Thoughts after my first few weeks with the Garmin 265 after leaving the Apple Watch.

Like many of you, I am deep into the Apple ecosystem. I never had an Apple Watch though until this past year as I never really wanted all the extra dings, beeps, and distractions coming from my wrist. I eventually got a series 9 for fitness tracking and was largely happy with it. However, I *only* used it for fitness tracking and didn't care much for other features. Most notifications were off. Also, Apple's health app is surprisingly clunky, IMO. I run, cycle, and lift, so the rings were fun and motivating at first, but over time I stopped caring about them. Sometimes I need a rest day. (Yes, I know that now you can pause your rings, but whatever.)

Ultimately my reason for switching was just that I got the itch to try something new. Did I really need to? Probably not, but I wanted a dedicated fitness tracker. The better battery is great, of course, but not the end of the world. Even my AW would probably last a full marathon, which I am not planning to do anytime soon anyways. I still charge the Garmin for a few minutes every few days, even if I dont need to, because I get battery anxiety and prefer to keep it between 20%-80% anyways.

My absolute favorite thing so far is having actual buttons. I LOVE BUTTONS! There were so many times where I struggled to stop my workout because my watch was wet, or my hands were sweaty. So... buttons. Love 'em.

Garmin also syncs better with my trainer's app. Thats more of a personal thing that may not apply to everyone though.

I know this isn't a super detailed spec review or anything, but it's my experience. So far I am very happy with Garmin. I like a more simple watch. I dont really miss any of the things I liked about my AW like I thought I might. The size was nice (I have small wrists), and I loved the WorkOutDoors app, but the trade off is worth it so far. I was hanging on to the AW for a bit in case I changed my mind, but I think I am gonna sell it now. I spent so much time going back and forth on this but I am glad that I tried the Garmin. I can always switch back, but for now I am a Garmin Guy.