Apple Watch vs Garmin: which is BETTER in 2026? — Transcript

Full transcript

1. 0:04Garmin watch versus Apple Watch. Which
2. 0:06one should you buy in 2026? [music]
3. 0:08I've been reviewing smart watches for
4. 0:10years now, and one of the questions I
5. 0:12always get asked from readers is [music]
6. 0:14whether they should buy a Garmin watch
7. 0:16or an Apple Watch. Both have their pros
8. 0:18and cons, and each brand has a [music]
9. 0:20range of different watches at different
10. 0:22prices with different features. So, it's
11. 0:24not always an easy question to answer.
12. 0:26However, that's probably why I get asked
13. 0:28this question so often. So, I thought
14. 0:30I'd make a video to help you choose
15. 0:32between the two [music]
16. 0:33and also help you choose exactly which
17. 0:35watch to go for. Let's get started. And
18. 0:38of course, you can find the links to all
19. 0:40the watches [music] mentioned in this
20. 0:41video below. As usual,
21. 0:47Apple watches are the most popular
22. 0:49smartwatch in the world, [music]
23. 0:50even though they only work with iPhones.
24. 0:53They're great for tracking your fitness
25. 0:55and helping you manage different [music]
26. 0:56kinds of health conditions such as sleep
27. 0:58apnea and hypertension and are usually
28. 1:00packing top-of- the- range heart rate
29. 1:02sensors. [music] I've personally tested
30. 1:04them against a gold standard heart rate
31. 1:06chest strap and the latest models sport
32. 1:09the most accurate heart rate metrics of
33. 1:11any smartwatch I've tested ever. They're
34. 1:13powerful communications [music] tools
35. 1:15capable of acting as a useful extension
36. 1:17of your phone, allowing you to reply to
37. 1:20messages, [music] calls, and emails. You
38. 1:22can download your favorite apps onto the
39. 1:24watch, making the experience your own.
40. 1:26And they're basically like mini iPhones
41. 1:28now, right down to the sumptuous OLED
42. 1:31screen and excellent watch OS software.
43. 1:33If you're buying an Apple Watch in 2026,
44. 1:36there are really only three kinds of
45. 1:37watches you should be considering.
46. 1:39First, the cheap and cheerful Apple
47. 1:40Watch SE, [music] which is probably the
48. 1:42best for most people. The well-rounded
49. 1:44Apple Watch Series 11 is next, which is
50. 1:46a great buy for anybody looking for a
51. 1:48bigger screen or more battery than
52. 1:50[music] the SE3. Finally, the rugged,
53. 1:52powerful, and expensive Apple Watch
54. 1:54Ultra [music] 3, which is designed for
55. 1:56power users, adventurers, divers, and
56. 1:59people who need a couple of days of
57. 2:00battery life. It's engineered [music]
58. 2:01with a bigger battery, titanium casing,
59. 2:04a working dive computer, and extra
60. 2:06action button, so you can operate the
61. 2:08watch while wearing gloves. The Apple
62. 2:10Watch line gets updated every year, but
63. 2:12these are the latest models. You can get
64. 2:14an older or a reurbed watch, save a bit
65. 2:16[music] of money, and contribute less to
66. 2:17e-waste, but I'd only recommend getting
67. 2:19the Series 10 or the Apple Watch Ultra
68. 2:212, as you want your watch to be
69. 2:23supported with software updates for as
70. 2:25long as possible. The [music] SE3 is so
71. 2:27cheap that it's not really worth getting
72. 2:29the SE 2.
73. 2:33Whereas there are only a handful of
74. 2:34different Apple Watches, there are so
75. 2:36many different Garmin watches [music]
76. 2:38that it's hard to recommend just one.
77. 2:40They've also all got confusing names.
78. 2:42Phoenix, Quatics, Instinct, Vinu,
79. 2:46Fullerrunner, Vivoactive, and loads
80. 2:48more. Garmin watches work [music] with
81. 2:50both iPhones and Android devices. Garmin
82. 2:52watches still retain some key smartwatch
83. 2:55features. Some of them have microphones
84. 2:57and speakers to take calls. You can use
85. 2:59Garmin [music] Pay with your bank cards,
86. 3:01take messages, and so on. However,
87. 3:03they're usually lower [music] power
88. 3:05devices than Apple watches that are more
89. 3:07focused on fitness recovery tracking and
90. 3:09GPS features, [music]
91. 3:11especially for outdoor workouts. Some
92. 3:13Garmin watches have gadgets like LED
93. 3:15torches [music] like this one and solar
94. 3:17charging, and all can access
95. 3:19procedurally generated training plans
96. 3:21you can follow in the Garmin Connect
97. 3:23app. As a general rule, they also last
98. 3:25longer than Apple watches in the battery
99. 3:27stakes, which is essential if you're
100. 3:29using it as guidance on [music] runs,
101. 3:31cycling trips, orientering, or
102. 3:33triathlons. There are Garin watches for
103. 3:35less adventurous [music] people, too,
104. 3:37who just like to jog, cycle, or go to
105. 3:39the gym, but are generally engineered to
106. 3:41support [music] active lifestyles. You
107. 3:43can be best guided by price on this, as
108. 3:45the more expensive the [music] watch
109. 3:47gets, the more outdoor features it tends
110. 3:49to pack. Our buying guide to the best
111. 3:51Gin watches is [music] linked below as
112. 3:53well, so you can browse them at your
113. 3:55leisure and really get a feel for the
114. 3:56range [music] and decide which watch is
115. 3:58right for you. However, I'll recap them
116. 4:00here in brief, so you'll need to take
117. 4:02some notes. Top of the line is the
118. 4:03Garmin [music] Fenix 8, a big adventure
119. 4:06watch, which we awarded a huge five
120. 4:09stars. [music] The VU series is Garmin's
121. 4:11well-rounded smartwatch range, the
122. 4:13closest thing to an Apple Watch, and
123. 4:15probably the best for most people. The
124. 4:174Runner is great for running as the name
125. 4:19[music] suggests, but also for triathlon
126. 4:21and other sports with the top-end 970
127. 4:24and cheaper 570, the latest models in
128. 4:27that [music] line. The Garmin Instinct 3
129. 4:29is great for outdoor adventures, while
130. 4:31the slimmer, cheaper Vivoactive 6
131. 4:33[music] is more like the Apple Watch SE
132. 4:35series in terms of price and features.
133. 4:40Garmin watches always tend to last
134. 4:42longer than Apple watches when it
135. 4:43[music] comes to battery life with
136. 4:44lifespan measured in days or even weeks
137. 4:47rather than hours. The Vimei 4, for
138. 4:49example, Garmin's [music] closest thing
139. 4:50to an Apple Watch and the one I've got
140. 4:52on my wrist here, lasts over a week
141. 4:54[music] compared to the Apple Watch
142. 4:55Series 11's 24 hours. If you're doing
143. 4:58long periods of exercise, like marathon
144. 4:59[music] training, and you want to wear
145. 5:01your watch to bed to track your sleep
146. 5:03and recovery scores, battery life is
147. 5:05crucial. Modern Apple watches do have
148. 5:08fast charging, however, which can
149. 5:10mitigate this. You can pop it on a
150. 5:12charger when [music] you get home from
151. 5:13work and 30 minutes later it'll be ready
152. 5:15to go another day. So, if you exercise a
153. 5:17lot, [music] need lots of hours of
154. 5:18battery life, or just hate to charge
155. 5:20things all the time, and that's a major
156. 5:22frustration for [music] you, consider a
157. 5:24Garmin watch over an Apple. Garmin also
158. 5:26has other features like comprehensive
159. 5:28built-in training [music] plans,
160. 5:29including the ability to create your own
161. 5:31workout plans for the gym and create
162. 5:34maps to follow [music] during your
163. 5:35outdoor activities. Most watches can
164. 5:37also let your friends and family know
165. 5:38where you are during exercise [music]
166. 5:40with their live track feature, which is
167. 5:42a great safety feature and useful if
168. 5:44they're trying to catch you during a
169. 5:45race. On the other hand, Apple watches
170. 5:48are slightly more accurate in terms of
171. 5:49heart rate tracking. [music] Even Garmin
172. 5:51watches with the brand's updated Elevate
173. 5:53V5 heart rate sensor were [music]
174. 5:55slightly less accurate than the Apple
175. 5:57Watch Ultra 3 during my testing,
176. 5:59although not enough to be statistically
177. 6:01significant. Apple's workout tracking is
178. 6:04solid and it's enhanced by the fact that
179. 6:06you [music] can download tons of third
180. 6:07party apps like Koot for hiking or Smart
181. 6:10Gym for indoor workouts. Away from the
182. 6:12fitness stuff, Apple also has the
183. 6:14benefit of a really nice user
184. 6:16experience. Navigating the watch's
185. 6:17[music] menus and using the responsive
186. 6:20touchcreen is a total pleasure. And
187. 6:22while [music] you can also take calls
188. 6:23and reply to messages on some Garmin
189. 6:25watches, the experience is very
190. 6:28different on [music] Apple. All Apple
191. 6:30watches also give you the option of
192. 6:31buying a more expensive [music] LTE
193. 6:34enabled model so you can add it to your
194. 6:36phone's data plan. This really turns the
195. 6:38Apple Watch into a miniature phone as
196. 6:40[music] you can listen to music,
197. 6:41message, call, and text your contacts
198. 6:44without a [music] phone nearby. Not many
199. 6:46Garmin watches offer this functionality.
200. 6:48Both the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin
201. 6:50[music] Fenix 8 Pro also offer satellite
202. 6:53messaging and communication features
203. 6:54now, which is really useful if you're
204. 6:56out in the wilderness without any
205. 6:57[music] signal.
206. 7:02As ever, which watch you should buy will
207. 7:04largely depend on what you want out of a
208. 7:06smartwatch. Apple watches are superb
209. 7:08do-it-all devices that pair well with
210. 7:10your iPhone with a great user
211. 7:12experience, third-party apps, and
212. 7:15stellar communications features.
213. 7:16However, [music] they do tend to fall
214. 7:18down in the battery stakes, even with
215. 7:19fast charging, and don't have as many
216. 7:21training features as Garmin out of the
217. 7:23box. The Apple Watch SE3 is the cheapest
218. 7:26watch and the best for most people. The
219. 7:29Series 11 is good for a larger screen
220. 7:31and better battery life, while those who
221. 7:33want the best can stump up for the Apple
222. 7:35Watch Ultra 3, which we actually rated
223. 7:37the best smartwatch of 2025 overall. If
224. 7:41you own an Android phone, a Garmin will
225. 7:43work just as well as it does on iPhone,
226. 7:45as they're what we call system agnostic
227. 7:48watches. [music] They're engineered to
228. 7:49support active lifestyles. So joggers,
229. 7:52gym bunnies, and casual cyclists should
230. 7:54[music] stick with cheaper watches like
231. 7:55the Vivoactive, VU and Lily watch ranges
232. 7:59or the cheaper end Garmin 4Runner 165.
233. 8:03Serious fitness enthusiasts on the other
234. 8:05hand should consider the more expensive
235. 8:07Garmin 4Runner watches like the 570 and
236. 8:10970 along with the Instinct 3 [music]
237. 8:12and even the mighty Garmin Fenix 8.
238. 8:15That's enough from me. Which smartwatch
239. 8:18are you planning to buy and why? Let us
240. 8:20know in the comments below. And you can
241. 8:22find loads more detail on Garmin and
242. 8:24Apple watches along with loads of other
243. 8:26smart watches on techraar.com. Thanks
244. 8:29very much for watching and we'll see you
245. 8:30on the internet.