Apple has come such a long way in the past few years in grabbing marketshare in the adventure and fitness watch space. Garmin has owned a lot of that space for years, with a variety of watch options that go from $199 up to over $1,000 for every kind of athlete and adventurer. The differences come in battery life, built-in features, quality of materials used, and more. I am currently a Garmin Epix Pro owner and have loved it. But, today, September 9, 2024, Apple had a chance to release a new Apple Watch Ultra 3 that would go after me and other Garmin owners. Did they?
Apple Watch Ultra Blew a Great Chance to Get Garmin Users
The Garmin Fenix 8
Check out my review using the Apple Watch Ultra 2 from last year by running a 50 mile race with it – against the Garmin watch. And, yes, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 was a disappointment to me last year.
Apple had a huge chance to grab some customers over from Garmin with this year’s release of the Apple Watch Ultra. While it was expected that Apple wouldn’t release an Ultra with a bunch of new features, battery tech and Apple’s own software improvements could have made an Apple Watch Ultra 3 with battery life that added 50% or more of battery life to it. Here is what Apple has going for it against the Garmin watches in the same price class:
- Cellular capability
- Garmin fans were very disappointed that the latest Garmin Fenix 8 update didn’t bring even a single model with cellular connectivity. I know I am one who would really enjoy that feature. Having a connected device while on runs has become even more important over the last few years as several runners have been attacked while on the run or have had health incidents. It didn’t need to have full-on capability like the Apple Watch has but it still would have been a great add-on, enabling runners to leave the phone at home
- New Apple metrics
- While the Apple Watch has had third-party developers bringing some great software to the Apple Watch to mimic many of the great things that Garmin watches had, my complaint and that of many others was that they weren’t first-party developments. I wanted to see Apple make these software features since they are just better incorporated and Apple is the one that makes the hardware after all. Well, this year, they did bring some of those features to the Apple Watch with the Vitals app. This will provide some of the metrics that Garmin users have had for a long time.
- Price
- I can’t believe that I am giving the edge to Apple on price, but here we are! The Apple Watch Ultra has actually been a very competitive price at $799. It offered titanium with cellular capability. Garmin just came out with their replacement to the Garmin Epix Pro with the Garmin Fenix 8 with sapphire and that hiked the price. The price is now starting at $1,099. This price puts it $300 more than the Apple Watch Ultra. Now, make no mistake, the Garmin Fenix 8 is waaaaaayy better than the Apple Watch Ultra but it is the one that people would compare to the Apple Watch Ultra.
So, this was the year for Apple to bring out the Apple Watch Ultra 3 with 50+ battery life. There is no secret that companies like Apple have been working on battery tech and doing so years before they actually release it. This feature alone would have been enough to have many people upgrade from the 2 to the 3, had they brought it out. The new Apple Watch Series 10 (which is actually very impressive looking) brings fast charging that will give 80% battery life with 30 minutes of charging. The Apple Watch Ultra this year? Nothing.
Incredibly, the new Apple Watch Series 10 brings a display that is larger than the Ultra and thinner than ever. The Apple Watch Ultra? Nope – still the big black box of blank display around the display. It could have shrunk that a bit or made it usable – but it didn’t.
Yes, they did give it a new color – titanium black which is actually very cool. It is the one color that I would have loved to have seen last year. But, this year, the new Apple Watch Series 10 has a cool jet black finish with that larger display and thinner body and a titanium finish. For most people, unless they have to have 20+ hours of battery life at one go, the Apple Watch Series 10 will be the one to go for. In fact, for Garmin fans, getting a new Apple Watch Series 10 with cellular and a lower cost Garmin like the Forerunner 165 will still be cheaper than the Apple Watch Ultra.
Sorry, Apple, you blew a fantastic year to grab at Garmin customers. Better luck next year. The crazy part? Apple will still sell thousands of these “new” watches. 🙂
I love my Apple 7 watch but this is too expensive for the average person. I also find that Apple watches are generally less accurate in the distance they record than my Garmin running watches.