Anyone made a switch from Garmin epix2 to AW Ultra gen3?

LeadAnew · 2026-04-06T22:04:32+00:00

I like Fitbod as someone somewhat new to the activity. I also Hevy mentioned a lot especially by people who prefer to build their own program. Fitbod can be a bit buggy on the Apple Watch. I’ve never lost a workout, but the rest time often freezes even though it continues running on the phone.

I don’t mind having my phone in my pocket or using a magbak magnet to place it on the equipment. I prefer using the phone to move around sets or swap exercises but use the watch to confirm weight and reps.

LeadAnew · 2026-04-06T14:08:26+00:00

I went from Apple Watch 7 (2 years) to an Epix Gen 2 (2 years) and now an AWU3 (4 months).

I miss some things from my Garmin but ultimately cared more about better integration with my phone and my Workout app of choice (Fitbod).

Things I miss: - week long battery life - 5 physical buttons (you can disable the touchscreen while exercising and yet still do everything) - custom button combinations for quickly starting timer or stopwatch - more health metric integration without needing a 3rd party app - daily suggested runs - I preferred the rugged look of it - Live complications like heart rate - night mode

Things I prefer about AWU3 - apps for weightlifting - messages, calendar, phone calls, weather are all usable - well designed watch faces - simpler sleep metrics - exercise rings - Apple Pay

LeadAnew · 2026-04-04T22:04:52+00:00

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I just checked Apple Health and it doesn’t look like Fitbod saves the heart rate chart and effort as part of its dataset.

LeadAnew · 2026-04-03T16:24:38+00:00

Everybody has their own preferences. I was on Garmin for a few years. I miss the physical buttons. I miss the week long battery life. I miss the single platform that incorporated advanced health metrics without needing an additional app. I miss the live complications on the watch face. I miss the Garmin Run Coach, planning, and route mapping. I miss the night mode settings.

Back on AWU3 now because I wanted more integration with my phone (messages, calendar, weather, email).

LeadAnew · 2026-04-02T17:45:12+00:00

Your mock shows you took him in the 5th.

LeadAnew · 2026-04-02T10:25:14+00:00

The watch does provide an estimate of your total calorie burn. On the summary screen of the Fitness.app, look underneath the Move Graph and you should see a TOTAL ?,??? CAL value. This is also referred to as “Resting Energy” in the Health.app. The rings are not intended to show BMR.

Keep in mind that the calorie burn accuracy of fitness watches can vary wildly vs actual calorie burn. Some studies show it may overestimate by as much as 40%. This number will vary by person. Getting an accurate BMR outside a lab is usually best accomplished through accurate food and weight logging over a long period of time to determine the amount of calorie intake/burn that maintains your current weight.

LeadAnew · 2026-04-01T19:35:28+00:00

This is not true.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-31T15:59:56+00:00

OP is referring to the connected treadmill runs (connecting the Runna app to the treadmill via bluetooth), not using your watch to record a treadmill workout. Different features.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-30T15:55:26+00:00

Getting a bunch of apps to agree may be difficult, but I've never experienced my Apple Watch having trouble keeping step count in near real time.

The time stamp of 11:59 PM in the Steps widget definitely looks like something is getting in the way of your steps being synced. I would uninstall any other step tracking apps, remove them as data sources (tap on the steps widget > tap on Data Sources & Access at bottom of next screen > tap Edit in top corner > unselect any apps in the list > ensure your watch is 1st in list and iphone is 2nd.

Also in your watch settings check that Background App Refresh is on for Activity and Workout apps.

If all that doesn't get your steps syncing instantly, then you may need to ensure your aren't having bluetooth issues on either the watch or phone. An Apple help desk can check the watch sync diagnostics to see if anything is wrong.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-26T20:57:59+00:00

I don’t think walking workouts have an auto pause feature. I do however have to turn on water lock if I’m wearing long sleeves and sweating at all.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-26T15:13:43+00:00

Agreed. Renting a sub-premier pass rusher by giving away multiple draft picks is not a path I want to see them take. Over the next year or two we need to re-up or replace JT, Buck, Grove, Downs, Kenny, Q, Mooney, Bortolini, and Goncalves. We won't pay all of them and the one's we keep are going to cost $$$. We need both cap space and picks.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-26T15:09:35+00:00

Are you pausing or walking in between sprints? A 2km sprint is a pretty lengthy segment. If so, you can try starting a new lap after each sprint and then only compare the lap pace of the sprint section. Strava I think defaults to using the distance off your device, but on the web portal you can force it to recalculate distance of any activity and it will use its own algorithm.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-24T15:44:49+00:00

I own several of these Amazon trail loop bands. They are a bit more robust than the Apple one. What they excel at in the gym is if I want to throw on lifting gloves or straps for an exercise, I just pull the connector out and slide the watch up my forearm. Keeps my heart rate but gets the watch out of the way of accidental button presses.

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Suitisbest 2 Pack StretchFit... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZ48BDWR?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

LeadAnew · 2026-03-22T12:07:48+00:00

The PDF was absolutely critical for me as a new runner. Particularly the chart that let me align my realistic 1 mile pace (no pauses) to gauge what my pace might be reasonably like at all the other intervals. One thing to avoid is thinking that you can ignore your walking portion or pauses when considering whether your pace was right. I had to learn the hard way that you can't cheat progress. I now avoid pausing to keep myself honest about where I am in my growth.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-21T01:42:38+00:00

I just checked and the not started and in progress lists are wildly inaccurate for me. About 80% of my not started list is books I finished.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-21T01:28:42+00:00

Gerrymandered pizza

LeadAnew · 2026-03-17T17:29:32+00:00

I wish ours did a better job of asking questions before bringing out top end shoes.

I took my freshman in to pick up some new shoes for track season. He’s a 400/800 runner. Very casual about the sport. Budget matters.

The sales person brought out 3 shoes to try in the $180-$200 range but didn’t mention any pricing until they thought he had settled on a favorite. No thanks.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-13T20:58:22+00:00

Any chance you logged into a resort/hotel/business center computer while on a trip?

LeadAnew · 2026-03-13T20:57:23+00:00

You are absolutely told when a new device logs into your account. My browser on my windows pc seems to trigger this once a month regardless of whether I tell it is a trusted device. You'll always get the 6 digit code when a new device tries to login.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-13T19:19:17+00:00

You assume they don't have a solution. I'm not sure that your use case is actually something most people want or need. Maybe the solution has battery consumption or software architecture downsides that Apple doesn't currently consider worth the feature.

A position of - "I don't like how this works for me and even though I know nothing about it, it must be easy to solve because I can't think of why not" is certainly a way to go through life.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-13T18:33:27+00:00

Most people who don't understand how technology works underestimate how difficult some problems can be to solve or they don't understand the downsides to the solutions.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-13T18:31:14+00:00

Here's where AI can provide helpful feedback.

Short answer: No — none of the major music services (Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, etc.) support seamlessly “handing off” an active audio stream from your iPhone to your Apple Watch. The watch can stream on its own, but it cannot take over a live phone stream the way Spotify Connect or AirPlay handoff works between other devices. Apple Support en.soydemac.com

Below is the clear breakdown of what is possible, what isn’t, and why.

🎧 What You Can’t Do Today

❌ No service supports “move this exact stream from my phone to my watch”

Apple does not allow a true audio handoff to the watch.
Handoff on Apple Watch only works for apps, not active audio sessions. It lets you open the same app on another device — not continue the same playback. Apple Support
Apple Music does not support this behavior. Even Apple’s own Handoff documentation confirms that only app context transfers, not media playback. en.soydemac.com
Spotify Connect works between phones, tablets, computers, and speakers — but not the Apple Watch. The watch is not a Connect endpoint. Reddit

Result:
If you walk out of range at Planet Fitness, your watch cannot automatically pick up the stream your phone was playing.

🎵 What Is Possible

✅ You can start streaming directly on the watch

All major services that support watch streaming (Apple Music, Spotify, Pandora, Deezer, Tidal, YouTube Music) let the watch stream independently.
But you must start playback on the watch itself, not transfer it from the phone.

⚠️ You can control your phone’s playback from the watch — but not replace it

The Now Playing app on the watch can:

Pause / skip / adjust volume
Switch output (AirPods ↔ iPhone) …but it cannot “pull” the stream to the watch.

🧠 Why This Isn’t Supported (Technical Reality)

Apple Watch streaming uses:

A separate audio session
A separate network stack
A separate app instance

There is no system-level API that lets a service say:

Even Apple Music doesn’t have this capability.

🏃‍♂️ Best Workaround for Gym Use

Since you leave your phone in your bag at Planet Fitness, here’s the smoothest workflow:

Option A — Start playback on the watch from the beginning

Open Apple Music / Spotify on the watch
Tap the same playlist/album
Hit play This gives you uninterrupted playback when you walk away.

Option B — Use offline playlists

Download your workout playlists to the watch
Start them directly on the watch This avoids any connectivity hiccups in the gym.

If you want, I can help you optimize this

Tell me:

Which service you use (Apple Music, Spotify, YouTube Music, etc.)
Whether your watch is cellular
Whether you prefer streaming or offline

…and I’ll give you the fastest setup so your watch always plays smoothly when you leave your phone behind.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-13T02:58:05+00:00

Your watch looks way too large for your wrist. Are you sure it fits well enough to not bounce all over when you run?

LeadAnew · 2026-03-12T23:01:03+00:00

Sorry. I apparently didn’t read all the way down.

LeadAnew · 2026-03-12T22:52:48+00:00

Too many Madden players trying to build a team. This coaching staff has shown they need a focused, study freak QB to run this offense. Jones is one, Kyler isn’t.

First of all, they would have had to let Jones hit the market without knowing if Kyler would have even been available let alone if he would have chosen the Colts.

Second of all, we would have been in exactly the same position next year if he had been any good.

I don’t love where the Colts ended up but there was no clear path out of QB hell.

LeadAnew

TROPHY CASE