Watch options stressing me out! Please help

Yucca

Yucca

Yucca

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Hi all

Im ashamed to say iv spent hours and hours today going over this and still no wiser. Ready to snap now so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Options:

1) Forerunner 735XT - Is there anything this watch can do that the Vivoactive cant?! £210

2) Garmin Vivoactive 3 music - Supports contactless payments and music so I can run without my phone - Does not support Spotify yet which is what I use but says its 'coming soon'. £230

3) Apple Watch Series 3 38mm - Im assuming for a little more £££ I still get all the running stats I will ever need, contactless payment, music (but not spotify?) and all the additional benefits of a smart watch i.e. texts, calls etc. Surly this will also have better resale value if I choose to sell later? £260


I don't mind paying the extra for the more expensive watches if they are better 'bang for buck'.

My use - Running, weights at gym, football and lots of walking. Would like music and contactless payment though until they add Spotify support its no good! Would also like sleep tracking, resting heart rate, steps etc. Anything more is a bonus.
 
I've got a Forerunner 935, which is pretty much the top model 'triathlete' watch. And that's what I use it for, triathlon training and eventing.

I'm sure the 735 is a slightly lower spec 935, so essentially a multisport watch. If you're only tracking running with GPS, it might be a bit overkill.

The vivoactive might be more up your street as it'll be more gym friendly, with a music player etc.

Other than that, I guess it depends if you prefer apple vs garmin. If you're serious about sports tracking, get the latter.
 
Shadowness said:
I've got a Forerunner 935, which is pretty much the top model 'triathlete' watch. And that's what I use it for, triathlon training and eventing.

I'm sure the 735 is a slightly lower spec 935, so essentially a multisport watch. If you're only tracking running with GPS, it might be a bit overkill.

The vivoactive might be more up your street as it'll be more gym friendly, with a music player etc.

Other than that, I guess it depends if you prefer apple vs garmin. If you're serious about sports tracking, get the latter.
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I looked at the 935 but I think the extra cost is wasted on me.

I understand that wearing a strap gives better HR stats. Am I right in thinking all 3 of these watches will allow me to use either the built in HR monitor AND/or add a strap?

In relation to apple vs garmin - Is there anything that the Vivo or 735 can do which the apple watch can not?
 
I have a Vivoactive 3 (Non music) and it works fine for me at the moment. One thing to bear in mind is that the Vivoactive will only store the last 7 activities on-board, so if you want to review them on the watch then you would need the forerunner (However, the sync to Garmin connect works as soon as you are near the phone and they all get recorded there). I had a Forerunner 610 prior to that, but when it came to replacement, I knew there was a new 6xx coming soon.

You chould be able to wear an ant+ strap for any of the Garmins and they just launched a dual strap with BLE as well - Review

Garmin pay is not well supported in the UK at present. Current supported cards are below.

Code: 
Cornèrcard: VISA
Danske Bank: MASTERCARD
Santander: MASTERCARD
Santander: VISA
Starling Bank: MASTERCARD
boon. by Wirecard: MASTERCARD
 
As you’ve stated.....if you’re serious about monitoring HR, you’ll want/need a chest strap. No issues with a Garmin, I’m sure you can connect one to an Apple Watch too. Just google which ones work and what wireless tech they use.
 
So the vivoactive doesn't store much data on board, does not support the advanced Garmin HR strap (if you even needed that much data!), does not support Spotify and the contactless payment is pretty much useless as is supports hardly any cards!

Does it actually do anything at all that the forerunner 735XT does not do?! If not then I guess it makes sense for me to go for the cheaper forerunner 735XT.

Weird thing is that on the John Lewis website the forerunner is cheaper than the Vivo but on the actual Garmin website the forerunner is much more expensive than the Vivo. Not even sure which of the two is the more expensive watch now!
 
Begbie said:
Similar dilemma, also consdering the galaxy watch. As similar specs with spotify (offline)
Click to expand...

Which watch is this mate? I really do like the idea of music on the watch. Though without contactless payment I guess id have to take my phone out anyway. In which case the music on the watch is irrelevant.
 
Yucca said:
Which watch is this mate? I really do like the idea of music on the watch. Though without contactless payment I guess id have to take my phone out anyway. In which case the music on the watch is irrelevant.
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It also has contactless payment.

https://www.samsung.com/global/galaxy/galaxy-watch/

There was a review comparing it to the forerunner and it almost matches it when they took it on a run.

It seems to tick all the boxes for me.
 
my 2¢ -
Following your thread I searched agin for any reviews summarising watch music capability ..
I would like something than can be on par with phone bluetooth capability where you can send the original bitstream 320Kbmp3/256aac,
without the watch down-coding it.
otherwise carrying a phone(waist bag) still seems best option ... so which watches do this ?

https://the5krunner.com/2018/03/29/best-running-watch-music-review/
Typically one of the SBC codecs will be used. If the souce AND your earbuds can, instead, communicate together using AAC, aptX or LDAC codecs, then better qaulity audio is possible. Unless you have REALLY done your research it’s unlikely that you will achieve this.
The best quality over SBC will be something like 320-bit MP3s. If your source mp3s have more bits than that then, simplistically, those bits will most likely be chopped off in the initial compression on the watch.
Click to expand...

Full waterproofing too for ~1hr swimming is essential ... which afaik samung watches don't yet offer ... hence currently using a suunto 3.

..not sure if they have resolved the apple watch sapphire screen issue either http://www.displaymate.com/Apple_Watch_ShootOut_2.htm
which sticks as a black mark for apple.
 
I think you probably need to decide if you want to prioritise a 'smart' watch or an 'activity' watch. My garmin goes for about 2 weeks on a charge, tracks everything I need, can view texts and answer calls, but doesn't do music or payments (without a phone nearby) - but I'm not bothered by those features. In addition, any watch that needs to be charged every day is an instant no from me.
 
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