but the battery life is always interesting to me. Certainly if I was backwoods hiking I get it but for my day to day I only take it off post workout in the morning as I shower and get ready for the day. It’s charged so quickly that I throw it back on as soon as I am done.

That means you're always showering at home, which might work for you but it's a big constraint. If you work out / shower in different places and at different times, it might be harder to find a suitable charging routine. I'm also wondering how it evolves. Batteries don't get better over time, I'd be worried of having to end up charging it twice a day in one year, which for a device this expensive is not great.

Certainly but my point was more that the watch charges quite quickly when done so on a daily basis. Not to mention it’s surprising that someone can get by without giving their skin a breather for a small portion of the day. Given that it’s healthy to let the skin breath it’s always interesting to hear the daily charge constraint as an issue. Are people keeping a garmin on their wrist 24/7 for 7 days? Simply a strange constraint that is always mentioned.

Similar to your battery life concern. It’s valid but we are on what…evolution 11 now? My current two year old watch has more than enough battery. Prior to that I had one for 4 years I think. Same deal no issues in batteries.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#279

Post by seesaw »

fiftyfifty wrote: post #146
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…

I've been using a Garmin Forerunner GPS watch for years, and what I've found I like the most about it is actually the Garmin Connect app on my phone. I don't think Garmin gets enough credit as a software shop. Connect is a great application for tracking your workouts over time. A fair number of runners even use Garmin's workout plans from the app. Even compared to running apps exclusively for iOS and Android I think…

I had been an Apple Watch user until it died after I was in a water park. It is supposed to be waterproof, but I guess Apple wants me to refresh after two years.

I switched to a Garmin Venu 3. It is better than AW in many aspects, but is also lacking in some. But the Connect app is a lot better than Apple Health.

Re: Garmin's –$40B Pivot

#280

Post by dutchbookmaker »

kshahkshah wrote: post #40

I'm in the market for a watch. Turned 41, my weight has slowly crept up despite working out 4-5 times a week - not too bad, like not obese. My cholesterol is bad partially due to genetics but mostly due to diet. I also have a mild sleep apnea, especially when my weight is high. I'm focusing on dropping weight this year and would love to start tracking sleep, recovery, apnea, and any heart issues before/as they happen…

I was in the same boat with genetics and cholesterol. It is all the diet. At some point I realized I had to stop eating cheese completely. No pizza, no nachos, no tacos with cheese. I can stay in good shape with a once a week cheat night but I don't have the genetics to deal with the cholesterol like that.

It sucked at first but the things I do enjoy now, I enjoy them just as much.

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