I feel like Garmin watches are kind of slept on by normies. They seem to have a niche for fitness enthusiasts. I got one primarily because it looks like a normal watch and not a tech product. But I do appreciate the fitness tracking.

I've had the same one for 5 years and it's still solid.

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NoboruWataya 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

I agree, it's the right level of smart for me. That said, while it's squarely in the "fitness tracker" niche, I think it is very popular with anyone who has even a passing interest in running, cycling, etc. The last few years I have seen loads of people around the office wearing one.

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bobthepanda 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Garmin sort of intentionally did this to set up a moat, after their GPS business went the way of the dodo.

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izzydata 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

If by GPS you specifically mean car navigation. Because almost the entirety of Garmin as a company is built around putting GPS into various things including wearables.

But even in automotive they pivoted to working with car OEMs instead of relying on sale of independent devices.

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p_l 3 days ago | parent [-]

Never seen a Garmin car navigation device.

Aerospace, Garmin was, is, and probably will be big

	▲	ilikecakeandpie 3 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		They were definitely a major player for a long time prior to smartphones becoming the number one GPS solution (for most cars). Garmin, TomTom, Magellan, etc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_u-sGHMivwo
	▲	asveikau 3 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I remember their in car navigation being huge in the 2000s in the US, maybe 2005 or so was their peak, before that they were very expensive. Probably a lot of people know the brand just for that.

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tyfon 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Garmin it's still heavily used in boats among other things.

I wouldn't want to go into the lobster season without the ability to track my pods.

	▲	kimbernator 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		Probably their largest business segment at the moment is aviation tech, as well.

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A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 4 days ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It actually is what appealed to me in how it is presented. Can you give me an idea on how open it is? Do I need register an account to run it?

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nradov 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

You can use the device as a fitness tracker without registering an account. And you can download activity files with a USB cable. But anything more, including the satellite connectivity, requires registering an account.

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asveikau 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

I am not sure what you can do without an account, because I created an account on day 1.

It connects to the phone over Bluetooth. Many operations need your phone to have internet. There is a kind of primitive app platform. The only app I really use is for Home Assistant, it makes https requests to HA over the phone. I connected it to Strava too, it can realtime send heart rate to that app without going to the internet, but it required jumping a few hoops in settings.

	▲	A4ET8a8uTh0_v2 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		Thank you. This is useful to me. I will look into it more closely, but I think that will likely not be for me.

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listic 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

Care to explain how does a normal watch look like nowadays and does a fitness product? I guess I am clueless in this. I wear Mi Band 4.

	▲	asveikau 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		Mine is a Garmin Fenix 6s. If you do a quick Google images for Garmin Fenix 6s and then for mi band 4, I think you will see the visual contrast we're talking about.