Apple doesn't always know what we want
Apple is famous for not using focus groups of following the trend for what users want and this has paid dividends. The ability to impress consumers can only come from offering something people either believed was not possible or that they never even knew they needed.
Compare this to Garmin who takes a lot of time to check what athletes, divers and other fitness enthusiasts want through forums and other sources. The company specifically looks for trends and to build 'wanted' features into future products. It may not be exciting and it may not grab the headlines, but time and time again Garmin users say things like 'so glad they added that feature' and 'this makes the device perfect!'
This came to light for us recently because my wife, Jo, has been doing 10K runs for some time now and the Apple Watch tracks everything perfectly. It's excellent, but it is very much a tracker and there are few features included that can actually help her improve.
Some apps offer training plans and other functions, but few seem to get to the heart of the matter and succeed in her experience. And then the Garmin Forerunner 55 appeared at the comparatively low price of £179.
Comparing it to the Apple Watch would be daft because they are completely different products, but the realisation for Jo that she only uses the Apple Watch for tracking her runs made her mind up to try something new.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh2nz5G_tF0
The video above really did make up her mind because it makes clear that the Forerunner 55 can actually change you for the better. It works out what you have done and uses that data to gradually help you to improve which in the case of the lady in the video worked very well.
The Forerunner 55 is designed to help you to improved in a directly focussed way and this makes the Apple Watch look a little more like a general purpose smartwatch that does most things for most people.
It has worked brilliantly for Apple, you see the Apple Watch everywhere, but if you see a group of marathon runners together or any group of people who take fitness seriously all you will see is Garmin, literally 9 out of 10 people wearing Garmin.
The only point I am making here is that many people believe that Apple is best at everything, but if you are serious about a hobby or your fitness you should probably look elsewhere. Just like my Kindle Oasis is a much better eReader than the iPad (for me), some of the Garmin watches destroy the Apple Watch for true fitness improvement.