I am strongly considering upgrading to the fenix 8 pro amoled. I agree that the micro led version is really a proof of concept product where a brighter screen comes at too high a price ( poor battery, more girth, more weight, and $$$). The amoled offers what I have wanted for years though… the ability to call for help if needed without a phone… and I don’t carry my phone when running… so I run currently with full acceptance that if something happens I am on my own. So this is worth it to me completely… but I have been working towards completely ditching the phone for a few years, and this gets me a few steps closer… only other thing this watch could bring right now is even better battery life, but I can live with what it offers.
No, because
1. I do not, and will not, own an iPhone.
2. The battery still sucks. If I wanted to own a watch I have to charge every other day I'd buy a Fenix 8 Microled.
3. The sports features on AW are not even remotely comparable to the sports features on Fenix.
4. They still can't even do the thing that Garmin has been doing for a decade already - offline mapping and routing.
Ah, so that’s where the real crazy comes in. 😜
For the most complete data, you’ve got to be willing to wear both, 24/7 (which I do). Garmin’s PhysioTrueUp (I think they just call it Device Priority now) helps keep everything in sync across the Garmin-verse.
If I need to make things less showy for any reason I’ll sometimes keep the Garmin in my pocket’s coin pouch (less movement) since it’s reading from my Polar H10 anyways and doesn’t have to be on my wrist, and the entire point of the AWU3 for me is Tapbacks, SMS voice replies, and FindMy on my wrist via 5G.
Sleep-wise, the Venu X1 barely feels like it’s even there, but even the Fenix8 MicroLED (the thickest of the lot) didn’t bother me for sleep comfort during the week that I was testing it, so perhaps I’m just an anomaly since I know many people (including my partner) don’t tolerate bigger watches during sleep - the Garmin Index Sleep band is a good workaround, but then you keep going further and further down this rabbit hole of more $ and niche tech.
I left AWU2 (and years of Apple Watch since gen 1) to get F8 Pro MLED and it’s wayyyy better lol. AWU3 doesn’t bring much to the table and their software for sport is average at best. Garmin streaks ahead
Any other company would've canned the microLED version. It doesn't even appeal to a niche. Even if you're a billionaire, you wouldn't want the version with much shorter battery life. Seems more like a public beta product they're offering because they can, not because they think it'll actually sell well.
A lot of people would be happy with the LTE version but it's less capable than double wristing with an AW so it's not for me.
Aleck_I
