"The Apple Watch dominates the global smartwatch market, with Android competitors like the Galaxy Watch and the Pixel Watch growing their market share year over year. But there's one competitor that no one can touch: Garmin. Garmin's fitness trackers have battery life that is measured in days or weeks, not hours. They can be taken deep into the ocean and bashed into rocks, and they work when you're far off the cellular grid. (Here, where I live, in Portland, Oregon, that's a real concern; I am off-grid when I'm an hour away from my house.)"
"Garmin's trackers are priced to match. Like the Watch Ultra 3 and the Pixel Watch 4, Garmin also recently announced that the updated Fenix 8 Pro has satellite communications. The MicroLED version also costs a cool $2,000, whereas the AMOLED starts at $1,300. But what if you could get an outdoor watch that worked well with your phone, and it cost only $399? That's the Pixel Watch 4."
"Apple upgraded the battery life on the Watch Ultra 3 to up to 42 hours of use. This was accurate in my testing—I did not carefully dole out the battery life on the Watch Ultra 3, using it freely for texting, navigating, and recording mapped activities. It lasted from Friday morning to Sunday morning, making this the first Watch Ultra that can last for a full weekend"
Smartwatch options now include satellite communications across major models. Garmin remains unmatched for extended battery life, ruggedness, and off-grid reliability, with the Fenix 8 Pro offering satellite features at $1,300–$2,000. Pixel Watch 4 brings satellite capabilities, strong phone integration, and a far lower $399 price point. Apple Watch Ultra 3 extends battery life to about 42 hours, enabling a full weekend of active use while handling texting, navigation, and mapped activities. In direct comparisons, Apple Watch Ultra 3 excels in durability and longevity but carries a significantly higher price than the Pixel Watch 4.
Read at WIRED
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]