Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) vs Apple Watch Ultra 2
🗓️ Release Year
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): 2023
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: 2023
🏃 Activity
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) is a top-tier multisport GPS smartwatch designed for demanding athletes and outdoor enthusiasts, featuring a vibrant AMOLED display and extended capabilities. It provides precise activity tracking for steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes with customizable daily goals. Its extensive range of activity profiles and advanced performance metrics cater to a wide array of sports and adventures, offering detailed data for performance analysis and improvement.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: The Apple Watch Ultra 2 is the pinnacle of Apple's rugged smartwatch line, designed for extreme sports and exploration with advanced activity tracking capabilities. It precisely tracks steps, distance, calories burned, and active minutes, offering specialized metrics and workout views optimized for endurance and adventure sports. The customizable Action button provides instant access to key functions, enhancing usability during demanding physical efforts.
❤️ Health Monitoring
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): This device features continuous heart rate monitoring, advanced physiological metrics including VO2 max estimation, real-time stamina, and training status. It also tracks respiration rate, Pulse Ox for blood oxygen saturation, and offers in-depth sleep analysis, providing critical health and recovery data essential for optimizing training and overall well-being during intense activities.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: This device provides comprehensive health monitoring, including continuous heart rate tracking, ECG functionality for detecting signs of irregular heart rhythms, and SpO2 monitoring for blood oxygen levels. The body temperature sensor offers deeper insights into overall wellness and cycle tracking. Enhanced health algorithms leverage the powerful S9 SiP for more accurate and insightful health data analysis, crucial for understanding physiological responses during intense activities.
🔋 Battery Life
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Epix Pro (Gen 2) delivers impressive battery life, offering up to 20 days in smartwatch mode and up to 60 hours with continuous GPS tracking. The integrated solar charging capability further extends these durations with sufficient sunlight exposure, enhancing its utility for prolonged expeditions and multi-day events.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: The Apple Watch Ultra 2 delivers exceptional battery life, providing up to 36 hours on a single charge under normal usage and an impressive 72 hours in Low Power Mode. This extended duration is essential for multi-day expeditions and ultra-endurance events, offering reliable power when access to charging is limited.
😴 Sleep Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): Advanced sleep monitoring on the Epix Pro (Gen 2) meticulously tracks sleep stages (light, deep, and REM) and utilizes the Pulse Ox sensor to monitor blood oxygen levels during sleep. This provides valuable data for assessing recovery quality and informing training decisions, crucial for athletes managing demanding training loads.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: Advanced sleep tracking on the Apple Watch Ultra 2 meticulously monitors sleep stages (light, deep, and REM), sleep duration, and provides detailed sleep analysis within the Health app. It also tracks blood oxygen levels and wrist temperature during sleep, offering valuable insights into sleep quality and recovery, vital for optimizing performance and readiness for the next challenge.
📍 GPS Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): Equipped with advanced built-in GPS capabilities, including multi-band GNSS support, the Epix Pro (Gen 2) provides highly accurate outdoor activity tracking and navigation without requiring a paired smartphone. It offers detailed preloaded mapping features, essential for precise route planning and navigation in diverse and challenging environments.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: Equipped with precision dual-frequency GPS (L1 + L5 bands), the Apple Watch Ultra 2 provides exceptionally accurate location tracking for outdoor activities, even in the most challenging environments like dense canyons or urban jungles. It provides precise route mapping, pace, and distance data, vital for navigation, training analysis, and exploring remote areas.
🏋️ Workout Modes
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Epix Pro (Gen 2) supports an extensive and customizable range of multisport and individual workout modes, including profiles for running, biking, swimming, hiking, trail running, skiing, strength training, and many more. Its comprehensive real-time data screens provide detailed metrics for immediate feedback and post-activity analysis across virtually any sport.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: The Apple Watch Ultra 2 supports an extensive range of workout modes, including specialized profiles and views for trail running, hiking, triathlon, and diving, in addition to standard activities like running, cycling, and swimming. The customizable Action button allows for quick access to workout controls, enhancing functionality and ease of use during activities.
💫 Exercise Recognition
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The device includes automatic exercise detection for common activities like walking and running through its Move IQ feature, ensuring seamless recording of basic movements within the overall activity log, complementing its specialized sport profiles.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: The smartwatch features automatic exercise recognition for common activities such as walking, running, and cycling, ensuring that workouts are logged even if the user forgets to manually start tracking, providing a more complete record of physical activity during varied training or adventure.
🍎 Compatibility
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Epix Pro (Gen 2) is compatible with both iOS and Android smartphones, connecting via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for seamless data synchronization and smart notifications, ensuring users remain connected and data is readily available through the associated mobile application.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: Seamlessly integrating with the Apple ecosystem, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 requires an iPhone XS or later running the latest iOS version for full functionality. It connects via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, offering tight integration with Apple Health and other Apple services, optimized for reliable performance in challenging conditions.
📲 App Support
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): Synchronization with the robust Garmin Connect app is fundamental, providing in-depth analysis of all tracked data, performance metrics, training insights, and recovery recommendations. The app facilitates the creation and syncing of detailed training plans and courses, along with extensive customization options for the watch settings.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: Leveraging the App Store, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 provides access to a vast ecosystem of third-party apps, with many specifically optimized for outdoor activities, navigation, sports performance, and diving. The Apple Health app serves as a central repository for all comprehensive health and fitness data collected by the device.
💡 Smart Features
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): In addition to its core athletic functionalities, the Epix Pro (Gen 2) includes practical smart features such as on-wrist notifications for calls, texts, and calendar alerts. It supports Garmin Pay for contactless payments and offers on-device music storage with compatibility for streaming services, providing convenience during both training and daily use.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: As a full-featured smartwatch, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 provides comprehensive smart capabilities, including on-wrist notifications, enhanced Siri with on-device processing, Apple Pay for contactless payments, and cellular connectivity for calls and messages without an iPhone. Advanced safety features like Fall Detection, Crash Detection, an 86-decibel Siren for emergencies, and a built-in compass with backtracking are also included.
💦 Water Resistance
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): With a robust water resistance rating of 100 meters (10 ATM), the Epix Pro (Gen 2) is engineered to be fully suitable for swimming, showering, and various water activities, making it a reliable and durable device for triathletes and those who train in or around water.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: With a WR100 water resistance rating, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 is designed for serious water sports and is suitable for recreational diving up to 40 meters (with a compatible third-party app). It is built to withstand harsh marine environments and track various aquatic activities with confidence.
⌚ Display Quality
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Epix Pro (Gen 2) features a bright and vibrant AMOLED touchscreen display with high resolution, offering stunning colors, deep blacks, and exceptional brightness. This display provides excellent readability in various lighting conditions, including direct sunlight, enhancing the visual experience for mapping and data review.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: The Apple Watch Ultra 2 features the brightest Always-On Retina display Apple has ever produced, offering a peak brightness of 3000 nits for unparalleled clarity and readability even in the most direct sunlight. The large display and robust sapphire crystal front enhance durability and visual experience for mapping and data.
👌 Ease of Use
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The device offers a dual interface with reliable buttons and a responsive touchscreen, providing flexible and easy navigation through menus, data screens, and mapping features. This dual interface is designed for intuitive operation and quick access to critical information during both activities and daily use.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: The device offers an intuitive user interface with a responsive touchscreen, larger Digital Crown designed for use with gloves, a prominent side button, and a highly customizable Action button. watchOS is optimized for easy navigation and quick access to features during activities, even in challenging conditions, enhanced by the new Double Tap gesture.
✨ Design and Comfort
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Epix Pro (Gen 2) features a premium and durable design with a high-quality titanium bezel and stainless steel or DLC coating, built to withstand extreme conditions while maintaining a comfortable fit for all-day wear and extended outdoor use. The design balances robust construction with aesthetic appeal.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: The Apple Watch Ultra 2 features a rugged and exceptionally durable design with a titanium case, built to withstand challenging and extreme conditions. It offers a comfortable fit for all-day wear and comes with specialized bands (Trail Loop, Alpine Loop, Ocean Band) designed for different outdoor activities, balancing robust construction with wearability during prolonged efforts.
🩸 SpO2 Monitoring
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): An integrated Pulse Ox sensor allows for on-demand spot checks and continuous monitoring of blood oxygen saturation levels. This feature is particularly valuable for acclimatization at altitude, monitoring sleep quality, and assessing overall physiological status during demanding activities, with solar charging supporting continuous data collection.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: Equipped with an SpO2 sensor, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 allows for on-demand spot checks and background monitoring of blood oxygen saturation levels. This feature provides valuable data for assessing respiratory health and overall well-being, particularly relevant during altitude and strenuous activities, contributing to acclimatization and performance monitoring.
💖 ECG Functionality
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): It is important to note that the Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) does not support ECG (Electrocardiogram) functionality.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: The Apple Watch Ultra 2 supports ECG (Electrocardiogram) functionality through the ECG app, allowing users to record a 30-second ECG to detect signs of atrial fibrillation (AFib). This feature provides valuable heart health data for monitoring during training and daily life.
🧘 Stress Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The Epix Pro (Gen 2) tracks stress levels throughout the day based on heart rate variability and offers guided breathing exercises to help users manage stress and promote mental well-being alongside physical training and recovery.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: While not a single dedicated stress metric, the Apple Watch Ultra 2 contributes to stress insights through features like Mindfulness and Breathe apps, heart rate variability (HRV) data, and detailed sleep analysis, leveraging the S9 SiP for enhanced data processing to help users understand their body's response to stress and find moments of calm during demanding periods.
🩹 Recovery Tracking
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): The device provides advanced recovery insights, including a daily readiness score, recovery time advisor, training status, and training load focus, offering detailed guidance to help athletes understand their recovery needs and optimize their training schedule to prevent overtraining and improve performance.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: Recovery is primarily tracked through detailed sleep analysis, heart rate variability (HRV), and insights provided within the Apple Health and Fitness apps based on workout data. While not a single "recovery score" like some dedicated sports watches, the collected data, processed by the S9 SiP, helps users understand their body's state and inform rest and training decisions for optimal performance during prolonged efforts and challenging activities.
💳 Subscription
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): A key benefit of the Garmin platform is that all features and data tracked by the Epix Pro (Gen 2) are accessible through the free Garmin Connect app, requiring no additional subscription fees for core functionality, advanced training analysis, or mapping features, providing comprehensive value for a premium, performance-oriented device.
2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: No subscription is required to access the core features and data tracked by the Apple Watch Ultra 2 through the Apple Health and Fitness apps. Optional services like Apple Fitness+ require a separate subscription.
🏷️️ Price
1️⃣ Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2): $1,099.99
Check Garmin Epix Pro (Gen 2) Price *2️⃣ Apple Watch Ultra 2: $799.00
Check Apple Watch Ultra 2 Price ** If you buy through these links, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you