Apple Vs Garmin: Which is Best for You?
I get asked a lot “what’s the best running watch for me?”
There’s plenty of options, but we’re going to focus on two of the most popular (at least with my running clients): Garmin fitness watches and Apple smart watches.
Both are great options, but you can narrow it down depending on what data and functions you want, and additional non fitness bells and whistles.
Apple is a smartwatch with fitness capabilities, like running, that can be used to track your workouts. The one problem with Apple watches is that they don't show individual paces for intervals during a workout. It will give you the average (or rolling time) of your entire run but not the laps. You can download an app “Intervals Pro: HIIT Timer” as a work around. it’s still great for all your other running needs; it’ll give you your pace, heart rate, cadence, and more, but may not be the best for getting a feel for pace…at least with out the app.
Your standard Garmin watch is a fitness watch with smartwatch capabilities. It allows you to change music, look at texts, and even answer (but not take) calls. It’s not a smartwatch but it provides a ton of data related to your running (pace, speed, elevation, heart rate, training zones for multiple outputs…ect). Most notably, it allows you to lap your workouts or even create intervals that auto lap so you can see your average pace in each effort.
Why is this such an important feature? Being able to see your average pace per lap will help keep your pace consistent, see your relative effort based on your heart rate or power output, and build a feeling at that pace over time. Again, you can still do that with an Apple watch but you’ll need to download that app.
Beyond that, both watches will upload data to TrainingTilt and most other running platforms (like strava) with no issues. So when deciding which one is best for you, consider what options you need in a watch beyond just running. Then think about what you need to train. Either way, you’ll find a good training tool that works best for you.
