[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by vb-san

...Serves the purpose well, extremely durable, and the Solar version can go on for weeks without charging. As a fitness watch it is much better than the Series 8. The latter have more smart watch features, LTE connectivity and so on, but you will have to charge it almost every day.

+1 to vb-san's recommendations. Garmin watches have excellent battery life and features, compared to any other premium smartwatch.

Originally Posted by diwakarmuthu

...rugged smartwatch...non-apple alternatives ...primary requirements are general fitness tracking, get data around my runs, swim and strength training, GPS and music integration and the capability to receive or answer calls...

1. Amazfit TREX 2.
2. Garmin Instinct 2
3. Ticwatch Pro.

Rugged, non-Apple fitness tracking, smart watch is pretty much Garmin. You can choose from a plethora of options. Look on their website.

The other two options Amazefit Trex2 (have heard about this) and Ticwatch(have no idea) are non-comparable to Garmin or Apple.

In terms of premium smart watches, I consider only Apple and Garmin.
Samsung/ Google watches have abominable battery life.

Rest everything else is a budget smart watch/ fitness tracker.

[abhi3284]

Am planning to upgrade to a newer and better smartwatch and need some guidance in making the right choice. Currently using a MI Band 6, which is pretty decent in terms of features and accuracy. Am looking for a Circular dial smartwatch with better health monitor features and accurate tracking. Budget is 10 - 12k and have narrowed down to Samsung Galaxy Watch 4 and the new launch Amazfit GTR Mini. Which among these two is more accurate, better built, good after sales service, if at all required and suit my requirements? Is Galaxy Watch 4 old enough to be considered obselete? I am aware the major Con of Galaxy Watch 4 is its abysmal Battery Life. Still, how bad is it? Not even 2 days? But if it trumps the Amazfit in other factors, i am ready to consider it. On Samsung Shop App, I am getting the Galaxy Watch 4 just below 10k. Also, with Amazon Sale round the corner on 04 May, both these Watches might see some price drop on Amazon. If it matters in making a choice, i use the Samsung Galaxy S21FE as my primary phone.
Kindly suggest to help me make an informed decision. Thanks.

[padmrajravi]

I use the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic LTE and I have to charge it everyday. By the time, I wind up the day, it is at 50 percent. I can stretch it to two days, but there is no guarantee that it will last if I have a longer day. Forgetting to charge has never been a problem for me so far. I have a wipro smart plug which switches on from 4 AM to 6 AM and I have connected the watch charger to it. So If the watch is not in my hands, it is ussually in the charger and the smart plug ensures it gets charged only two hours a day. By the time, I start the day, it is at 100 pc and good to go.

[abhi3284]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

I use the Galaxy Watch 4 Classic LTE and I have to charge it everyday. By the time, I wind up the day, it is at 50 percent. I can stretch it to two days, but there is no guarantee that it will last if I have a longer day. Forgetting to charge has never been a problem for me so far. I have a wipro smart plug which switches on from 4 AM to 6 AM and I have connected the watch charger to it. So If the watch is not in my hands, it is ussually in the charger and the smart plug ensures it gets charged only two hours a day. By the time, I start the day, it is at 100 pc and good to go.

Thanks for your inputs.
How does it fare in terms of accuracy for Health monitoring features? Like Step count, sleep tracking, calories burned, etc.
As you have the LTE variant, does it work if you have a 5G SIM in your phone. I read otherwise. Does it consume more Battery than the BT variant? Also, is it worth going for LTE variant by paying a bit extra?

Any suggestions from other Bhp'ians on Samsung Galaxy vs Amazfit.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

Garmin watches have excellent battery life and features, compared to any other premium smartwatch.

I got myself a Vivoactive 4 in Jan '21. When the watch was new, the battery used to last me approx a week. Nowadays, it just lasts a day and if I am tracking any activity, I have to charge it prior to the activity, else, it shuts down.

Unsure of how it should be. Or this is the norm. Either ways, in just 2 years, I do not think, I can spend ~35K - 40K for a new one. Ultra is just too expensive. Maybe, time to go back to Casio?

[padmrajravi]

Originally Posted by abhi3284

Thanks for your inputs.
How does it fare in terms of accuracy for Health monitoring features? Like Step count, sleep tracking, calories burned, etc.
As you have the LTE variant, does it work if you have a 5G SIM in your phone. I read otherwise. Does it consume more Battery than the BT variant? Also, is it worth going for LTE variant by paying a bit extra?

Any suggestions from other Bhp'ians on Samsung Galaxy vs Amazfit.

I haven't formally tested the accuracy, I just trust it blindly . My sim is a Jio 5G, it works well in 5G mode in my area with speeds well above 100 MBs as per the speed tests. The Watch only shows a 4G signal. It is not 5G capable, but that does not affect the phone's 5G reception or the watch's ability to sync. I can use it to check my messages, or even place phone calls without the phone nearby. It switches between Bluetooth and 4G depending on whether the phone is nearby. When it is away from the phone, it does consume more battery.

The drawback of LTE model is that you can not receive calls in watch through wifi. It can sync calls only through LTE or bluetooth, not through Wifi, which the BT model can. Hence LTE model without a paired sim is inferior to a wifi connected BT model. If you buy it, you have to use it with a sim - Either Jio prepaid/postpaid or Airtel postpaid. I got the LTE model only because of pre-order benefits with my phone, otherwise, I would have bought the BT model.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Unsure of how it should be. Or this is the norm. Either ways, in just 2 years, I do not think, I can spend ~35K - 40K for a new one. Ultra is just too expensive. Maybe, time to go back to Casio?

No such problem with Garmin I guess. A couple of my colleagues are on Instinct/2, Fenix 6 etc. and they are extremely happy with it. I actually thought of getting a Fenix 7 but when the Watch Ultra came, went with that

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by vb-san

No such problem with Garmin I guess. A couple of my colleagues are on Instinct/2, Fenix 6 etc. and they are extremely happy with it. I actually thought of getting a Fenix 7 but when the Watch Ultra came, went with that

Vivoactive is by Garmin too. I got a Garmin thinking it to be a Toyota and I too was not sure, I will stay with iOS or jump ship. But now, I just might stick with iOS (because of form factor coupled with battery life in that small size).

Was looking at Casio Pro series, not for an outright purchase, but just for an idea. Ultra is prohibitely expensive. And I have got used to wearing a watch after long, I do wear it for 12 to 14 hours a day. Might just get another regular but something which is not fragile.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Vivoactive is by Garmin too. I got a Garmin thinking it to be a Toyota and I too was not sure, I will stay with iOS or jump ship. But now, I just might stick with iOS (because of form factor coupled with battery life in that small size).

Sorry, I would have mentioned bigger Garmin models - I assume Garmin is a bit like Samsung - heavy-duty flagship models and pretty standard bands/watches at the entry-level/midrange.

With iOS, my previous watch 6 required a shot of charge every night. The Ultra easily goes for 2 days; I normally will have around 25-30% left at the end of day 2 (I wear the watch whole day).

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Vivoactive is by Garmin too. I got a Garmin thinking it to be a Toyota and I too was not sure, I will stay with iOS or jump ship. But now, I just might stick with iOS (because of form factor coupled with battery life in that small size).

.

Originally Posted by vb-san

Sorry, I would have mentioned bigger Garmin models - I assume Garmin is a bit like Samsung - heavy-duty flagship models and pretty standard bands/watches at the entry-level/midrange.

I can vouch for that. I have Venu 2 plus and it easily lasts 3 days (~20% charge left). I wear the watch always with all functions running including always on display. My galaxy watch before this barely lasted 24 hrs if I ran or worked out. No such problems with Gramin.

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by vibbs

I can vouch for that. I have Venu 2 plus and it easily lasts 3 days (~20% charge left). I wear the watch always with all functions running including always on display. My galaxy watch before this barely lasted 24 hrs if I ran or worked out. No such problems with Gramin.

I think I am faring much better, probably 'cos the watch is pretty new (bought in Jan 23). I have the Venu 2 and I easily get 8-9 days (15% left) on a single charge. This is when I have all notifications on (except Whatsapp and Gmail) and I use the watch to track exercise daily (1-2 hours daily).

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

I think I am faring much better, probably 'cos the watch is pretty new (bought in Jan 23). I have the Venu 2 and I easily get 8-9 days (15% left) on a single charge. This is when I have all notifications on (except Whatsapp and Gmail) and I use the watch to track exercise daily (1-2 hours daily).

Wow that's really good. I thought the 9 day battery life claim was merely a marketing gimmick. Now I wonder what could be the reason for my low battery life

Guess will have to revise some settings. It's not much older than yours. Mine is from Dec 2022.

[ValarMorghulis]

Originally Posted by vibbs

...Now I wonder what could be the reason for my low battery life

Guess will have to revise some settings. It's not much older than yours. Mine is from Dec 2022.

1. Always on-display switched off
2. Automatic exercise detection is turned off

Always on display is a big battery hog.

[StarrySky]

I have a Garmin Forerunner 245 which is now about 2.5 years old. So far, I have not faced any trouble with battery life. It easily lasts more than a week if I am not recording any activities. When I was a bit more regular with my running and used to do 6-7h of GPS-tracked activities a week, I had to charge it twice a week. Now I do about 3-4h running a week, so I can go almost a week without charging. One hour of running (with GPS+GLONASS) takes about 9-10% out of the battery. Also on the positive side, the GPS accuracy seems to be better now than when I bought it. So in my view, Garmin has improved the watch with SW updates (yes, I still get some SW updated). The sleep tracking is still inaccurate though.

[vibbs]

Originally Posted by ValarMorghulis

1. Always on-display switched off


Always on display is a big battery hog.

Wow this truly is a game changer!! My battery was at 36 % yesterday evening. I turned the always on display off. Today evening the battery is at 24% and showing 2 more days of charge!!

Always on display turned off with gesture wake up does no change to the user experience but has a world of difference to battery life.

Thank you for the heads up