[Closed] Tell me about Apple watches / other fitness trackers?

I have an apple watch, it’s bloody brilliant.
The only downside i can think of is the daily charging.
I can put music from my phone on the watch, and play it via bluetooth.
Mine has the Esim, so I can make/receive calls and texts without having the phone.

I like mine too, it’s a 4 so not the latest/greatest. I was hesitant about battery life but in real life it’s not been an issue at all.

i might upgrade for the 8 next year.

I have a Garmin Vivoactive 4 and that can play music. It's ace too, much better as a fitness watch than my wife's Apple watch. The battery on hers is pathetic.

Hmmm, if my music was mp3 or Spotify then a garmin would make more sense I guess.

Can someone explain in simple terms which Apple watches have cellular?

Does the 6 for example always have cellular - it’s advertised as having call capability but it’s not clear if it requires a phone?

Is it correct that earlier models allow you to download Apple Music songs just not stream them?

I love my series 6 apple watch, but it's not a great running watch. for proper training runs, where i want to track pace / lap pace and distance etc real time I use my garmin. for longer, less paced runs, i use apple watch running strava, which means i can play music without a phone.

cellular apple watches are more expensive, but you can make calls, and I assume stream music.

Non cellular, you can't take calls without your phone (but you can speak into your watch on calls if you have your phone, which is surprisingly handy! Non cellular, you download music from spotfiy or apple music, no streaming.

If you’ll only ever wear it for running then get a Garmin.

otherwise get the Apple Watch.

I have a 4 and 6, both cellular.
I can store music from my phone on the watch and listen to it even if the phone is out of range.
Afaik, you can’t stream from the watch.
EDIT: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204691

So, i was wrong.
Again.
Ffs.

Garmin Forerunner 245 here. Spotify. Works pretty well in fact, although it's the cheaper end so it doesn't support open water swimming, maps (I wanted this but didn't want to pay over double the price) or Google Pay etc.

It is however quite a handy smart watch (works well for notifications and you can reply pre-set messages etc, it's filterable too), it's good for running, it does fit-bit style activity monitoring quite well and it can do cycling too. It integrates fitness stats (VO2 max, training stress and the like) with your Garmin bike computer if you have one that supports it which would be an Edge 5xx or above I think.

But no Apple music although you can apparently play content you've actually bought on iTunes.

Can someone explain in simple terms which Apple watches have cellular?

Any that have a red ring on the digital crown.

For sport: Anything other than Apple watch will be better and cheaper.

If you just want notifications from an iPhone: Apple watch, though anything else will still be better and cheaper.

If you just want to be able to say "I have an Apple watch": Apple watch, though anything else will still be better and cheaper.

Having been stung too many times by Garmins, ‘**** it, that’ll do’ approach to software development, I’m sticking with apple. 😉

Besides, I like the adulation and praise I get when I walk into a room and announce I have an Apple Watch.

Having been stung too many times by Garmins, ‘**** it, that’ll do’ approach to software development, I’m sticking with apple.

I know what you mean but I'm pretty happy with my Garmin kit currently. No issues at all.

Thanks guys.

So, I’m still a but confused — the Apple Watch 6 for example, seems to be advertised with call functionality but doesn’t say it’s cellular?

Re running - I’m not too concerned about training / performance but would like to track my runs and have a rough idea what my heart is up to. My current exercise regime is a 6 mile trail run once a week, quite slowly indeed..

(I probably won’t wear the watch a whole lot outside exercising as my work (uni) won’t allow it)

I do however really want to listen to music whilst running as it’s the only thing that stops me giving up and whimpering off home…

Apple Watch 3 is fine for occasional use - think it's now the SE. It's earned a place on my wrist and I am very pleased with it. Min was the NIKE special edition. It did smart a bit when I changed to the stretch Sports Strap, but it has been really great.

Apple watches come in two flavours cellular and none. The cellular as mentioned above has a red ring on the crown and costs a bit more and you need an esim from your provider.
As for Fitness capabilities the built in stuff does get better with each WatchOS release, however I’d recommend purchasing WorkOutdoors from the App Store, spend a few days being overwhelmed by all the options the once you’ve got your head around that configure it to your liking for your various sports and use it. It’s by far the best (and most in depth) watch app I’ve used.

If buying from Apple, only the Series 6 and the SE have the option of 4g. You have to choose to buy a 4g watch to use it though, which is more expensive.

I feel like anyone (who has an iPhone), and wants to wear the watch when not doing sports should get an Apple Watch over a Garmin. You can’t compare the notification functionally between the two, the Apple Watch is night and day better.

Garmin is probably better as a mountain biking watch, though, I’d rather use a computer and chest strap over an expensive watch that still relies on optical heart rate only.

I wear my Apple Watch every day (Series 5). It’s great, and I’ve never announced it’s existence walking into a room. People who don’t have one will sometimes ask you about it though, and a few people on here will talk shit about it because you’re an iSheep.

I use an Apple watch for running and biking just to track distance. If I was serious I'd look at something else but the Apple does me.

The old Garmin it replaced would never connect to my phone rather annoyingly. And my sister who is a serious runner won't touch Garmin after having 3 failed even though she did like them, she's happy with her Polar.

Having had a vivoactive 3 music and an Apple Watch series 4 I would go Apple Watch. It’s more usable as a daily watch screen is way better and I don’t wear it at night so charging is easy. You can also use Apple Music on the Apple Watch.

I would go for the se. About the same price (within 20% anyway) as a garmin with music capability so ignore the guy complaining about the price.

The plasticness of my vivoactive makes it look like a rip off compared to an Apple Watch se.

Having been stung too many times by Garmins, ‘**** it, that’ll do’ approach to software development, I’m sticking with apple.

This. Owned a Forerunner and an Instinct and they're just a pain in the bum for anything other than telling the time. Integration with phone or PC is beyond dire. Apple Watch has that sorted, as you'd expect. Only issue is that mine needs charging every 2 days.

So.. I’ve acquired an Iwatch SE (sounds creepy) .

As my current provider (Virgin) don’t support it I’ve ordered an EE sim for my phone. Does anyone know if I’ll get charged additionally for adding the watch to the plan? It’s not clear at all..

Can’t speak for EE, but from memory, it’s £5/month on Vodafone. Certainly won’t be free!

I like mine. Anything series 3 onwards is quick enough, before that you’d be setting up music and starting a workout and it’d be lagging lots. The always on display of series 5 onwards is really nice to have just for everyday use as a watch.

Without cellular you can do calls/texts on your watch if you’re at home on wifi. It’s handy if you tend to put your phone down somewhere rather than keep it in your pocket all the time. Can do music etc away from home as long as you’ve synced some on to it.

Cellular means you can go for a run etc and still get calls/notifications and also stream music on demand if you need to. I go for a run to get away from that so never seen the benefit from an extra £5 a month on my phone bill for an esim.

If it's just for occasional use during exercise either the Apple watch SE or the Garmin Venu 2. Both will let you download music to the watch so you don't need your phone with you. Apple has the better pay system with more banks supported if you plan a cafe stop. Garmin's GPS is more accurate so you'll get better run tracking. Garmin watches can display notifications from an iPhone but can't respond to messages, that only works on Android. The SE cellular (LTE) will allow streaming on Apple music and messages/calls without your phone in tow. EE, O2 and Vodafone support that option.

Personally I hate the look of the Apple watch and the battery life is properly off-putting, but I'd be wearing the watch every day and would like better sleep tracking like the Garmin offers. But my bank isn't supported on Garmin pay so I'd need to take my phone anyway if planning cafe stops when I do Parkrun or visit local places, which means Apple may end up getting more of my cash when my new iPhone arrives 😶

You can use Curve with you debit card to get it set up with Garmin Pay.
I had an Apple Watch 3 and it was the perfect smart watch but IME it wasn't the best fitness tracker, mainly due to the battery life but also things like off road navigation on the bike and lack of sleep tracking. Anything over 5-6 hours and the battery would struggle, and when you are getting a long ride in you don't want the last 10-20km missed off the end.
I'm now using a Fenix 6 pro and for me it's the best compromise between the smart functions I find useful and the health and fitness functions I want, plus the 8-10 days between charges.

Fenix 6 is a high cost option. Too rich for me and probably for the OP as well if it's for occasional use

Fair enough, but Garmin do plenty of lower priced options that do most of the things the fenix range does. I guess the point I was trying to make was that all of the options available atm are a compromise of some sort, you just have to decide which features are of more use to you.

There's a very reasonably priced Fenix 5x in the classifieds atm too. I had one of those before the 6 pro and the only real difference (other than pulse ox) is that the 6's UI is a bit more refined and the screen is a bit more hi def.

I'm torn on the Garmin Venu 2 at the mo. It's the ideal one for me in most respects. Cheaper than the Fenix and slimmer, space for music storage as well. Having a way round payments is a plus if Curve works with my bank