What occurs when excessive journey meets on a regular basis well being monitoring—who wins? Right here’s a more in-depth take a look at Garmin and Apple to see which one stands out.

Apple and Garmin dropped the most recent variations of their prime smartwatches. Garmin’s fēnix 8 Professional MicroLED stands out with a display screen brighter than every other watch and options that hold you linked even off the grid. Apple’s Extremely 3 pushes the boundaries too, providing well being instruments that make an actual distinction in every day life. On this Apple Watch Extremely 3 vs. Garmin fēnix 8 Professional MicroLED information, we break down design, show, options, battery, and value so you may decide the precise look ahead to you.

The value hole between the Apple and Garmin watches is large. Are the additional perks on the costly mannequin value it? Let’s discover out.

Design

The fēnix 8 Professional MicroLED is available in at 17.5 mm thick and weighs 68 grams (2.4 oz). What caught my eye is that Garmin skipped the smaller 43 mm and 47 mm circumstances. As an alternative, the MicroLED model solely exhibits up with a darker titanium bezel at 51 mm. That’s powerful luck for anybody with slimmer wrists who nonetheless desires all the protection instruments and robust connectivity.

The Apple Watch Extremely 3 sticks to a single dimension, too, at 49 mm. You may decide pure or black titanium, and Apple provides a contemporary lineup of bands. The Path Loop will get reflective yarn alongside its edges, and each the Ocean Band and Alpine Loop exhibit new shades. Hermès even joins in with 2 new En Mer band colours plus a Scub’H Diving band made from rubber with a titanium buckle.

Design-wise, the fēnix 8 and fēnix 8 Professional look practically the identical. The Professional has a crimson accent on the beginning button and a louder speaker, however that’s about it.

The fēnix 8 Professional feels constructed for extremes. It’s dive-rated, fitted with leakproof buttons, a sensor guard, and a troublesome lens below a titanium bezel. Garmin even examined it to US army requirements for warmth, shock, and water.

Apple provides the Extremely 3 its personal edge in sturdiness. It might probably deal with 100 m (328 ft) of water, so swimming, snorkeling, scuba, and quick water sports activities are all truthful recreation. Apple additionally makes the Extremely 3 repairable, one thing Garmin skips. Garmin says there’s no demand for spare elements, however I all the time level out that swapping parts as an alternative of tossing a full gadget makes extra sense for the planet.

Show

The fēnix 8 Professional grabs consideration with its MicroLED show. It combines excessive brightness with the per-pixel sharpness you often see on OLED screens. Over 400,000 tiny LEDs push as much as 4,500 nits, making the 1.4-inch display screen vibrant and simple to learn, even in direct daylight.

Apple takes a special method with the Watch Extremely 3. It makes use of LTPO3 and wide-angle OLEDs to ship the largest, brightest Apple Watch display screen but, reaching 3,000 nits at an angle.

The LTPO3 show trims the borders by 24%, giving extra lively display screen area with out altering the case dimension. The wide-angle OLEDs make every pixel shine at wider angles, so you may examine the watch shortly with no squinting or changes.

So does the fēnix 8 Professional MicroLED win on the subject of brightness? In uncooked numbers, sure, completely. However the full image is extra nuanced. Many Apple Watch Extremely customers discover a slight “hole” between the titanium case and the sapphire crystal in direct daylight. You may’t really feel it along with your finger, however it’s seen. Right here, the fēnix 8 Professional’s increased brightness would possibly give it an edge. Nonetheless, the Watch Extremely 3 has tips you should utilize, like adjusting the angle in your wrist, to enhance visibility in powerful lighting.

Options

The fēnix 8 Professional goes wherever you do, providing Garmin’s full suite of efficiency, navigation, well being, and connectivity instruments. In the meantime, the Apple Watch Extremely 3 covers well being, health, security, and connection whereas switching between a sports activities watch, a classy smartwatch, and a whole well being companion. Each begin robust, however the particulars reveal much more.

Garmin fēnix 8 Professional MicroLED: Well being

The Garmin fēnix 8 Professional retains monitor of your physique, sleep, power, and even helps you propose your day and night time for higher efficiency and restoration. Right here’s a more in-depth take a look at what it could actually do:

• Morning Report – Begin your day with a full snapshot of sleep, coaching, HRV, climate, and extra.
• Night Report – Verify your sleep want, tomorrow’s exercise, climate, and occasions earlier than mattress to plan forward.
• HRV Standing – Perceive your restoration, well being, and coaching efficiency whilst you sleep.
• Wrist-Based mostly Coronary heart Price – Tracks your coronary heart fee throughout actions so you may see how exhausting your physique works.
• Garmin ECG App – Reads {the electrical} alerts of your coronary heart and checks for irregular rhythms like AFib.
• Pulse Ox Sensor – Displays blood oxygen ranges in the course of the day or night time and tracks how your physique adjusts to altitude.

Apple Watch Extremely 3: Well being

The Apple Watch Extremely 3 takes well being monitoring past the fundamentals with apps like ECG and Vitals, providing you with a full image of your physique. Its hypertension notifications stand out, serving to you see potential indicators of hypertension. That’s a giant deal since hypertension drives coronary heart assault, stroke, and kidney illness, and impacts round 1.3 billion adults worldwide.

It’s also possible to monitor sleep and monitor key well being metrics whilst you relaxation, like coronary heart fee, wrist temperature, blood oxygen, and respiratory. The Apple watch can spotlight potential sleep apnea, retaining your nights as informative as your days.

In terms of the sheer variety of well being instruments, Garmin nonetheless has the higher hand. However Apple’s hypertension alerts give it a transparent benefit in catching critical points early. If you would like a full well being image with Garmin, you may pair it with the Index BPM to trace blood strain and sync every little thing into Garmin Join. That means, you get a whole overview with out lacking a beat.

Garmin fēnix 8 Professional MicroLED: Health

Consider the Garmin fēnix 8 Professional MicroLED as your final health sidekick. It retains tabs in your exercises, helps you push limits, and even provides you sensible options to get higher every single day. Listed below are the options that I like:

• Coaching Standing – Verify how your coaching goes. See in the event you’re hitting your peak, making progress, or pushing too exhausting.
• Efficiency Metrics – Observe superior stats like VO2 max, coaching load, and extra to get a transparent image of your efficiency.
• Endurance Rating – Perceive how your exercises influence your stamina and see the way you deal with longer efforts over time.
• Hill Score – Measure your uphill working energy and monitor enchancment utilizing VO2 max and coaching historical past.
• Each day Instructed Exercises – See a full week of prompt exercises that replace after each run or trip, serving to you keep on monitor.

Apple Watch Extremely 3: Health

With watchOS 26, Apple Watch Extremely 3 presents you Exercise Buddy, a contemporary health expertise powered by Apple Intelligence. It research your exercise knowledge and health historical past to provide real-time spoken motivation throughout your session. It attracts on coronary heart fee, tempo, distance, Exercise rings, private milestones, and extra. Garmin has one thing related, however it doesn’t speak to you. With Garmin Coach, you may prepare for a race, hit a milestone, or enhance your health utilizing plans for working, triathlon, biking, or energy.

Apple additionally leans on “probably the most correct GPS in a sports activities watch” and a easy, user-friendly interface. The Exercise app has a brand new format that makes it simpler to customise periods with Exercise Views, customized exercises, Pacer, Race Route, and extra.

And sure, there’s some fact to Apple’s GPS declare. Rob ter Horst, a knowledge scientist on the College of Vienna, examined the watchOS 26 beta on an Apple Watch Extremely 2. He in contrast it in opposition to historic coronary heart fee knowledge from trackers like Whoop MG and several other Garmin fashions, utilizing the Polar H10 chest strap because the gold commonplace. Apple’s premium watch got here out on prime, outperforming nearly each different trendy health tracker in coronary heart fee accuracy.

Connectivity

The Garmin fēnix 8 Professional MicroLED hooks straight into Garmin’s 24/7 emergency response middle via its satellite tv for pc hyperlink. Due to inReach® tech, you may name out of your wrist, ship a fast message, share your location, or hit SOS if issues go flawed. It additionally brings coaching options, detailed maps, and even a flashlight to maintain you shifting as soon as the solar dips.

Apple Watch Extremely 3 additionally retains you linked off the grid. You may textual content emergency providers, examine in with household, and share your location without having cell protection.

Right here’s the massive distinction. Apple provides you 2 years of satellite tv for pc service freed from cost. Emergency SOS works with no mobile plan, however if in case you have one, you too can ship messages and share your spot via Discover My. Against this, Garmin requires an inReach subscription that begins at $7.99 every month. For years, Garmin set the bar for satellite tv for pc reliability, however Apple simply stepped onto the identical path and turned this into an actual competitors.

Battery life

Garmin’s fēnix 8 Professional MicroLED packs critical endurance with as much as 10 days in smartwatch mode. It runs on an LTE-M community that sips energy as an alternative of draining it, so you may keep out longer with out worrying about your watch dying. That’s excellent for lengthy hikes or a full day on the slopes.

The Apple Watch Extremely 3 focuses on a stability of efficiency and endurance. Its LTPO3 show, 5G modem, and larger battery hold it working robust. You’ll see as much as 42 hours on a standard day, and Low Energy Mode stretches that to 72 hours. For out of doors periods, it handles 20 hours of nonstop GPS and coronary heart fee monitoring in Low Energy Mode. Should you’re quick on time, simply quarter-hour on the charger provides you 12 hours of use.

Value and availability

You may seize the Apple Watch Extremely 3 for $799 when preorders open on September 19. Then again, the Garmin fēnix 8 Professional MicroLED is available in at $1,999.99, and it’s already up for buy.

Apple Watch Extremely 3 vs. Garmin fēnix 8 Professional MicroLED: Verdict

I’ve to provide the crown for one of the best sports activities and journey watch to Garmin—the fēnix 8 Professional MicroLED appears like probably the most formidable sports activities watch I’ve ever seen. That MicroLED display screen makes each look outside crystal clear, and the battery life simply crushes Apple’s. The construct screams rugged, prefer it’s begging to get dropped, dunked, and dragged via mud.

Apple nonetheless makes a robust case with the Extremely 3, particularly with its well being alerts, cleaner design, and repairability. If I had to decide on, I’d lean Garmin for journey, however Apple nails the on a regular basis stability—and it saves you a staggering $1,200.99.