I know I'm in a very different demographic from the average Apple user because I just don't understand the appeal of a big, bright OLED screen on my wrist. I still wear my Pebble Time Round every day. If it ever dies I'll get a Garmin with an always-on non-backlit display that looks great in the sun and lasts for days.
IMO I'd rather see this tech used to shrink the size of the watch to make it thinner, rather than expanding the size even larger. It's a supplementary device, the idea that you might use a keyboard on it is laughable. I wonder if we'll see the same size creep in the watch space that we've already seen with phones...
I have a love/hate relationship with my Garmin. I would certainly appreciate the better integrations with my iPhone that the Apple Watch provides, but the battery life is a non-starter. My Fenix feels very disjointed from my phone, but it can get me through a 3-day backpacking trip with the GPS on.
The Fenix is also chunky compared to the Apple Watch.
I use a Garmin head unit for cycling and its interactions with my phone and also other services (e.g. Strava) are simply appalling for 2021. Garmin’s own services are also pretty bad to use.
I struggle to understand how a group of smart people could put out that product with such gaping flaws and think, ‘yes, we did a good job there’.
The Apple Watch is smaller than many high functionality watches, including most garmins.
However I agree with you about the battery life issue. I have an Apple Watch I use as a beater for specific sports. The rest of the time I use an automatic. Not having to worry about whether it is charged is a major win.
I agree on size, biggest issue with AW is its size. On the other hand it’s so damn useful to always have access to your digital life. Calendars, weather, reminders, timers, notifications. Those are the things I use the most. I have never had a problem with sunshine.
IMO I'd rather see this tech used to shrink the size of the watch to make it thinner, rather than expanding the size even larger. It's a supplementary device, the idea that you might use a keyboard on it is laughable. I wonder if we'll see the same size creep in the watch space that we've already seen with phones...