The Garmin Epix Gen 2 (Image: EXPRESS)
I’ve been an Apple user for years now. Ever since swapping from my Samsung Galaxy S9 in 2018, I’ve been a trused Apple Watch user.
For the past couple of years, it just made sense to have on my wrist. It had better battery life than other Apple devices and my old Apple Watch SE so it seemed like a no-brainer – but after months of running and training, I’ve realised just how much the Apple Watch Ultra is rivalled by Garmin’s training features and I think I prefer the latter.
It’s thanks to the – a device I have had my eyes on for a while and finally bought. Garmin has become one of the go-to devices for people who worry about their fitness training first and lifestyle second.
I bought the 51mm Garmin Epix Pro 2 for £499 during Black Friday – a recent is offering the non-pro model for £324.99, a slightly cheaper option too. It’s become exactly what I was looking for and has features I couldn’t get on my previous Apple Watch.
The best bits of the Garmin Epix Pro
The Garmin’s AMOLED screen is a pretty sight (Image: GARMIN)
One of the biggest kickers I found with my older Apple model was battery life. Constantly checking the battery life and wondering if I could fit in a 10km run meant I was working around my watch – rather than my watch working for me. I’ve found that lasts longer.
It’s a breath of fresh air, meaning I rarely need to look at my watch at all and I can easily fit in a workout whenever I’m feeling it without having to worry about running out of juice.
The Garmin model doesn’t have cellular connectivity but it still sends notifications from my phone through Wi-Fi and pairing through the app, tracks my sleep, has a gorgeous AMOLED display, ATM 10 waterproof rating and allows me to pay for things while I’m out on my runs. All things the Apple Watch Ultra offers too.
… and the not-so best bits
Apple Watch versus Garmin (Image: EXPRESS)
Grab the 51mm Garmin Epix Pro Gen 2 from FirstClassWatches
The Garmin Epix Pro Gen 2 is a superb watch and we suggest getting it from FirstClassWatches.
It has everything you would need from a fitness watch including a big screen and decent battery life.
There are some downsides to the Garmin which I’ve noticed over the last few weeks. It took me a while to navigate the Garmin software whereas Apple’s software allows you to do it seemlessly. And in comparison it does feel outdated when up against Apple’s WatchOS.
Recently I came into my first glitch with software too while on an 11km run. I attempted to save the run data and it crashed and it wasn’t appearing after syncing. To fix this was a frustratingly slow process but eventually it did show on Strava and Garmin Connect.
Throughout my time with Garmin Epix Pro 2, I realised I don’t need an Apple Watch Ultra even though I’m sort of embedded in the Apple ecosytem. As someone who lives and breaths tech most days during my job and work, the Apple Watch Ultra feels like it has lots of bells and whistles but it’s proven to me there are just as good alternatives out there.
Garmin managed to win for me, and it’s proven that I don’t need cellular activity or a fancy software interface at the expense of battery life. I need a rugged watch that has solid – albeit a bit dated – software features that work great for tracking fitness – which is what I’ve found with my Epix Pro model.
If you do want to check out this watch for the January fitness push, here for £499 which might be the cheapest price for this variant. Or check out this